An Interview With Tammy Barker

by Grace Topping

In recent years, if you have attended Malice Domestic, a gathering of fans and writers of traditional mysteries held each spring in Bethesda, Maryland, you may have met Tammy Barker. An enthusiastic supporter of mystery authors, Tammy attended author panels, wearing her sleuth-like fedora, and handed out treats to the authors she met. After attending Malice for several years, the writing bug bit, and Tammy challenged herself to join the ranks of mystery-writing authors. It took years of hard work learning the craft of fiction writing and developing a mystery novel, but her efforts have finally paid off. Her debut novel, Call In For Murder, was recently released, much to the delight of the authors who have cheered her on at Malice. It is a pleasure to interview Tammy about her first book. 

 

Call In For Murder

Call-in radio host Ashley Compton is Las Vegas’s best friend when it comes to giving relationship tips to strangers. But when a repeat caller is found murdered after exposing her woes on the air and accepting the challenge to put up or shut up, Ashley questions if her homespun advice was the catalyst for the murder.

Afraid of losing her job and destroying her reputation, Ashley heads to the seedy side of Las Vegas to snoop around. There she encounters shady dealings: lies, gambling, adultery, and potential criminal activities. When her two-timing and felonious suspects spout glib excuses to justify their behaviors, she digs deeper and is threatened, injured, and gets what she dishes out: advice she doesn’t always like.

Can Ashley’s sleuthing skills catch the killer, or will she end up just another crime statistic? Can she save her career, or will she be put on the Do-Not-Call list?

                                                                                    www.amazon.com

 

 

Welcome to Writers Who Kill, Tammy. Congratulations on the publication of your debut novel, Call In for Murder.

 

Thank you very much, Grace. I’m excited to be here with all the murder experts.

 

Ashley Compton, your main character, works for a call-in radio show giving relationship tips to strangers. Does Ashley need to have any special qualifications to give advice, especially when her advice to one caller could have resulted in her being murdered?

 

That’s a great question. When I started, I did my research. Many people on the air and in print don’t have the qualifications to give professional advice. Even lawyers and doctors might have that disclaimer “This article/show is for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute professional advice. Consult with a professional who can assess your situation.” As long as Ashley doesn’t say she’s a professional, she should be safe, unless someone wants to take things to a whole ‘nother level. That’s why she’s called Miss LARE, instead of that 90s movie where Dolly Parton was called Doctor Shirlee. Ashley doesn’t want people to know she’s not a professional, because they might not listen to her. But the way she gives advice, she wouldn’t be fooling anyone.

 

When Ashley begins to track down the caller’s killer, she is remarkably brave—even challenging a casino owner who could possibly be connected to the mob. Are you anything like Ashley?

 

I don’t know if Ashley is brave or goes with her gut, reacting before she thinks. I believe it’s the latter. And yes, I’m like Ashley there. I pulled overnight security at a high-rise apartment building, and once someone called in a domestic dispute. I immediately went upstairs to diffuse the situation without calling the cops first. It was my job. And there was the time I was held at gunpoint, tried to protect the other customers, and gave an accurate description of the two perpetrators. They were caught two weeks later doing it again, and my description was exactly what the pictures showed. I don’t think I’m brave, I just do what I need to do.

 

What inspired you to set your mystery in Las Vegas? From your descriptions of Vegas, it sounds like you know the place well.

 

I wanted a mystery involving the mob and gambling because of my absurd fascination with it. I originally had the idea of Atlantic City. Did you know AC was originally supposed to be a spa and health resort for the wealthy? But the more I tried to design the story, the more I realized AC wouldn’t fit. And since I have an affinity for the old crooners and Elvis and Manilow, I thought of Las Vegas. I visited it several times, conducted interviews, watched people, took pictures, took odd tours, grabbed maps and books about the history and the parts of Vegas people don’t know. That’s why I have a Las Vegas secret tidbit in my monthly newsletter. I want readers to know Las Vegas like I do.

 

You write about the older or seedy side of Vegas, which sounds a lot different than the glitzy strip of famous hotels most people think of as being Vegas. Did you visit the older side to do research? Do you recommend visiting that side?

 

The Strip is glamorous, Downtown is a bit slummier, and off the strip can be sketchy, but there can be danger in every town. Yes, I visited the older parts because I didn’t want a murder set on the Strip. I wanted it to be “locally”, not “touristy.” I researched so I knew where I was going beforehand, and someone always knew where I was. Going to the older parts of town, or at least off the main drags is interesting. That’s where I got the feeling for what the locals were like, because I believe there can be such fakeness on the Strip and Freemont Street. Check the unknown places out if you want, act like you belong there, and don’t go anywhere after dark by yourself. You’ll be fine.

 

Everyone should be so lucky to have a friend like Nathan. What is it about Nathan that makes him stick to Ashley, even when she doesn’t always heed his advice?

 

Poor Nathan. He considers Ashley his pet project. He knows her life, even what’s not in the story. They met when she first moved to town, and he was nosy about L.A. He may not understand, but he’s there for her. In his eyes they are “friend soul mates,” if that is a thing, even if she doesn’t always listen to his advice. She is a control freak like me. He got her the radio show job interview because of his connections, and her advice helped him in the past. He feels like he “owes her.” He’s a romantic at heart, so he would never give up on his project. 

 

In an interesting subplot, Ashley’s ex-fiancé Frank relentlessly pursues her, even when she is quite firm that she doesn’t want anything more to do with him. Why won’t Frank take no for an answer, especially since he was unfaithful to her to begin with?

 

When I created Frank, I was using my past. Someone not as goodlooking as Frank but had the same attitude. Frank thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips. He doesn’t take no for an answer because he dumps women, they don’t dump him. Plus, there are people who think being unfaithful is okay. He’s the kind of person who always wants what he can’t have. He can’t have Ashley, so he must win her back. Will he keep trying? Is he falling for her because she’s elusive? Will I kill him off in a later story? Right now, I have no clue.

 

You have been attending Malice Domestic for years. What came first, your interest in Malice as a mystery fan, or your desire to write mysteries? Did Malice inspire you to start writing?

 

I went to Malice for the first time in 2005 when I saw someone walking around with a prior year’s bag and asked about it. I had never even thought about writing anything for real. I’d always liked writing reports in school, but fiction writing was never in my mind. After a couple of years, I started asking myself what if I tried to write a mystery, just to see if I could do it? I messed around with the idea for several years before I started in earnest. Then it took several more years before I became serious. But the short answer is yes, Malice and subsequently Nanowrimo (National November Writing Month) is what got my writing started.

 

Will you be participating on panels at the next Malice?

