Tag Archive for: Lois Winston

When Life is Stranger than Fiction, Stick it in a Cozy Mystery Novel

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By Lois Winston

Have you ever read a cozy mystery novel and thought, “No way would that ever happen in real life!”? I know that many readers will think exactly that when they read about the idiosyncratic behavior of Barry Sumner, a character in Seams Like the Perfect Crime, my fourteenth and latest Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. However, I’m here to tell you that I didn’t have to rely on any fictional enhancements when I decided to incorporate into my newest mystery the extremely odd habit of a very peculiar neighbor who lived across the street from me decades ago.

Who among us hasn’t come across an odd neighbor at one time or another? According to the Oracle of Google, the average American moves 11.7 times in a lifetime. Chances are, at least one of those moves will place you next door, down the block, or across the street from a neighbor you will deem weird, eccentric, or unusual in some way.

Many people shy away from such individuals, but as an author, I’m fascinated by human nature in all its forms. Besides, up until four years ago, I lived most of my life in New Jersey, a state that defines weird. We even have a magazine devoted to all things weird within the state, including some laws still on the books. For instance, it’s unlawful to frown at a police officer. That one made it into Sorry, Knot Sorry, the thirteenth book in my series.

When my husband and I moved twenty-seven years ago, I became mesmerized by the unusual behavior of the man who lived across the street from us. In the back of my mind, I always knew he’d one day show up as a character in one of my books. And now he has. Unfortunately for him, he becomes the victim of a killer. Fortunately for him, this fate didn’t befall him in real life.

I’m currently finishing the next book in the series. Embroidered Lies and Alibis will release early in 2026. The plot deals with the aftermath of the murder in Seams Like the Perfect Crime, as well as other events impacting Anastasia and her family, including an Internet scam targeting her mother. And of course, Anastasia finds herself dealing with more dead bodies!

Have you ever had a quirky neighbor you thought would make a great character in a cozy mystery? 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.

A Day in the Life of a Cozy Mystery Author Lois Winston

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A Day in the Life of Cozy Mystery Author Lois Winston

By Lois Winston

Did you ever have one of those days where you look back and wonder what you accomplished between starting your day and ending it? You check your word count for the day and ask yourself how you could have accomplished so little. Where did the time go? Admit it. We’ve all been there. It’s amazing how all those miniscule tasks that interrupt us throughout the day add up to hours of unproductive nonwriting. When that happens, I turn into a grump.

I’m not someone who has to pound out a set number of words a day. If I can write one scene that I’m happy with, I feel as though I’ve accomplished something. More than one scene? All the better. On average, though, I tend to write about 1,000 words a day—on a good day. Those are the days that end with me feeling that I’ve accomplished something and made headway on my work-in-progress. My day ends with a smile instead of the grumps.

If I could do that every day, I’d be able to write a book every nine or ten weeks. Too often, though, the opposite is true. There are days when so much of the minutia of life takes over that I’m lucky if I’ve hammered out a paragraph on that WIP. But sometimes, I don’t even add a sentence.

So where does my time go? My babies spread their wings and flew the coop decades ago. I no longer juggle three careers simultaneously. (Yes, three! As the Brits say, needs must.) I now have the luxury of being able to do nothing but write all day. Except…

Let’s pull back the curtain and look at an average day in the life of cozy mystery author Lois Winston.

My day begins with typical morning rituals. I wake up (usually far too early), brush my teeth, empty the dishwasher, make breakfast, and eat breakfast while watching the morning news (research!) Then I shower, dress, and head upstairs to my office where I power up my computer and check my book sales. Seeing overnight sales puts a smile on my face. It’s a great way to start the day. No sales? Not so great.

Next comes Wordle. I can’t really start my day before doing Wordle and the NY Times mini crossword. They trigger the firing of all those brain synapses. Except lately I’ve also become obsessed with Connections….

I then check my email. It’s not unusual to find my mailbox filled with fifty or sixty emails that have come in since I went to bed. Most of the emails are writing-related, but there are also quite a few from committees I’m on at church, a few from friends and family, and of course, all those places that bombard you with ads after you’ve purchased something online. And that’s not even counting the spam from Nigerian princes and marketing companies claiming they know someone in Hollywood interested in turning my books into movies. Delete. Delete Delete.

