The Furry Sidekicks in My Stories

We share our house with two crazy Jack Russell Terriers. They are our companions, friends, squirrel-chasers, snack-sharers, and since the pandemic, they’ve been my fuzzy coworkers. Pets are an integral part of our lives, and it's natural that they would have key roles in my stories. My stories are full of furry sidekicks. Below are my pups, Riley and Disney (the brains of the operation).

Margaret Thatcher Reynolds is a tubby English bulldog who is the sidekick of Delanie’s partner Duncan in the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries. Margaret, the brown and white log with legs, is a four-legged sleuth, and she helped solve the mystery of “what is that sound in the ceiling” in Glitter, Glam, and Contraband.

Margaret the Wonder Dog

Bijou, the spunky Jack Russell Terrier, in the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, is based on my JRT Disney. She’s friendly and full of energy, a perfect ambassador for Jule’s glamping resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Disney Dog

My new series, launching in January 2023, is the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries, set in the quaint beach community of Mermaid Bay. Proprietor Jade Hicks shares her house and her business with Chloe, a rollie-pollie white French bulldog. Chloe, like Bijou, is a greeter and ambassador for Jade’s store.

Chloe the Frenchie

I wrote some novellas for the Mutt Mysteries series. They contain a Jack Russell Terrier who helps solve the crime in “Diggin’ up Dirt” in To Fetch a Thief, and Margaret the Wonder Dog gets a starring role in “Strut Your Mutt” in To Fetch a Killer.

“The Fast and the Furriest” and “Wags to Riches” feature Oliver the Rottweiler. He’s the Director of Security at the Amelia Racetrack, and he helps owner, Cassidy Green, solve several crimes in To Fetch a Scoundrel and To Fetch a Villain.

Oliver, Director of Security

Our pets are our family, best friends, and loyal companions. They hold a cherished place in our homes and hearts. And I always make sure that my novels/novellas feature a sleuth and faithful companion with four paws and a wet nose.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Lynn Cahoon

I’d like to welcome the fabulous Lynn Cahoon to the blog today for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: Chocolate, lap blankets, and a pile of books

Things you need to throw out: Books I’ll never read (okay, not throw out but give away), items from my past that don’t hold any meaning now, papers that I think might turn into a story, someday.

Things you need for your writing sessions: a computer (desk or laptop), my one page outline, a cup of coffee. (I really don’t think you need a lot of ‘setting’ stuff to write. I’m a Nike girl. Just do it.)

Things that hamper your writing: Being tired, too many things on my mind, people talking, music I like to sing along to, or on the other end - too quiet of an area.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Some days writing. Some days not letting the haters get in my head. Writers tearing down other writers.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Telling the story that my characters want to be told. Supporting other authors in their journey.

Things you never want to run out of: Stories. Sugar. Flavored sparkling water.

Things you wish you’d never bought: anything with fake sugar or flavoring. Frozen meals. A certain book I won’t mention that I wanted so much to be amazing. LOL

Words that describe you: Kind, ambitious, inquisitive, loving

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t: Obsessive, timid,

Favorite foods: Homemade goodness. Fried fish. Mashed potatoes.

Things that make you want to gag: Beans, hot chilies, bad food makes me sad.

Favorite beverage: Flavored sparkling water

Something that gives you a sour face: Sweet Tea

Favorite smell: Jasmine.

Something that makes you hold your nose: Women with too much perfume. They give me migraines.

Last best thing you ate: Fried Green Tomatoes at Magnolias in Charleston SC.

Last thing you regret eating: Sugar. I need to kick the habit.

The last thing you ordered online: Vitamins and olive oil

The last thing you regret buying: Candy. I say I’m not going to eat it and yet.

Things to say to an author: I love your books. I loved the story. I wanted to be your character. I buy everything you write.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I found a typo on page 14. I didn’t get the character’s motivation. Can you make your book free?

Favorite places you’ve been: I have to say Haiti was beautiful. And the water was warm and salty.

Places you never want to go to again: I tend to find beauty in every place I visit, even for a short time. That being said, I don’t love being around a lot of people all the time. 

