Originality Begins with You by Paula Munier

 “What is originality? It is being oneself, and reporting accurately what we see and are.”

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

LUCY BURDETTE: A few weeks ago I took a Sisters in Crime workshop online from Paula Munier on the subject of plotting. (I'm always looking for help on that subject!) I enjoyed it so much that I persuaded Paula to share some of her 'secrets' with you!

PAULA MUNIER: Be yourself. Advice we hear from the day we’re born from everyone from our mothers and teachers to our ancient philosophers and present-day Ted Talk pundits. It’s good advice for artists, too—and now that getting paid for making art is more difficult than ever and AI and other forms of copyright infringement abound, being ourselves might be the only thing that can save us. 

Whether you paint or sculpt, craft or compose or choreograph, design or dance, or write, as I do, originality is now our best weapon in the war against human creativity. As someone once said (maybe Oscar Wilde, maybe Thomas Merton, maybe someone else altogether), “Be yourself; everyone else is taken.” I was reminded of this by the one and only Matt Weiner, writer and producer and creator of Mad Men. I recently took a class from him on ideas and the imagination through the Los Angeles Review of Books, and in that class, he encouraged us to note the things what we liked, and to write them down in a notebook. 

Of course, I’m doing it—I’m doing everything Matt told us to do—and was reassured by his advice because I do something similar every time I need to jump-start my imagination. When I don’t know what to write, I remember My Writing Rule of Three: 

1) Write what you know.

2) Write what you love.

3) Write what you’d love to know.

Taking that rule further, I use a bubble chart I created while writing Plot Perfect. It’s a list-making exercise, basically, a brainstorming strategy for artists regardless of medium. Here it is:

 

When you don’t know what to write or paint or sculpt or craft or compose or choreograph, do the bubble chart. The lists serve as a kind of X-ray of your likes and dislikes, your beliefs and your values, your past, present, and future selves. In short: What makes you, you.

From Bubble Chart Lists to the Bestseller Lists

I have the bubble chart to thank for my Mercy Carr mysteries. I’d always wanted to write mysteries, ever since reading the Bobbsey Twins and Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes as a kid. I had several unfinished manuscripts in the proverbial drawer. Meanwhile, I’d published a lot of nonfiction, and acquired a lot of nonfiction and fiction projects as an acquisitions editor and as an agent. But my dream of writing a mystery series eluded me.

Then Phil Sexton asked me to write a book called The Writer’s Guide to Beginnings for Writer’s Digest Books. I needed a first chapter that I could use to illustrate certain fictional techniques and revision strategies. I couldn’t use anyone else’s first chapter for that purpose, so I wrote an opening chapter of a mystery—and I threw in everything I knew and loved and would love to know, working straight from my bubble chart’s lists. I grew up in a military family, so I made my heroine, Mercy Carr, a former MP who’d served in Afghanistan. I love dogs, so I gave her a canine companion named Elvis. I love the woods of northern New England, so I set the story in Vermont’s Green Mountains. I love stories about foundlings—from the Bible’s Moses to Anita Shreve’s Light on Snow to Julia Spencer-Fleming’s In the Bleak Midwinter—so I opened the story with Mercy and Elvis finding a baby abandoned in the forest. I even threw in a little Shakespeare because the bard is, well, The Bard.

Long story short: My agent read The Writer’s Guide to Beginnings, and said: “That’s a good opening chapter. You should write that mystery and I’ll sell it.” Armed with my bubble chart lists, I finished A Borrowing of Bones, the first book in my Mercy Carr series—and it made the USA TODAY Bestseller List. The first chapter of that novel is the first chapter that appeared in the writing book, with very few changes. The seventh book, The Snow Lies Deep, comes out in December. I’m working on Book #8 as we speak.

It’s All About You

As human beings, we can’t help but admire and appreciate originality, especially in our artists. Look upon a Matisse, and we admire and appreciate his unique mastery of color. Listen to Bob Dylan, and we admire and appreciate his personal yet profound lyrics. Read Alice Hoffman, and we admire and appreciate her particular illumination of the mystical and magical and mysterious aspects of life. These individual qualities inform these artists’ work and make their work special. 

The good news is: We are all originals. We owe it to ourselves and our art and the world at large to make the most of that originality. So, go ahead: Be yourself.

LUCY: Thanks Paula! And now it's your turn Reds, what would be on your bubble chart?

PAULA MUNIER is the Senior Agent and Director of Storytelling for Talcott Notch Literary and the  USA TODAY bestselling author of the Mercy Carr mysteries. A Borrowing of Bones, the first in the series, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and named the Dogwise Book of the Year. Blind Search also won a Dogwise Award. The Hiding Place and The Wedding Plot both appeared on several “Best Of” lists. Home at Night was named Library Journal’s Mystery Pick of the Month. The Night Woods, the sixth book in the series, debuted in October 2024, earning a starred Library Journal review among other acclaim. THE SNOW LIES DEEP debuts in December. Along with her love of nature, Paula credits the hero dogs of Mission K9 Rescue, her own rescue dogs, and a deep affection for New England as her series’ major influences. She’s also written three popular books on writing: Plot Perfect, The Writer’s Guide to Beginnings, and Writing with Quiet Hands, as well as Happier Every Day and the memoir Fixing Freddie: The True Story of a Boy, a Mom, and a Very, Very Bad Beagle. She lives in New England with her family and four rescue dogs and Ursula The Cat, a rescue torbie tabby who does not think much of the dogs. For more, check out www.paulamunier.com. 