By the time I skim all the emails and answer the ones that need answering, it’s time for a second cup of coffee. But there are days when I need that second cup before I’ve finished with the overnight emails. While the coffee is brewing, I throw in a load of wash.

Before I know it, it’s 10am. Depending on the day, I’ve been up for a minimum of three hours. Usually more because I’m a woman of a certain age, and a full night’s sleep is a distant memory.

More emails have arrived, and I go through them while drinking my coffee. By this point I’m stiff from sitting so long. I jump on the treadmill for half an hour.

I then need to run to the post office to mail a book to a contest winner. There’s one main post office in our city of approximately 85,000 residents. The line is fifteen deep, and there’s only one clerk behind the counter.

Half an hour later, I’m back in my car and realize I need to stop at the supermarket before going home. We used up the last of the milk at breakfast, and I hate drinking black coffee. We’ve also run out of fresh fruit and veggies.

When I arrive home, I put the food away and throw the wash into the dryer. I still can’t begin my writing day because I had agreed to judge a synopsis and three chapters of an unpublished work for a contest. I read the work, then spend half an hour composing a constructive critique that hopefully, won’t make the writer burst out in tears. Although her manuscript needs lots of work, we all had to start somewhere, and my first attempt was no better.

By now, it’s lunchtime. I grab a yogurt, slice an apple, and read the morning newspaper while eating lunch. Afterwards, I load the dishwasher while I brew another cup of coffee. Decaf this time.

Coffee in hand, I head back to my office, finally ready to start writing, but before I can write anything new, I always reread what I wrote yesterday.

The dryer buzzer goes off before I finish reading. I dash downstairs to pull the clothes out of the dryer, so they don’t wrinkle.

I finally get back to my computer, finish reading and begin to write. Two paragraphs later, I remember I have a blog that’s supposed to run tomorrow, and I never wrote it. I open a fresh document and try to think of something pithy to write for the post.

After another hour, the blog is written and uploaded. I go back to my WIP and suddenly find myself staring at a blinking cursor. I jump back on the treadmill for another half hour because if the words aren’t coming, at least I can walk off some calories and maybe while doing so, inspiration will strike.

After grabbing a glass of ice water, I head back to my computer. The words begin to flow. I’m in the zone. Until I happen to glance at the clock and realize, it’s nearly dinner time. Once dinner is cooked, eaten, and the dishwasher is loaded, I collapse onto the sofa to watch the evening news and Jeopardy! Depending on the night, I either continue watching TV or read a book. Eventually, I call it a night—after dealing with more emails.

Total word count for the day? Nowhere near a thousand. I resign myself to the fact that it was one of those days. I go to bed a grump, hoping I’ll be more productive tomorrow. At least we have milk, fruit, and veggies in the fridge, and I won’t have to make a trip to the post office. But…

As I turn off the light, a reminder pops up on my phone, alerting me to a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.

How’s your day going? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code (US and UK residents only) 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.” Seams Like the Perfect Crime is her latest release in the series. 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.

One Author’s Challenges of Cozy Mystery Marketing

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The times they are a-changin’. In all aspects of our lives. Maybe the challenges of cozy mystery marketing, or any book marketing, never rank high on most people’s minds—unless you’re an author struggling with ever-increasing expenses and ever-shrinking book sales. For those of us in that boat, it’s a serious personal and financial problem.

Publishing has always been a fickle industry.

Marketing was once the responsibility of publishing companies. The author had one job and one job only—meet their deadline. However, these days, whether you publish traditionally, independently, or both, most authors are required to do a huge chunk, if not all, of their own marketing. The reason? In today’s topsy-turvy world, publishers devote all their marketing dollars to the top one percent of their authors—the very authors who have such incredibly established names and reputations that their books would sell (and sell well) without the benefit of any marketing and publicity efforts.

Authors are always looking for new ways of marketing their books to readers.

