Guest Blog Archives

GUEST BLOG: Character Growth By Maggie Toussaint Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 13 April 2021

While some authors of series mysteries prefer for their sleuths to remain the same person in each different situation, I’m in the camp that enjoys having my sleuth grow in every story....

GUEST BLOG: Where Do I Get My Ideas? by Lyn Farrell Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 12 April 2021

When you’ve written a number of books, people always ask you, “Where on earth do you get all your ideas?” Agatha Christie, the grande dame of mystery fiction, was once asked the...

GUEST BLOG: Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zone by Debra Sennefelder Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 9 April 2021

Stepping out of your comfort zone isn’t an easy thing to do for us or for fictional characters. In THE CORPSE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, Hope Early does something that is way...

GUEST BLOG: South Florida: Always a Beautiful Day for a Murder by Joan Lipinsky Cochran Plus Giveaway!

Detective/Sleuths Dayna Linton - 8 April 2021

Between the looniness of its residents and the beauty of its beaches and River of Grass, South Florida seems to be the ideal setting for a murder mystery. Witness the man-eating alligators...

GUEST BLOG: Nine Things as Cozy as a Cozy: Hygge for All Time by Susan McCormick Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 7 April 2021

You might think, with the warm weather approaching, that the time for cozy is over. Rest assured, the time for cozy is seasonless, meaning that any time you are ready for that...

GUEST BLOG: The True Story of Consuelo Vanderbilt Inspired My New Historical Romance, The Test of Gold by Renee Yancy Plus Giveaway!

Historical Romance Dayna Linton - 5 April 2021

Consuelo was a "Dollar Princess," the nickname coined for heiresses in the late 20th century who possessed multi-million dollar dowries and married cash-poor British and French aristocrats. The Gilded Age occurred after the...

GUEST BLOG: The Simplicity of Writing by Gene Desrochers Plus Giveaway!

Mystery Dayna Linton - 5 April 2021

I think about perseverance a lot. A whole lot. Writing a novel tests your perseverance every time. That blank page, the squirrely idea that won’t meld into a coherent story. You stick it...

GUEST BLOG: The “What If” Factor in Fiction Writing by Kerry Peresta Plus Giveaway!

Thriller/Suspense Dayna Linton - 2 April 2021

When I started writing in 2009 as a humor columnist, I wrote in 800-word sound bites that wrapped up neatly and made people laugh, but made them think, too. It was a...

GUEST BLOG: When does a book become real? by Jeff Markowitz Plus Giveaway!

Mystery Dayna Linton - 1 April 2021

Readers often ask me when a book that I’m writing becomes real to me. I find that question fascinating because it inhabits a space at the intersection of the creative process and...

GUEST BLOG: Why a Cozy Mystery with a Dog Bakery? by Amy Hueston Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 1 April 2021

I get this question a lot. Why am I writing a cozy mystery series with a dog bakery? Actually, most people that ask seem sort of excited that I’m writing about a...

GUEST BLOG: What is it about Paris? by M.K. Tod Plus Giveaway!

Historical Fiction Dayna Linton - 30 March 2021

I love Paris. What is it about this beautiful, historic city that pulls at the heart and the imagination? What is it that can make you want to explore time and again this...

GUEST BLOG: Food and Drink of Santa Fe by Avery Daniels Plus Giveaway!

Cozy Mystery Dayna Linton - 29 March 2021

I had terrible timing on Arrowed. Here I am writing a cozy mystery set in Santa Fe, only a few hours drive from me and one of my favorite places to visit,...