Favorite books (or genre): Time Travel, women’s fiction, mysteries, paranormals

Books you wouldn’t buy: War books, male centric thrillers, books without a happy ending

About Lynn:

Lynn Cahoon, author of THREE TAINTED TEAS, a Kitchen Witch mystery, is a NYT and USA Today author of the best-selling Tourist Trap, Kitchen Witch, Cat Latimer, Farm-to-Fork, and soon to release, Survivors’ Book Club mystery series. No matter where the mystery is set, readers can expect a fun ride. Find out more at her website www.lynncahoon.com

Three Tainted Teas, a Kitchen Witch mystery

Aspiring witch and culinary entrepreneur, Mia Malone, must dispel a deadly plot to wreck her clients’ wedding in this charming continuation of New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon’s Kitchen Witch Mystery series.
 
Business is bubbling at Mia’s catering service and cooking school, Mia’s Morsels, but toil and trouble are not far behind. Mia just accepted her toughest gig yet: last-minute wedding planner for Magic Springs’ own Romeo and Juliet. Though the small town is fairly accepting of magic, two families have been locked in a vicious feud spanning generations. Unfortunately for both families, they’re about to become in-laws! Amethyst and Tok are excited to wed in a few weeks and somehow Mia must ensure the event is flawless.
 
But when she goes to pick up paperwork from the couple’s previous wedding planner, Mia discovers the woman murdered in an apparent attempt to stop the contentious union. Now, not only is Mia a prime suspect, as the new planner she may also be the killer’s next target. Backed by her squad, her charms—literal and figurative—and a protective amulet from her Grans, it’s up to Mia to save the star-crossed couple’s wedding, her professional reputation…and maybe even her life!

Book Links:

Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09BKCDVWF/

Apple - https://books.apple.com/us/book/three-tainted-teas/id1579116103

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/three-tainted-teas

BN.com -  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-tainted-teas-lynn-cahoon/1139909716?ean=9781496730336

 Let’s Be Social:

Goodreads -http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5857424.Lynn_Cahoon

Twitter - https://twitter.com/LynnCahoon

Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/LynnCahoonAuthor

Website - http://lynncahoon.com/

Amazon author page - http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Cahoon/e/B0082PWOAO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

#WriterWednesday Interview with Greg Stout

I’d like to welcome Greg Stout to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

Things you need for your writing sessions:

Complete quiet and no interruptions. I have a very fragile attention span, and if (for instance) the radio is on, before long I’ll be listening to the song lyrics and lose the thread of what I’m doing.

Things that hamper your writing:

Any kind of interruption, unless someone has stopped by to give me money.

Things you love about writing:

Writing dialog. I was in sales and marketing for 27 years and then a teacher for 12, so I think I have a very good ear for how people actually talk.

Things you hate about writing:

Plotting a mystery. I’m good with the beginning and the end, but getting through the “soggy middle” is a chore.

Hardest thing about being a writer:

Well, I would have said selling a manuscript, but that’s all set as everything I have written is under contract. So I guess the next hardest thing is actually selling the books.

Easiest thing about being a writer:

I get to set my own hours.

Things you never want to run out of:

Dark chocolate peanut M&M’s 

Things you wish you’d never bought:

A 1973 Vega and a 1968 Corvair.

Words that describe you:

Quirky

Words that describe you, but you wish they didn’t:

Cheap

Favorite foods:

Crayfish etouffee, pan fried lake perch, broiled scallops

Things that make you want to gag: 

Any variety of cheese that I can actually smell. 

Favorite music or song:

Patsy Cline, Dusty Springfield, Ambrosia, the Beach Boys

Music that drives you crazy:

“Old school” country western (like Hank), especially if they guy yodels

Favorite beverage:

Diet Pepsi, hands down. After that, Stella Artois beer
Something that gives you a sour face:

Grapefruit juice

Favorite smell:

Honeysuckle, mimosa blossoms

Something that makes you hold your nose:

Cauliflower or cabbage cooking

Something you wish you could do:

I wish I could play golf well, as it is a game you can play pretty much all your life. Unfortunately, I’m not very good at it, and because I’m not very good, I don’t enjoy playing, so I will never get any better because the only way to get better is to play a lot.

Something you wish you’d never learned to do:

Work on cars, because I'm always getting asked to "take a look" at something on somebody's car.

Something you like to do:

I like to fish in Canada. We keep only what we eat. Everything else goes back into the lake.

Something you wish you’d never done:

There was a job I took because I thought I knew my future boss better than I actually did. Turned out, he was a jerk. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Fortunately, before I quit, the company got bought out and I got a really good package going out the door. I didn’t get to keep the company car, though.

Last best thing you ate:

There is a little breakfast-lunch place near where we live. Their Friday fish fry is really good.

Last thing you regret eating:

Chinese food off the real-deal Chinese menu. It was spicy as hell and made me sick for two days.

