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Carolyn Mulford

Carolyn Mulford

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Monthly Archives: April 2015

My Personal Research Library

Carolyn Mulford Posted on April 27, 2015 by CarolynApril 27, 2015

Most writers build up a personal library for their major projects. Three other mystery writers—Laura Bradford/Elizabeth Lynn Casey, Laura Lebow, and

Sujata Massey—and I will share what we keep at hand during a panel on research at Malice Domestic, a national annual conference for mystery readers and writers.

Here are some titles on my shelves.

Crime and Investigation

Two books I’ve used for years are Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions From Crime Writers and Murder and Mayhem by D. P. Lyle, M.D. The cardiologist and author answers mystery writers’ medical and post-death questions, providing essential details and ideas for ways to kill characters. He also takes questions at http://www.dplylemd.com.

One of my favorite books on police work is Police Procedure & Investigation: A Guide for Writers, by Lee Lofland, a former police officer. He shows and tells the basics writers need to know even if writing about amateur sleuths. See http://www.leelofland.com.

Other books I open from time to time are Complete Idiot’s Guide to Criminal Investigation, by Alan Axelrod and Guy Antinozzi; Crime Scene, by Cyril H. Wecht, M.D.: Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science, by Richard Saferstein;

Scene of the Crime: A Writer’s Guide to Crime-Scene Investigations, by Anne Wingate; and The Writer’s Complete Crime Reference Book, by Martin Roth.

While writing Show Me the Ashes (coming December 2015), I relied heavily on Practical Fire and Arson Investigation, by John J. O’Connor.

Useful References

I have numerous books that don’t concern crime but help me in creating setting. With almost every mystery I study the illustrations in American Shelter, by Lester Walker, to create the layout and exterior of homes.

Two other books that receive frequent use are Know Your Antiques, by Ralph and Terry Kovel, and Reader’s Digest’s Nature in America: Your A-to-Z Guide to Our Country’s Animals, Plants, Landforms and Other Natural Features. 

Among the other books I dip into occasionally are those on cooking, history, art, and foreign languages.

Tip: Buy references books at library book sales and from used book stores.

The CIA

In developing the character of former CIA covert operative Phoenix Smith, I read a number of books on the CIA, including these autobiographies: Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy, by Lindsay Moran; Denial and Deception: An Insiders View of the CIA from Iran-Contra to 9/11, by Melissa Boyle Mahle; and Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House, by Valerie Plame Wilson.

Other Resources

I own a large collection of books on writing and editing in general and a small collection of how-to books on writing mysteries. For a short list that I posted a couple of years ago, go to Show Me the Mysteries, Writing Tips and Resources.

You can’t find everything on the Net, and some books you want to reach out and pick up whenever a question arises.

—Carolyn Mulford

Posted in Resources

Show Me the Gold Wins Award

Carolyn Mulford Posted on April 19, 2015 by CarolynApril 19, 2015

The Missouri Writers’ Guild gave Show Me the Gold the “Show Me” Best Book Award April 11 during the Guild’s leadership conference in Columbia. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry collections, and scripts were eligible for the award.

Published in December 2014, Gold is the third book in my mystery series, and my third book to receive the Guild’s recognition. Last year Show Me the Murder won the Walter Williams Major Work Award.

The conference marked the hundredth anniversary of the Guild’s founding during Journalism Week at the University of Missouri.  An internationally known journalist and educator, Williams founded the world’s first school of journalism in 1908 and led the way in establishing the Guild in 1915.

In 2015, conferees broke into small groups to discuss the issues the 17 chapters’ representatives deemed most critical as the Guild begins its second century. The conference ended with work on action plans.

—Carolyn Mulford

Posted in News, News releases, Show Me Series

Latest Postings


Why we needed Title IX before 1972

Carolyn Mulford Posted on July 5, 2022 by CarolynJuly 5, 2022

The fiftieth anniversary of Title IX, a landmark law requiring gender equality in schools receiving federal funds, reminded me of how little opportunity to play sports most females of my generation had. (Title IX changed much more than sports, but that’s another story.) In my one-room school with roughly a dozen students in grades one through eight, we had no organized physical education program for girls or boys. We played together at recess and noon, mostly baseball or games involving some form of tag. Our entire sporting equipment consisted of two bats, a softball, a baseball, and a volleyball (used for … Continue reading →

Posted in The Feedsack Dress, Uncategorized

Concert Jogs Memories of Vienna

Carolyn Mulford Posted on January 2, 2022 by CarolynFebruary 7, 2022

Memories interrupted my enjoyment of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s concert broadcast last night on PBS. Unlike my Show Me protagonist, a CIA covert operative embedded in Vienna, I lived there only three years, but we shared a love of the city’s music. I went to the opera, an orchestra concert, chamber music, an operetta, or some other musical performance once or twice a week. Tickets were cheap, particularly if you were willing to sit in the balcony directly above a chamber orchestra using the instruments in vogue when the music was composed centuries ago. You could usually get a … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Uncategorized

New Sinister Snowman Edition

Carolyn Mulford Posted on March 8, 2021 by CarolynFebruary 7, 2022

Covid-19 stopped printers cold last spring. Consequently, the mass market paperback edition of Show Me the Sinister Snowman missed its slot in the printing queue. With the snow gone (until next winter, I hope), Harlequin Worldwide Mystery has just released the fifth book in the Show Me series.     This one finds Phoenix and friends trapped in an isolated mansion by a blizzard. Their housemates are aspiring political candidates and potential donors, one of whom intends to lessen their number before the roads clear. Phoenix has come to the meeting with two goals: to support Annalynn’s electoral dreams and … Continue reading →

Posted in News, News releases, Show Me Series

Memories Sparked The Feedsack Dress

Carolyn Mulford Posted on March 1, 2021 by CarolynMarch 1, 2021

When I began writing The Feedsack Dress almost 50 years ago, I asked my mother and two sisters to talk about their memories of 1949. I’d chosen that year for the novel because my recollections and my research identified it as a time of transition for the country, our rural Missouri community, and our family. Our discussion evoked many forgotten details and produced a major plot point. We gathered around the kitchen table at my parents’ farm on a hot summer day. To my surprise, each of us remembered not only different movies and music but also different versions of events, … Continue reading →

Posted in Historicals, News, The Feedsack Dress

Earthquakes on My Mind

Carolyn Mulford Posted on December 16, 2020 by CarolynDecember 16, 2020

2020 has been a horrible year. I hope it doesn’t end like another bad year, 1811. That year, rains brought mud and flood to Upper Louisiana. The nightly appearance of the devil-tailed Great Comet prompted rumors of destruction. The brilliant Tecumseh campaigned for tribes on both sides of the Mississippi to unite to beat back the encroaching Americans. The adolescent United States crept closer to the War of 1812. Then a natural disaster struck the middle of the newly expanded United States. In early morning on December 16, a series of earthquakes, aftershocks, and tremors began, interrupting New Madrid’s French … Continue reading →

Posted in Thunder Beneath My Feet

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