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Getting serious about writing a series

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By donalee Moulton

About a year ago I had a new book come out — and with the publication of Melt, I officially had something else. My first series: the Lotus Detective Agency. Melt is the second book to feature Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo, three women who meet in a yoga studio and go on to discover they have a penchant for more than downward dogs.

When I wrote Bind, the first book that brought these women together, I knew it would be a series. I do not know why I knew that, but it was a feeling I didn’t question. That feeling also shaped how the first book unfolded, knowing a second would soon be in the works. I could give some things away; I couldn’t give everything away. What happened in the first book had to be the reality on which the second book would be founded.

While each book must stand on its own, they are indelibly interconnected. The women grow as detectives. They refine their skills, and their collaboration. Their friendship deepens. There’s also a romance that blossoms in the pages of Bind and is more firmly rooted in Melt. And there is a dog whom I’ve become quite fond of.

I realized that the style and tone of the first book, my voice, must also be the same in book two. Readers expect consistency, within reason. What resonated with them in the first book should be found in the second, third, and subsequent books. Personalities do not abruptly change unless this is part of the plot and clearly spelled out. Lighthearted stories do not suddenly become dark without buildup and explanation.

That said, sequels cannot be mere reproductions of the original. There must be growth, there must be new challenges, there must be hiccups, stumbles, and imperfections that will further be explored in future books.

Logic must also prevail. My three women are not in law enforcement and have no background in crime solving. As I result, I didn’t feel they could realistically help to solve a murder in book one, or book two. Their credibility and expertise had to develop over several hundreds of pages. Now they’re ready.

The real question is: Am I? I’ve discovered the joy of writing a series also comes with angst. I feel an obligation to get it “right” for readers who have embraced Bind and Melt. I also feel an obligation to Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo.

And, of course, I’ll need another one-word title that reflects what goes on inside a yoga studio and what happens outside that studio when a crime has been committed.

cover of Bind

Lotus Detective Series #1

cover of donalee Moulton's book Melt

Lotus Detective Series #2

Don’t Leave Your Readers Fragmented

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Authors Note: I’ve been busy doing beta reads and the subject of fragmented sentences came up. I wrote the following article in 2013 while editing Writing from the Peak, Pikes Peak Writers blog. I didn’t update the original because dated as it is, I still think it has relevance in 2026. See if you don’t agree. ~ Donnell 

Fragmented sentences have left me feeling fragmented of late.

Writing is all about feeling. If you write a story, the number one thing you must be concerned about is not perfect sentence structure, not whether your plot is the most brilliant ever, and not even whether the characters are quirky and out there. The number one thing writers must be concerned with when adding words to the page is how am I making my reader feel?

Feelings are why readers continue to read – not because you’ve written the best book ever, and not because you’re the next Gillian Flynn or Charles Dickens. You’ve grabbed your reader, done something to their heart and they’ve become invested in your story.

That being said, authors have a tendency to glom on to whatever works. Whether I’m judging a contest or reading a book of one of my peers or my favorite NY Times bestseller, as a writer I can’t help but notice when something trends. Books are a lot like Twitter. Authors find out what they perceive as hot, and make an unconscious decision–or perhaps conscious–to implement that trend in their next book.

One of my earliest critique partners, Colonel Jim Roper (ret.), gave me some advice that I’ve never forgotten. He said, “Find your own voice.” That advice truly resonated with me, and from that point on, I’ve done my best not to copy other writers. True, we choose a genre that we prefer, but if someone starts a style all his own and the next twenty writers jump on the “Me Too” bandwagon, that kind of dilutes his style, doesn’t it?

Example: I don’t know what writer came up with using the period for emphasis. Because I mainly read mysteries and suspense, every so often I’d see a writer use something like: He had to stop him. Couldn’t. Let. That. Happen. The first few times, placing a period after a word might have been effective. Incorporated into every other book, however, the style became redundant. Interestingly enough, I’m not seeing it used much these days.

The redundancy issue brings me to the topic of this blog and why I’m feeling fragmented. Some authors are using fragmented sentences every other sentence. And the fact that they’re not completing sentences leaves Me. Slightly. Yanked. Out. Of the story.