I have volunteered to be on a panel in April (as well as any other opportunities they offer self-published authors); it just depends on if they have one that would be a good fit for me. I would love it. Or maybe they will make me a moderator, which will be a lot of homework to do fast so that I do the authors justice. And depending on the panel, will a fedora (my signature look) work?

 

Absolutely. You wouldn’t be the same without it. 

 

After years of working on your manuscript, you found an agent who was excited about your work. Did her unexpected passing inspire you to take publication of your book into your own hands?

 

I was very excited when Dawn Doddle offered me representation. She was at the top of my list for boutique agents. We were ready to send the manuscript to publishing houses when she passed. I tried getting another agent, but it wasn’t the same as with Dawn. When my husband got sick last year, I decided to take the bull by the horns and self-publish. Dawn is always on my mind, and I contacted her daughter to ask if Dawn would be disappointed if I self-published. I was given the green light and went for it.

 

As an accountant, I would imagine that you deal with a lot of structure. Did you bring that structure to your story and know where it was going, or did you write it by the seat of your pants?

 

Accounting is done by planning because of all the rules. There is a structure, and one must make sure the numbers are understood. The opposite end, the auditing, is like solving a mystery, with clues and/or red herrings to tell an auditor if something looks out of place; what we call “creative bookkeeping.” I never made the correlation in real time before you asked me this question. Accountants are organized, and yes, it does come through in my writing. I create detailed settings, characters dossiers, and a list of necessary and potential scenes before I write a single word. But that doesn’t mean I don’t veer from my plan, which I do often enough. There is a scene in book two that shocked me at the end of writing it, because I had not planned it at all.

 

What’s next for Ashley?

 

I am in the process of revising book two in the series, which I plan to release in October 2026. In this one, Ashley’s hit a little closer to home, because she personally knows the main suspect. It’s Nathan being accused of murder. The theme for this book is fashion and keeping your social ranking and appearance in Las Vegas. Ashley has to deal with a secret at work and is asked to help another friend with sleuthing to get a promotion. She’s going to be a busy gal in book two.

 

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned since you started writing?

 

I learned two important things, if I may. #1 Writing is not a solitary journey, you must network. Yes, writing by yourself is the norm, but the process is not done alone. You need to ask people advice on stuff you know nothing about, use sounding boards for ideas and solving problems, accept encouragement to keep trying, and have professionals do what you can’t (such as editing or cover art). Networking is key.

 

 #2 Finish the book!

 

Thank you, Tammy. I look forward to reading book two.

 

 

Bio: Tammy Barker is a serious, by-the-book Washington, DC government accountant by day and a wildly imaginative fiction writer by night. She writes contemporary traditional amateur sleuth mystery novels and historical pulp fiction short stories. Her other loves include reading anything, restoring or refurbishing vintage items, small home repairs, cooking and baking, classical piano, and wishing she lived during the 1940s and 1950s. You can find her website at tammybarkerwriter.com, where you can learn more about her writing ideas, and get to know Miss LARE a bit better by reading her advice.

 

 

Grace Topping is the USA Today bestselling author and Agatha Award finalist of the Laura Bishop Mystery Series. 

The Sweet Excess of NOLA's Mardi Gras Carnival Season by Martha Reed

As a child growing up in the American Midwest (Ohio and Kansas) I considered the Christmas holiday season to be the festive highlight of my year. Christmas week leading into New Year’s Day still wipes me out with seeing the out-of-town relatives and the newcomers, catching up on their latest happenings, and getting the spreads ready for the get-togethers, the football game halftime shows, and the special holiday cocktail parties. But since I’ve started writing my New Orleans Mystery series and researching NOLA culture, I’ve come to realize that for hardcore New Orleanians, Christmas is just a pre-game warmup. NOLA's Carnival season begins on January 6th, AKA Twelfth Night, the last night of the twelve days of Christmas, and then it runs for 43 more days until Fat Tuesday (AKA Mardi Gras), February 17th, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

Yikes! I am a rank partying amateur. These NOLA folks are professional caliber party animals.

Twelfth Night is important because it's the day the Christmas holiday decorations and trees are taken down and New Orleanians traditionally start hunting for an iced King Cake.

What’s a King Cake, you ask? It’s only the carbohydrate version of crack cocaine. Once you try a slice, you will annually crave it. (Trust me on this.) Fashioned from a ring of slightly sweet brioche dough, a King Cake is iced with vanilla glaze or frosting and gold, purple, and green sprinkles. It also features (or hides) a plastic Baby Jesus figurine. Tradition holds that whoever gets the slice with Baby Jesus on it (or in it) needs to treat their friends to the King Cake the following year.

And since NOLA is ground zero for traditional superstitions, it’s also important – once you slice into the King Cake to keep the same knife in the box for good luck until the entire cake is gone. This last item may just be lazy housekeeping – there’s so much sugar in the frosting there’s no way any germs could get into it and otherwise you’ll just keep unnecessarily dirtying knives as you keep returning time and again for one final slice. (Trust me again on this.)

Between beignets and King Cake, NOLA is out to get you.

Also during Carnival, Mardi Gras parades roll through the streets featuring elaborate floats hosted by social clubs called krewes. Some krewes like the Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club go back to Carnival’s very beginning. Participants in this krewe are famously known for tossing prized beaded necklaces, fake gold doubloons, and plastic coconuts into the crowds lining the sidewalks. Some krewes, like the Krewe of Tucks, irreverently throw jeweled toilet brushes.

I’ve even invented a krewe of my own – Krewdio-54 whose members are disco music devotees. Laissez les bons temps rouler! I suspect that in my next NOLA Mystery this group will be parading down St. Charles Street dancing to Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer while on roller skates.

Have you visited New Orleans during Carnival/Mardi Gras? What was your experience like?

Cold and Ice by Nancy L. Eady

If every television, computer, tablet, and cell phone in your house stopped working last week, you may have missed the giant winter storm that slid through a good portion of the United States Friday and Saturday. When I looked at the watches and warnings for the Deep South on Thursday and Friday, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia were awash with colors showing the possibility of ice and snow. Yet Alabama, smack dab in the middle of those three states, stayed colorless. A low from the Gulf of Mexico centered itself in such a way that warm moisture from the Gulf staved off the worst of the storm for us, although it gifted us with a ton of rain both Saturday and Sunday. The downpour stopped about 3:30 Sunday afternoon.

Even the Gulf low, however, couldn't stave off the Arctic weather we are experiencing now.  By the time the downpour stopped on Sunday, the temperatures were already nose-diving from the earlier high of 53.  Sunday night's low was 18, and Monday night's is going to be even worse, at 12. In a state where a “normal” winter low is between 30 and 50 degrees, such low temperatures shock all of our systems. 

