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 50^th 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

I’m going to serve on a panel at Bouchercon that seeks to answer this thought-provoking question: Why are some traditional mysteries comfort reads?

I haven’t answered that question yet, but it made me think about what I read when I need a break from work or worry or want the stimulation of a good story well told. I realized that I’ve been reading for comfort since the second half of first grade. Probably most people who bother to come to this blog can say the same.

The writers I’ve gone back to repeatedly over the decades include the following.

Mark Twain—The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn gets my vote for the great American novel. Twain offers great characters, vivid settings, and multiple layers that appeal to readers of every generation. Almost no one equals the humor and bite of his social commentary in this novel and many other novels and nonfiction writings.

Jane Austen—Pride and Prejudice is my favorite. In a much softer way, Austen presents a humorous but pointed social commentary

George Eliot—Adam Bed gets my nod. I love the flow of her prose, which editors would probably break into simple and less subtle sentences today.

Charles Dickens—Tale of Two Cities, which I taught as a practice teacher, is a favorite. His thumbnail sketches of characters are superb.

William Shakespeare—I don’t have a favorite play or sonnet, but he astonishes with the beauty of his words and the depths of his thought even in his weakest work.

Emily Dickinson—She says so much is so few words, and her imagery, often taken from nature, delights me.

Ursula K. Le Guin—She’s one of the most thoughtful, inventive, and skilled writers of the late 20^th century. Her short stories are among the best I’ve every read, and I love her novels. My favorite novels are The Wizard of Earthsea (the first of a terrific trilogy), The Dispossessed, and The Left Hand of Darkness.

When I became interested in writing for young readers, I enjoyed well-written books by Katherine Paterson, M. E. Kerr, Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, and others. You can read their books in two to four hours. Again, these writers tend to make points with humor. If I feel a deep need to read something good but have little time, I may go to the juvenile lit section and pick up a Newbery winner.

As to the panel’s question, I’ll be talking that over with Beverly Allen, Rhys Bowen (one of my comfort mystery reads), Jennifer Kincheloe, and Greg Lilly at the international mystery conference at 10 a.m., Sunday, October 11.

—Carolyn Mulford