The last thing you ordered online:

The first three books in the Bosch series by Robert Connelly

The last thing you regret buying:

Cargo pants

Things you always put in your books:

My friends (at least the ones who actually read my books) refer to them as “Stoutisms.” These are terms and phrases I’ve used pretty much all my life, and so I put them into my characters’ mouths, e.g., “You can’t blame a goat for being a goat.”

Things you never put in your books:

Explicit sex. I figure anybody old enough to read my stuff already knows the drill and doesn’t need me to spell the process out.

Things to say to an author:

“I really liked your book. In fact, I bought seven copies to give to my friends.” (This actually happened.)

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

“I noticed a mistake on page 38.” You read the whole book, and that's your take-away?

Favorite places you’ve been:

Belize. The fishing, the food and the tropical breezes are the best. After that, Hawaii, for the same reason.

Places you never want to go to again:

The wound specialist. She was great, but the problem took a solid year plus surgery to heal.

Favorite books (or genre):

PI or police procedural mysteries.

Books you wouldn’t buy:

Anything written by a politician or a business executive.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living):

Pope Francis.
People you’d cancel dinner on:

Donald Trump. He’d order something expensive and stick me with the check.

Let’s Be Social:

My website is www.gregorystoutauthor.com.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greg.stout.5602/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/958863.Greg_Stout

 About Greg:

Greg Stout is the author of Gideon’s Ghost, a young adult novel set in small-town America in the mid-1960s, and Lost Little Girl, a detective novel set in Nashville, Tennessee. He has also written 22 books on the history of American railroads. His first title, Route of the Eagles, a history of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, was released in 1995. A complete listing of Greg Stout’s published works can be found at www.gregorystoutauthor.com.   

Greg resides with his wife and two cats, Wallace and Gromit, in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he is a member of the Heartland Writers Guild and the Southeast Missouri Writers Guild. His second novel for Beacon Publishing Group, Connor’s War, will be released in July 2022. His second Jackson Gamble mystery for Level Best Books, The Gone Man, is scheduled for release in October 2022.

The Color of... - Tips for Authors

What’s in a color? What does it evoke? What are the associations? We all have our favorites. I absolutely loved my giant box of Crayolas. Oh, the options.

When my first short story was published, I decided to update my website. I matched my backgrounds, fonts, and graphics to the anthology cover that was in black, red, and white. It highlighted the book, and the colors were eye-catching. A few years later when my first novel came out, I was talking to a publicist about my marketing materials, and she remarked that my website was too dark for my writing style. She reminded me that I write humous cozy mysteries, and that I should use pastels instead of colors that remind readers of noir or slasher stories.

Here are some ideas of ways color that can help you with your marketing materials and writing.

• Google images of a color wheel. There are hundreds out there. When you select a color, this diagram shows you what compliments it. Colors directly across from your selection go well together. This helps when you’re selecting colors for headlines, subheadlines, and backgrounds.

• There are lots of articles and studies out there about the meaning of color and how color is used. These can also be helpful in your writing if you’re trying to show instead of tell the reader something about your character/scene. This one in Smashing magazine has a lot of good information. This site has some great memes that summarize each color.

• If you have input into your cover designs, make sure the color choices match the theme of your book. The use of dark or light should match the tone of your work.

• All of your social media sites should have the same “look and feel.” The pictures and graphics should have the same color scheme. Readers need to be able to identify you and your site.

• Words about colors (or lack of color) are key to your writing, too. This post from Writers Write has a good list of words to describe color.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Linda Norlander

I’d like to welcome author, Linda Norlander, back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday! Congratulations on your latest novel.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Continuous self-doubt. Is my writing good enough?

Easiest thing about being a writer: Conjuring up stories to write about.

Something you’re really good at: Keeping the gas tank full in the car. I have a great fear of running out of gas. (Ever watch the cemetery scene in “Night of the Living Dead?”)

Something you’re really bad at: Making pancakes—they are known as Grandma’s burnt breakfast

Something you wanted to be when you were a kid: A cowgirl—of course I needed a horse which I didn’t have

Something you do that you never dreamed you’d do: Manage a website

Something you wish you could do: A better job of managing a website

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Always being on time. I would love to be more spontaneous but this little voice in the back of my head keeps nagging me, “To be on time is to be late.”

Things to say to an author: This is Nobel Prize quality writing.

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book: I slept through your first chapter.

