Vacationing with Jane Austen

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I first read Pride and Prejudice in ninth grade. I didn’t understand it, and her humor went right by me. I read it again in an English Lit class in college and loved it. Every few years I reread P&P, delighting in Jane Austen’s wry wit. I also have read her other five novels at least once, most of them fifteen years ago as I was planning a trip to England. I particularly enjoyed visiting Austen-related places in Bath and her last home in Chawton, where the small table at which she worked still sits by the window. Last year … Continue reading →

My 2018 Novel Work Plan

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On this day of hope, I like to plan my writing agenda for the coming year. January is prime writing time. The weather discourages me from going out, and the lack of distractions encourages creativity. I also sleep better snuggled under layers of covers. Tomorrow I stop thinking about the second book in my new mystery series at random moments and start serious work on it. The book, which takes place at a storytelling festival, will consume much of my work time the rest of the year. By the end of February, I expect to have completed a solid draft … Continue reading →

When Your Publisher Closes

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The publisher of Thunder Beneath My Feet is closing shop December 31, 2017. Both the e-book and print editions will disappear from online bookstores. In 2018, my garage will hold most of the remaining copies of my novel about the devastating New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. Many writers face this problem. Small publishers often go out of business after a few years of struggle. Big ones discontinue imprints that don’t meet sales targets. One friend’s mystery won an Agatha a couple of days after she heard her big-name publisher was abandoning the imprint. Another friend has seen three of her … Continue reading →

1811: Earthquakes Flood Little Prairie

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The first earthquake threw the 150 or so residents of Little Prairie out of their beds. The ground roared, moaned, and rumbled. Strange lights flashed from the earth. A dense vapor blacked out the stars. Thus, at 2:30 a.m. December 16, 1811, began the New Madrid earthquakes, some of the most powerful and far reaching quakes ever experienced in North America. Three major earthquakes, several aftershocks almost as powerful, and at least 1,800 notable tremors terrified the region and disturbed sleep as far away as Quebec over the next three months. The little Mississippi River frontier village lay near the … Continue reading →

Prime Promotion Season Ends

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Part of a novelist’s job is promoting, and promotion took more time than usual this fall. After all, the approach of winter was a good time to talk about my last book, Show Me the Sinister Snowman. Reminder: Still time to buy a copy as a Christmas gift. Most of my promotion is more subtle than that. For example, in October I took a mental vacation from being an author and prepared a lecture on novels that have had an impact on society for the local Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Naturally I gave attendees an opportunity to buy copies of … Continue reading →

Great ShakeOut Falls on October 19

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More than 52 million people—students, hospital workers, business employees, etc.—will take part in International Shakeout Day Thursday, October 19, 2017. In the United States, the Great Shakeout earthquake drills start at 10:19 a.m. Well over 2 million of the 18 million Americans learning how to react to quakes live in the large New Madrid Seismic Zone. There three of the nation’s most powerful earthquakes, plus some 2,000 aftershocks, took place in 1811-1812. But you know that if you’ve read Thunder Beneath My Feet. Keep in mind three basic steps when an earthquake begins. Drop onto your hands and knees so … Continue reading →

Reunions and Life Stories

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Last weekend I attended my 60th Kirksville Senior High School reunion. There I found myself surrounded by joyful former classmates and a rich tapestry of life stories. This three-day reunion reminded me that one source of ideas for my Show Me mysteries was our surprisingly happy 45th reunion. Interactions with old friends made such a deep impression that they influenced me a couple of years later when I began developing the ongoing characters for my series. I created three women who grew up together, led very different lives, and reunited in the hometown as each faces a personal crisis. The … Continue reading →

Tecumseh Predicted 1806 Eclipse

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Researching Thunder Beneath My Feet, I discovered that Tecumseh, the renowned Shawnee war chief, had predicted the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812. Some laughed at him, but others listened because he and his brother Tenskwatawa, known as the Prophet, had predicted the eclipse of June 16, 1806. Here’s a short, simple version of a long, complicated true story.   Fighting American Expansion The original 13 colonies quickly expanded westward into Native American lands, destroying villages and crops as they went. President Thomas Jefferson appointed William Henry Harrison governor of the Indiana Territory, home of the Shawnees and other Native American … Continue reading →

Reviewers Recommend Sinister Snowman

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Despite the winter setting, Show Me the Sinister Snowman found favor with reviewers in July. Librarians and those who request they add books to their collections should note Midwest Book Review’s recommendation. The reviewer says that “dedicated mystery buffs will appreciate the deftly crafted characters, as well as the unexpected plot-driven twists, turns and surprises.… very highly recommended, especially for community library Mystery/Suspense collections.” To read the full review, go to the July 2017 issue’s “Mystery/Suspense Shelf” at http://www.midwestbookreview.com/sbw/jul_17.htm. Another reviewer, the Pople Backyard Farm Blog, names Sinister Snowman one of its Best Reads for Summer 2017. Comments include, “Grab … Continue reading →

Achilles Tells the Tale

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Every dog gets his day, and today belongs to Achilles. This time he, not Phoenix Smith, narrates the story of how he found the clue that led her to investigate a congressman’s “accidental” death in Show Me the Sinister Snowman. He tells his tale in a diary entry on book advocate Dru Ann Love’s Raven award-winning Dru’s Book Musings. For several years Dru has invited mystery writers to mark the release of a new book by writing a “A day in the life” post about the book’s protagonist or another character. I wrote about Phoenix’s day for earlier releases, so … Continue reading →

Celebrating Show Me the Sinister Snowman

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Readers will join me in celebrating the publication of Show Me the Sinister Snowman at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Saturday, May 20, at Columbia Books, 1907 Gordon Street, Columbia, MO. Today I’ve been thinking about what to say to them between their browsing among the new and antiquarian books and nibbling on refreshments. Sinister Snowman is the fifth book in the series, so most people there will have read at least one of the books. What do they want to know about the series and the new book? Beats me, but those who come to these book launches always ask lots … Continue reading →

Guest Post: Judy Hogan on Grace: A China Diary, 1910-16

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A North Carolina author, teacher, and activist, Judy Hogan has written everything from mysteries to poetry to memoir. (For more about her and her work, visit http://judyhogan.home.mindspring.com.) Even so, editing and annotating her grandparents’ diary evoked emotions her other books didn’t. She tells us why she worked so hard to pull together information on their life in China.   Probably the most important event of my life was going to Russia in 1990 as part of a Sister Cities of Durham Russia writer exchange program, and all the experiences that followed from it, with many visits and mutual publishing projects. … Continue reading →