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Carolyn Mulford

Carolyn Mulford

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  • Show Me Mysteries
    • Series Overview
    • Show Me The Murder
      • Show Me the Murder Chapter One
      • Discussion Topics for Show Me The Murder
      • Ordering Information
      • Excerpts from Reviews
    • Show Me the Deadly Deer
      • Show Me the Deadly Deer: Chapter One
      • Discussion Topics for Show Me The Deadly Deer
      • Ordering Information
      • Excerpts from Reviews
    • Show Me the Gold
      • Show Me the Gold Chapter One
      • Show Me the Gold Discussion Questions
      • Ordering Information
      • Reviews
    • Show Me the Ashes
      • Show Me the Ashes: Chapter One
      • Show Me the Ashes: Discussion Topics
      • Show Me the Ashes: Ordering Information
    • Show Me the Sinister Snowman
      • Show Me the Sinister Snowman – Chapter One
      • Show Me the Sinister Snowman: Discussion Questions
      • Show Me the Sinister Snowman: Order Information
    • Talks and Workshops
    • Blog: Writing Mysteries
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  • The Feedsack Dress
    • The Feedsack Dress
    • Ordering Information
    • Historical Background
    • Chapter 1: The Feedsack Dress
    • Discussion Topics for Students
    • Discussion Topics for Book Groups
    • The Feedsack Dress Blog
  • Thunder Beneath My Feet
    • Thunder Beneath My Feet
    • Ordering Information
    • Historical Background
    • Chapter One: Thunder Beneath My Feet
    • Suggestions for Students
    • Discussion Topics for Book Groups
    • Blog: Historicals
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    • Short Stories
      • “An Aura of Death”
      • “Crossing the Bridge”
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Library Journal and Gumshoe Like Show Me the Gold

Carolyn Mulford Posted on December 8, 2014 by CarolynDecember 15, 2014

One of the most important reviews for any author comes from the Library Journal. With Show Me the Gold to be released December 17, I started searching for the review, only to discover it came out October 1, 2014. I’d missed two months of feeling good. The reviewer, librarian Viccy Kemp, put Phoenix Smith in the company of three of my favorite mystery protagonists: Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone, Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone, and J. A. Jance’s Joanna Brady. Those three writers pioneered in introducing intelligent, tough female investigators. Here’s the review: “Ex-spy Phoenix Smith and Sheriff Annalynn Keyser respond to … Continue reading →

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

“Aura of Death” Published in That Mysterious Woman

Carolyn Mulford Posted on December 5, 2014 by CarolynDecember 11, 2014

Experience has taught Jessica to keep secret her ability to see character-revealing auras. When an inexplicable cloud over a murder victim’s grave leads her to a killer, her unusual perceptions pose a dilemma and place her in danger. I tell this tale in “An Aura of Death,” one of 27 short stories that appear in That Mysterious Woman, a new Shaker of Margaritas anthology published by Mozark Press in paperback and e-book editions (available on Amazon). Among the other writers are Paula Benson, E. B. Davis, Sharon Woods Hopkins, Edith Maxwell, Harriet Sackler, and Donna Volkenaant. The writers come from … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Media Materials, News, Short Fiction

Kirkus Praises Show Me the Gold

Carolyn Mulford Posted on November 13, 2014 by CarolynDecember 15, 2014

“Mulford confronts her troupe of reluctant crime solvers with plenty of action and a few surprises.” So ends Kirkus Reviews’ 300-word review of Show Me the Gold, the third mystery in my Show Me series. Five Star/Gale, Cengage releases the hardback and e-book editions December 17. As usual, Kirkus is the first pre-publication reviewer. The publisher sends paperback uncorrected proofs (often called advanced reader copies—ARCs) to national review publications three to four months before the release date. I send out copies to my own list, which consists mostly of bloggers and newsletters. Few newspapers today carry staff-written book reviews. The … Continue reading →

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

Show Me the Gold Giveaway on Goodreads

Carolyn Mulford Posted on October 18, 2014 by CarolynDecember 15, 2014

Want a chance to win an advance copy of Show Me the Gold?  I’m offering five copies on Goodreads.com from now until November 29. If you’re not a member of this huge site for readers, you’ll have to join (pretty simple) before you can sign up for the giveaway. If you’re already a member, go to https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22945313-show-me-the-gold. The third book in my series, Show Me the Gold will be released in hardback and e-book December 17. You can read chapter one and a summary on this site (go to Show Me Mysteries). —Carolyn Mulford