There are tricks that writers use to increase the pacing of a manuscript. If you’re writing an action scene, and you want to pick up the pace, shorten your sentences. If you want to slow the pace, lengthen your sentences so that your reader will take a breath. I’ve read that something in the brain is triggered when sentence structure is varied. But if you’re fragmenting your sentences because you think it ups the excitement or makes you a more compelling writer, consider changing what I personally feel is an ineffective style and an overused trend.

Am I saying never use a fragmented sentence? Absolutely not (there – feel better?)  All I ask is that when you do write a fragmented sentence, you’re doing so deliberately and not because you think it elevates the scene. Words are tools; writers are the tradesmen. Every word in your manuscript belongs to you. Don’t leave your sentences or your readers fragmented. Remember, we readers have feelings.

About the Author: Donnell Ann Bell is an award-winning author whose romantic suspense novels have reached Amazon’s Bestseller list. Her Cold Case Suspense series also received accolades, including a 2020 Colorado Book Award nomination for Black Pearl: A Cold Case Suspense and in 2023, Best Thriller in the Imadjinn Awards, Imaginarium Celebration in Louisville, Kentucky for Until Dead: A Cold Case Suspense. Before turning to fiction, she edited for The Colorado Springs Business Journal and Pikes Peak Parent newsmagazine. Her website is www.donnellannbell.net

photo of donalee Moulton

A question or two about writing

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by donalee Moulton

A new book means new opportunities to talk about writing. Here are a few questions I’ve been asked as Cardinal takes flight. 

What was the most difficult piece you ever wrote? What made it difficult?
I wrote an article early in my career about an infant born several months prematurely (with only a tablespoon of blood in its entire body if I remember correctly) and the fight to save the little one. I recall drafting the article with tears streaming down my cheeks. In that moment I realized, for me, that journalism was about moving people as well as informing them.

What sort of research do you do for your work?
Research is essential, even when you think you won’t need to do a lot of it. For example, there were key elements to my first mystery book Hung Out to Die that had to be authentic, at least in a fictional context. I had done a lot of reporting on the cannabis industry and had the opportunity to tour a cannabis-production plant before it opened. Likewise, for years as a freelance journalist, I wrote on the health sector and health issues, including mental health and personality issues. As a communications specialist, many of my clients were from this sector. All of this research knowingly and unknowingly fed into Hung Out to Die.

Which books and authors do you read for pleasure? Is there an author that inspires you?
I relish reading. I was a judge in the Crime Writers of Canada’s Awards of Excellence this year, and I got to dive into fabulous – and very diverse – books that kept me on my toes and my eyes glued to the page. When I was younger and I was discovering the wonder and wow of the mystery genre, I devoured authors like Tony Hillerman, Martha Grimes, Ruth Rendell. More recently I have discovered writers like Richard Osman. And Delia Owens’s Where the Crawdads Sing was nothing short of joyous.

Was there a person who encouraged you to write?
My mother taught me to love language – and to respect it. She cared about words and getting the words right. She was my greatest influence.

What would you say are your strengths as an author?
I always find it easy to get distracted when I am writing. As a freelance journalist, however, I learned to stay on track. Working to deadline meant there often wasn’t time to travel down interesting but non-essential paths. You are also working to a specific word count as a journalist so you know no matter how interesting the asides, they will not make it into the article for length reasons. Rigor is required.

How often do you write, and do you write using a strict routine?
I am not a marathon writer. I am a sprinter. I can’t sit and write for hours at a time. I break up my writing by taking a yoga class, soaking up some sunshine, checking email, doing some paid work. I do try to write 1,000 fictional words a day. Some days I achieve this. We don’t need to talk about the other days.

donalee Moulton

A writing life – and a few Q&A’s

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By donalee Moulton

I’ve been doing a lot of book readings and book signings. It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet readers and discuss all things mystery. They also keep me on my toes. Here are some questions I’ve been asked recently. 

5 books by donalee Moulton

 

 

 

 

 

Q: What was the first seed of an idea you had for your mystery book? How did it develop?

It started with a bath. I’m a big believer in bubbles, candles, scrubs, essential oils, and music with birds chirping in the background. Friends call this bathroom time my shrine. One night immersed in a lavender cloud I realized it was time to begin writing my mystery. Get off the pot kind of thing. That led me to a litany of possible characters and crimes. Through the mist Riel emerged. Not fully formed but outlined enough that I wrote down my ideas before I even moisturized.