Comfort Reading and Watching by Lucy Burdette

 

LUCY BURDETTE: I’ve said this before, and I’m sure it’s tiresome, but these are difficult wearying times we live in. I have often found myself looking for something familiar and comfortable to read or watch--something in a series so I know the characters. Sometimes a good murder mystery/police drama will do, like the many episodes of NYPD Blue. I love these people! John and I often say to each other, are we going to spend some time with our friends tonight? I watched an episode last week where the detectives were called to the scene of a dead man with his head in his lap. How can that possibly feel like comfort watching, but it does. I think it’s because of the lovable, wonderful, quirky and endlessly surprising characters in that police precinct. You always know that even if their world is filled with bad guys and violence, the good guys will always win in the end.

 I was also obsessed this winter with reading Jenny Colgan‘s series set in northern Scotland. You might guess because we live in Key West half the year now that I don’t like winter. But I like the idea of it, because it lends itself to coziness. Winter on Colgan‘s fictional isle of Mure is absolutely wicked, cold and windy, plus dark for many many hours in a day. Yet by the time she’s finished describing it, I can’t wait to get there because of the bustling pubs and the crackling fires and the sips of special Scottish whiskey. Each of her books in this series highlights a different character so you get to see the family and the community from a different point of view. Lots of bad things happen, people die, people are refugees from Syria, families are difficult. But Jenny makes them all palatable, maybe because community and good food trumps all ills?

Do you find yourself reaching for comfort books and television or movies? (Now this is making me wonder if this applies to food as well…)

RHYS BOWEN: I’m a great one for comfort reads and watches. I have all of Agatha Christie’s books. I stare at the shelf and see which one I might not quite remember then read it again. Usually I’m halfway through when I realize i do know whodunit. But it’s still quite calming. 

The same for television. Thank God for Britbox. I can watch Poirot, Marple, Sister Boniface, Rosemary and Thyme etc ad nauseam.

I can also re-watch the Vicar of Dibley, Miranda or any of the silly comedies when I really need cheering up.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Hmm, I don't really read books again. But I can always always watch My Cousin Vinny, or any Alfred HItchcock movie, or The Devil Wears Prada, or Say Yes to the Dress, or Chopped. I used to love What Not To Wear–is that still on? I love makeover shows. I can always watch Born Yesterday, or the Die Hard that’s at the airport, or absolutely any Tracy and Hepburn.The Philadelphia Story, and High Society. Any Fred Astaire. And oh, That’s Entertainment. I think if I sing along, I’m fine.

HALLIE EPHRON: oh, cousin Vinny!! Or Singin’ in the Rain. Or ET. Comfort watches rather than “reads” for me, too. I was just re-watching Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple series. And New Tricks hold up over and over.

JENN McKINLAY: I almost never reread or rewatch anything because so many books and shows, so little time. However, I did recently watch the K-Drama Crash Landing on You and much to my surprise, I watched it again. A South Korean woman crash lands into North Korea and is found by a Captain and his soldiers and it’s just soooo good. So, I guess that’s been my comfort watch. Now I’m looking for my next. As for a comfort read, I can’t think of any book that I’ve gone back to repeatedly but I am always on the hunt for a series to fall into. The most recent being The Shepherd King duology by Rachel Gillig, it’s a two volume series that reads like a fairy tale. Loved it.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Hank, I am tickled by your “comfort” choices including Alfred Hitchcock and Die Hard! I might go with Die Hard–we all want to see the bad guy get his due–but not Hitchcock.

Lucy, I do get detective series being comfort watches, but medical dramas work for me, too. How that is possible with blood and gore and people’s lives in danger, I don’t know, but somehow it does. We just finished The Pitt, Noah Wyle’s new series set in a Pittsburg ER, which is astonishingly good. I had to check afterwards, and yes, all 19 seasons of ER are streaming, so if we run out of things to watch and want to check out baby Noah… That said, I don’t actually tend to re-watch a lot of stuff.

My reading has definitely been skewing towards the comforting lately. Here’s a recent find that I absolutely loved: MRS. QUINN’S RISE TO FAME by Olivia Ford, about a woman in her late 70s who applies for the fictional equivalent of Great British Bake Off. Also, Jenn’s I CAN’T EVEN, which I adored and it still has me thinking about the characters and wondering how they’re doing:-)

LUCY: John loved the Pitt too–the students annoyed me so much that I quit watching. Loved Mrs. Quinn, and have Jenn’s book on order! I meant to say Jenny Colgan and NYPD Blue aren’t reruns for me, I was just far behind the rest of the world!

DEBS: Lucy, I wish you’d stuck with The Pitt! The students get better! But here’s a fun TV crossover. If anyone is watching LUDWIG on Acorn (so fun and not really as silly as you think at first–there are undercurrents) the actor who plays Whittacker, the student from Nebraska in The Pitt, is actually Welsh, and is Detective Constable Simon Evans in Ludwig. His American accent was flawless–I would never have guessed he was British!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: My daughter and her wife are DEEP into The Pitt, so I suppose I'll have to try it.

My comfort rereads? The Murderbot series by Martha Wells (which is coming to Apple TV in May and will get me to re-up my subscription!) Eva Ibbotson's novels for adults (marketed at YA, but that's not how she intended them.) Lucy's Key West series (just such a NICE world to live in.)

Weirdly, my comfort watches are disaster movies. Just last night I re-watched CONTAGION. For some reason, seeing the world fall apart always cheers me up. 

