Confession time: I’m an addict. Every morning, I have to scratch my mental itch. My coffee doesn’t taste right and I don’t feel properly awake until I’ve worked through the Sudoku in the newspaper. My family knows, and fortunately they’re supportive. My Mother’s Day gift was a book of Sudoku puzzles with a handy slot …
Why Sudoku is the Perfect Puzzle for Mystery Lovers Read More »
So far in the Story Inspiration series, we’ve looked at why a book’s setting matters so much, discovered Lundy Island and why it’s a nexus of myth and legend, delved into some of my personal nightmares, and explored the historical Pirate Kings who show up in my island’s backstory. But why is Lundy sometimes …
#StoryInspiration: The Kingdom of Heaven. That’s Mr. Heaven to You. Read More »
The FAQ’s that I get the most F – ly about Dying Fall involve the backstory of Brackmor Island. Particularly, were the L’Amaurys real historical figures? Yes, and no. If you haven’t read the book yet, don’t worry — no spoilers. In the book, the ruins of L’Amaury Castle were originally built by a notorious family …
When readers ask where I get my story ideas, I feel compelled to tell them the truth (mostly). So I cringe inwardly and repeat the dreadful cliche: “Sometimes, from my dreams.” I generally think of myself as an upbeat, even flippant, person. But I do suffer from time to time with vivid nightmares. And sometimes …
As we run up to the Halloween release of Dying Fall, I want to share some of my inspiration for the setting, characters, and events. My story is set on the imaginary island of Brackmor, the home of an eccentric millionaire. Brackmor is located off the North Devon coast and is the size of a …
Mottley & Baker’s second adventure, Mister Mottley and the Dying Fall is set in October of 1932, six months after Book 1. My stories always have a lot of humor in them, but since his one was set just before Halloween, I wanted to bring in an element of spookiness, danger, a moody atmosphere and …
One of the best parts of writing vintage-style fiction, is that hours of research on my favorite topics all count as “work”! I use Pinterest to organize my visual reference material, which means surfing Pinterest also counts as “work.” Vertically integrated, you see? Here’s a delightful article I found while “working,” which describes General George …
![By Silar (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://ellenseltz.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/01464_vintage_Russian_Soviet_silver_cup_tea_holder-224x300.jpg)
Along with Sirop de Cassis, cocoa at breakfast, and other drinks considered by Hastings to be “noxious”, Hercule Poirot is often seen drinking his tisane, to which he attributes health and the acuity of his “little gray cells”. This recurring theme led me to wonder, what flavor of tisane would Poirot like best? I often …