Q: How did you celebrate the publication of your first book?

Sunday dinners are a tradition in our family and at our house. Over the years the faces around the table have changed, but they are all family and friends. It’s not unusual for us to have 10 or more people for dinner, and dinner is a communal process: cooking, cleaning, setting the table, making tea.

Hung Out to Die is dedicated to my 95-year-old godmother. When the first copy of the book was in my hands, three of us decided to surprise her with this inaugural copy and celebrate its publication. As we were sipping tea and finishing the last of dessert, I gave my godmother the book and directed her to the dedication page. She started to cry and without speaking passed the book to the next person at the table. They began to cry. They passed the book on. It made its way around to everyone. Most of us were in tears, even those of us who knew why my godmother cried even before the book reached them.

What a wonderful way to celebrate my first mystery novel.

Q: How would you describe your writing process? Do you outline? Let the muse lead you? Or something else?

I am not a marathon writer. I am a sprinter. I can’t sit and write for hours at a time. I break up my writing by taking a yoga class, soaking up some sunshine, checking email, doing some paid work. I do try to write 1,000 fictional words a day. Some days I achieve this. We don’t need to talk about the other days.

I love the idea of plotting out my books from beginning to end. However, the idea remains just that. I have the most basic of plot outlines and work from there, filling in and exploring options as the writing unfolds. When the characters become their own people, I know I’m on the right track.

Q: When you get the edits back from your editor, how do you work through that process?

I’m a firm believer in the importance and power of editing. When I get an edited anything back – novel, article, short story – I read through the comments and take some time to think about them. Then I dive in. Often I agree with the editor; sometimes there is a compromise. Always the writing is better for another set of eyes.

Q: What books have influenced you as a writer?

When I was about eight or nine, a next-door neighbor tossed me a Nancy Drew book. She thought I might like it. I sat on the curb between our two houses and read the entire book cover to cover. I loved the puzzle, figuring out who dunnit, and being propelled into a world outside my own.

That same year someone gifted me Charlotte’s Web, and my life was forever changed. Not only could words transport you to new worlds, they could become a part of your heart, change you in ways you could not have imagined. I wanted to do that.

Q: What is the best piece of advice about writing that you have ever heard or read? What would you tell aspiring writers today?

Write. This sounds simple. Many days it isn’t. Some call this dedication, others devotion. I’m not sure it matters what it’s called as long as it happens. You will never be a better writer, you will never write another book if you don’t sit down in front of your computer screen and begin to put words in front of you.

The Christmas Carols - 3 Novellas of romance and crime from Bethany Maines

Christmas the Movie Way

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Christmas Strikes Back

A few years ago, I became interested in scriptwriting. Like many people, I assumed that after a lifetime of watching movies that writing them couldn’t be that hard.  I’ll pause here for your laughter to die down.  Specifically, I was interested in Christmas movies and why they sucked.  Which is unfair, one person’s terminally bland Christmas movie is another person’s soothing blankie that keeps the holiday season from emerging from under the bed and devouring them whole.  I didn’t want gritty reality Christmas, but I did want something more.  And since that didn’t exist, I set out to write it myself.

Cookies for Christmas

On the whole, I enjoy Christmas movies, but the problems arise from the Hallmark rules that keep Hallmark movies on brand — no cancer or dying, celebrate small towns, low stakes, etc.  I get why those movies exist.  Viewers want a sugar cookie movie, not a complicated dessert.  But I didn’t understand why we couldn’t have Christmas stories with a little more… ass kicking.  You see, I also love action movies — they are an excellent chocolate chip cookie of a movie.  (Which is why I also stand firm in my belief that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but that’s a topic for another blog.)   So over the last several years, I’ve explored how to make the perfect Christmas cookie.  They have all the sugar, fluff, and icing, but sometimes you need a few chocolate chunks and nuts.  And I’ve accumulated three novellas worth of Christmas desserts.