The trouble is, whenever we hit upon something that works, it never lasts for long. Or what works for one author offers little or no results for another. Not only are we constantly in search of that elusive Golden Ticket, when we finally grab onto it, it often slips through our fingers.

Social Media

Social media? Some fellow authors have told me I’ve sabotaged myself by not being on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Maybe they’re right, but I’ve seen the nasty side of social media and want no part of it. I was bullied enough as a kid.

Amazon ads

I tried Amazon ads. They worked great for several years. Until they didn’t. I switched over to what’s called Defensive Ads, at the suggestion of another author who was having quite a bit of success with them. A month and a half later, they’ve resulted in exactly one sale.

I attended a workshop where the presenter claimed her success came from growing her newsletter mailing list through reader magnets, which is creating a landing page on your website where you offer a free read to anyone signing up for your newsletter. Since creating my reader magnet seven months ago, I’ve increased my subscriber list by nearly 1,000. During that time, though, I’ve seen no increase in monthly sales.

Promo newsletters

Promo Newsletters featuring discounted books used to work well for me. Until they didn’t. I wasn’t alone. Other authors have said the same thing. The only one I’ve continued to use is Bookbub—when I’ve been lucky enough to get a spot. They’ve always been extremely successful for me. So I was thrilled several weeks ago when I was offered a U.S. Bookbub promo on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books for the 2-book bundle featuring the first two books in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries for .99 cents.

Not only is a Bookbub promo hard to get, but they’re also a huge financial commitment. A bite the bullet, close your eyes, cross your fingers, and hold your breath-sized commitment. You need to sell several thousand books just to break even. The hope is that people who paid less than a dollar for your book (or books, in this case) will enjoy them enough to buy other books in the series at the regular retail price. In the past, that’s the way it’s worked for me.

I’d heard the rumors about other authors not doing well with Bookbub anymore. I suspected enough authors had stopped trying for Bookbub ads that even Bookbub was starting to feel the pinch because they had dropped the price in the Cozy Mystery category by nearly $200. My initial reaction was that I’d have to sell far fewer books to break even.

Bookbub promos always sell the most books the first day of the sale when the promo newsletter goes out. The book then remains on Bookbub’s website for the length of time the author has set for the sale. I’ve always gone with the 30-day max. Each day after the first, sales go down incrementally. However, in the past, I’ve always made Amazon’s bestseller list that first day. Not this time. I was shocked at how few books sold.

My promo end July 10th. Seeing the results this time is both sobering and depressing. I have little hope of breaking even. I know with what’s going on in the U.S. and the world right now, people are worried. I’m worried. But I’d hoped I could give them a little bit of an escape and a few laughs for only .99 cents, and at the same time, help my own financial bottom line. However even .99 cents seems too steep a price for many people to pay these days.

~*~

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.

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.

Author Lois Winston on Cozy Mystery Books vs. the Mind-boggling World of Minecraft

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By Lois Winston

Image by InoxyBuild from Pixabay

There was a time when I enjoyed fantasy, science fiction, and even some horror. The summer before ninth grade, I discovered The Lord of the Rings trilogy and read all three books within a few weeks. The books of Ira Levin, Arthur C. Clarke, and Tom Tryon filled my spare time throughout high school and into college, in-between assigned literary works like Moby Dick and The Bell Jar.

I also like to think that I have a decent knowledge of current events and trends, although I have no interest in following most of those trends. I can still kill it on Jeopardy most nights, though I’ll admit, the answers aren’t coming at the same rapid speed they once did. The brain is a muscle, and with the inevitability of growing old, all muscles, no matter how much you exercise them, start slowing down with age.

But then there’s Minecraft. My eight and ten-year-old grandsons are obsessed with it. They play it as much as they’re allowed, and when they’ve used up their screen time for the day, they either read Minecraft books or talk about Minecraft incessantly.

And I just don’t get it. Not their obsession. I get obsessions. I had plenty of my own throughout childhood and even into adulthood. My obsessions haven’t ceased. I recently became obsessed with West Wing, a show I had never watched back in the day, but I spent hours binge-watching the entire seven seasons in the autumn and early winter of 2024.

