From Headlines to Short Story

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In December local media reported that a couple of customers in Walmarts here (Columbia, Missouri) and in three nearby towns bought out the pre-paid cell phones. No one knew what the buyers wanted with dozens of burner phones. So the media and the audience (including me) speculated. Terrorists hiding their communications from NSA? Drug dealers foiling police trying to trace their calls? Entrepreneurs planning to resell the phones at a profit to shady characters? We received no answers. I was on deadline to come up with “A Day in the Life of Phoenix Smith” for a great mystery lovers’ blog, … Continue reading →

Looking Ahead to 2016

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A year ago I worried that aging would decrease the speed and quality of my writing. I wondered if I had the stamina and sharpness to complete a solid 90,000-word mystery. Over 2015 I found that I wrote more slowly—partly because I don’t always work a full day anymore—and spent more time rewriting and editing. Even so, I finished my fifth mystery, Show Me the Sinister Snowman, and began rewriting an earlier mystery while new Phoenix the Spy ideas jell. In short, going into 2016, my pleasure in writing fiction endures, and my output remains satisfactory. The truth is that … Continue reading →

Looking Back at 2015

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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 … Continue reading →

Reviewer: Achilles Steals the Show

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“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 … Continue reading →

Release of Show Me the Ashes Delayed

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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, … Continue reading →

Giveaway of Show Me the Ashes

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Show Me the Ashes comes out in a month. If you’d like a chance to read the uncorrected copy reviewers receive, sign up for the giveway at GoodReads.com by December 2. The direct link is https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27009695. You can also get to the giveaway by typing in the title on the site’s homepage. In this book, the fourth in the series, the three main characters’ lives are changing. Phoenix is running the new foundation that she set up to give Annalynn a good job when she finishes her term as sheriff. An applicant begs Phoenix to take on a cold case … Continue reading →

Giveaway on GoodReads.com

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From November 14 to 22 you can sign up on GoodReads.com for a chance to win an autographed copy of the new paperback edition of Show Me the Murder. The hardback edition won the Missouri Writers’ Guild 2014 Walter Williams Major Work Award. The direct link to the giveaway is https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/162241. Or go to the GoodReads site and type in the title in the search box. You may need to become a member (free) to be eligible for a giveaway. Why give away copies of a book published in February 2013? I want to introduce new readers to the series … Continue reading →

First Review of Show Me the Ashes

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Kirkus Reviews has posted the first pre-publication review of Show Me the Ashes. That’s a good thing. Five Star will release the book, the fourth in the series, December 16, 2015. The Kirkus headline reads: “A former CIA agent must find a way to solve a cold case without hurting her best friend’s feelings.” The conclusion says: “Phoenix’s fourth provides both plenty of action and enough likely suspects to keep you guessing.” In between, the reviewer sketches the characters’ relationships and the two cases that former covert operative Phoenix Smith, singer Connie Diamante, and Sheriff Annalynn Carr Keyser investigate. If you’d like … Continue reading →

Comfort Reads

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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 … Continue reading →

A Dog’s Tale

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No matter how well I plan my mysteries, characters behave in unexpected ways and take roles I didn’t intend to give them. For example, a Belgian Malinois named Achilles arrived on the page for a brief appearance in Show Me the Murder. He became a major character in the series. He’s been on every cover right along with his human, former CIA covert operative Phoenix Smith. A character who can’t talk presents a writer with special challenges. Fortunately the K-9 dropout also offers special opportunities both in characterization and plotting. I wrote a guest blog about all of these for … Continue reading →

Deciding What to Write Next

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After working on a manuscript almost a year, I’m waiting for my two chapter-by-chapter readers’ to offer comments on a one-gulp read before doing the final polish. This gives me time to start catching up on repairs (e.g., hinges on cabinet doors), life-business tasks (e.g., comparing rates for car insurance), and cleaning (e.g., the whole house). More important to me, the short break gives me an opportunity to decide what to write next. For three years I’ve concentrated on the Show Me mystery series. The latest manuscript completes a five-book arc. In the six months covered in the books, my … Continue reading →

Talking About My Books

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The work on a book doesn’t end when it’s published. Saturday morning, July 11, I’m performing one of the most pleasant of the follow-up tasks: talking to people who have read Show Me the Gold or think they may. I’ll hold the floor for an hour at the monthly Osher Saturday Morning Book Talk, Room D, 1907 Hillcrest Drive, Columbia, MO. Readers gather for coffee (included in the $3 admission) and pastry at 9:30 a.m. The show begins a little before 10. A group of mystery fans, the Ashland Mystery Book Club, is sponsoring my talk. What do these readers … Continue reading →