Sisterhood of the Traveling Book featured image

Sisterhood of the Traveling Book

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Cozy Mystery One Taste Too Many on an ipad at a coffee shopToday’s travels bring us to…  Debra Goldstein!

Debra Goldstein is one of the Stiletto Gang’s steering committee and a dedicated writer with a slew of cozies under her belt. This month, book one of her Sarah Blair Mysteries visited a Tacoma, Washington coffee shop for some cozy reading and tea.  To check out this delightful recipe-filled mystery check out One Taste Too Many.

A Cozy Delight

One Taste Too Many

For culinary challenged Sarah Blair, there’s only one thing scarier than cooking from scratch—murder!

Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty-eight, Sarah Blair reluctantly swaps her luxury lifestyle for a cramped studio apartment and a law firm receptionist job in the tired hometown she never left. With nothing much to show for the last decade but her feisty Siamese cat, RahRah, and some clumsy domestic skills, she’s the polar opposite of her bubbly twin, Emily—an ambitious chef determined to take her culinary ambitions to the top at a local gourmet restaurant . . .

Sarah knew starting over would be messy. But things fall apart completely when her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by Emily’s award-winning rhubarb crisp. Now, with RahRah wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!

Includes quick and easy recipes!

BUY NOW: https://amzn.to/3N5fGU0

 

Inspired by Real Life

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By Lois Winston

Embroidered Lies and Alibis, the fifteenth and newest book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, released fifteen days ago. Like all my other novels, both the mysteries and the non-mysteries, it was inspired by real life events.

As I may have mentioned in the past, I’m a news junkie. I read several newspapers a day, along with watching the news and a few favorite “talking heads” every morning and evening. On any given day, this can be a good thing or a bad thing—especially with everything going on in the world.

Along with coffee, the news is one of my two major addictions. Some people get anxiety from the news. I develop anxiety when I don’t know what’s going on. It’s a weird form of FOMO. Besides, I view the news as research. Right now, I have enough ideas floating around in my head to serve as mystery plots for years to come.

Embroidered Lies and Alibis was inspired by real life…

For example, the spark for Embroidered Lies and Alibis came from an article I read about a carjacking that included a cryptocurrency element. Because I write by the seat of my pants (known in writing parlance as being a Pantser,) I ran with that idea and began typing. Then one evening, I saw an interview with an elderly woman who had been scammed out of thousands of dollars by someone posing as an employee of her bank. Presto change-o, abracadabra, and bibbido-bobbidi-boo! Just like that, the pieces began to fall into place, and I had my plot.

…and the next book will be inspired by real life.

I’m currently working on the next book in the series. This past November, my older son and his family arrived from various parts of the country to spend Thanksgiving with us. They rented an Airbnb nearby to stay and to hold all thirteen of us for a week of family gatherings. The house was an antebellum mansion. The moment I set foot into it, I knew I was going to use it as the setting for my next mystery.

With the last several books having taken place in Anastasia’s hometown, I had already decided it was once again time to send her off somewhere to prevent Cabot Cove Syndrome. With that in mind, I’ve moved the Tennessee mansion to upstate New York. To find out why, you’ll have to wait until the book is finished and published, but it’s going to involve research I’ve done about both the Underground Railroad and Prohibition. And of course, there will be murder and mayhem. Stay tuned…

Meanwhile, I hope you’ll find Embroidered Lies and Alibis worthy of a read.

Have you read other mysteries that were inspired by real life? Have you ever come across a person, a setting, or even an object that you thought would be perfect inspiration for a novel? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of any of the available Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries or Empty Nest Mysteries.

 

Embroidered Lies and Alibis

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 15

A Stitch in Time Could Save a Life…

When Anastasia’s mother Flora is offered a free spa vacation from Jeremy Dugan, a man connected to her distant past, Anastasia and husband Zack suspect ulterior motives. After all, too-good-to-be-true often spells trouble. Their suspicions are confirmed when the FBI swoops in to apprehend Dugan. However, Dugan isn’t who he claimed to be, and his arrest raises more questions than answers.

The Feds link Dugan to a string of cons targeting elderly single women across the country, but his seemingly airtight alibi leaves investigators stumped. Then, shortly after his release on bail, he’s kidnapped. A certain segment of New Jersey’s population is known for delivering deadly messages, and the FBI believes Dugan received one of them.