The cold is bad enough on its own, but none of the water left by the rain Sunday afternoon had a chance to run off the roadways into the ditches before the temperature dropped below freezing, so our roads are going to be nightmares today, Monday. Since the temperature today is only expected to reach 33, the ice may not start melting until Tuesday. In a state where a single reported snowflake triggers a wave of closings, ice on the road is deadly. People down here don’t know how to watch for it, how to drive on it, or how to avoid it.

The only upside to the way this storm came through is that we avoided ice accumulations on the trees and power lines. I plan to hunker down until tomorrow, when hopefully it warms up enough to clear the roads. 

There is, as always, at least one silver lining. Even if the roads ice over from the standing water, we have power.  I can use at least some of the time I spend huddling in my house working on my writing. I am looking forward to it. Now I have to settle the debate on whether to work on revising a finished draft or adding new words to the current WIP. I’ll probably just flip a coin to decide. 

Do you like to write when the weather has you cooped up indoors? If not, what is your favorite writing weather? 

Reviewers You Want to Kill by Coralee Hicks

Please welcome my dear friend, Coralee Hicks, to Writers Who Kill. This essay is the result of several long conversations she and I have had about books and reviews. ~~Annette Dashofy

Definition: 

A book review is a critical evaluation and analysis of a book that summarizes its content (plot, themes, argument, etc.) but primarily offers a reasoned assessment of its strengths, weaknesses, effectiveness, and overall quality, helping potential readers decide if the book is worthwhile. It combines description with critical commentary, analyzing the author's style, purpose, and contribution to its field, rather than just retelling the story.  

This definition comes from Google. I assume it is from AI as it didn’t cite the source. It does cover the process of reviewing, a task that I have been doing for almost all my professional life as a librarian. I believe in the purpose of reviewing and continue to post on non-professional sites like Goodreads and NetGalley. I do wonder now how important are reviews in the world of publishing in the 21st Century.  

Where does reviewing fit in writing and publishing: A Very Brief History.  

It’s part of the human condition to live and engage in the world. All art can be understood as a means to express our experience through different media, from concrete examples like painting and sculpture; to pure sound such as jazz, classical, and rock; to dance. All the muses, if you will, including the spoken and written word. Once the review is presented, a general reaction will be for others to engage and offer opinions about the event. 

Ancient texts from Greece mention commentaries on previous works. Romans analyzed and commented on scrolls written by prior historians. The strength of our knowledge of the past can be attributed to the analytical process of studying what was popular, or what was censored, in the past.  

In the West, as literacy became more universal, books, pamphlets, broadsheets, and newspapers began to flourish. By the mid-18th Century, two journals devoted to book reviews were published in England. In America, the New York Times began devoting a special section for books in 1896. However, as late as 1970, it can be said that the field of reviewing was, for the most part, reserved for white men of certain social status, who wrote reviews for other white men who belonged to the “same clubs.” 

The ferment of the 1970’s and the introduction of the World Wide Web opened the review process to any interested person. Today, a quarter way through the 21st Century, Artificial Intelligence plays a significant role in reviewing, by taking over mundane tasks such as grammar checks, print layout, and checking for similar sources. However, AI has yet to get a handle on critical thinking or nuance. To date, while AI can regurgitate text, it cannot create new concepts. 

Reviews as a marketing tool 

During most of my library career, my reviewing was secondary to the reader’s advisory part of the public service. In my public library system, there was a process for book acquisitions. All titles went through a review process that ensured the material would meet the standards of the formal library associations. Book budgets in the public sector come from tax dollars, and for this reason, material also has a process where the public has/had a right to request a review to “deselect” a title from the collection. Reviewing material was the foundation for building trust with the public. That the library was presenting the best material for the needs of all the members of the community. If a reader was looking for “something good” to read, standard questions followed, which would guide the reader to the shelves or displays that matched their interests.  

(There’s a possibility of discussing heated politics, but I don’t think this belongs in this article i.e. Freedom of Information and censorship.) 

Marketing has always used reviews as a promotional tool. Readers, who use online sources such as Goodreads or Amazon, can assume the information is reliable and choose to purchase a title. This is similar to the old “word of mouth” buzz that was used in the mid-20th century. Once a review is published, a favorable review can be used for promotional purposes. Book jackets frequently have favorable quotes from authors lauding the material. Publishers also will use other media sources to promote a book, such as podcasts. Favorable reviews will interest promoters and might lead to increased sales. In addition, advertisements that pop up online are enhanced by positive reviews that might lead the reader to a new author, which is beneficial for writers who self-publish, use indie presses, or have contracted with small presses. Lately platforms such as Patreon, Substack, and, to an extent, Facebook provide fan bases that will build a readership leading to success.  

What is a “bad” or not useful review 

Let’s focus on reviews that discuss the mystery genre. 

In my opinion, one of the top flaws is found in a review that offers spoilers rather than a simple plot synopsis. If I want to know who the perpetrator is, I should get the book and read the last chapter. Otherwise, this is cheating.  

This type of review usually comes from someone who is not really committed to writing the review. Saying “This was stupid” or “I didn’t like it” is not helpful. Saying “I was not happy when she went into the basement knowing there was a hot wire in the water,” is helpful.  

When the book is clearly identified as a sub-genre and the reviewer states otherwise, they are 

not playing fair. Saying a cozy is not blood curdling or erotic enough is missing the point for a cozy mystery.  

A reviewer who gets overly picky with the storyline isn’t helpful. Yes, in true crime stories, someone might get caught up in the details. However, fictional mysteries may be reality based but can be more fluid. What does it matter if the streets in the town do not match the actual town layout? For example, right now in Seattle, it will take more than an hour to get from point A to point B due to road construction. Unless this pertains to the plot, does the setting matter?  

A review that seems to be written by a super fan or perhaps a family member isn’t especially helpful. Very few books are “timeless,” “destined to be a best seller,” or “beloved by millions.”  

Then, there are the reviews that are simply cut and paste sections from the book jacket, which is plagiarism at best or just laziness.  

What is my personal philosophy?  

Over my years as a reviewer, I have developed a personal belief on reviewing. Now that I am retired, I limit my reviews to genres that I enjoy: mysteries, fantasy, especially fantasy mysteries, those written with a Young Adult audience, and those written by and for people of diverse backgrounds. I have chosen not to review books that I simply do not care for.  

I think every book has an audience, and the reviewer should honor this. I am committed to writing unbiased reviews. When I do encounter a plot that I find to be problematic, I will not submit the review. For example: I turned down a plot where a woman was forced to overindulge in drinking and then was made a source of humor for the rest of the story. Not funny and not good. I am squeamish, and if violence occurs in vivid graphic detail, I probably cannot finish the book. Mysteries do involve victims.  It is one thing for a body to fall off a cliff.  It is quite another for the next five pages to describe the gathering of each of the body parts.  