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Posted in News, Show Me Series

What I Learned in the Peace Corps

Carolyn Mulford Posted on October 18, 2014 by CarolynOctober 18, 2014

To take part in a panel on the Peace Corps Then and Now, I had to think about the lessons I learned during my two years teaching English in Ethiopia. In doing so, I realized that the experience affected not only my attitudes and interests but also the jobs I held in the years after that and the fiction I’m writing today. In September1962, the Peace Corps responded to Emperor Haile Selassie’s request for secondary teachers by sending in 275 volunteers. We doubled Ethiopia’s secondary faculty. I taught eleventh grade English at the only high school in the mountainous Wollo … Continue reading →

Posted in News

High Season for Sexual Assault on Campuses

Carolyn Mulford Posted on October 17, 2014 by CarolynOctober 17, 2014

Fall is high season for rape on college campuses because new students haven’t yet learned their geographical and social way, but sexual violence and harassment last all year. Recent events have raised awareness of the severity of the problem locally and nationally, so my branch of the American Association of University Women scheduled the topic for its October program. I “volunteered” to moderate it, and I’m sharing my preparatory notes here. One in five women suffer rape in their lifetime. Almost 80% of those victims are raped before the age of 25, and 40% before the age of 18. Senator … Continue reading →

Posted in News

The Fun Starts Before the Writing Begins

Carolyn Mulford Posted on September 21, 2014 by CarolynSeptember 21, 2014

This is part of the September 2014 Sisters in Crime (SinC) Blog Hop. Authors answer one of several questions. I chose to write about what part of the writing process I enjoy most. The writing process breaks into three parts: coming up with the idea, writing the first draft, and revising until ready for readers. Each part of the process delights and frustrates me because each one stimulates a different part of my intellect and emotions. For plain old fun and excitement, though, nothing beats that first step of choosing a story’s building blocks—usually who, what, and where. Any of the three … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Tools, Mysteries, Mysterious Ways, News, Show Me Series, Writing

Harlequin Will Publish My First Mystery in Paperback

Carolyn Mulford Posted on September 20, 2014 by CarolynSeptember 20, 2014

Harlequin Worldwide Mystery has acquired the right to publish the mass market paperback edition of Show Me the Murder. The first book in my mysteries series, Murder came out in hardback in February 2013 and as an e-book in August 2013. Harlequin hasn’t set a release date, but the paperback probably will come out in mid or late 2015. The words will be the same, but the cover will be new. Harlequin Worldwide Mystery issues a number of paperback reprints each month, and many of those books are sold to subscribers to its club (http://www.book-club-offers.com/worldwide-mystery/). Why didn’t the original publisher … Continue reading →

Posted in Media Materials, Mysteries, News, News releases, Show Me Series

Jumpstarting the Stalled Plot

Carolyn Mulford Posted on September 2, 2014 by CarolynSeptember 2, 2014

Like most authors, I spend a lot of time and energy on the opening chapters. That’s where we hook the reader with a mix of plot, character, setting, and tone. The opening presents the greatest writing challenge. It’s also offers the most fun. A lot of books founder after that sterling opening. For me, the trickiest part of a manuscript often comes when my protagonist, former CIA covert operative Phoenix Smith, starts gathering information and identifying suspects. She’s learning about the case, and research can slow the pace. If pages contain lots of dialogue and little action, the mystery reader … Continue reading →

Posted in Mysteries, News, Show Me Series

My School Wardrobe

Carolyn Mulford Posted on July 30, 2014 by CarolynJuly 30, 2014

With school opening in about three weeks, the newspapers are full of ads of school clothing. In the mid-20th century, school kids had far fewer clothes, but we country kids started planning our wardrobes in the spring.  We had to. That’s when we began collecting the colorful cotton feedsacks that we would turn into blouses, skirts, dresses, and shirts. The process began with the arrival of cartoon-cute baby chickens. The chicks lived in a sweltering brooder house, and you had to check the heat, water, and feed frequently. When you bought the feed, you picked out the prettiest sacks and … Continue reading →

Posted in News

“Show Me” Books Win Awards

Carolyn Mulford Posted on April 14, 2014 by CarolynApril 14, 2014

The Missouri Writers’ Guild presented the Walter Williams Major Work Award to me April 12 for Show Me the Murder. The presentation took place during the Guild’s 99th annual conference. The Guild president noted that a nonfiction book usually receives this award. The award goes to a publication or production judged “to be worthy of special recognition because of the research or high literary quality involved in its creation.” The award held special significance for me because Williams founded not only the Guild but also the University of Missouri School of Journalism, my alma mater. Show Me the Deadly Deer, … Continue reading →

