Note: I will be on vacation when this blog comes out so I may not respond to comments but I will read them.
WWK--Better than ever--Look for the return of blogs by Linda Rodriguez! She's back--on 1/4. Watch for our new blogger Tammy Euliano--debuting on 1/17
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Margaret S. Hamilton's short story, "Killer Weeds," appears in the January 20 edition of Texas Gardener's Seeds: From Our Garden to Yours. Congratulations, Margaret, who, if you follow Facebook know, is a superb gardener herself!
Congratulations to Jennifer J. Chow for garnering a 2021 Lefty Nomination for Best Humorous Mystery Novel. We're crossing our fingers for Jennifer!
Congratulations to Paula Gail Benson whose "Reputation or Soul" has been chosen for Malice Domestic 16: Mystery Most Diabolical anthology to be released this spring.
KM Rockwood's "Stay Safe--Very Safe" appears in this year's 2020 BOULD anthology. Congratulations, KM!
Margaret S. Hamilton's "Dealing at the Dump" appears in Cozy Villages of Death Fall 2020.
Margaret S. Hamilton's "Black Market Baby" and Debra H. Goldstein's "Forensic Magic" appear in Masthead: Best New England Crime Stories Fall 2020.
Jennifer J. Chow's Mimi Lee Reads Between the Lines (interview on WWK on 11/11) released on November 10.
Annette Dashofy signed with agent Dawn Dowdle of the Blue Ridge Literary Agency. Congratulations, Annette!
KM Rockwood's "Secrets To The Grave" has been published in the SinC Chesapeake Chapter's new anthology Invitation To Murder, released by Wildside Press on 10/6.
Susan Van Kirk's Three May Keep A Secret has been republished by Harlequin's Worldwide Mystery. The WWK interview about the book can be accessed here. We're so glad another publisher picked up this series.
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Friday, August 31, 2012
Reading Writing and Collecting Books
Note: I will be on vacation when this blog comes out so I may not respond to comments but I will read them.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Gloria's Interview with Judy Hogan
Judy Hogan is our guest today on WWK. I first met Judy at Malice Domestic in 2009. Since that time we've become friends.

I found Judy Hogan's characters well developed. Her writing and plot kept me intrigued and wanting to read just one more chapter before going to bed. She also kept me guessing to the end on who the murderer was.
GA Your setting made me think it was an actual college. Is St. Francis based on a real college or a composite of colleges
you've attended or taught at?
JH I used some details from a black college in Raleigh, where I taught remedial English from
2004-2007. It helps in setting a scene to have a real place in mind. The events are fiction, but
the situation in which I found myself is pretty much the way it was when I began. I started
six weeks into the semester, found the students hard to motivate, and many reading at grade
school level. I was shocked they had high school diplomas, much less allowed into college.
If they were reading and writing at middle school level, I could usually get them motivated
enough to pass college-readiness tests by the end of the semester, but grade school level? It
seemed cruel to give such young people the hope of a college degree when they were bound
to fail.
GA I like your characters, especially Penny Weaver. How much of yourself is in her?
JH I use myself a lot for her, although I'm single, and Penny is happily married to a Welsh
policeman. Penny is probably both wiser and more foolish than I am. Perhaps she's how I
wish I were; always able to solve problems. However, she gets involved with murderers,
which I've avoided so far, though I tend to take emotional and financial risks. She's also
more comfortable having a roomful of people in her house. I like company sometimes, but I
thrive on time alone.
GA What plans do you have for the next book in the series?
JH I've written the next book, which takes place at a farmers' market, Farm Fresh and Fatal,
and sent it to Mainly Murder Press. Once I sell 300 copies of Killer Frost, it
will be considered for publication.
GA Many of your characters are close friends. Were there previous books with these
characters? If so, why start with this book?
JH I began my series in 1991 with The Sands of Gower. It takes place in Wales in a
bed and breakfast where Penny meets Kenneth Morgan, whom she'll marry in a
subsequent novel.Killer Frost is the sixth in the series. It was a finalist in the St.
Martin's Press Malice Domestic First Best Traditional Mystery in 2011. I'd tried the
previous ones in that contest without luck and decided to go with my strength once I was a
finalist.
GA I'd love to read those early books because I'm intrigued by the characters. Do you have
plans to get them published?
JH I'm hoping to get them into print either through a small press or Create Space once I see if
people are interested in more books about Penny Weaver and friends.
GA I know you live in North Carolina on a small farm. Tell us about that.
JH In 1998 I bought three acres and the shell of a small brick home in the village of Moncure
not far from Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. My dream for my old age was to grow
vegetables, keep chickens and own a home. My farm is tiny. On a half-acre, I have an
orchard with figs, peaches, pears and apples, chickens, vegetables and flower gardens.
Farming is good exercise; preparing the soil with a shovel, stretching to pick figs, and using
a weed eater and mower. I'm 75 and because I can't live on Social Security alone, what I
grow helps stretch my income. In the summer, I make soups, stews and spaghetti sauce to
freeze. I also can pears, applesauce, fig and pear preserves, and freeze raspberries and
blueberries for the winter. It's easy to get behind, but I get some help from a few Duke
University students, who volunteer for odd jobs, and friends who help me split wood for the
woodstove in the winter. My neighbors feed my hens when I'm away. Farming is a good
balance to writing, reading and computer work. I'm in better health than I've ever been.
GA When is your book launch and other upcoming plans?
JH My book launch will be on my farm Sept. 22; an inexpensive launch with people bringing
pot-luck dishes and contributing drinks. I'll provide bread, tea, coffee, cheese, applesauce
and fig and pear preserves. I've scheduled readings in three local libraries, three local
independent bookstores and at two farmers' markets where I'll be signing and selling.
I'm grateful I received favorable blurbs for Killer Frost's back cover from Louise
Penny, Julia Spencer-Fleming and Kaye Barley. It made a huge difference in getting
reviewers interested and bookstores and libararies wanting me to do an event.
Killer Frost is available through MainlyMurderPress.com and Amazon.com
E-books are available both at Amazon for Kindle and Barnes and Noble for Nook.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Interview with Kathleen George and Book Give-Away
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Blocked?
Monday, August 27, 2012
My First Charter Fishing Trip
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Picture provided by Mate James |
P.S. He went on a head boat (holds about 40 people) by himself the next week. Once out in the Gulf Stream, one of the engines malfunctioned. They limped home without fishing on one engine.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Life was Slower
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IBM Selectric |
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Writing Suspense