The fact that I’m reading an eBook or holding a hardback tells me the writer has passed many hurdles before the title got to me. The book has had an editor and a copyeditor and most likely has gone through many revisions. I feel this book deserves every chance to find the right audience and become successful. That is my job as a reviewer.  

Coralee Hicks has been reading and reviewing books for many years. Now retired she lives in Tampa FL  in a book-filled home with her daughter and 3 cats. 

  

It’s a Plan

By Kait Carson

"If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else."—Yogi Berra

Sometimes, Yogi, you can end up someplace else even with a roadmap. Sigh—sad truth. But then again, unintentional trips down sideroads can provide the best scenery. That’s as true of the writing life as it is of real life. I confess I’m the type of person who would get in a car and go. Turn wherever suits my fancy, stop at the cute bed-and-breakfast, picnic on the grass beside a babbling brook. There was a time in my life when I would go to the airport and book on the next departing flight. In short, I’m flexible, and that’s served me well. As random as it sounds, it wasn’t. I always had a plan. The plan was always flexible, but the aim was to collect experiences.

Now that I’ve morphed into a full-time writer, those experiences are useful. So are the thirty years of journals lining my bookshelves, but that’s another blog for another day. This blog is about planning. And welcoming 2026.

As you have probably guessed, I’m not good at ironclad structure. Gives me hives. What I crave is flexible accountability, and lots of color. After all, I came of age in the era of Carnaby Street and Peter Max. My idea of a perfect plan combines two desk calendars, one wall calendar, and one wall chart. Full disclosure. I have two wall charts, but the second one is only for word count, and I wish they made more colors for dry erase markers. Alas, there’s not much to choose from in that regard. That aside, this is how my plan to plan or not works.

It all begins with the Quo Vadis Minister agenda. The new ones usually drop in August, and in my mailbox soon after. The first pages feature an annual page a month calendar. I use it to record birthdays, deadlines, and appointments. I use the interior weekly pages to keep track of how I spend my time and record my word count. A nice, big column on the right side lets me write my aspirations and cross them off when I accomplish them. At the end of the week, I transfer those hours into a spreadsheet. I aim for four hours of writing work daily and another two of marketing. If the spreadsheet is falling short, I do a deeper dive to figure out what happened and what, if anything, needs to change. Items like health, weather, power outages, and multiple non-writing appointments happen. If I’m spending too much time on Wordle. That needs to be addressed. There’s only so much slack my flexibility will permit.

 The Happy Planner is my true planner. It’s perfect for figuring out my writing process so I can set realistic deadlines. Last year I learned that for the first draft, plotting takes ten days, writing takes sixty, and editing another thirty. I map those events out in big blocks and decorate them with stickers and colored pens. Each day has a blank box where I fill in the word count. Empty blank boxes make me itch.

My final calendar is by Suzy Toronto. By now you can guess the attraction. It also serves as my at-a-glance calendar. The blue boxes are birthdays, the pink deadlines, and the orange stripes at the bottom have the names of our fifth weekday bloggers. The boxes are big enough for me to see them without my glasses. A huge plus for a writer of a certain age. Besides the colorful format, I love the upbeat introductory essays.

The last link in the chain is about writing. I have an old-school whiteboard calendar hanging on the wall behind my door. Instead of dates, the boxes each represent a chapter, and the Post-It notes serve as guides for the events that need to happen. As I write each chapter, I remove the Post-Its for everything except red herrings and clues, and add a different color Post-It representing red herring resolutions. By the time I finish the first draft, I have a visual skeleton of the book, and I’m able to spot those pesky plot holes. And if the book takes an unexpected sideroad midway through, rearranging Post-It notes to suit is a simple solution.

What about you? How do you plan your time and production?

 Kait Carson writes the Hayden Kent Mysteries, set in the Fabulous Florida Keys, and is at work on a new mystery series set in her adopted state of Maine. Her short fiction has been nationally published in the True Confessions magazines and in Woman’s World. Kait’s short story, “Gutted, Filleted, and Fried”, appeared in the Silver Falchion Award nominated Guppy Anthology Hook, Line, and Sinker. Her nonfiction essay was included in the Agatha Award-winning book Writing the Cozy Mystery. She is a former President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime, a member of Sisters in Crime, and Guppies.

Evolution and Context by Nancy L. Eady

If you study nature, you can see the ongoing process of evolution all around you.  For example, in a city in Britain, there was a moth that was mainly white, although a few individuals were black.  But over time, as Britain became more industrialized, the moth’s primary color changed to black, the reason being that the blacker the streets, sidewalks, and surroundings became from smoke and oil residues, the easier it was for the moth’s predators to see the white moths before the black moths. 

Language and grammar evolve as well.  One of the beautiful things about English is the rate at which it conjures up new words, adds new meanings to existing words, and switches grammar rules around.  

For example, in English class in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, I was taught that if you were writing about a person who could be either male or female, you were supposed to just use the pronoun “he.”  “He” was understood to be inclusive of all genders.  

As I started writing briefs and studying the law in the 1990’s, I noticed that rather than just using “he,” many writers shifted to “he/she” or “he or she.”  

So, in the 1970’s, I would write the following sentence: 

“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping his shoes, no matter who he was.” 

In the 1990’s, that sentence morphed to: 

“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping his or her shoes, no matter who he or she was.”  

Or

“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping his/her shoes, no matter who he/she was.”  

In the 2000’s, as people become more aware of personal pronoun choices, that sentence then became: 

“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping his/her/their shoes, no matter who he/she/they were.”  

Now, in the 2020’s, I have noticed another shift, toward the sole use of the pronoun “they” in such situations.

“Mary Castlemayne got angry at the person who entered her house without wiping their shoes, no matter who they were.”  

I am torn by this latest iteration.  I do not hesitate to use it when it makes a sentence less cumbersome, but at the same time, part of me cringes whenever I do so because an atavistic voice in the back of my head keeps shouting that it’s wrong.  

So, to my official grammarians out there, and the many excellent writers who contribute to and read this blog, I would like to know if you have noticed this as a trend, and whether you think the 2020’s use of “they” instead of “he” or “he or she” or “he/she” or “he or she or they” or “he/she/they” is proper grammar?  Am I the only one who has noticed this change?  Is there another way to tackle this issue?  

Technology: The New Wild West by Connie Berry

 

I’m careful online—I really am. I don’t click on suspicious emails, and I never give my information to anyone. I know that those “wonderful” book club fans who love my latest work are just AI solicitation. And yet two days ago my computer was hacked and my personal information was accessed remotely. Someone started ordering high-ticket items with my VISA card. All I did was click on an invitation from a writer friend. And yes, her computer had been hacked, too.