Posted in News, News releases, Show Me Series

Reviews of Show Me the Deadly Deer

Carolyn Mulford Posted on April 11, 2014 by CarolynApril 11, 2014

Below are excerpts of reviews of Show Me the Deadly Deer with links to the full reviews.  Kirkus Reviews, November 15, 2013 “Small-town Missouri again proves almost as dangerous to a former CIA agent as European back alleys. Mulford’s second provides plenty of excitement as readers wend their ways through a slew of suspects.” https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/carolyn-mulford/show-me-deadly-deer/   St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 21, 2013 “Mulford’s depiction of north-central Missouri will surely displease many people who live there. … raising the rural region’s murder rate close to that of St. Louis. Still, the local color can be colorful indeed.”  —Harry Levins http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/reviews/show-me-roundup-seven-books-with-missouri-ties/article_43e015e4-16c3-5232-b6c1-7a02749ce519.html   … Continue reading →

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

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Latest Postings


Creating a Canine Character

Carolyn Mulford Posted on August 28, 2025 by CarolynAugust 28, 2025

To help a friend worrying about “interviewing” pets for a community newsletter, I dug up my old guest blog for Wicked Cozy Writers on portraying a dog as a supporting character. Here’s an adaptation. Planning Show Me the Murder, I spent weeks envisioning three old friends reunited in their hometown: Phoenix, a wounded former CIA operative; Annalynn, a do-gooder whose husband died in a sleazy motel; and Connie, a struggling singer/music teacher. Mid book, a Belgian Malinois named Achilles popped up as a plot point—the only witness to a crime. Phoenix finds him shot, starved, and tied to a tree. … Continue reading →

Posted in Mysteries, Show Me Series, Writing

Celebrating July 4th by Making Ice Cream

Carolyn Mulford Posted on July 3, 2025 by CarolynJuly 3, 2025

In the 19040s, we celebrated July 4th by making ice cream. My mother saved extra milk, cream, and eggs to mix and heat with the junket, sugar, and vanilla.  She started soon after breakfast because the mix needed to set. Meanwhile my father cleaned up the green-painted wood freezer keg, and my younger sister and I brought a panful of cattle salt from the barn. Then the three of us took the pickup to the ice house in town to buy a 50-pound block of ice. My father used ice tongs to carry the ice to the pickup and, once … Continue reading →

Posted in Historicals, The Feedsack Dress, Young Adult

4-H and Sewing in the 1940s

Carolyn Mulford Posted on June 30, 2025 by CarolynJune 30, 2025

4-H came to my rural community about two years after World War II ended. We had no other youth organizations available, so 4-H, led by two wonderful (female and male) county Extension agents, made a huge impact on us children—and our parents. As I recall, the whole community met at New Hope School (grades one through eight) to hear the agents describe the program and recruit adult volunteers to lead projects teaching practical skills ranging from sewing to raising calves. Then all the dozen or so kids nine or older signed up, elected officers (an unfamiliar task), and took the … Continue reading →

Posted in Historicals, The Feedsack Dress

I Am a River

Carolyn Mulford Posted on April 19, 2025 by CarolynApril 19, 2025

Each week I lunch with a group of friends and discuss a topic. Last time the coordinator posed this question: What is the shape of your life? The answers included a rectangle, a vase, a cloud, and an octagon. Usually I wing it, but this time I wrote my response. The Shape of My Life I am a river, Birthed in a puddle, Nourished by rain, Pushed to overflow And grow broader And deeper.   Springs and creeks fed my flow. Widening waters gathered force, Thrusting me against unyielding barriers And cascading me over rocky falls.   Other streams joined … Continue reading →

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Where to Find My Books

Carolyn Mulford Posted on April 1, 2025 by CarolynApril 1, 2025

While only one of my books, Show Me the Sinister Snowman, continues to be published in print and electronic editions, several of my novels are available from online sellers. Most of the copies are used, but columbiabooksonline.com, my supportive local bookstore, has a small stock of new Show Me hardbacks and paperbacks. I also have a few copies of all my novels except The Feedsack Dress, my historical children’s book, and Show Me the Murder, the first in my mystery series featuring a former spy returning   home and solving crimes with old friends. Fortunately e-editions still exist. Barnes and Noble … Continue reading →

Posted in Mysteries, The Feedsack Dress, Uncategorized

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