Jenn, if you loved CRASH LANDING ON YOU, I highly recommend DESCENDANTS OF THE SUN, which you can stream on Viki Rakuten for free, with ads, or on Amazon with a trial subscription to Kocowa. I was glued to the screen.

Red readers, how about you?

Happy Easter

 RHYS BOWEN:  It's Easter Sunday so I'm keeping this brief today as I'm sure many of you are going to brunch or church or to relatives. In England we nevre made a big thing of Easter. We were bought a couple of chocolate eggs. We went to church. One thing I remember is that we always dressed nicely in summery outfits only to find the inside of the church was frigid. 

But when I was growing up there was no Easter Bunny, no Easter egg hunt. One Easter I was staying with my parents when my older children were 2 and 4. I gave them an Easter egg hunt on the back lawn. I remember the neighbors staring out of their window as flung eggs all over the garden. I thought I'd gone mad. 

The one tradition I created with my own kids was to give each of them an Easter basket and to hide them. Each child got a trail of clues to lead them to their basket. Each clue was a rhyming couplet:

Where birds make nests look up and see

A clue awaits you in a ....."

Tree, they'd shout and off they'd run. I had four kids, about six clues each. That's twenty four rhyming couplets to be written and hidden around the house before six on Easter morning. The interesting thing is that the tradition has continued to my grand kids. Lizzie and Meghan wanted their baskets with clues until they were in college! I wonder if it will go on to the next generation?

So what Easter traditions do you have? And for my Jewish friends I hope you've had a blessed Passover. 

Thoughts on New York

 RHYs BOWEN:  Next week I'm going to New York for the Edgars. I haven't been in a couple of years. I can't say I miss it. I'm not a big city person. I like nature and quiet. But as cities go, New York has everything. It's a true city. Not a boring, bleak financial district and then suburbs and malls like many American cities. I probably won't do much when I'm there, as I have endless meals scheduled, but I may pop down to Greenwich Village where Molly hangs out. And if the weather is kind I'll certainly want to walk in Central Park. This is me in Patchin Place where Molly lives!

i've assembled some of the reasons why I like New York:

Since I’ve been an observer of New York, I’ve had a chance to detail what I like about it. Here are my top ten reasons for liking the city:

 

1.         It is a true city where living, working, eating, shopping all take place on the same block. In other cities the commercial areas are dead after working hours. Not so New York. It lives twenty four hours a day.

2.         Life is not confined to buildings. It spills out onto sidewalks and into parks. At the first sign of spring, tables and umbrellas come out onto sidewalks, people take their food into parks. They sit outside the public library playing chess. There are impromptu jazz bands and barbershop quartets in the subway at Grand Central and outdoor concerts in Central Park.

3.         It is a city of artwork. There are mosaics in the subway stations—my favorite is the Alice in Wonderland motif at 50th Street. Look up and you’ll see Egyptian temples, art deco medallions, Greek columns and marble frescos, sometimes eight or ten floors above ground level. For whom were the art deco goddesses and marble pediments intended? Certainly not the pedestrians who walk below and never look up as they hurry to the nearest subway. Not always the inhabitants of buildings opposite as some of them face blank walls. I like to think of them as a little offering to the gods above.

4.         It is a city of good smells. Every block has at least one good aroma wafting out of a café, or from a sidewalk cart—roasting coffee, frying onions, curry, sesame oil, baking bread. Luckily New Yorkers have to walk so much or they’d all be fat.

5.         New York is a city of dogs. They are not much in evidence during the day, unless one encounters a dog walker, being dragged down Fifth Avenue by six or seven of her charges. But early evening, the dogs come out, each with his accompanying human, whom he often resembles in stature and walk. Interestingly enough, there are more big dogs than small. You would have thought that dachshunds and yorkies would have been ideal for city life, but I see more golden retrievers and labs and standard poodles, even Afghan hounds. New Yorkers are well trained too. Not a speck of poop in sight on the sidewalks.

6.         It is a city of cheap eats and cheap shops. There are coffee shops all over where two dollars will buy an egg roll and coffee for breakfast. Even sushi bars offer two for one on weeknights. And T shirts with the famous I love NY slogan on them are now two for ten dollars. Of course I also saw a T shirt for three hundred dollars in Bloomies, so I have to say also that New York is…

7.         …a city of contrasts. On the bus old ladies from the upper East Side wearing tired looking furs and smelling of face powder and moth balls sit next to young men in baggy pants, gang colors and caps worn backward. Sometimes they look at each other and smile.

The hot dog cart on the street is only a few steps away from the most pretentious tea salon in the universe. Their tea menu is twelve pages long. When I ask for a Darjeeling, I am directed to a page full of Darjeelings and a First Flush, Robertson Estate is recommended. I am so tempted to take a sip, look indignant and exclaim, “You’ve brought me a second flush, you imposter!”

8.         It is a city of haste. Everything in New York is done quickly. People leap from sidewalks to snare cabs. They run down subway steps. They inch out into traffic and anticipate the Walk sign by a good two seconds. In  Bryant Park outside the library men play chess at breakneck speed. Knight to bishop two-ding, and the timer bell is slapped, Queen to rook four-ding. The whole game is over in five minutes. A crowd of men stands around, watching.