Fortunately, I alerted VISA right away. I won’t be charged for the pricey I-phone or the 18K gold necklace from Nordstrom. Still. This feels a lot like a house invasion. And the emotional toll is only the beginning. My entire computer has had to be erased and then restored (incompletely). All my credit cards have been stopped. And all my passwords are in the process of being changed. The criminal had even changed a few of my passwords so I was temporarily locked out. The entire process is going to take me weeks if not months.

I know how people in the 17^th century must have felt embarking on a stagecoach journey. Would they arrive at their destination safe and sound, or would they have to surrender all their valuables to highway robbers? It’s the Wild West out there online.

Fortunately, I’ve recovered my WIPs. For one awful hour or so, I thought they’d been lost.

Here’s the bottom line: you can’t trust anything online these days. Not even if it comes from someone in the writing community. Begin with the assumption that someone is trying to scam you. Be sure to send copies of your work to yourself daily. Changing passwords is a pain, but losing a manuscript you’ve worked on for months is unthinkable. And the most difficult part? We need technology. Writers need computers. And the new world of AI is coming, whether we like or not--for good and for ill.

What is the cleverest scam you’ve received? Forewarned is forearmed.

Killer Questions: Our Favorite Holiday Traditions

Killer Questions – Our Favorite Holiday Traditions

With so many holidays between Thanksgiving and New Year’s now behind us, we thought it would be interesting to compare our favorite holiday traditions.

Debra H. Goldstein: I have two favorite holiday related traditions. One is simply gathering together as a family to light the candles for Chanukah and then to play dreidel for pennies. The other is one Jewish families also often do – going out for Chinese food on Christmas eve.

Sarah E. Burr: Christmas movies and Christmas carols. I love to sing, and holiday songs are just so stunning. "O Holy Night" and "We Three Kings" are two of my favorites to belt out whenever, wherever.

Grace Topping: My absolute favorite holiday tradition occurs on the first Saturday in December, when the City of Alexandria, Virginia, holds its annual Scottish Christmas Walk through Old Towne Alexandria. Alexandria is the site of the first Scottish settlement in the New World, and the Scots come out in full force to celebrate. The Walk features bagpiping bands, Scottish clans walking behind banners proclaiming their clans, representatives from Dundee, Scotland, the sister city of Alexandria, antique cars, groups of dogs from breeds originating in the United Kingdom, everyone throwing candy to the kids along the route, and Santa and Mrs. Claus at the end. The Walk has been the kick-off for the holiday season for my family for the past 35 years, and my grown children come into town just for the event. My husband is always so concerned about getting parking that we have frequently been the first people standing on the street awaiting the event.

Lori Roberts Herbst: We collect ornaments from places we travel. Getting them out every year is a way to relive our wonderful memories.

Kait Carson: Growing up we had two hard and fast Christmas traditions. The youngest child fixed the angel to the top of the tree, and the person who found the pickle ornament received a special present-usually cash. An antique mouth-blown pickle still takes pride of place in my Christmas ornament collection.

Judy Murray: I have many but if I had to choose it would be the overnight Christmas Day evening with everyone under one roof. 

Korina Moss: Doing all the holiday things leading up to Christmas, so that Christmas Day is just staying home in our pjs in front of the fire and relaxing, then eating Chinese food for dinner. All the holiday things usually include: walking through the Holiday Lights Spectacular at the RWP Zoo, visiting the display of gingerbread houses at the library, visiting Yankee Candle village, and spending a couple of days walking through the Christmas magic in NYC.

Heather Weidner: Enjoying time off with family and friends, looking at all the holiday lights, and decorating for Christmas.

K.M. Rockwood: Every year, we'd put on our PJ's, ready for bed on Christmas Eve, then hang our "stockings" (really one of our best sturdy pairs, usually hand-knit red wool) and then my father would read or tell Christmas stories. He'd start with the poem A Visit from St. Nicolaus, go on to the traditional Christmas Visitor, and add one of his own Lucky Left Hind Foot rabbit stories. In later years, The Grinch joined the list. It was my favorite part of the holiday.

Marilyn Levinson: Going around the table, each person saying what he/she is thankful for.

Shari Randall: For Thanksgiving. Honestly, we all just eat until we can't take another bite.

Paula G. Benson: When I was growing up, my Grandfather, succeeded by my Aunt, were the postmasters for a one person run post office where we sent our presents. I remember going with my Mother to our local post office. She always mentioned where our package was being sent. It was a recognition and an appreciation that the post office kept families connected.

James M. Jackson: Shanksgiving: We share a thanks-giving dinner with our neighbors on Shank Lake on a convenient weekend when people are available as we are apart on Thanksgiving.

 

A Little History for the Holiday

 by Paula Gail Benson

 

Martin and Katie Luther

My first experience onstage (at age ten) was with the St. Paul’s Players at my church, St. Paul’s Lutheran in Columbia, South Carolina. Now, I’ve taken on duties as director and writer for the group. Each year, in addition to other presentations, we have a Christmas/holiday dinner theatre production in early December.

This year, we offered The Love Letters of Katie and Martin Luther. For those unfamiliar with their story, Martin became a monk whose teachings led to the Reformation. One idea he wrote about was that monks and nuns could break their vows of celibacy and marry without sin, because those vows were an illegitimate and vain attempt to win salvation. Katie, who had lived in a convent since she was five years old and became a nun, heard his message and with eleven other nuns escaped to have families of their own. When Martin could find no other male Katie would accept as a husband, she suggested that he marry her. Together, they made a home in the Black Cloister, had six children (four of whom lived to be adults), and entertained guests and students.

For our production, five actors participated in a readers’ theatre style program (where the actors do not have lines memorized, but read from scripts, letting their spoken inflections and interpretations rather than physical actions be the focus). Because the presentation concentrated on the language, the audience could listen to the the history of and some of the words spoken by Katie and Martin, their daughter Margaretha (the only daughter who survived beyond childhood), Martin’s father Hans (who hoped his son might become a lawyer), Pope Leo X (who argued with Martin over his 95 theses and ultimately excommunicated him), and Leonhard Koppe (a merchant who bravely rescued Katie and eleven other nuns—risking his own life if he had been caught).

John Arnold, who has played various roles in previous St. Paul’s Players’ productions, including Sherlock Holmes and Santa Claus, took on the role of Martin. Penry Gustaufson, in her first role with the Players, brought spirit, frankness, and charm to Katie, enchanting us all by singing “From Heav’n Above to Earth I Come,” a hymn written by Luther for his family to sing at Christmas. As Margaretha, Janie Fulmer, asked questions about how the Luthers met and married. Olin Jenkins, as the Pope, took the mallet from Luther’s hand to gavel the order of excommunication. Scott Stepp took on two roles, as Hans Luther and as Leonhard Koppe, changing his voice subtly to indicate the difference in status of the men. Susan Moffitt provided pre-show music and accompanied Penry during the hymn while Billy Itter handled lights and sound. Tim Scott did a marvelous job catering the function.

