Moving Book 4 to Phase 2

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The writing of Show Me the Ashes, the fourth book in my mystery series, has been going slowly. Opening chapters always take me roughly a third longer than the middle ones and twice as long as the last ones. In the beginning, I’m creating new characters and settings, struggling to drop in essential backstory for new readers without boring old ones or slowing the narrative, and revealing just enough about the crime that will be solved in the next-to-last chapter. Rewriting Chapter 6 a week ago, I realized I had to shift gears. I had been working from a one-page … Continue reading →

Starting My New Mystery

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When I turned in Show Me the Gold, the third book in my series, last January, I planned to send Phoenix, Annalynn, and Connie out of town in the next book rather than plague Vandiver County with a new murder. Busy preparing for the February release of Show Me the Murder and going over the editor’s queries for Show Me the Deadly Deer, I stewed about the time and expense of researching that new setting and its subculture. I woke up one morning with the seed of a new idea: Let Phoenix work on a cold case, one that would … Continue reading →

Part 3: Three Writers’ Conferences: Marshall Writers’ Guild

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The Marshall (M0) Writers’ Guild holds an unusual form of annual meeting, one that features a guest writer. Other small local groups may want to consider MWG’s model. I learned this by serving as the guest writer at the 2013 meeting. I presented a two-hour morning workshop on turning an idea into a book, fiction or nonfiction. Before beginning, I surveyed the twenty or so writers to find out what they’re working on. A surprising number are writing memoirs or history, so I drew most of my examples from my nonfiction work. Participants commented and asked questions as we went … Continue reading →

Part 2: Three Writers’ Conferences: Malice Domestic

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The one conference I go to every year is Malice Domestic, a national celebration of the traditional mystery that meets in the DC area in late April or early May. A spinoff of Sisters in Crime, Malice is heavily skewed toward women crime writers and their predominantly female audience (http://malicedomestic.org). Although a fan conference, I estimate a third of the attendees are published writers and another third want to be. The readers, many of whom return each year, include librarians, reviewers, teachers, and a mix of other people devoted to mysteries. Malice introduces numerous debut and established writers’ mysteries to … Continue reading →

Part 1: Three Writers’ Conferences Serve Different Audiences

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At local meetings and on national listservs, writers often ask for advice about which conferences to attend. Having attended many, I can only say that the best conference depends as much on what the writer seeks as what the conference offers. This spring, with promoting Show Me the Murder my top priority, I chose three annual conferences serving different audiences: Missouri Writers’ Guild conference for writers with varied interests, Malice Domestic 25 national convention for mystery fans, Marshall (MO) Writers’ Guild workshop for their members.   Here, in Part 1, is what the state conference offered. This estimable annual three-day … Continue reading →

What’s Right About Second Graders’ Writing

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In the 1950s, television threatened to divert children from reading. In the 1990s, the Web tempted tender minds to abandon linear reading and writing. In the last decade, portable multimedia, omnipresent (and often mindless) communication, and misspelled texting further endangered literacy. Thinking of this descent into darkness, I dreaded opening my assigned selection of second graders’ stories, essays, and poems. I had agreed to comment on their award-winning work during Young Authors’ Day at the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg. What if their writing was, well, dreadful? I needn’t have worried. These kids show a surprising grasp of the art … Continue reading →

Back to My Roots in Kirksville

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Can you go home again? I’m going back to my hometown Saturday, April 13, to talk about the origins of my new mystery, Show Me the Murder, and visit from 2-4 p.m. with old and new friends at the Hastings, 1800 North Baltimore, 2-4 p.m. More to the point: Can a writer ever really leave home? Wherever I go, I carry my past with me. An unreliable memory may alter and even delete parts of it, but the essence of life experiences remains. No period affects us as much as our early years when we see things for the first … Continue reading →

Book Launch at Columbia Books 2 p.m., March 17

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“Made it.” Those words open Show Me the Murder. The protagonist, a former CIA covert operative, expresses her relief at reaching the sanctuary of her hometown in northern Missouri after surviving a shooting in the Istanbul spice bazaar. Those words also express my relief that the book, my first published mystery novel, finally is coming to library and store shelves. People will read it for entertainment rather than evaluation. I invite anyone interested to come celebrate with me at my book launch party at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 17, Columbia Books, 1907 Gordon Street, Columbia, Missouri (off Old 63 North just … Continue reading →

Schedule of Events: March-June 2013

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Book Launch Party: 2 p.m., Sunday, March 17 Columbia Books, 1907 Gordon Street, Columbia, Missouri Reading and discussion Open to all Young Authors’ Day: 9:30 a.m., Saturday, April 20 University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg Comments on second graders’ prize-winning work and a writing exercise The writers and their families Missouri Writers’ Guild Conference: Friday-Saturday, April 26-27 Sheraton Westport Hotel Lakeside Chalet, St. Louis Book signing, 4 p.m. Friday, 11:45 a.m., Saturday Annual regional writers’ conference Malice Domestic: Friday-Sunday, May 3-5 Bethesda, Maryland Malice-Go-Round, 10 a.m., Friday Panel discussion on loveable sidekicks, 9:45 a.m., Sunday Signing, 10:45 a.m., Sunday National conference … Continue reading →

Reviewer Calls Characters Appealing, Story Compelling

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Dozens of editors and publishers have rejected my nonfiction and (especially) fiction manuscripts over the years, so forgive me if I report some reassuring praise. In the February issue of Gumshoe Review Magazine of Mystery Literature, reviewer Verna Suit ended her review of Show Me the Murder with, “Phoenix is a can-do heroine and all three of the women are appealing characters. The reader cheers when Annalynn steps up to take control of her life. Plot and setting are convincing and the compelling story keeps one reading. I look forward to finding out what the future has in store for … Continue reading →

My Next Big Thing Blog Hop

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Week 32 is my stop on a blog hop set up to help readers discover authors new to them. On each stop, you’ll find an author’s answers to 10 questions about a book or a work in progress and links to three to five other authors. We include behind-the-screen tidbits about why we write and how we choose titles, characters, plots, themes, etc. My thanks to fellow author Thomas Kaufman for inviting me to participate in this event. To learn more about him and his work, click on this link:  http://thomaskaufman.com. Here are my answers to the questions of the … Continue reading →

Kirkus Reviews Show Me the Murder

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The first review of Show Me the Murder came from Kirkus Reviews, the venerable magazine that carries pre-publication reviews. The reviewer sums up by writing, “The first in Mulford’s planned series explores the unsettling rise of crime in rural areas and provides an amusing and touching look at the reunited gal pals.” The magazine reviewed 17 mysteries and 258 other books in the issue. You can read the entire review of Show Me the Murder on the website ((http://www.kirkusreviews.com/search/?q=Show+Me+the+Murder) or on page 33 of the January 1, 2013, issue (Vol. LXXXI, No.1). The book will be released February 15, 2013.

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