9.         It is also a city of quiet corners in which time stands still. There is a fair being held in a churchyard with home baked cookies and crocheted potholders. I once got locked, by mistake, in Gramercy park, which is the only private square in the city when I had stayed at the Gramercy Park hotel and gone there to regroup in the calm of nature. In Central Park proud moms and darker skinned nannies watch light skinned children play in the sand or climb the rocks. It is easy to get lost in Central Park, easy to forget that you are in a city at all.

10.  And most surprisingly for one who has visited New York for the past thirty years---it is a city of friendly people. Everything changed after 9/11. These days people chat as they wait for buses. They see tourists puzzling over maps and ask if they need help. Bus drivers actually call out the name of streets intelligibly and answer questions when asked. A minor miracle has occurred—the one good by-product of a 9/11 that touched every New York life and forged and strengthened it with fire.

I'll be staying at the Marriott Marquis which has the scariest elevators in the world. All glass and plunge down forty something floors in seconds!

View from my hotel room last time here! 

So are you a fan of New York? What do you like about it? Hate about it?

Desert Island Choices.

RHYS BOWEN:  When I worked at the BBC in London we had a program called DESERT ISLAND DISCS.  A celebrity met with the host Godfrey Wynn and was asked what music and books the person would take if they were to be marooned on a desert island.

The program was very popular. Princess Margaret was the guest once. I worked on that program when I was a trainee, playing the LPs and trying not to scratch them. I know the program continued for years, probably until Godfrey Wynn died.

(On a side note, I shared a flat very close to Broadcasting House with three friends. We had one of those buzzers to communicate with the street. One day the buzzer sounded. My friend answered and a voice said, “This is Godfrey Wynn.”  He had come for me. The friend knew where I worked and what I did and came back into the room, eyes wide with amazement. I was also gobsmacked. I pressed the buzzer to let him in. When the person came up the two flights of stairs it wasn’t Godfrey Wynn but my very cheeky boyfriend at the time.He got the accent perfectly.)

So I’ve been considering what I would choose to take with me. If I was to be marooned for a long time it would have to be something I didn’t get tired of. I love Beenhoven’s 7th symphony but would I want to hear it over and over? Or Mozart’s Clarinet concerto? I’m leaning toward selecting Les Miz so I can sing along loudly with nobody else to hear. I also love Die Fledermaus (from my days in the opera chorus) and would enjoy singing along to that. On the program they can select seven choices. I’m limiting to two.

And one book? The Bible would be cheating because that would be enough to keep reading for ever. Also I'd get tired of all those begats. I think I may choose The Lord of the Rings, although I know it so well I might get tired of it. A collection of poetry? Walt Whitman? Keats? A good anthology? Or maybe a more practical book: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERT ISLAND AND BUILD A BOAT.  Is that cheating?

So what about you, Reds? What would your choices be?

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Rhys, they are still doing Desert Island Discs! My friend Barb Jungr has been on it. LOTR is cheating a bit, as it's three books, but I might go with that, too. Along with How to Build a Boat, and How to Survive on Coconut.

Music, that's tougher. Beethoven's 9th, maybe? Or would I get tired of Ode to Joy? A Beatles' album, but which one? The White Album would be cheating again with two records, so I might go with that–although I think I'd be skipping Helter Skelter

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yes, we all want the build a boat, or at least cooking for one from desert island scratch (Deserted Desserts?).  But other than those, I might bring one volume of all of Shakespeare. Would  that count? (Very tiny font.)

Isn't it funny how music to last  is either classical or the Beatles?  Still, I might go with Ella Fitzgerald sings the Cole Porter Song Book.  And you can play one song a day. I do love the idea of Broadway–Les Miz, or A Little Night Music or A Chorus Line or Chicago.  Where we could dance like no one is watching–because no one is watching!

JENN McKINLAY: Oh, that’s tough. No Spotify on the island, eh? I’d probably pick an ABBA album because it’s impossible to be in a bad mood while listening to ABBA. As for a book, I’d want something uplifting, too. A collection of Shakespeare’s comedies? The complete collection of Erma Bombeck? The Collected Dorothy Parker? Very, very difficult choices.

HALLIE EPHRON: What a great question! One music: Paul Simon’s Graceland. Or Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. And for a book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The first one in the series… and to my mind still the best. Or maybe the collected works of Sherlock Holmes. Cheating, I know. 

LUCY BURDETTE: This is all very hard. For music, I would choose either the only opera I know well, La Traviata. Or else Handel’s Messiah. I love both and they are long so I might not get tired of them. For a book, THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. True comfort reading, which I know I would need!

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING; I approve of everyone’s choices, which obviously means we should all be shipwrecked together! My music choie would definitely be an opera - so much music that you can parcel it out and never get tired of it. My pick would probably be Turandot. I know it’s corny, but I could hear Nissan dormi every day for the rest of my life and be happy.

For a book, if I can’t borrow Jenn’s or Hank’s Shakespeare collection, I’d go for a short story collection. Either Eva Ibbotson’s A GLOVE SHOP IN VIENNA or JUST AN ORDINARY DAY by Shirley Jackson. Hey, has anyone figured out why, if we have electricity to play records, we can’t load up a Kindle and just keep recharging it? 

RHYS: It might be one of those old wind up record players like the first one I had, bought from the church white elephant stall! 

Brilliant choices everyone. I'd agree with them all. If we were all together on the desert island we could trade books and music and live quite happily for a long while (although i'd get tired of coconuts. )

So Reddies, it's your turn now...