Readers’ theatre was a new approach for us, but it worked well for this play by keeping the audience focused on concepts rather than staging. Also, for a year when we all had lots of added responsibilities, rehearsals were easier to accommodate using a readers format.

For each production, we select a “cast project” to seek donations from our audience. This year, we chose Food for the Soul, a ministry providing free meal programs, emergency overnight sheltering, and year-round homeless sheltering for people in need in Kershaw County, South Carolina. We were grateful to raise $600.

If you are not familiar with the story of Katie and Martin Luther, you might wish to read Michelle DeRusha’s Katharina and Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway Nun and a Renegade Monk (Baker Books 2017) or Ruth A. Tucker’s Katie Luther: First Lady of the Reformation (Harper Collins/Zondervan 2017).

Did you discover or participate in any unique historical holiday traditions this year? Did any involve the theatre?

The Luther Rose

Writing Resolutions - Why Bother? by Debra H. Goldstein

Writing Resolutions - Why Bother? - by Debra H. Goldstein

For the past few weeks, we have been inundated with writers of articles and blogs, podcasters, TV interviewers, and even family members discussing New Year’s resolutions. One common theme is how many of the resolutions, like exercising to lose weight or writing 1,000 words a day, aren’t followed through upon. Many reasons are given for individual failures: “I got sick and couldn’t get to the gym,” “I got sick and couldn’t get out of bed long enough to write one word let alone 1,000,” or “I got carried away by the season and set an unrealistic goal for myself.”

The latter often is the case. But, I ask you, why set yourself up to be disappointed? Why bother using time and energy to make a resolution? Why not simply do the act, whether it is exercise or writing, to the best of your ability on any given day?

Some say that making the resolution provides accountability. After all, success reinforces good behavior. That’s wonderful, but what level of accountability does failure instill? Will the exerciser or writer crawl into a ball and opt not to do anything rather than strike out again?

Maybe I’m being cynical about resolutions? What do you think? Would you rather simply do what you can or adhere to a resolution (and will you stick to it)?

 

Giving My Author Website Its Annual Checkup (No Waiting Room Required) by Sarah E. Burr

Author websites have a funny way of becoming invisible to us. We build them with care and big plans, and then we move on to the next book, the next deadline, the next shiny project. Before we know it, months or even years have passed, and our website is quietly doing its best with copy that no longer quite fits who we are or where we are in our writing careers.

This year, I decided to tackle a website refresh. Not a dramatic teardown or a full redesign, mind you, but a thoughtful check-in. And honestly? It was far less painful than I expected.

Your Website Is Part of Your Author Toolkit

We talk a lot about newsletters, social media, ads, and book launches, but your website is the one place online that belongs entirely to you. Algorithms cannot hide it. Platforms cannot change the rules overnight. It works for you around the clock, welcoming new readers while you are busy writing, reading, or sleeping. That alone makes it worth visiting on a semi-regular basis.

A yearly refresh is not about perfection. It is about alignment. Does your website still reflect the stories you are writing now? Does it clearly tell new readers who you are and what kind of books they will find? Does it feel like a warm invitation or a confusing hallway of links?

Start With the Front Door

For me, the biggest update was my “homepage hero section.” That opening text is doing a lot of heavy lifting. It needs to answer three questions quickly: Who is this author, what do they write, and am I in the right place?

If a new reader lands on your site and has to work too hard to figure that out, they may leave before ever clicking deeper. A small tweak in wording can make a huge difference in clarity and confidence.

Think of it as greeting someone at the door instead of shouting your book list from the next room.

Make It Easy to Begin

One of the most helpful things you can do for readers is give them a clear place to start. When you have multiple books or series, abundance is wonderful, but only if it is presented with intention.

A yearly refresh is a great time to ask yourself whether a brand-new reader can easily figure out what to read first. If the answer is no, that is not a failure. It is simply an opportunity to guide them a little more gently.

Your Website Does Not Need to Do Everything

This is important, so I will say it again. Your website does not need to do everything. It does not need to hold every thought you have ever had, every post you have written, or every platform you have ever tried. It needs to do a few things well. Welcome readers. Explain your work. Offer a way to stay connected. Everything else is a bonus.

A Little Maintenance Goes a Long Way

You do not need to wait for a new year, a new release, or a total brand overhaul to check in with your site, either. Even setting a reminder once every few months to read your pages with fresh eyes can be incredibly helpful. Think of it as dusting the shelves rather than rebuilding the house.

Your author website is a quiet partner in your career. It shows up every day, whether you are paying attention or not. Giving it a little care now and then is not just good marketing: It is good stewardship of your work and your readers.

And the best part? Once you are done, you can close the tab and go back to the part you love most: Writing the next story.

Seven Mistakes Every Author Makes by Judy L. Murray

Whether you are working on your first novel or your tenth, you cannot help but wonder what elements strengthen your storyline, attract a publisher, and grow your readership. If I’m not writing or reading, I often tap into different courses, YouTubes, newsletters, and blogs like our fabulous Writers Who Kill to help me improve.

Writing coach and professional editor Patrick Walsh offers YouTube posts with succinct advice that even the most experienced could use. He reminds us that good intentions don’t make good books. Good writing decisions do.

What are those good decisions? Patrick names seven mistakes often invisible to writers until someone else points them out. Let’s review. 1) Explanation Addiction: The propensity to explain something the reader already knows. “She slammed the door behind her. She was angry.” Explanation addiction is apparent every time we explain something the reader already knows. Each time you describe an emotion, stop, and ask yourself if you have already demonstrated it.

2) Overly Elaborate Dialogue: Patrick reminds us that real life dialogue is messy. When we talk, we hesitate, we stumble. If your dialogue is too neat, too smooth, too proper, it probably needs revision. Messy dialogue is far more interesting, more believable.

3) Point of View Slips: It takes a lot of practice to avoid POV slips. My first agent was an expert at correcting me until the concept jelled. His head then her head then his head. Stay within character.

4) Stakes do not Land: Patrick reminds us that often a book’s failure is because the protagonist(s) stakes are not high enough. What is the human cost? In my latest, Villain in the Vineyard, Helen Morrisey is harassed by a hoodlum who is graffitiing her clients’ homes. It is frustrating and even embarrassing. Or are these escalating attacks a targeted attempt to devastate her family, ruin her reputation, and drive her out of town. Keep readers turning your pages by elevating the stakes within every scene.