Favorite places you’ve been: North Shore of Lake Superior and (of course) Paris

Places you never want to go to again: Las Vegas—Last time I was there I lost $20 playing slot machine poker and declared it enough! Time to flee the noise and the glitz.

People you’d like to invite to dinner (living): Bruce Springsteen, Michelle Obama and Louise Penny

People you’d cancel dinner on: Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson

Favorite things to do: Playing Boggle with kids and grandkids (I never win.)

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Figuring out my taxes. I’m happy to pay someone else to do this.

Most embarrassing moment: Hitting the wrong opening chord as the church organist, thereby making a great blat onto the Lord. (I was thankfully fired from the volunteer job shortly thereafter.)

Proudest moment: Seeing the cover design for my first mystery.

Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I rode a bicycle from the west bank of the Mississippi River to Boston Harbor carrying a sleeping bag, a change of clothes and a water bottle

Something you chickened out from doing: Repeating the above.

The coolest person you’ve ever met: Rosalyn Carter, a definite steel magnolia.

The celebrity who didn’t look like he/she did in pictures/video: Bruce Springsteen—he’s short.

The nicest thing a reader said to you: Can’t wait for the next book.

The craziest thing a reader said to you: There’s a comma missing on page 46.

About Linda:

Linda Norlander is the author of A Cabin by the Lake mystery series set in Northern Minnesota. Books in the series include Death of an Editor and Death of a Starling and Death of a Snow Ghost. Norlander has published award winning short stories, op-ed pieces and short humor featured in regional and national publications. Before taking up the pen to write murder mysteries, she worked in public health and end-of-life care. Norlander resides in Tacoma, Washington with her spouse.

Let’s Be Social:

www.lindanorlander.com

www.twitter.com/LindaNorlander

www.facebook.com/authorlindanorlander

https://www.amazon.com/Death-Snow-Ghost-Cabin-Mystery/dp/1685121284/ref=sr_1_9?crid=2GFH1HXCRRLMX&keywords=linda+norlander&qid=1652806837&s=books&sprefix=%2Cstripbooks%2C397&sr=1-9

#WriterWednesday Interview with J. Lynn Else

I’d like to welcome author, J. Lynn Else, to the blog for #WriterWednesday!

A few of your favorite things: These would definitely include books, loose-leaf tea, Grogu/Baby Yoda, Autumn

Things you need to throw out: My husband’s Dungeons and Dragons movie DVD. Worst. Movie. Ever.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Editing.

Easiest thing about being a writer: Talking to other book nerds like me about my books.

Favorite foods: My mom has this amazing chicken crescent recipe. I’m always so happy when she makes it again!

Things that make you want to gag: Peas. My kids love peas, so they always show off foods they order that are full of peas. “Look, Mom! Delicious.” Bleck.

Favorite music or song: 80s music. My favorite is “Take on Me” by A-ha. Though I’ve currently been asking Alexa to play a lot of “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness.

Music that drives you crazy: Country music. Rap music.

Favorite smell: The inside of a Crumbl Cookie store.

Something that makes you hold your nose: New plastic. Burnt popcorn.

Something you’re really good at: Star Wars trivia

Something you’re really bad at: Any and all other trivia

Something you wish you could do: I wish I could participate in an archeological dig in Egypt!

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: I can’t say there’s anything I wish I hadn’t learned. I’m always open to new things.

Things you’d walk a mile for: A new bookstore.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Spiders. Seriously, just torch the place.

Things you always put in your books: Female lead characters.

Things you never put in your books: Steamy bedroom scenes. It’s simply a personal preference, I don’t read spicy books either. If you like spicy books, continue to enjoy! It’s just not an element in my books.

Things to say to an author:

• “I could really relate to <name of character>!”

• “I really loved when <scene in book> happened!”

Things to say to an author if you want to be fictionally killed off in their next book:

• “<Name of different author> writes better fantasy than you. You should read their books.”

Favorite places you’ve been: Disney World; Napa Valley, CA; Door County, WI

Places you never want to go to again: Waterloo, IA

Favorite books (or genre): Fantasy! I recently read Daughter of the Moon Goddess, and it’s my favorite read of 2022 thus far.

Books you wouldn’t buy: Romance.

Favorite things to do: Reading in my hammock. Girl’s Nights Out at our favorite breweries/wineries.

Things you’d run through a fire or eat bugs to get out of doing: Dishes.