Vanity, Thy Name is Rhys

 RHYS BOWEN: A few days ago I had my hair cut at a new hairdresser in Phoenix. I was getting ready to go out when I looked in the mirror and stared in horror. My hair looks awful, I said to myself. I can't go to the hairdresser with hair like this. I imagined the stylist going "eewww. Yucky hair."  I should point out it was only two days since I shampooed it so not really terrible. However I rushed into the shower and washed my hair.

Then I drove to the hairdresser who promptly shampooed my hair again. Is this silly or what? Am I vain or self conscious that I didn't want to appear at the hairdresser's with bad hair? 

Another thing I'll confess to: when my cleaning lady is coming I rush around the house frantically tidying up and wiping off counters. John thinks this is incomprehensible. But I don't want my cleaning lady to come into my house and go "eewww. Yucky house." Also from a practical point of view, she can clean much better if all the surfaces are free of clutter.

I suppose the same thing happens when I put on make up to go my doctor or to have blood drawn. I don't want to look like a sick person. 

I also can't bring myself to wear shorts or sweats when I'm doing a Zoom interview and my top half is glamorous. I guess it's a matter of pride. 

I'm horrified when I fly these days to see what people wear on a plane. Shorts, bear midriff, pjs... having been married to an airline executive for years we had strict dress code when we flew. The children were to dress as if they were going to church. We had to wear suit or dress and look like a business person. That attitude still lingers and has served me well. More than once, when flying alone in a business suit I've been upgraded to business class because I look as if I belong there.

My latest bout of vanity has to do with the Edgars Banquet. I'm a  nominee and I've been shopping for a new dress. This is silly really as I have several dresses worn at past banquets. I'm sure nobody is really going to notice what I'm wearing if I look respectable and suitable. But I can't bring myself to wear one of those dresses for a second time. They take pictures of the nominees. I'd hate someone to say "Oh look, she's wearing that one she wore in 2019. Also I wore those dresses when I was a nominee and didn't win. I don't want a dress that carries bad karma!

I was having trouble finding the perfect dress. As a dignified older lady I don't want low cut or strapless or with a slit up the side. I sent off for one that I saw online. It seemed to be pretty--silver embroidered with pearls. When it arrived it looked quite good... until I saw that the way it did up was a length of fabric threaded through endless loops at the back. Okay, how was I supposed to do up my dress? Take a maid with me? Knock on the next door room and ask the occupant if he'd mind lacing me into my gown? Or even worse, unlacing me at the end of the evening?

So it had to go back And just when I had almost given up in despair I found the perfect gown. PLain. Navy long sleeved top and the most gorgous full silk skirt that changed from navy through various shades of purple-blue. I'll share a picture when I wear it. right tnow it's hanging on my closet door.

Hank and Lucy will also be at the banquet. We'll take pix!

Stressed? Who me?

 RHYS BOWEN: Like many of my friends I am stressed at the moment. Not just what is happening to our country and the world, but also  reasons closer to home. John's health is up and down. We never know when there might be another trip to the ER. He feels quite dizzy at times, which means he pours himself a glass of milk in the middle of  the night then knocks it over. I hear the crash/tinkle of broken glass at two in the morning.  Not conducive  to a good nitght's sleep.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Then last week, as I started on our taxes, I got the edits for the next Molly book. Can you return them by....Clare was also working on taxes so neither of us had much time. Luckily they were slight but also required going through the ms carefully. And the day after that I got the edits for the next Royal Spyness book. And the day after that a request from the Edgars to answer interview questions. 

Now you understand why I have been a teeny-weeny bit stressed.  I'm trying to take some time out every day to wind down. I've been doing some water color painting, which I find great for relaxing as when you are doing it you can't think about anything else.  Here are some of my recent efforts. 

And I sent off for a steel tongue drum. It's a lovely little round thing with a delightful sound. I've played Frere Jaques and Twinkle Twinkle, and Happy Birthday.  I may progress to the Carnival of the Animals (which my son played with Yo Yo Ma's children's orchestra when he was 12). He played it on the xylophone.

I've been trying to meet friends for lunch or happy hour (just had a lovely time with Jenn and with Barbara Peters) Oh rats.  I meant to take a selfie with Jenn.

And lastly I've been trying to get out into nature. Arizona is bursting with spring flowers. The palo verde trees are a froth of yellow. Out in the dessert there are various wildflowers and the giant suguaro cactus have buds on them, ready to bloom. Just sitting and looking is very therapeutic.

So what have any of you been doing to stay calm and focused? Suggestions please.

All About Tea Towels.

 RHYS BOWEN:  The British are known for their eccentricities, are they not? Aristocrats dress like old tramps when they own millions. They keep pet lions. We have Morris dancing in which men prance around waving ribbons and looking… well, unmasculine. We roll cheeses down a hillside. 

These occupations only apply to the few.. The most weird among us.

But one of the universal strange customs in England is the collecting of tea towels. You won’t find paper towel in most British kitchens. You’ll find tea towels, usually drying on the handle of the AGA (and in case you don’t know what that is, it’s a large cast iron stove that heats as well as cooks and is a must in a country kitchen.  

Tea towels are a necessary piece of equipment, and one needs a few of them, as they get dirty. Except.. Most British houses have scads of them. Because… whenever they travel, or a family member travels, they bring back a tea towel to prove they have been somewhere. Pretty, decorative tea towels. Sometimes they are maps of places, or paintings of the countryside. Sometimes they are designed by well known artists. 

I confess to bringing back tea towels from the Costwolds and from St Malo in France the last time I was there. My daughters love them ( they have inherited British genes). Also they are souvenirs that are attractive and useful at the same time.