Meanwhile, bodies begin showing up in the newly created public garden across the street from Anastasia and Zack’s home. With two baffling crimes, no clear suspects, scant evidence, and every possible motive unraveling, both the FBI and local law enforcement are once again picking Anastasia’s brain. This time, though, her involvement is far from reluctant. Will she stitch together enough clues before she or someone she loves becomes the killer’s next victim?

Craft project included.

Buy Links

Amazon

Nook

Kobo

Apple Books

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots

Dead, but Not Forgotten

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Galvez Hotel

Galvez Hotel

Dead, but Not Forgotten:

Murder at the Galvez

When asked whether I use real people as inspiration for my stories, I tell folks that there are so many imaginary characters in my head vying for my attention that I don’t need inspiration from a real person. Except—there’s always an exception—right?

When I started writing MURDER AT THE GALVEZ, the third mystery in my Sydney Lockhart series set in Galveston, Texas, I used a real person in the first paragraph merely to jump-start the story.

My husband is from Galveston, and his grandfather, PoPo, who was the doorman at the Tremont Hotel, always had a pack of teaberry gum in his pocket. I’d never met him, but I couldn’t help but wonder what life as a doorman at a fancy hotel would be like. (Note: before I chose the Galvez Hotel for the book, I’d planned to set the mystery in the Tremont Hotel until I learned it was temporarily closed during the time the story takes place.) Thus, I gave PoPo the name James Robert Lockhart, made him the doorman at the Galvez Hotel, and Sydney’s grandfather.

As in all my Sydney Lockhart mysteries, Sydney checks into a hotel, someone is murdered, and she’s the primary suspect. I needed a reason for Sydney to be at the hotel, and what better reason than to visit her grandfather? But wait, he’d already passed away, so to bring him into the story, I have Sydney reminisce about the last time she saw him, when she was eleven.

When I was little, I used to run up the hotel’s front steps, and PoPo would say, “Let me get the door for you, ma’am.” He’d bow and open the door with a flourish. As I passed, he’d say, “Welcome to the Galvez, Miss Lockhart. Enjoy your stay.” I would lift my chin like a queen. Then I’d reach into his coat pocket and pull out a pack of Teaberry chewing gum.—Sydney Lockhart

Having Sydney reminisce wasn’t enough, so I had to develop this character and give him more purpose, which led to Sydney’s last visit with him being a traumatic experience.

In the 1940s and 1950s, Galveston was a rough-and-tumble gambling town that earned the title “Sin City of the Southwest.” A few powerful crime families operated illegal casinos, speakeasies, and backroom bookie joints that attracted tourists and celebrities. A hotel doorman would surely have inside information and connections to these establishments and operations. With this in mind, James Robert Lockhart began to develop.

Whenever my family came to the island for a visit, I’d make a beeline to the Galvez Hotel and stand next to Popo while he greeted guests. People who saw us together knew instantly that I was his granddaughter. We were cut from the same mold: tall, thin, and redheaded. I was proud of that fact, for James Robert Lockhart was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. When I found him crumpled on the floor in the hotel foyer, his body riddled with bullet holes, I knew my life would never be the same. Now, as I stepped into the lobby eighteen years later, the memory of that day hit me square in the gut.—Sydney Lockhart

Sydney had no intention of ever setting foot in the hotel again, but when she was assigned to write a news story about a planning conference at the Galvez involving a controversial development project on the island, she had to suck it up and go. As always, someone was murdered, but what if this murder was connected to the murder of James Robert Lockhart? Now I was building him a backstory in which Sydney suspected her grandfather wasn’t who he seemed. Soon she realized that clearing herself of murder charges meant delving deeper into her grandfather’s history.

One thing led to another, and Lockhart skeletons began jumping out of closets too close to home. So, was James Robert Lockhart a notorious con artist or someone who always did the right thing, regardless of the consequences? Either way, Sydney had to find out, and so did I.

Since then, Sydney has shared with me a few survival skills she learned from her grandfather: how to hotwire a car, pick a lock with a bobby pin, and win at five-card draw. Dead, but not forgotten, Popo’s influence and teaching made Sydney who she is.

PoPo had an unquenchable fascination with the wonders of life and had steered me toward more practical directions. He taught me to appreciate the creatures that washed ashore after high tide, the majesty of constellations as they traveled across the sky, and flocks of birds that descended on the beach after fleeing an offshore storm. He even took me on my first Christmas bird count.—Sydney Lockhart/MURDER AT THE MENGER

I’m sure the real PoPo was the benevolent grandfather my husband remembered, and if PoPo is reading this from upstairs, I hope he’s smiling down on me.