5) Pacing at the same Speed: When you write and revise ask yourself if every sentence is the same length. Every writer has their own style of writing. But fragmented sentences can help you vary the pace.

6) Starting Late: Is your story starting too late? The start of a story is a moment that changes everything. The start is not when your character begins their day. A detective’s story does not begin while he’s shaving. Not when he pours himself a cup of coffee. His story starts the moment he arrives at a crime scene.

7) Overwriting: This reminds me of Explanation Addiction. It’s human to feel compelled to elaborate, like the person in a conversation who repeats their story a second time. We can be so enamored with our perfect, beautiful phrases, we can forget the storyline. Patrick advises us to let your readers fill in the gaps. Their imagination is stronger than your elaborate descriptions which might bog down the pace and the dialogue. Don’t let overwriting for your personal pleasure dilute the stakes.

I’ll be reviewing Patrick’s checkpoints in 2026 as I work on my next book. I am curious. Which of these mistakes do you tend to make as you work?

You can find more of Patrick Harris’ advice at https://www.youtube.com/@publishingpushofficial

Find out more about me at Https://www.judylmurraymysteries.com

Customer Complaint by Nancy L. Eady

January is not my favorite month.  The bright lights and cheerful colors of Christmas and New Year's have been put away, the weather turns cold, the days are short, and sunlight scarce.  So, I feel like laughing, and I hope you do too.  This is a short short story I wrote a while ago, but it still makes me smile.  

CUSTOMER COMPLAINT

Customer Service
Interspace Robotic Corporation
800 New England Way
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Dear Sirs: 

Pursuant to your request, I am writing to explain further why we returned our Model 3300 Housekeeping Robot.

As advertised, the Model 3300, whom we named Gertrude, was a hard worker possessing in-depth, encyclopedic knowledge about nutrition, household chores and yard work.  Her additional logic booster chip allowed her to make choices in the best interest of our family independent of any orders from us.  The independent functioning of the logic chip proved problematic.

While Gertrude was correct that vacuuming at non-peak hours was good for the environment, placing less strain on the electrical grid, no-one in our family got any sleep on Tuesday and Friday nights during her 2:00 a.m. house-cleaning sessions.  Similarly, shaving the dogs cut down on the amount of dog hair floating around various rooms but the dogs are still suffering from the trauma of being shaved bald in 2 seconds flat.  One of the dogs, Sparky, continues to refuse to come out from under my daughter's bed except at meal and walk times.  The other, Shadow, now considers every item possessing an electronic processing chip a mortal enemy that must be destroyed.  Since Gertrude shaved her, Shadow has proudly defeated three laptops, two e-readers, four cell phones and one toaster, although why the toaster required an electronic processing chip to begin with is beyond us. 

Prior to Gertrude’s arrival, like every parent, I had fantasized about placing my children on house arrest when they failed to clean their rooms or do their homework, but the logistics of such a move were problematic.  The electronic location bracelets with accompanying smart phone app to enforce confinement which Gertrude designed were quite clever.  However, the Department of Human Resources, Child Welfare Division, had problems with the electric shock the bracelets delivered whenever the children violated the terms of their confinement.  

Gertrude’s presentation of her research on optimal nutrition was flawless but after seven days of tofu, fruits and berries for meals, we began sneaking out of the house to stuff ourselves with cheese fries and chocolate sundaes.  

Gertrude also decided to improve the cost effectiveness of our landscaping.  However, the neighborhood covenant enforcement committee found Gertrude’s solutions objectionable.  Apparently, Astroturf, plastic flowers and plastic bushes violated neighborhood covenants.  The committee members were also singularly unimpressed with Gertrude’s passionate dissertation and several follow-up demonstrations regarding individual liberties under the United States Constitution.  

Four weeks ago, we returned home from vacation to find that the wooden floors and carpet throughout the house had been replaced with industrial strength concrete. Drains were strategically located throughout the house so that the floors could be hosed down instead of vacuumed or mopped.  The floor and carpet installers we have since hired told us that Gertrude did an excellent job, as did the locksmith we called in to bypass the lockout system placed on our air conditioning system to prevent the thermostat from being set below 82 degrees.  However, we are not looking forward to the payments on the second mortgage to reverse Gertrude's improvements.

Accordingly, we returned Gertrude to you. 

Sincerely, 

Jenny White

P.S.  The covenant enforcement committee has asked me to remind you that the restraining order will stay in effect for 10 years.  

Slowing Down by Marilyn Levinson

At age eighty-six, I find I'm slowing down. The past two years were hectic ones for me. Two years in a row, I wrote two books simultaneously--in one case, the first book in a new series--while editing five or six books that were rereleased. Of course each book required promotion via guest blogs, interviews, podcasts and author takeovers. Certainly a wonderful time in an author's career, but at times I felt overwhelmed.

These days I no longer drive long distances or travel abroad. Though I continue to take three or four exercise classes a week, I need to rest briefly after every activity. Writing-wise, I'm happy to be writing one book and editing another. Oddly enough, my daily work output hasn't diminished, but then I was always happy if I wrote two or three pages a day. I've cut down on many of my writerly activities. After getting COVID at the last two conferences I attended, I no longer attend conferences. I sorely miss getting together with my writer friends in person, but my health demands that I limit events to those close to home.

I continue to do Zooming events, as well as social media interviews and author takeovers, and in this way stay in touch with readers and the writing world. Even so, I'm learning to pace myself and to not over-schedule events because my energy level is not what it was.

I suppose there will come a time when I can no longer write mysteries and books for kids. But until that day arrives, I'll keep on plotting scenes in my head. 

An Interview with Heather Weidner by E. B. Davis

 

The Pearly Girls return to solve a high school reunion murder in this sequel to Murder Strikes a Chord.

 

Event planner Cassidy Jamison and her not-so-helpful sexagenarian staff of Roxie, Kate, Aileen, and Ruthanne are up to their elbows with a high school reunion committee’s constantly changing requirements for an event that must be the most elaborate and memorable at all costs.

 

When well-known reporter, Darcy Branch, and former cheerleader, Brittany Mahoney, are found dead on her property, Cassidy and the gang have to find the killer before the party’s over. And the more Cassidy and her Chihuahua mix, Elvis, dig for clues, the more deadly secrets they uncover—including one that changes everything she knows about her family’s history.

The Pearly Girls need to solve the case before the Class of 2009 goes down in Ivy Springs history as the deadliest reunion.

Amazon.com

 

Yesterday, the second book in the Pearly Girls mystery series, Murder Plays Second Fiddle, was released. I interviewed Heather Weidner about the first book, Murder Strikes a Chord, which can be found here.

