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Carolyn Mulford

Carolyn Mulford

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Monthly Archives: December 2015

Looking Back at 2015

Carolyn Mulford Posted on December 31, 2015 by CarolynDecember 31, 2015

The publishing industry continued to change this year. Large publishers still stumble to find a new path, small publishers struggle to survive, and self-publishers thrive (a few), hang on (many), and give up (countless). One trend I’ve noticed is the proliferation of hybrid authors—those who get their work to the public through both traditional and independent publishing. Whatever works.

Like most people, I’m guessing about trends in the industry. What I know is what I, one writer among millions, did last year. Here are some highlights.

The year began with my working on the first draft of Show Me the Sinister Snowman and promoting Show Me the Gold. I launched Gold at Columbia Books, an independent bookstore that supports local writers and serves readers who want knowledgeable recommendations and who search for rare books online. Such bookstores remain endangered species.

In April, Gold won the Missouri Writers’ Guild’s Show Me Best Book Award. The Guild presented the award at a special conference organized to discuss how to meet the changing needs of the century-old organization’s members. Chapter representatives spoke of who they served and how. Chapters operate quite differently, but clearly all play a vital role in informing and supporting writers.

In late April I spoke at a much larger and more focused conference, Malice Domestic. Spun off from Sisters in Crime, this annual national event features mostly traditional mysteries written by women. You promote your books, get the feel of what’s happening in mystery publishing, and enjoy meeting hundreds of mystery writers and fans.

While at Malice, I received an acceptance of Thunder Beneath My Feet, my historical novel set during the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. I signed a contract with Rocking Horse Publishing, St. Louis, on the 50th anniversary of becoming a professional writer and editor. In May 1965 I began working as an assistant editor of the NEA Journal, then a top monthly education magazine, in Washington, D.C.

In June Harlequin Worldwide Mystery published the paperback edition of Show Me the Murder, the first in the series. That’s sold from the Harlequin website, not in stores.

Much of the summer went to polishing the first draft of Sinister Snowman, the fifth book in the series. I also gave major presentations at the Osher Institute Book Talks and the Livingston County Library, Chillicothe.

In the fall, I planned promotion for Show Me the Ashes (scheduled for release December 16), spoke at Bouchercon (the country’s largest mystery conference) in Raleigh, and began revising an earlier mystery called Ancestral Plot.

In mid-December came an unpleasant surprise. The publisher announced the release of Ashes will be delayed until March 16, 2016. I went ahead with some of the guest blogs scheduled weeks ago, and I’m still reworking my promotion plans.

December ended on a positive note. I proofed the pre-publication copy of Thunder Beneath My Feet, which will be released in February.

As 2015 ends, I’m planning my writing and promotion schedule for 2016.

—Carolyn Mulford

Posted in News

Reviewer: Achilles Steals the Show

Carolyn Mulford Posted on December 21, 2015 by CarolynDecember 21, 2015

“Phoenix’s dog Achilles plays a star role in the whole series, and with each book, he steals more of the show,” wrote blogger Judy Hogan in her pre-publication review of Show Me the Ashes. The review is posted at http://postmenopausalzest.blogspot.com/2015/12/review-carolyn-mulfords-show-me-ashes.html.

The reviewer liked the other characters, too, ending the review with this: “One fiction teacher I had years ago said that the sign of a good book was its memorability.  Did it stick in your mind?  Carolyn Mulford’s characters stick in my mind.”

A poet, novelist, and activist, Judy’s latest books are The Sands of Gower: The First Penny Weaver Mystery and This River: An Epic Love Poem.

 —Carolyn Mulford

Posted in News, Reviews of Carolyn’s books, Show Me Series

Release of Show Me the Ashes Delayed

Carolyn Mulford Posted on December 20, 2015 by CarolynDecember 20, 2015

Show Me the Ashes won’t be in anyone’s stocking this Christmas. The publisher, Five Star, notified me a few days ago that the release is being delayed three months, until March 16, 2016.

Ho, ho, ho became no, no, no. The late notification inconvenienced not only me but also others, and I’m sorry for that. I had sent out review copies to my own list weeks ago and scheduled guest blogs for early January. A few people have already posted reviews of the book.

As the publisher told me and several other authors, publishers change schedules all the time. Unfortunately, that’s true. And I had seen signs that production had fallen behind schedule. The review copies came to me late, and the cover image didn’t go out to booksellers, libraries, and review publications.

On the plus side, spring is a better season than winter for driving to book signings, talks, and workshops.

Maybe Peter Rabbit will put Show Me the Ashes into some mystery lovers’ Easter baskets.

—Carolyn Mulford

Posted in News, 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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