Look for my seventh Sydney Lockhart mystery, where PoPo’s lessons save Sydney’s tush once again. It’s scheduled for release in spring 2026. The hotel, and hence the title, remains a secret until pre-lease. Check out my other Sydney mysteries: https://kathleenkaska.com/

A Cozy Holiday Whodunnit Sale

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By Lois Winston

What’s better than a cozy holiday whodunnit? A cozy holiday whodunit sale!

Are you someone who curates your reading for each holiday? Holiday whodunnits are always a treat to pick up, especially this time of year. Not only do readers love holiday-themed cozies, but many of us also love writing them. Some authors even have holiday themed series. Although I haven’t yet penned a holiday-themed series (but who knows where my writing will take me in the future?) I love incorporating holidays into my books. The spooky atmosphere of Halloween seeps through A Stitch to Die For as well as the book I’m currently finishing.

However, Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. For that reason, there are two Christmas-themed books in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, and I’ll probably write another at some point. In Anastasia’s world, when the snowflakes start falling, it’s beginning to look a lot like murder, and she never knows when she’ll find a corpse in a sleigh. (Hint: she does!)

That’s what happens in Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide, the eighth book in the series, which is currently on sale through November 14th for only .99 cents.

Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 8

Two and a half weeks ago magazine crafts editor Anastasia Pollack arrived home to find Ira Pollack, her half-brother-in-law, had blinged out her home with enough Christmas lights to rival Rockefeller Center. Now he’s crammed her small yard with enormous cavorting inflatable characters. She and photojournalist boyfriend (and possible spy) Zack Barnes pack up the unwanted lawn decorations to return to Ira. They arrive to find his yard the scene of an over-the-top Christmas extravaganza. His neighbors are not happy with the animatronics, laser light show, and blaring music creating traffic jams on their normally quiet street. One of them expresses his displeasure with his fists before running off.

In the excitement, the deflated lawn ornaments are never returned to Ira. The next morning Anastasia once again heads to his house before work to drop them off. When she arrives, she discovers Ira’s attacker dead in Santa’s sleigh. Ira becomes the prime suspect in the man’s murder and begs Anastasia to help clear his name. But Anastasia has promised her sons she’ll keep her nose out of police business. What’s a reluctant amateur sleuth to do?

Christmas craft projects included.

A cozy holiday whodunnit sale!

Kindle    Kobo    Nook    Apple Books

Grab a copy of Handmade Ho-Ho Homicide for yourself, then cozy up under your favorite quilt with a cup of hot cocoa, peppermint tea, some mulled cider, or even a hot toddy. But don’t forget about all your cozy-loving friends and family. Gift them a copy. They’ll certainly appreciate it more than that annual leaden fruit cake!

Are you someone who loves reading holiday-themed cozies? Or an author who loves writing them? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of any of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com. Sign up for her newsletter to receive an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.

Coffee cup and leaves

Why We Love Fall

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by Mary Lee Ashford

Coffee cup and leavesIt’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 go of summer just yet.  Though I’m sure I’ll be complaining in a couple of months when the really cold weather hits, I have to admit that I am so ready for cool crisp mornings, the glorious colors of autumn leaves, and maybe even a little pumpkin spice. It seems I’m not alone.

According to Kathryn Lively, a professor of sociology at Dartmouth College, our obsession with fall is a social construct that starts when we’re children.  She says, “As children, we come to associate fall with going back to school, new school supplies, seeing friends. It’s exciting, for most. We still respond to this pattern that we experienced for eighteen years.” I don’t know about you, but I loved, loved, loved school supplies. In fact, you might still find me wandering the aisles at Office Depot, excited about a new notebook or pen.

We also associate fall with comforting and cozy things – a warm fire, a soft blanket, tasty soups or stews.  She calls these temporal markers and says, “From a sociological lens, our emotions are tied inextricably to the meaning that we make about ourselves, others, events and times of year.”

The bottom line is if we love fall what we really love is we love what the season has come to represent to us. And I, for one, am all in. Bring it on! How about you? Do you love fall? Or are you ho-hum on the season change? My latest book in the Sugar & Spice Mystery series is set in fall. And I loved bringing all that entails into the storyline.

Comment below for a chance to win a copy of NIGHT OF THE LIVING BREAD. And have a fabulous fall!