Christmas Traditions

The challenge to writing a Christmas crime story was in finding the right mix of romance, holiday tropes, and humor to make people feel both awwww Christmas and Yippe-kai-yay MFers!  This required research and I dutifully watched, Die Hard, It’s a Wonderful Life, Lethal Weapon, and White Christmas as well as many others.  And OK, I also took a few classes on writing Hallmark and Christmas movies.  But popcorn and couch time is way more fun than studying and learning from experts. So if you’re looking for a Christmas story that feels a little more hefty, but still hits that sugar craving, check out The Christmas Carols.

The Christmas Carols

Blue Christmas: Buy Now • GET IT FOR FREE

Blue Jones just stole Jake Garner’s dog. And his heart. But technically the French Bulldog, Jacques, belongs to Jake’s ex-girlfriend. And soon Jake is being pressured to return the dog and Blue is being targeted by mysterious attackers. Can Jake find Blue and Jacques before her stalkers do? For Blue, Christmas has never been quite so dangerous. For Jake, Christmas has never been quite so Blue.

Oh Holy Night: Buy Now

Graphic designer Violet Harper is usually found at her local Starbucks. Handsome Roman Knox is usually carrying a gun. But tonight they’re both in a bank and there’s a body on the floor. It’s a mess, a robbery and almost the worst day ever, but maybe a Christmas miracle can get them out of the bank and into love.

Winter Wonderland: Buy Now

When Marcus Winters, a photographer with a bah humbug take on the holidays, meets Larissa Frost, a set designer who loves all things Christmas, sparks are destined to fly. But when a famous diamond goes missing from the shoot they’re working on Larissa finds that Marcus may be the only one who can keep her from being framed for a crime she didn’t commit.

Or get all three Christmas Carols in hardback: https://amzn.to/3Uj9PLh

Like your chocolate chips, but not at Christmas?

Try out the 12 Knights of Christmas anthology from Buttonhall Publishing featuring 12 delightful tales of Christmas, including my story “Carol of the Bells.” These stories are all romantic and certified sugar sweetness. (Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and as an audiobook.)  BUY NOW: https://books2read.com/12Knights

 

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Bethany Maines is the award-winning author of action-adventure and fantasy tales that focus on women who know when to apply lipstick and when to apply a foot to someone’s hind end. She participates in many activities, including swearing, karate, art, and yelling at the news. She can usually be found chasing after her daughter or glued to the computer working on her next novel (or screenplay). You can also catch up with her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and BookBub.

And don’t forget to check out all the books from The Stiletto Gang: Books

Procrastinating with Meat Loaf

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Every now and again I have what I call one of my “Agatha Christie Days”—and by that I don’t mean channeling my inner Hercule Poirot, but rather attempting to follow Dame Agatha’s sage advice, which is “to write even when you don’t want to, don’t much like what you’re writing, and aren’t writing particularly well.”

Anyway, I was working on Before There Were Skeletons, Book 4 in my Marketville Mystery series, or more accurately, sitting at my desk, staring at a flashing curser and a blank page, the radio playing softly in the background, when a song came on that changed everything. Oh, not right away—that would have been too easy. But it did allow me one of the best gifts a writer can ask for:

Procrastination in the name of research.

The song was Paradise by the Dashboard Light by the late Marvin Lee Aday, better known as Meat Loaf. Included in his 1977 bestselling album, Bat Out of Hell, the song has remained a cult favorite for decades. At the time, however, it would have been revolutionary, and as luck would have it, my protagonist, Calamity (Callie) Barnstable was in the midst of researching the disappearance of a pregnant seventeen-year-old who disappeared in Toronto in the spring of 1978.

It might be a stretch to call a song coming on the radio an omen, but it was certainly enough to get me googling “Meat Loaf concerts 1978.” And here my luck continued. Turns out that Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell concert tour took him to Toronto’s Massey Hall on Friday, April 21, 1978. A bit more googling and I found a ticket stub for that same concert on eBay (even went so far as to look at a Massey Hall seating chart) and then found a vintage t-shirt from that same concert. Procrastination at its finest.

Naturally, Callie makes good use of my Meat Loaf finds, but I’m afraid that’s as much as I can tell you without a spoiler, but I can share this YouTube link to the official music video

And now for the Shameless Self Promotion part of this post:

Available in e-book, print, and audio (Audible), I describe my Marketville Mysteries as “cold case cozies.” You won’t find any cats, crafts, or cookie recipes, but you also won’t find overt sex, violence or bad language. I like to think that Dame Agatha would approve. Poirot? He’d probably think he could do it better.