And I have my share of ones that have been brought back from Europe for me. I only thought of writing this piece because I happened to take a photo of my kitchen here in Arizona and I noticed that the tea towel, hanging on the stove, was of King Charles’s coronation. Quite a regal tea towel.  Who else has the royal coat of arms hanging from her stove? Lady Georgie would approve! 

I went to my pantry and found several more: one from New Zealand, one from the Falkland Islands, one from Cornwall.  (This one is St. Ives).

I've asked Clare to share some of her favorites. She has a large collection and uses it all the time!

In California I have many more, all gifts from people who have come to stay or family members who have brought them home.  The irony is that i seldom use them. John and I prefer to use paper towel. More hygienic. But not as pretty.

So let’s hear what strange or unusual souvenirs you bring back when you travel?

What Was I thinking?

RHYS BOWEN: I’m in the process of looking for an outfit to wear to the Edgars Banquet, so this has me thinking about what not to wear. My worst fashion errors of the past. At least twice a year I go through my wardrobe and remove things I haven’t worn. Sometimes I look at a garment and ask myself why I ever thought it would look good on me. That pale mauve? Those frills? That top that balloons out like a maternity garment? What was I thinking?

Over the years I have had my share of cringe-worthy outfits. When I was a teen I remember tights were in fashion. I wore bright green tights with a short green pleated skirt and a green cardigan, worn backward to show a low back and high front. I think I looked like a teenage version of the jolly green giant! Those cardigans worn backward were still fashionable in my first year of college and I wore one to a dance.

Also in college I made my own ballgown from some lovely apricot brocade my mother gave me. It was quite risque… tiny spaghetti straps, but low cut, and very form hugging. I hadn’t quite finished it by the day of the ball so my friends had to SEW ME INTO IT. Thank heavens I didn’t have a date who  tried to get too fresh and remove it!  (I had to be cut out of it afterward)

After that I tried hot pants. Very short mini skirts. Very long flowery hippie dresses, but a couple of occasions stand out:

I was invited to a wedding in England back in the seventies. (I was living in California)   I wore a light, flowery two piece outfit, quite suitable for a US wedding.  It was a brisk day and everyone else was in a sensible, plain daytime suit.  I felt like a peacock who had fallen into a hen house.

The other time that happened, and the worse so far: my then agent hosted a cocktail party for me at the Frankfurt book fair. To meet our European agents. Heady, right?  John told me i should stand out and look like the guest of honor. I saw this emerald green silk pajama outfit–wide leg trousers and mandarin jacket. Tres stylish. I felt good in it until I walked into the room and EVERYONE ELSE WAS IN BLACK.  EVERY WOMAN IN THE LITTLE BLACK DRESS. And I was the guest of honor so I couldn’t sneak away or hide behind the potted palms.  I still get hot around the collar when I think of it.  (makes note not to do that at the Edgars this year). Luckily I have no photos to share.

The only other real faux pas I can think of is when I decided to cut my own bangs, but we won’t go into that.

So Reds, confession time. When have you asked yourself WHAT WAS I THINKING? 

LUCY BURDETTE: I have LOTS of these, but I bet you were stunning in the green silk pj’s Rhys! I’m thinking of a dress I just gave away. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline, tight to the waist, then a flared short skirt with a net underskirt. It was pink, with black polka dots and a rhinestone flourish at the cleavage line. Do you get the picture? I wore it to a dinner dance years ago when I’d just met John. One of my sisters-in-law asked if I was going to the prom! (So rude.

I gave it to the Woman’s Club used clothing booth last weekend and it was INSTANTLY snatched up:)

RHYS: Lucy I had the same thing happen to me once. I snapped up a strapless dress with full skirt and wore it to a functon of some sort. A woman saw me and exclaimed, "Oh my God. I haven't seen a dress like that since the junior prom."  At the time I was hurt. Now I would have examined her and said, "And I bet you couldn't fit into one like this even back then."  No longer s shrinking violet.

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Yes, Lucy, that would be very hot right now. And I bet you looked great. But you were absolutely right to let that go–it’s definitely a  “wear it once” kind of dress. 

Me? Well, I stand by my choices, for the time, even though I still cringe. It was 1971, in Washington DC, and I went to a very fancy (cocktail time) wedding in  a lavender hot pants suit,  (you know, shorts, and a tailored short jacket, very businesslike except it was…shorts.) with white tights and pale loden green shoes. It was BEAUTIFUL and stylish– and outrageously wrong.  I thought–I cannot change clothes, so ‘Ill brazen this through. It was a lesson in confidence, that’s for sure.

ANd I got sent home from high school the day before graduation–we all wore our graduation dresses to class, and mine was a very Mary Quant minidress, all white lace, SO pretty and sexy-sweet, which is not what they love in high school, of course. And since when I put my hands to my sides the hem was shorter than my fingertips, I was OUT. I remember thinking–fine, send me home, who cares, you’re not gonna expel me on graduation day.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Oh, so many bad choices. I seem to have a knack for not ever getting things quite right. (And getting my picture taken wearing said bad choices.) But what immediately came to mind, maybe because my daughter's godmother has recently reminded me of it, is the raspberry pink velour maternity jogging suit. Okay, I am 5' 2", and I gained mumble-mumble WAY too much weight with my pregnancy, AND my lovely daughter was more than two weeks late. Just picture me waddling around like a hot pink raspberry stuffed with a beachball. Nuff said.

