So, I am a PBS fanatic—If I could magically become the lady on the Masterpiece Mystery lead-in who faints on the tombstone with a faint “oooo,” I would do it! Recently, I watched Magpie Murders with enjoyment and went in search of more by the author, Anthony Horowitz. Close to Death did not disappoint. Like Magpie Murders, the timeline in Close to Death is not standard. You’ll need to pay attention to the cues. Not that the book is confusing—not […]
Mystery
8 posts
Any book with ‘Corpse’ in the title is going to be A-OK with me. And my Novel Magic guest, Lori Pollard-Johnson, spins a tale with a hidden body and a couple of BFFS who need to get to the bottom of a mystery. Women, Friendships, and Home Renovation I’m often asked where I get my story ideas from, and my answer is always the same: people. I meet someone intriguing, or observe someone behaving outside the norm, and a […]
My Novel Magic Guest today writes cozy mysteries–Golden Retriever Mysteries. Read on to find out how his own wedding may have provided inspiration for Blessing of the Dogs–the latest in the series. Wedding Mishaps by Neil Plakcy Your wedding can be one of the most important days in your life. But even with lots of planning, you can still run into trouble. While my own wedding wasn’t an emergency, it did have to happen pretty quickly. My husband and I […]
Today’s post is part of a Goddess Fish Promotions Tour. The author is offering a $10 Gift Card as a prize–Enter below–and visit all the stops on the tour to increase your chances of winning. Witches!! Tarot!! Folk Magic!! What’s not to like? I’m in love with this post! Take a look–Enter the Giveaway–Buy a copy! Researching Penn Dutch Folk Magic by Kirsten Weiss When I was a kid, my Pennsylvania Dutch father told me about having a wart removed […]
An incredibly complex task associated with writing books is determining under which categories–i.e. genres–to list them. Is it a Romance or a Thriller? It seems reductive to categorize any book in such a narrow way. Nonetheless, we must have labels, so we catalog and organize books into genres, subgenres, and sub-subgenres to help interested readers find the perfect read—and so certain giant online retailers can judge us by our genre. I’m getting ready to publish a couple more books—and update […]
Welcome to Novel Magic where we feature books in the genres we love: Fantasy–Mystery–Horror–Thrillers–and Paranormal Mayhem! Authors share insights and ideas as well as info about their books. Today, Novel Magic takes the Way-Back machine to the 1960s to talk about what it meant to be a female police officer. I’ve lived long enough to remember the days when only a few women worked as police officers. Career choices for girls in my hometown were teacher, nurse, homemaker–that’s about it. […]