What I don’t get is Minecraft. I’ve tried. I’ve watched my grandsons play and listened to their explanation of the rules. I’ve read aloud chapters in their Minecraft books. But try as I might, I can’t wrap my brain around what strikes me as very random and odd rules concerning assorted worlds, cauldrons, emeralds, ores, ender dragons, wizards, witches, elder guardians, blocky animals, trees that don’t look like trees, and mining fatigue. And those are just a few of the oddities. It’s enough to make my head spin. It really bothers me that I seem completely incapable, even after hours of tutelage, of grasping the most rudimentary aspects of Minecraft. 😵‍💫

Perhaps Minecraft makes perfect sense to the pre-pubescent brain because they’re more open to wonderous possibilities. After all, they still believe in Santa Claus. It’s probably best that I stick to my own imaginary world of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. The murder and mayhem I throw at my reluctant amateur sleuth in my cozy mystery books makes far more sense to me than the pixelated world of Minecraft ever will.

What about you? Is there something about modern culture or trends that leaves you stymied and scratching your head? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free download of any of the currently available Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery audiobooks.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston began her award-winning writing career with Talk Gertie to Me, a humorous fish-out-of-water novel about a small-town girl going off to the big city and the mother determined to bring her home to marry the boy next door. That was followed by the romantic suspense Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception.

Then Lois’s writing segued unexpectedly into the world of humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, thanks to a conversation her agent had with an editor looking for craft-themed mysteries. In her day job, Lois was an award-winning craft and needlework designer, and although she’d never written a mystery—or had even thought about writing a mystery—her agent decided she was the perfect person to pen a series for this editor.

Thus, was born the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, which Kirkus Reviews dubbed “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” The series now includes fourteen novels and three novellas. Lois also writes the Empty Nest Mysteries and has written several standalone mystery novellas. Other publishing credits include romance, chick lit, and romantic suspense novels, a series of romance short stories, a children’s chapter book, and a nonfiction book on writing, inspired by her twelve years working as an associate at a literary agency. Her latest release is Seams Like the Perfect Crime, the fourteenth Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery.

Learn more about Lois and her books at www.loiswinston.com where you can find links for her other social media sites and sign up for her newsletter to receive a free download of an Anastasia Pollack Mini-Mystery.

Sisterhood of the Traveling Book featured image

Sisterhood of the Traveling Book: Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun

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By Lois Winston

For my first Sisterhood of the Traveling Book post, I’m reaching back to 2012 for the best promo ever.

The Underground New York Public Library is a photo series by photographer Ourit Ben-Haim. It features riders who are reading while waiting for a train or traveling on one throughout the New York subway system. As you can see from the screen capture, photos are posted on the site along with information about the books and links for liking and sharing. This photo was originally taken on March 11, 2012, fourteen months after the debut of Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. Imagine the thrill I received when the photographer emailed me a copy of the photo. Of course, I framed the photo and have it displayed in my office.

Now, fast-forward fourteen years from the January 2011 series debut to this month, which saw the release of Seams Like the Perfect Crime, the fourteenth book in the series.

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, and children’s chapter books. 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 a free Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mini-Mystery.

Writing Life and Inspiration: Strangers + “What if?” = Plots and Characters in Fiction

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By Lois Winston

Whenever I hear a writer complain that she can’t come up with an idea for a plot or character, I offer this advice: “Get off your phone and keep your eyes and ears open.” No matter where I go—from the supermarket to a doctor’s appointment to the line at the DMV—I see people with their noses buried in their phones. I’m the outlier. As an author, part of my writing life is spent eavesdropping on conversations and observing the behaviors of those around me. That’s where I get much of my writing inspiration. For me, strangers + “what if?” = plots and characters in many of my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries.

Ideas for plots and characters are all around us if we just take the time to look and listen. Neighbors, friends, relatives, strangers, and the daily news provide constant sources of ideas for plots and characters. All you need to do is channel your inner snoop gene while pretending not to pay attention.

I’ve been privy to the most sensitive of conversations while sitting on a commuter train, in a department store dressing room, and even while doing the necessary in a mall ladies’ room stall. Sometimes, I’ve even heard both ends of the conversation, thanks to the person on the train or in the dressing room or lavatory having placed the call on speaker. Those lavatory experiences became the source of a scene in Assault with a Deadly Glue Gun, the first book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series.