JENN McKINLAY: Punk rocker here. Nothing can be worse than my bleached blonde faux-hawk, combat boots, and black peacoat that I wore all through my senior year of high school. Thankfully, my mom negotiated that I save the bleaching and faux-hawking until after senior pictures were taken. After that episode, everything is fine.

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m such a conservative dresser I really can’t think of anything I deliberately acquired that was… questionable.I do remember the time we took a family trip to Cuttyhunk, a small island in accessible only by passenger ferry (no cars on the island back then) and without a single actual store. Jerry and I packed food, pampers, beach toys… everything we needed for a week, but we left our suitcase with all of our clothes at home. So for a week we wore the same clothes over and over again plus sheet/togas while we did laundry, and we went swimming in our underwear. It was an exercise in minimalism. 

RHYS : So your turn Reddies. Which outfits still make you go hot when you remember wearing them?

O, Canada We Love You! Let's Celebrate!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: It is rare that a blog can be so full of multiple meanings and layers of irony and importance. But today, here it is. We love you, Canada! And with all the chaos in the world, and all the complications, and all the incredible unpleasantness, I am especially overjoyed to introduce you to Dustin Harris and Jacinthe Paillé, co-founders of Montréal Mystery / Montréal Mystère.

If you ever needed proof that nothing brings the world together like reading and the shared love of books and writing, this is it. Although, we around here don’t need proof… We are living it!

And so are Jacinthe and Dustin. 

What a fascinating and intimidating thing to do, to create a mystery festival. And imagine the juggling and complications of doing it as a bilingual event!  And woo hoo, I am going to Montréal! And I hope you will join us.

Et voilà,  here’s the whole scoop, and then some prizes at the other end. 

H: This is such an incredible undertaking! How–and why–did you decide to do it?

Dustin and Jacinthe: We first met at Iceland Noir, an incredible celebration of mystery and crime writing in the heart of Iceland. We were totally inspired by the festival’s mix of local Icelandic voices and international authors, all coming together to share stories, culture, and lots of suspense. We thought: why not do something just as thrilling in Montréal, a city that lives and breathes books, culture, and creativity? We wanted to create a festival that shines a spotlight on both French and English-language authors, and features Canadian literature front and center on a global stage.

H: It’s bilingual, too, which is brilliant.

D et J: Montréal Mystery, also known as Montréal Mystère, celebrates the city’s rich cultural identity by bringing together authors and readers in both French and English, creating space for meaningful conversations, shared stories, and literary discovery across linguistic lines. We introduce French-language authors to English-speaking audiences—sometimes for the very first time—and host conversations with English-language authors in French, embracing the full bilingual spirit of the city.

It’s not just about translation; it’s about connection. That’s why our festival logo features the Jacques Cartier Bridge, a symbol of Montréal and a powerful metaphor for building bridges between cultures, languages, and communities.

H: So give us the scoop! Who are the special guests, and what are the special attractions, and what are you excited about?

D and J: We’re especially thrilled to welcome Johana

Gustawsson as our Guest of Honour this year! Known as the Queen of French Noir, Johana will be visiting Montréal for the first time as an author. Her books weave together historical and contemporary mysteries, tackling timely social issues with signature dark twists—and she’ll be discussing her work in both French and English throughout the festival.

We’re also proud to spotlight major Québec talents Martin Michaud and Steve Laflamme, who will take the stage for our French-language Saturday Night Mystery event. Even if you don’t speak French, you can follow along by reading three of Martin Michaud’s books translated into English, all taking place right here in Montréal.

And that’s just the beginning. There are so many other incredible panels, including a conversation between Canadian favorites Shari Lapena and Nita Prose hosted by Hank Phillippi Ryan. Check out the full schedule on montrealmystery.com!

H: I am incredibly honored to interview Shari and Nita–two of my favorite authors in the universe! What a joy for me, thank you! And this entire festival is a wonderful way for the community to gather and celebrate!

D et J: One of the absolute highlights of the festival has been connecting with the incredible community of Canadian mystery and thriller readers. We’ve loved seeing attendees deep in conversation between panels, swapping book recs over coffee at the library café, and gathering at nearby restaurants. We also had the chance to meet some of Canada’s most passionate bookstagrammers, whose support has meant the world to us.

And yes—the Montréal Mystery cookies were an unexpected smash hit. They vanished almost instantly (we swear it wasn’t part of a crime plot), so we’re bringing them back this year by popular demand. Arrive early to make sure you get one!

H: So how can we all get involved?

D and J: Montréal Mystery is a festival built by and for readers, and we’re so excited to welcome mystery lovers from all over. With over 20 incredible authors joining us, you’ll have the chance to attend engaging panels, get your books signed, and ask those burning questions you’ve been saving up. Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering a new favorite, this festival is your chance to connect with the storytellers behind the suspense. If you’d like to help out, we’re currently seeking volunteers. You’ll find the details on our website.

This year we have even more in store for the festival. We’re rolling out programming year-round, including online bookstagram collaborations, a cozy Fall Mystery event in Montréal, and contests for free festival tickets. Follow us on Instagram for the latest news and chances to join in. (https://www.instagram.com/montrealmysteryfestival/)

And if you want to support the festival in style, check out our brand-new merch line featuring totes, mugs, and apparel. They’re perfect for repping your love of Canadian crime fiction wherever you go!

H: Oh, this is so terrific. (And I got two t-shirts, one tiny black one and one oversized  pink one, I could not resist!) Tell us the festival specifics!