 

The books are set near Southwest of Staunton, VA in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The main character, Cassidy Jamison, owns property that she has turned into a venue for various activities, such as concerts, parties, and, as is the case in the second book, reunions.

 

Unfortunately, she seems to be a magnet for murder, or at least her venue is. Fortunately, she has her late grandmother’s childhood friends to help her run the business and investigate cases. Although the Pearly Girls are her grandmother’s age, they aren’t exactly grandmotherly—more rabble rousers—and they can’t help but play matchmaker since Cassidy is single.

 

                                                                                                E. B. Davis

 

Is the Blue Ridge area in Virginia increasingly popular with tourists? Do they crowd the roads during leaf season?

 

It is. The Blue Ridge Mountains are such a gorgeous vista in autumn. The area gets really crowded during peak leaf season, and a lot of the roads are in rural areas are quite narrow.

 

Cassidy inherited the property from her grandmother. What happened to Cassidy’s parents?

 

Cassidy’s parents died in a car accident when she was in elementary school, and she went to live with her grandparents in Ivy Springs.

 

How did Cassidy get enough experience to be an event planner and know how to run a business?

 

She has a background in marketing, and she watched and helped her grandmother over the years. But after a little while, she realized it was a bigger job than she had imagined.

 

For a time, her grandparents ran a country western bar or honky-tonk on the property that popular musicians would visit since before Interstate 81, the road in front was the main one used to get to Nashville. Was the bar in the cave, which now stands empty, or was there a different structure and they saved the cave for illegal moonshine storage back in the day?

 

The honky-tonk had been in the family for several generations. Her great-grandfather built it, and her grandfather ran it during its heyday. Ivy Springs is on the I-81 corridor which used to be the main route to Nashville, and a lot of entertainers used it in their travels. The cave is just a feature on the property, and Cassidy is trying to find a way to incorporate it. Her family also had an illegal moonshine business going during Prohibition, and they used the cave and the root cellar in the barn to store the alcohol.

 

The honky-tonk burned down in a lightning storm. The charred remains are still on the property.

 

Were the Pearly Girls younger than Cassidy’s grandmother? They described going to the honky-tonk, but they were very young and hid their presence from their parents. Whereas, Cassidy’s grandmother must have been a co-owner if her husband ran the bar. Am I confused?

 

Cassidy’s family owned the honky-tonk that was a popular music venue. The Pearly Girls were younger when Cassidy’s great-grandfather owned it, and then her grandfather took it over when he married Cassidy’s grandmother.

 

Is there a culture of crafted moonshine up in those hills today that actually is sanctioned via taxes, by the state or is the illegal kind still prevalent?

 

There is a long-standing culture of moonshine in Virginia. Some of it now is legal. Some not. I invited an Alcohol Bureau and Control Board investigator to speak to our Sisters in Crime group a few years ago, and it was amazing how much illegal enforcement they still do. When my husband and I moved to Central Virginia (which is about an hour from the mountains), our county police officers had green uniforms. I asked someone once why there were so many park rangers in the county. It turned out that back in the 1920s the local police worked with the moonshine investigators, and they chose green to be more camouflaged in the woods. They have since changed to black uniforms.

 

Britt, former homecoming queen, and current influencer, is the head of the reunion committee. Why is she trying to get publicity from a journalist and in her online presence with a reunion? Aren’t reunions only of interest to those participating?

 

Britt loves to be adored and the center of attention. She has to have the biggest and the best, and she’s determined to make the reunion the most memorable in the town’s history. And she plans to take advantage of hobnobbing with the school’s famous alumnus to try to get herself some publicity.

 

Britt characterizes the reunion as a “mega-reunion.” Is that a term much like “supermodel?” Or was Britt organizing a multiple-class reunion?

 

Britt loves to exaggerate everything. Whatever she’s talking about, it’s bigger, better, or more fantastic than anyone has ever seen. And she will step on anyone who gets in her way.

 

One of the activities planned for the reunion is goat yoga. Have you or anyone you know ever experienced goat yoga? Couldn’t their hooves cause injury?

 

I have never tried it, but it’s on my bucket list. From the videos I’ve watched, it looks like not much yoga gets done in the play session. A goat yoga session just sounded like some over-the-top event that Britt would have to have.

 

Are CBDs and gummies legal in Virginia?

 

Some are. Most are sold in convenience or vaping shops. I listen to a great podcast, “Pick Your Poison,” and Dr. JP talked about gas station herbals. It was frightening to hear about how deadly some of these items are.

 

Cassidy finds that what she thought was the history of the honky-tonk wasn’t exactly the truth. Why were the Pearly Girls so reluctant to talk about the bar’s history? Their reluctance gives Cassidy the wrong impression.

 

Her grandfather fell ill with cancer and closed the honky-tonk during this time, and he eventually passed as a result of the disease. In all of the commotion, priorities shifted, and the honky-tonk took a backseat. Most of the players had forgotten that some of the secrets were preserved, and it was a surprise for Cassidy and the Pearly Girls.

 

Is knit bombing a thing?

 

It is. People decorate poles, posts, and statues. I’ve seen several here in Richmond, Virginia.

 

Cassidy has bought a new red jeep. What is the “Duck, Duck, Jeep” thing all about? Do you know how it started and why?

 

Cassidy loves her rugged Wrangler. And yes, Duck, Duck, Jeep is a thing. You’ll see Jeeps driving around with a row of rubber ducks on the dashboard. The internet gives the Canadians credit for starting the trend as a way to boost morale during the pandemic. I have friends with quite the duckie collections.

 

For a time in the book, Cassidy has two handsome and eligible guys around her, a bartender-Austin, and the Deputy Sheriff-Zac. But she then realizes that Austin must remain a friend. Why?

 

She likes the attention of both handsome guys. Zac has something that excites and frustrates Cassidy at the same time, and she’s drawn to him. She often mistakes his warnings for her protection as a scolding. Austin is adorable, but he is a hopeless flirt, and she just doesn’t get the vibe that he’s long-term boyfriend material. But Austin does play a big role in the resort’s new venue.

 

Are the Pearly Girls making up the attraction Zac has for Cassidy or does she miss his tells, which is out of character for her?

 

I think down deep she sees the attraction, but she is so focused on the murders that she mistakes his warnings for her safety as scoldings. She is a bright, independent woman who doesn’t like being told what to do, and I think that clouds her judgement sometimes.

 

What’s next for Cassidy and her dog, Elvis?

 

In book three, Murder Whets Its Whistle, Cassidy and the Pearly Girls welcome the Sip, Sip Hoorah festival on her property. Local vintners, distillers, and brewers gather for their organizational meetings and to showcase their wares to the public. All is rosy until one of the marketing specialists is found dead in a wine barrel.