“Night of the Living Bread was a sweet read. So well-plotted, the story moves at a lively pace. A fine mystery, entertaining characters that feel like good friends, set in an Iowa small town, complete with yummy recipes, delivered everything I needed for a perfect escape”—Lori Caswell, Escape with Dollycas into a Good Book

“The mystery unfolds like delicious layers of a croissant. The pace is perfect, the dialogue sparkles, and Ms. Ashford doesn’t skip a beat.”

“Clues are sprinkled throughout for the quick armchair detective to catch, and there were a few twists I didn’t see coming. The author does an admirable job bringing all the elements together into a scrumptious read that kept me turning pages.”

“Night of the Living Bread was a sweet read. So well-plotted, the story moves at a lively pace. A fine mystery, entertaining characters that feel like good friends, set in an Iowa small town, complete with yummy recipes, delivered everything I needed for a perfect escape”

 

 

Author Mary Lee Ashford

Mary Lee Ashford is the author of the Sugar & Spice mystery series and also half of the Sparkle Abbey writing team. She is a lifelong bibliophile and public library champion. Prior to publishing Mary Lee won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime – Iowa, a member of MWA, and Novelists, Inc. She lives in the Midwest with her family and her feline coworker.

People in background with text Better Together

Thankful for Connections

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by Sparkle Abbey
People in background with text Better TogetherAs 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 our personal lives – family things, medical things, and life – things shift.

And wow, where do we even begin with changes in publishing? For us, a major change is that our original publisher is closing its doors at the end of the year. Which on the personal side makes us very sad and on the professional side means that we will soon own the rights to those first ten Sparkle Abbey books. Needless to say, we have a lot of decisions to make about what’s next for the Pampered Pets. It’s a different place than when we started and so many options to explore. And options that are preferable today may not be so attractive at the end of the year. Which is only three months away. Yikes!

In addition to the actual writing and the publishing part of things, it’s also a different world in terms of connecting with readers. Conferences are fewer but book signings seem to have picked up again. On the socials side, Facebook remains popular with our readers, Instagram has grown, Twitter is out, BlueSky is in. And BookTok, it depends on the day. Video is big, live is even bigger. And podcasts remain popular. Right now.

And then there’s AI and it’s impact on, well, everything.

There’s a lot of be sorted out. And while the ease of researching and gathering intel on the publishing world has become fast and easy, the reliability of the information you gather is harder to determine. Which is why we are so thankful for writing friends and the connections that being a part of the writing community brings.

We have each other here on The Stiletto Gang blog to rely on for advice and intel sharing. There are also a slew of connections via Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and people we’ve met there. As well as our local chapter and our long-time writing group. A wealth of information, education, and support that is truly priceless.

We’re not sure what the future holds but we know one thing for certain. There will always be change.

As we adapt to the latest trends, try new things, and keep telling our stories, we are tremendously thankful for the connections that make this rocky road easier and so much more fun!

 

sparkle and abbey

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Ashford and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the other neighbors.)

If you want to make sure you get updates, sign up for their newsletter via the SparkleAbbey.com website

Creating Characters: Meet Levon Larroquette

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Last month, I wrote about Arabella Carpenter, owner of the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, and a main character in my Glass Dolphin mystery series. Arabella also makes brief, but important, appearance in each book of my Marketville Mystery series.

Arabella has what could best be described as a complicated relationship with her charismatic ex-husband, Levon Larroquette. Levon is an antiques picker (think of the TV show, American Pickers). In book 1 (The Hanged Man’s Noose) we find out exactly why Arabella and Levon became “best friend exes,” in book 2 (A Hole in One), we watch their relationship get a whole lot more complicated. Book 3 (Where There’s A Will) wraps up the series and I believe leaves them both exactly where they are meant to be. No spoilers here! If you haven’t read it, time’s a wasting…

In the books, Levon is described as being “drop dead gorgeous” with “shaggy brown hair and indigo blue eyes.” As a reader, you may have summoned up your own inspiration for Levon Larroquette, but in my head, Levon resembles 40-year-old Kris Kristofferson from the 1976 version of A Star is Born (yes, the remake with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga was fine, but IMHO not as good as the Babs/Kris version).

So, what do you think? Kris? Levon? Are you seeing it? And what A Star is Born version do you love most?

 

The Glass Dolphin Mysteries are available in all eBook formats, trade paperback, and on audiobook on Audible, iTunes and Amazon. Find them at www.books2read.com/GlassDolphin. 

Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference, Waterfalls, & Wicked

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By Lois Winston

Cumberland Falls

I’m exhausted! But I’m not complaining. Just stating a fact. The last month has been a good exhaustion filled with family, writers, and accolades.

First, at the end of July, my husband and I took our soon-to-be nine and eleven-year-old grandsons to Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky for four days. The falls are billed as the Niagara Falls of the South. I’m wondering if whoever came up with that slogan has ever been to Niagara Falls. I have. Twice. Talk about false advertising! I’ve seen bigger waterfalls in New Jersey! That said, though, the boys had a great time panning for gemstones.

We also spent a day at a waterpark and another at an entertainment complex that featured bowling, a multiplex theater, an arcade, and a restaurant. We did it all because that was the day the temperatures hovered near 100 degrees. New Jersey is known for its hazy, hot, and humid Augusts. As a kid, I lived through many without benefit of air-conditioning. But after four years living in Tennessee, I’m still not used to the oppressive heat of the South. I may never get used to it!

A week after we returned to Tennessee, my nineteen-year-old granddaughter arrived, and the two of us flew to New York for five days. Zoe hadn’t been to New York since she was nine years old, and when I asked her where she’d like to go, she immediately said New York City. She’s definitely got my genes!

Luckily, the heat wasn’t too bad while we were in Manhattan, and we walked everywhere. We met a writer friend of mine for dinner in Chelsea, walked the High Line back to our midtown hotel, spent a day at the Museum of Modern Art, another at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and saw the Broadway production of Wicked.

Stiletto Gang members Debra H. Goldstein, Gay Yellen, and Lois Winston at the Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference

A week after arriving back in Tennessee, it was time for the Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference. I had been asked to give a Keynote Address at Saturday night’s banquet. I was also a finalist in the Best Comedy category of the Silver Falchion Awards for Sorry, Knot Sorry. I had no expectation of winning because A Crafty Collage of Crime had won the year before. Much to my amazement, my name was called!

 Lois Winston at Killer Nashville Writers’ Conference

Stiletto Gang members Gay Yellen and Debra H. Goldstein also attended the conference. That’s the three of us in the photo. The other photo is of me, either making my acceptance speech or giving the Keynote.

Anyway, like I said at the beginning of this post, I’m exhausted, but it’s a happy exhaustion, and I’ll be spending the remainder of this week catching up and hopefully adding to the word count of my current work-in-progress because the following week is going to be devoted to prep for that dreaded test we all have to go through every five years.

How has your summer been? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of any of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. 

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website www.loiswinston.com. Sign up for her newsletter to receive an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.

Oops! After 15 Years I Killed My Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers Mystery Blog

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By Lois Winston

Sometimes the universe sends you a signal. Last month, I received one. It began when I was uploading a guest post to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers, the blog I’d created in 2010 because my editor wanted me to join Facebook, and I had refused. I told her I’d instead join Twitter and create a blog.

I rarely posted on Twitter and eventually closed the account, but I kept up the blog. It changed over the years. At first, I posted new content five days a week. After a few years, I reduced my blogging to three days a week, then once a week. I began having more and more guests because coming up with fresh content, even once a week, is time-consuming, and I also belong to two multi-author blogs. I blog once a month here at The Stiletto Gang and once every seven weeks at Booklover’s Bench. For the last year, I was posting once a month on Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers and hosting guests the other weeks.

Then one day about a month ago, I was uploading a guest post, and Blogger wouldn’t let me add the jpeg of the guest’s cover. I rebooted my computer. Multiple times with no success. I searched the Internet and found various reasons why the jpeg wouldn’t load. I tried other jpegs with no success, and after eliminating all the other suggestions, I tried the only one left. I deleted my cookies. Suddenly, I could no longer get onto my blog dashboard, even after signing in.

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with Google, leaning heavily toward the hate. Google doesn’t play well with my Mac. Never has. And, of course, it’s impossible to get human help from Google, especially for Blogger, which they stopped supporting years ago. Did I want to waste more hours, days, even weeks trying to get back into my blog, knowing the chances of success were infinitesimal? I’d already wasted hours, the result being that the initial minor problem had grown to a major one. I also wasn’t about to pay a tech expert hundreds of dollars, only to have him or her fail as well.