D et J: Montréal Mystery takes place May 23–24, right as the city bursts into its most beautiful spring weather. The festival is hosted at the stunning Grande Bibliothèque in downtown Montréal, just steps away from amazing restaurants, cozy cafés, and plenty of spots to sneak in a few chapters between panels.

Tickets are available now at montrealmystery.com. The festival sold out last year, and so we recommend you hurry. We can’t wait to see you in Montréal!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:  Doesn’t this sound amazing? Isn’t this fantastic? I am sneakily trying to extend my visit to be more than just those two days, I hope I will be able to. 

AND. Drumroll.  Hannah Mary McKinnon (my partner in First Chapter Fun)  and I, will meet in person for the very first time. Isn’t that astonishing? After five years being together on First Chapter Fun virtually,  we have only met in person once before, and nobody remembers it except someone sent us a photo. So it is incredibly exciting.

And look at the lineup of the other people who will be there! It is a total rockstar level event! 

Reds and Readers, any possibility of you coming? What should I see in Montréal? Have you ever been there?

And a copy of the book by me, Shari Lapeña, or Nita Prose, to one lucky commenter.  You get to choose which author’s book you want. No pressure :-)

My Sister Nancy--And Her VERY Big Question

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN:   I have a darling sister, Nancy, who is even in the comments here sometimes. She is 10 years younger than I am, and completely adorable. She is a genius chef, and has a thriving and innovative catering company in Indianapolis. She gives dinner parties right out of Downton Abbey, or White Lotus, or, once, a hockey game.  She is completely beautiful, and effortlessly bilingual in Spanish.

Here is one of the buffet tables she and her Great Cooks and Company created.

And here are some of the cupcakes she provided for a wedding. Yes! These are cupcakes.

A couple of days ago she texted me and said a friend of hers was in danger of losing her little daughter, and wanted to know if I thought she, Nancy, was too old to adopt a five-year-old.

YIKES. Oh my goodness, I thought, Nancy, you are way too nice for your own good.

She’s just the sort of person who would do that, ignoring all of her current impressive and immutable responsibilities and her future, to embrace a child in need and take her in. How do you tell someone not to do something like that? And it broke my heart that I, who have so many resources, would probably instantly refuse to do that. 

So I wrote her a careful sweet note, praising her generosity and her kind spirit, and her impulsive big heart that would even consider doing such a thing, and then I proceeded to outline some of the practical difficulties (personal legal emotional educational and endlessly on) , that she would have to deal with if she adopted a five year old girl. 

And again, I reiterated, how wonderful she is, and how I was proud to have her for a sister.

And she texted back:

APRIL FOOL.

I am such a dupe! She fools me every year. Every single year! She comes  up with the most perfect and most believable of scenarios, and I fall for it every time. EVERY. TIME.

It happens every year, and every year I swear I will not be duped again. And every year I am.

Once my little brother even called me on the phone, on April Fools Day, and as we were talking he stopped and yelled: there’s a spider on you! And I shrieked!

Remember: This was on the phone. He could not see me.

I hate April Fools Day, and I am glad it’s over. Weigh in, you all, on April Fools things? Now that we have passed that hideous hurdle….

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Oh, Hank, that adoption story is diabolical! I can imagine my sister doing the same thing except it would be a 150 pound Great Pyrennes and I would be shrieking to myself, “You already have three special-needs dogs you can’t have another!!”

Fortunately, my family of origin was more into what I can only describe as goofy pranks. I had a weird Barbie with marker on her face and a bad haircut, and when I was in my teens, she started showing up unexpectedly. My mom (I assume) put her atop the shower head before I went in to wash up, and I retaliated by posing her swinging from the dining room chandelier. She showed up under covers, “planted” in Mom’s garden, and, memorably, inside a box of Frosted Flakes. It was genuinely so funny, for both the pranker and the prankee.

HANK: Yes, that’s the exact thing that’s annoying about AFD “jokes” –if they are funny on both sides, that’s great. If they are hurtful or embarrassing, I say no.

HALLIE EPHRON: I’m not a big jokes/pranks fan. The line between funny and mean can be very slender, and very much in the eye of the beholder.

Having said that, I shudder to remember how my sister Delia and I tormented our younger sister, telling her she was adopted. 

JENN McKINLAY: When the hooligans were in residence, it was pranks galore (rubber ants in their lunch boxes, fake vomit on the floor, plastic wrap stretched across doorways, etc) but now that Hub and I are free birds (better term than empty nesters) there are no such pranks happening and I am 100% okay with that. 

RHYS BOWEN: Julia’s weird Barbie is like our hideous Santa. Years ago my SIL’s mom gave them a Santa statue that she’d found at a garage sale   Needless to say they hated it and contrived to give it back the next year. And so it had gone on ever since. This year I was asked, by Tom’s mom, to wrap and present the statue back to Tom.  He was caught completely off guard and we have it on video!

The best April Fool was when I was at school and the home room class of a clueless teacher swapped with another class. Teacher called the roll and 30 different girls answered without her noticing anything was wrong!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I come from a seriously non-pranking family! Maybe because both my parents grew up in really hard circumstances, but such a thing would not in a million years have occurred to them. Rick, however, is the oldest of five kids, and there was a lot of pranking in his family. He still really likes to tease, and he ALWAYS gets me with something on April Fool’s Day, but no way can I beat Hank’s story!

HANK: How about you, Reds and Readers? Now that the AFD danger is over, how do you feel about that "holiday"?

And have you ever been really fooled?