by Mary Lee Ashford I love coffee shops and so when one of my favorite local coffee shops asked if I’d do a pop-up book signing in the shop, how could I resist? It was a busy Saturday morning. They made biscuits. I brought books. Different waves of people came throughout the morning. Some people […]
by Sparkle Abbey We got back from Malice Domestic a week ago and then dove right into prep for our local DSM Book Festival so it’s definitely been a busy couple of weeks. Malice Domestic is one of several great mystery conferences and one of our favorites. Here’s how Malice describes itself: Established in 1989, […]
We often get asked about our book titles and we do have some fun with them. The Sparkle Abbey books sport titles such as “The Girl with the Dachshund Tattoo” and “Fifty Shades of Greyhound” and the Mary Lee Ashford books, “Game of Scones” and “Risky Biscuits.” As with most traditionally published authors, we had no […]
by Sparkle Abbey Because February is the month of love, we thought this was the perfect time to tackle the debate among mystery readers, as well as mystery authors, as to whether romance belongs in crime fiction. Or not. In this age of genre-bending, there seems to be two camps: those who are all in […]
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.” — Albert Einstein As we welcome the arrival of 2026, we can’t help but reflect on the past year with all its ups and downs. And twists and turns. So we’d like to take a moment to say thank-you. To our readers, our supporters, friends and […]
by Sparkle Abbey Today we’re excited to welcome Kari Lee Townsend, a long time friend and national bestselling mystery author, who is going to tell us a bit about her writing process and her latest project. Welcome, Kari! We met you at a conference many moons ago and have been friends ever since, but for […]
by Mary Lee Ashford It’s October and it seems like Autumn vibes are everywhere. From pumpkin themes, to hardy mums, to sweater ads – fall has been unleashed. It’s not feeling much like fall here in the Midwest as we’re have temps in the high 80s as if Mother Nature is not ready to let […]
by Sparkle Abbey As we come to the end of summer and head into fall there are so many things happening in our lives and in the world. And so much going on in the publishing world. It’s hard to keep up with everything. A new series is still in development but with happenings in […]
by Mary Lee Ashford Here in the Midwest it’s been hot, hot, hot recently. I know that’s been true in a lot of other areas as well. With the triple digit heat indexes making it uncomfortable outside, I find myself saying to people, “It’s great weather to stay inside and read!” But then I realized […]
by Sparkle Abbey Malice Domestic 2025 is in the books and if there was a theme this year it was surely the kindness and connectedness of the mystery writing community. It was heard in the stories from each of the honorees highlighting how much being a part of Malice has made all the difference. It […]