Maybe the time had come to bid a fond farewell to Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. The fact that I wasn’t panicking about losing my blog, told me this was an option I should consider. Maybe Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers had run its course after fifteen years. All good things must come to an end. Would anyone even notice or care? Do I care? The more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t. Instead, I was looking forward to the time it would free up in my writing schedule and my life.

So, fare thee well, Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. I bid you adieu as you take your place in the huge expanse of dead blogs floating around somewhere in cyberspace.

Have you stepped away from some or all social media, either intentionally or inadvertently? Were you upset or happy about it? Post a comment for a chance to receive a promo code for a free audiobook download of one of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s chapter books, and nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews dubbed her critically acclaimed Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series, “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” In addition, Lois is a former literary agent and an award-winning craft and needlework designer who often draws much of her source material for both her characters and plots from her experiences in the crafts industry. Her most recent book is Seams Like the Perfect Crime, the fourteenth Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. Learn more about Lois and her books at her website. Sign up for her newsletter to receive an Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.

Game of Scones book cover

The Secret Ingredient to Great Storytelling & a Free Book

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from Mary Lee Ashford *

It’s been a busy month or so here with a new book coming out in May (Night of the Living Bread), a book festival, preparing for Malice Domestic and beginning work on the next book in the Sugar & Spice mystery series.  Maybe because I’m at the very beginning of that fun process of starting a new book and thiOpen signs series is a culinary cozy mystery series, I got to thinking about food in fiction. And the role it plays in storytelling. Whether it’s the tantalizing descriptions of a cozy café (like the Red Hen Diner) in a small-town mystery, a feast fit for a king in a grand historical, or the comforting home-cooked meals shared between characters, food plays a vital role in storytelling.

Here are a few of the reasons I came up with as to why that is:

1. Food Adds Atmosphere and Setting

Food has an incredible ability to evoke a sense of place and time, immersing us in the world of the story. It adds layers of sensory detail that bring the book’s setting to life without a lot of descriptive narrative. Kind of a shorthand that give us clues to both place and vibe.

3. Food Appeals to the Senses

Reading about food is a feast for the imagination. When a novel describes the crunch of a flaky pie crust, the tang of freshly squeezed lemonade, or the aroma of slow-cooked stew, it engages our senses in a visceral way. These vivid descriptions make stories feel richer and more immersive.

3. Food Builds Character Depth

What a character eats (or refuses to eat) can tell us so much about them. Is the detective addicted to strong black coffee and greasy diner food? Does the heroine bake elaborate cakes as a way to process her emotions? The way characters interact with food—whether they savor it, scorn it, or use it as a coping mechanism—reveals their personality, background, and even emotional state. Additionally, who they share it with and how gives us insight into relationships in the story.

4. Food Can Add Comfort or Danger

In cozy mysteries, food often serves as a comforting, warm element—think charming bakeries and steaming cups of tea. But in darker genres, food can be used to heighten tension. A glass of wine could be poisoned. A fancy banquet might hint at secrets hidden beneath a veneer of civility. Whether it’s a source of comfort or conflict, food is never just about sustenance—it’s about what’s going on in people’s lives.

5. Food Evokes Emotions

Certain tastes have the power to transport us back in time. The scent of fresh-baked cookies might remind us of childhood memories or memories of when our children were young. A family recipe can stir up old memories and emotions. Food is tied to our personal histories. In fact, a recent Harvard study found that food is “an effective trigger of deeper memories of feelings and emotions.” There was a lot more about the hippocampus, neurotransmitters, and declarative memories but the bottom line is food is a strong connector to emotion.

What are your thoughts? Do certain foods bring back memories for you? Do you have a particular sub-genre of culinary mysteries that you enjoy? 

The Sugar & Spice Mysteries feature former magazine editor, Sugar Calloway and blue-ribbon baker, Dixie Spicer, who have launched a community cookbook business. One reviewer says, “When you add to the likeable characters, a fine small town setting, an interesting cozy mystery plot, and loads of yummy food, you have a recipe for success!”

Game of Scones book cover

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*Mary Lee Ashford is the author of the Sugar & Spice mystery series from Oliver Heber Books and also half of the Sparkle Abbey writing team who pen the national best-selling Pampered Pets series. She is a lifelong bibliophile, an avid reader, and public library champion. Prior to publishing Mary Lee won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. She is the founding president of Sisters in Crime – Iowa as well as a member of Mystery Writers of America and Novelists, Inc. She lives in the Midwest with her family and her feline coworker.