Skeletons in the Attic (Book 1): Calamity (Callie) Barnstable isn’t surprised to learn she’s the sole beneficiary of her late father’s estate, though she is shocked to discover she has inherited a house in the town of Marketville with one condition: she must move to Marketville, live in the house, and solve her mother’s murder. Callie’s not keen on dredging up a thirty-year-old mystery, but if she doesn’t do it, there’s a scheming psychic named Misty Rivers who hopes to expose the Barnstable family secrets herself. Determined to thwart Misty and fulfill her father’s wishes, Callie accepts the challenge. But is she ready to face the skeletons hidden in the attic?

On sale for just .99 at all the usual e-book suspects until November 15th. Here’s a multi-retailer link.

Past & Present (Book 2): It’s been thirteen months since Callie inherited the house in Marketville. She solves the mystery, but what next? Unemployment? Another nine-to-five job in Toronto? She decides to set down roots in Marketville, take the skills and knowledge she acquired over the past year, and start her own business: Past & Present Investigations. It’s not long before she gets her first client: a woman who wants to find out everything she can about her grandmother, Anneliese Prei, and how she came to a “bad end” in 1956. It sounds like a perfect first assignment. Except for one thing: Anneliese’s past winds its way into Callie’s present, and not in a manner anyone—least of all Callie—could have predicted.

A Fool’s Journey (Book 3): In March 2000, twenty-year-old Brandon Colbeck left home to find himself on a self-proclaimed “fool’s journey.” No one—not friends or family—have seen or heard from him since, until a phone call from a man claiming to be Brandon brings the case back to the forefront. Calamity (Callie) Barnstable and her team at Past & Present Investigations have been hired to find out what happened to Brandon and where he might be. As Callie follows a trail of buried secrets and decades-old deceptions only one thing is certain: whatever the outcome, there is no such thing as closure.

Before There Were Skeletons (Book 4): The last time anyone saw Veronica Goodman was the night of February 14, 1995, the only clue to her disappearance a silver heart-shaped pendant, found in the parking lot behind the bar where she worked. Twenty-seven years later, Veronica’s daughter, Kate, just a year old when her mother vanished, hires Past & Present Investigations to find out what happened that fateful night.
Calamity (Callie) Barnstable is drawn to the case, the similarities to her own mother’s disappearance on Valentine’s Day 1986 hauntingly familiar. A disappearance she thought she’d come to terms with. Until Veronica’s case, and five high school yearbooks, take her back in time…a time before there were skeletons.

donalee Moulton

Making a return visit

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by donalee Moulton

On June 18th the anthology Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 Stories of Mystery & Suspense became available on store shelves, virtual and otherwise. Nestled in those 301 pages, you’ll meet private detective E.M. Montgomery. (You have to guess what the E.M. stands for.)

Em, as she’s known to friends and family, has now made an appearance in six short stories. This is both deliberate and inadvertent. She is continuing a trend that started with my first mystery short story—and taking it much, much further.

A few years ago, the Crime Writers of Canada put out a call for an anthology to celebrate their fortieth anniversary. The theme was cold in the broadest sense. I took the easy route and opted for sub-zero temperatures. My story, “Swan Song,” is set in Iqaluit in the Canadian arctic. Here temperatures often drop below zero. Fahrenheit.

Three judges commented on each entry, and all three remarked on how much they liked to read a story set in place they didn’t know much about. I knew a little about Iqaluit having worked there as a consultant over a period of five years. It occurred to me, and several of the people who read “Swan Song,” that fictional police chief Doug Brumal might have more than one case to solve. When I went to write my second short story, “Troubled Water,” I returned to Doug and the Iqaluit Constabulary.

And now there’s Em, a private detective in Halifax Nova Scotia. A call went out for humorous mystery stories, and I decided to create a new character and my first PI. In that story Em solves the murder of man who is an avid birder. Em starts her own life list, and each story is named after a bird including “Zebra Finch,” and “Belted Kingfisher.” (In Midnight Schemers, the title has been changed to more closely reflect the theme of the collection.)