About J. Lynn Else:

J. LYNN ELSE is an award-winning author from Minnesota who’s self-published two historical fiction novels set in ancient Egypt, “The Forgotten: Aten’s Last Queen (2013),” which was named an Indie Editor’s Choice book for 2016 by the Historical Novel Society, and “The Forgotten: Heir of the Heretic (2016)” as well as a sci fi novella “Strangely Constructed Souls (2018).” Through Inklings Publishing, she’s authored an Arthurian-influenced, female-driven fantasy trilogy, “Descendants of Avalon” (2018), “Lost Daughters of Avalon” (2019), and “Destiny of Avalon” (2021).” Her short story “The Girl from the Haunted Woods,” won 2nd place in the “Journey into the Fantastical” Anthology contest. In 2021, she became the Indie Reviews Editor for the Historical Novel Society. She believes in unicorns and practicing random acts of awesome.

Let’s Be Social:

Website: http://www.teasippinnerdymom.com (that’s “tea-sippin’ nerdy mom”)

Facebook: www.facebook.com/teasippinnerdymom

 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JLynnElseAuthor

 Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jlynnelseauthor/

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7275724.J_Lynn_Else

 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jlynnelse_author

Journaling - How It Can Help Your Writing Life

I have been keeping a journal off and on since I received a small denim-covered diary with a lock and key in my stocking in 1975. That expanded over the teen and college years into multiple volumes annually. When I started writing, I found that I didn’t journal as much.

A few weeks into the pandemic, I had the thought that I probably should record some notes of what the plague and lock-down was like. It suddenly became a fancy notebook filled with dread and fear. So I stared a second pandemic journal, A Sudden Glory. This one is filled with stories about helpers and good deeds that I run across. Some are tiny little acts of kindness and others are on a larger scale. I decided if was keeping a record of all the doom and gloom, I needed to record some of the amazing things too.

The contents may never see the light of day, but I think a journal helps your writing life.

• It’s a chance for you to write about your thoughts and interests.

• It’s a place where you can just write without the worry of editing and rewrites.

• It’s where you can record thoughts and ideas. You never know when one will become part of a larger work.

• Journaling is a way to record your history and experiences for a future you.

• It helps you establish a regular writing routine.

• Journal entries help you work through conflicts and sort out ideas.

Journaling is a good way to capture a bit of your life, and it’s a precious time capsule when you go back and look at the contents later.

#ThisorThatThursday Author Interview with Nicole Fanning

I’d like to welcome author, Nicole Fanning, back to the blog for #ThisorThatThursday!

A few of your favorite things: Benji, Rocky and Loki-my fur children!

Things you need to throw out: Sentimental clothing that I will never wear again, and nearly every old phone I have every owned.

Hardest thing about being a writer: Knowing exactly what is going to happen, but not being able to share it with anxious readers because you don’t want to spoil the story!
Easiest thing about being a writer: Knowing exactly what is going to happen!

Favorite foods: Pizza, Ice Cream

Things that make you want to gag: Wasabi, Pickled Herring, Brussel Sprouts

Favorite music or song: Everything but twangy country

Music that drives you crazy: Twangy Country

Favorite beverage: TEA
Something that gives you a sour face: Sports Drinks

Favorite smell: Apple Cinnamon
Something that makes you hold your nose: Fish

Something you’re really good at: Overthinking
Something you’re really bad at: Relaxing

Something you wish you could do: Wrap Presents

Something you wish you’d never learned to do: Sailing

The last thing you ordered online: My new Ducky Keyboard

The last thing you regret buying: A five-pound bag of flaxseed. Oops.

Things you’d walk a mile for: Any canine I could cuddle.

Things that make you want to run screaming from the room: Spiders

Things you always put in your books: Easter eggs. ;)
Things you never put in your books: Pet deaths.

Best thing you’ve ever done: Marrying my husband.
Biggest mistake: Dying my hair platinum blonde. “That was a lot of damage.”

About Nicole: 

Nicole Fanning is a smitten wife and super proud dog mom to three rambunctious rescue dogs.

She’s an old school romantic and documentary enthusiast, with a proclivity for a little mischief. She also has small obsession with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and obscure boardgames.

Her debut novel, Catalyst, is the first incendiary installment of the Heart of the Inferno Series which follows the romantic entanglement of deadly billionaire mafia don, Jaxon Pace, and his unexpected paramour, Natalie Tyler.

…And this is only the beginning!

Let’s Be Social:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.fanning.1

Instagram: AuthorNicoleFanning

Twitter: AuthorNicoleFanning

Website: nherownwords.com