Truly, where has the year gone? How is it October? I am not ready for the weather to turn cold. I am a summer gal, through and through. To me, cold weather means seasonal depression, so give me that summer sunshine. Alas, nobody asked me about the changing of the seasons, so here we are… Read more »
In my last column, I talked about classic girl detectives. This time, the modern girl detectives get their chance. The girl detectives from the late 20th-early 21st century comprise a much more diverse group. But they share with each other and their predecessors the qualities of intelligence, bravery, and grit. Some of you might notice… Read more »
Rhys Bowen has been one of my favorite mystery authors for many years now, starting with my binging of her Molly Murphy mystery series and continuing with the Royal Spyness series. Georgiana (Georgie) Rannoch starts out as a royal who is nowhere near the throne and very short of funds. It’s not easy for any… Read more »
I’m back for the third installment of my 2021 Virtual Writers Sabbatical (“VWS”) series and hope your own VWS is rolling along into the back half of 2021. If you missed the first two installments, Create Your Own Virtual Writers Sabbatical describes how to build an adventure focused on you and your writing craft, and… Read more »
Why Should LGBTQ+ Writers Read LGBTQ+ History? There are so many benefits to reading non-fiction to inform your fiction writing. Not only is history edifying, allowing us to ensure that we’re crafting stories that are accurate and plausible, but reading non-fiction is also a great way to expose ourselves to new ideas. If you want… Read more »
It’s already September! The new school year may be starting, but I am still clinging to the last vestiges of summer. Last month was a great reading month for me, despite a beach vacation where I didn’t actually get much reading done. That’s all right though. I had a great time and can’t wait to… Read more »
For my first two columns, I wrote about young adult comics, partially because young people need fun, feminist stuff to read. But what about us adults? What about sex, drugs, and rock n roll? Well, do I have the comic for you: The Wicked + The Divine. This is the comic I recommend the most,… Read more »
Ever since researching classic girl detectives for a paper in 2008, I wanted to read the adventures I had only read about. For this column, I originally chose the topic of children’s mysteries. I realized that needed to be narrowed a bit. Then I remembered the girl detectives. Now was my chance to read more! … Read more »
It’s July and we’re hitting the dog days of summer here in rural Oklahoma. Nothing is moving out there, not even the wind. (I might be exaggerating slightly) Still, you’d think if it was that hot outside, it would be perfect for some indoor reading. Not exactly. I’ve struggled to concentrate for whatever reason. I’ve… Read more »
One of the greatest things about being a writer today is that there is a market for every flavor of story in any genre. This is even true of genres-within-genres, those special gems of writing that pursue one strand of writing within another context. For example, LGBTQ+ stories can now be found in any and… Read more »