I’ve discovered that bringing back characters lets you explore that character more as a person with peccadillos and personality, and not simply a means to solve a crime. It also means their friends, family, colleagues, and other human (and non-human) adjacents make return visits. A small world begins to grow one short story at a time.

In Em’s case, she’s coming back in a big way. I have a contract to write Cardinal, my first paranormal mystery. It’s part of a cross-Canada series, and Em is making her inaugural appearance as the main character in a book.

I can’t predict what characters will come back to life. They seem to dictate their own comings and goings. I now have three stories featuring a retired lawyer in New Orleans who sells sex toys. She’ll be back. I just had a story accepted featuring a student at the College of the Atlantic in Maine. It’s unlikely she’ll ever solve a second crime. I have no idea why.

But I’ve learned to listen. They’ll let me know if their work is not done.

How Sewing a Patchwork Quilt is Like Writing a Mystery Novel

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I’m not a quilter, but I’ve always appreciated the beauty and workmanship of handmade quilts. In many ways, creating a quilt is much like writing a mystery novel. When starting a quilt, the quilter must first decide on a design. As an author, I start by deciding on the book’s story.

The quilter then chooses fabrics to complement her design. I choose the setting for my story and the characters who will populate the story.

Most quilts are comprised of individual squares or blocks. Books are comprised of chapters. The quilter stitches together the individual squares into a quilt top, then adds interest and depth to the design by hand-stitching (quilting) the quilt top, batting, and bottom layer of fabric together.

I not only need to make sure my chapters are seamlessly “stitched” together to tell my story, but as a mystery author, I also need my sleuth to “stitch” together the clues to solve the mystery.

Since Anastasia Pollack, my reluctant amateur sleuth, is the crafts editor at a woman’s magazine, I feature a different craft in each book of the series. In Seams Like the Perfect Crime, the fourteenth and latest book, I chose to feature quilting.

As it turns out, today is the start of Quilt Week, a four-day event sponsored by the American Quilter’s Society. Quilt Week takes place in Paducah, KY, a Unesco Creative City, known as Quilt City USA®. Paducah is also home to the National Quilt Museum.

The American Quilt Society is the world’s largest quilting organization. According to its website, it’s “dedicated to TODAY’s quilter. Inspired by the enduring creativity and importance of quilts and quiltmaking, our objective is to provide a forum for quilters of all skill levels to expand their horizons in quilt making, design, self-expression, and quilt collecting. Through our magazines, quilt shows and contests, workshops, and other activities in the world of quilting, we strive to inspire, instruct, and nurture the art and skill of quiltmaking.”

Quilt Week offers workshops, lectures, special events, quilt exhibits, vendors, and appraisals. Since I’m not a quilter, I doubt I’ll ever attend Quilt Week. However, now that I’m living in Tennessee, I think a day trip to Paducah to visit the National Quilt Museum is definitely in my future.

In the meantime, I’ve begun work on the next Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery.

Seams Like the Perfect Crime

An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery, Book 14

When staffing shortages continue to hamper the Union County homicide squad, Detective Sam Spader once again turns to his secret weapon, reluctant amateur sleuth Anastasia Pollack. How can she and husband Zack Barnes refuse when the victim is their new neighbor?

Revolutionary War reenactor Barry Sumner had the odd habit of spending hours mowing a small patch of packed dirt and weeds until his mower ran out of gas. He’d then guzzle beer on his front porch until he passed out. That’s where Anastasia’s son Nick discovers his body three days after the victim and his family moved into the newly built mini-McMansion across the street.

After a melee breaks out at the viewing, Spader zeroes in on the widow as his prime suspect. However, Anastasia has her doubts. There are other possible suspects, including a woman who’d had an affair with the victim, his ex-wife, the man overseeing the widow’s trust fund, a drug dealer, and the reenactors who were blackmailing the widow and victim.

When another reenactor is murdered, Spader suspects they’re dealing with a serial killer, but Anastasia wonders if the killer is attempting to misdirect the investigation. As she narrows down the suspects, will she jeopardize her own life to learn the truth?

Craft projects included.

Buy Links

~*~

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 where you can also sign up for her newsletter and follow her on various social media sites.

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