The world is full of interesting and odd individuals, and I came across some of the oddest back in 1998 when my husband and I moved to a new house. These people and their strange habits have stuck with me over the years. With the encouragement of some of my readers to whom I told about these former neighbors, I incorporated them into my latest Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery. To my knowledge, none of the real people were ever murdered or committed murder, but the traits I observed did make their way into Seams Like the Perfect Crime, the fourteenth book in my series, currently up for preorder with a release date of February 2, 2025.

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.

Preorder now. Available 2/4/25

P.S.: On Monday evening, January 27th at 7pm ET (6pm CT, 5pm MT, and 4pm PT), I’ll be the guest of the Cozy Mystery Party Facebook Group, hosted by Heather Harrisson and Shawn Stevens. If you’d like to join in for a fun hour + of all things murder, mayhem, and cozy mysteries (there will be prizes and surprises!), join the group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/cozymysteryparty. 

Hope to see you there! 

~*~

USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, and children’s chapter books. 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.

Book Marketing is a 4-Letter Word

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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

By Lois Winston

Book marketing? Unless you’re someone who majored in marketing in college (and maybe not even those people,) most authors will tell you the part of being an author they hate most is marketing their books to readers. Unless you’re James Patterson, Nora Roberts, or one of the few other “anointed ones,” no matter if you’re traditionally published or indie published, the bulk of book marketing rests on our shoulders. Most publishers, including what is known as The Big Five, do very little, if anything, to promote their authors’ books these days. For most, if they’re lucky, they receive a box of free promotional bookmarks or postcards.

And it doesn’t matter the genre you write in, the awards you’ve received, or whether you hit a bestseller list. I have friends who consistently make the New York Times list with each new release and are still required to do the bulk of the promotion for their books, including arranging their own events and handling social media marketing.

The competition is stiff out there, and it’s getting worse. Every author I’ve spoken with, whether traditionally published or indie published, is complaining about falling sales. This year has seen a flood of A.I. generated books going up for sale on etailer sites. There were so many flooding Amazon that they instituted a new policy, limiting uploads of new books to three a day. It maybe stemmed the influx from a major tsunami to a tidal wave.

Moreover, various marketing that once worked well for authors no longer shows the same results. What’s an author to do?

At the Killer Nashville conference in August, I attended a workshop on creating landing pages at Bookfunnel. Most marketing gurus will tell you every author should have a newsletter, that it’s one of the best tools in your author toolbox. I have a newsletter. Prior to Bookfunnel, I had about 1800 subscribers, some of whom are loyal fans. But the workshop instructor had tens of thousands of subscribers. Talking to other authors at Killer Nashville, I learned the best way I could increase sales of my books was to increase my newsletter subscribers.

The thing about a landing page, though, is that you offer a freebie in exchange for the reader subscribing. I’ve always been opposed to giving away huge numbers of books. I’ve heard from too many readers who only download free books and brag that they haven’t bought a book in years. I have newsletter readers who have told me they love my books but only read them if they can get them from the library or by winning a copy when I do the occasional contest giveaway. They won’t even spend .99 cents for a sale book.

I’ve never had a problem with putting a book on sale for .99 cents for a limited time. I think of it as a loss leader to spur sales of the other books in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series. That series currently has 13 novels and 3 novellas. Historically, I’ve seen good results from sales of other books in the series when one is on sale for .99 cents. But even those results have not been what they used to be lately.

So I decided to create a landing page on Bookfunnel and offer one of the novellas in the series for free with sign-up to my newsletter. I’m also taking part in two group promotions with other cozy authors on Bookfunnel throughout November, the Thank Goodness for Cozies promotion and the Cozy Mystery Month promotion. Signing up for any of the authors’ newsletters will get you a free book by that author.

My landing page has been up on my website and on Bookfunnel since mid-October. When the group promotions end at the end of November, I’ll be able to judge the results of the book giveaway. I’ll see how many downloads and new subscribers I’ve had and if all those free books translated into sales of other books in the series. I’m crossing fingers and toes that I’ll be pleased with the numbers.

