by Kay Kendall I remember the very first inkling. At about age sixteen I walked into a room, spied a heavy candlestick, and exclaimed, while pointing, “That would make a great murder weapon.” Lost in my fantasy of discovering a killer, I didn’t notice that my friends cast furtive glances at each other and backed away from […]
by Kay Kendall Anyone who knows much about me realizes how much I love learning about history. I used to study it in school and always enjoyed reading historical novels. I still enjoy those books but now I write them too–historical mysteries. I’ve occasionally tried to understand why I enjoy delving into the past so […]
From Kay Kendall Award-winning author Kay Kendall is passionate about history so she’s aware of many pandemics Earth has suffered over the centuries. Too distracted and/or befuddled to put coherent thoughts together right now, she offers up this fine prayer by Anonymous that she found on the internet four days ago. If you don’t believe in […]
by Kay Kendall Historical mysteries are my favorites among all crime fiction. When plotting my own books, I like to show how patterns of human nature repeat down the decades, no matter what historical age one reads about. I also confess that I relish the details that show past eras—the changes in language and attitudes, […]
by Kay Kendall Avid readers and writers of crime fiction make up a warm and supportive community, both IRL (in real life) and online. This fact often astonishes folks outside this community. Isn’t it odd, they ask, that people who spend lots of time steeped in criminal activities of all kinds—even if it is fictional—are […]
by Kay Kendall Hollywood film director Quentin Tarantino is known for his over-the-top movies, especially in the violence department. Although I’m a fan of his talent, I don’t enjoy his excessive use of violence so I skip some of his pictures. But the latest one—ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD—I did rush to see this […]
by Kay Kendall My fellow Texan Manning Wolfe—friend, author, ace lawyer—has launched an exciting new series called Bullet Books Speed Reads. BULLET BOOKS! ON A PLANE… ON A TRAIN…FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET! Bullet Books are speed reads for the busy traveler, commuter, and beach-goer. All are new original crime fiction stories that can be […]
Guest post by author Eleanor Kuhns Lydia Rees, wife of my detective Will Rees, is an opinionated and outspoken woman and an equal partner with her husband as they investigate murders and other crimes. This is not so surprising for modern times but during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries a woman had no legal status. She […]
By Kay Kendall By now I’ve written fiction long enough to trust my own habits. Once, when I was a real newbie, I believed I must do just as the experts advise. But now I know on some points the experts differ. 1. If your process works for you, trust it. For example, while most […]
by Kay Kendall Like many authors, I am an avid reader. I also adore movies, and in both categories of storytelling I prefer fiction to non-fiction. I have loved many books and films and liked countless others. Increasingly these days, as the world becomes more and more fraught with ugliness and danger, I treasure the […]