Love it? Hate it? How do you really feel about marketing? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook download of any one of the first 11 Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries. (US and UK residents only)

~*~

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. 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.

Killing It at Killer Nashville

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At the Killer Nashville book signing

By Lois Winston

Most writers are introverts. We spend much of our days alone with only our laptops or computers (or paper and pen for those who are still old-school) and rarely step foot into the real world. We’d rather spend our time in the world of our imagination with the characters we’ve created. However, every now and then, we venture out onto Earth One and mingle with actual humans.

One of the best places to do this is at a writers’ conference. Hanging with our peeps is our happy place in the real world because they’re the only people who truly “get” us. Because they’re just like us. Writers’ conferences are a chance to spend time with others of our special community. We renew friendships, make new friends, network, learn from some, and teach others. Conferences also occasionally give us a pat on the back, validating that this odd life we’ve chosen, with all its solitary hours of clicking away at the keyboard, is worthwhile.

Such was the case this past weekend when I attended Killer Nashville. Once upon a time, I attended three or four writers’ conferences a year. Then, life changed. I made the decision to “go indie” and no longer had a publisher willing to pick up some or all the expense of attending conferences. Between the conference fee, airfare, hotel, and meals, conferences are not cheap. I cut back drastically, only attending local conferences.

And then Covid hit.

As some of you know, in the middle of the pandemic, my husband and I made the difficult decision to pack up and move to Tennessee to be closer to family. Within days of settling into our new home in July of 2021, I discovered that after a two-year hiatus, the annual Killer Nashville writing conference was about to take place less than two miles from where I now live. Serendipity!

With few exceptions, most writers are introverts. Hence, those writer caves. But I missed my writing peeps in New Jersey. Killer Nashville gave me a chance to connect face-to-face with many other writers I only knew from online writing communities. I also made some new friends and have continued to do so each year I’ve attended since 2021.

The 2024 Killer Nashville conference was this past weekend, and it was a blast, even for this confirmed introvert. On Friday, I was on a panel discussing Writing Compelling Synopsis, Back Cover Copy, and Design. Saturday, I was on two panels, One Trait at a Time: How to Build a Character and Not Just One Book: Writing a Series. I was also one of ten authors who allowed attendees to pick our brains for four minutes each during Speed Date your Way to Author Marketing Success. On Sunday, I was on the Creating an Irresistible Hook for Your Book panel and the Writing Strong Protagonists panel.

Vertically challenged Lois and Gay during an after-dinner stop for ice cream

And then there was Saturday night. Author Gay Yellen and I, along with our husbands, went out to dinner, something we’d also done last year. Upon returning to the hotel, our husbands headed for the bar while Gay and I ducked into the awards ceremony. Not ten seconds later, Clay Stafford, MC for the evening and Killer Nashville head honcho, announced the winner of the 2024 Silver Falchion Award for Best Comedy. Much to my surprise, he called my name!

I never expected to win. With few exceptions, throughout my writing career, I’ve always been the bridesmaid, rarely the bride. I hadn’t prepared any remarks because the one time I had attended the ceremony back in 2021, no one made any remarks. Winners were handed their awards, shook Clay’s hand, and a photographer snapped a picture. Maybe it was because we were all still coming out of Covid.

This time, I was expected to say something. My mind still reeling over actually winning, I stepped up to the mic and thanked whoever it was who’d determined that A Crafty Collage of Crime, the twelfth book in my Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series, deserved the award this year. As I walked away, I heard Clay tell the audience that I was a woman of few words and there were probably plenty of people who wished that he was! (a person of few words, that is, not a woman!)

With my Best Comedy medal the next morning

Well, at least I didn’t bore anyone in the audience by droning on and on by thanking everyone, going all the way back to my kindergarten teacher!

Writers, what’s your favorite aspect of conferences? Readers, have you ever attended a readers’ convention or other book event? Post a comment for a chance to win a promo code for a free audiobook of any one of the first ten Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery.

~*~

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 where can also sign up for her newsletter and find links to her other social media: www.loiswinston.com