2019 in List Format
Here’s my non-exhaustive list of what’s happened this year. As always, it’s a limited tool, but an interesting one.
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Thoughts
Essays and reflections on writing, culture, history, community, and the ideas that stay with us.
Murdering Victims… Thematically
Ptown is abuzz with waves of people washing in and out as though transported by the tides on our myriad beaches. Every week different faces, different attitudes, different energies flood the town.
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A Different Resolution for 2020
Mostly, I’ve found, resolutions are about gaining control. Setting goals to attain, like writing a book or losing weight. Getting better at something, like being more organized or finding more prayer time. Reading more. Watching less TV. All of that? It’s about exercising control over the environment, my life, and my future. And then this year, just over a week before Christmas, I understood exactly how little control I actually have.
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If You Meet Me, Beware
I’m a shameless example. I carry a notebook with me. I eavesdrop on conversations, I peer into lighted rooms at night, I ask seemingly innocent questions of strangers.
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When Mystery and History Combine
It’s not just a matter of dates; it’s a matter of a whole culture that needs to be understood.
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Creativity Meditation
Sometimes in order to tap your creativity, you have to just step back and breathe.
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Characters Who Are… Characters
The one thing I know I can do is keep some of it alive. Honor some of the people who lived and died here and whose lives were so meaningful to the town.
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The Ghosts That Live in My Books
It’s only recently I’ve begun to think about the layers that exist everywhere, layers certain people see and others don’t.
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A Very Drafty First Draft
So here I am, doing a marathon—not running, but writing. It’s less fun than it sounds… and I’m aware that it doesn’t really sound like fun.
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New England Authors Interview
Join Jeannette as she discusses books, writing, and Provincetown with author and publisher Kameel Nasr!
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Interview with Sydney Riley
The off-season is slower, so we were able to catch up with her at The Canteen—one of her favorite eateries—and find out a little more about her.
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Midwest Book Review Lauds a Killer Carnival!
“Packed with motive and heart-stopping moments and spiced by Sydney’s irreverent wit and sense of humor, A Killer Carnival is mystery writing at its finest. It’s especially recommended for prior readers, but is quite accessible to newcomers seeking superior stories, memorable characters, and fast-paced action.”
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How Long Is a Novel?
Don’t make yourself crazy. Take it one page at a time and try to reduce just that page. And then the next. And then the next.
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The World’s a Mystery: International Crime Fiction
Just think about the places you could travel via mystery! From the remote stretches of the Arctic to the tip of South Africa, there are crime-solvers poised to bring you into their space, their world, their culture.
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Welcome to My World
Ever wonder what writers’ desks look like? What inspires them? What keeps them in their chairs? Wonder no more: here’s where I work.
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Everything I Know About Writing I Learned from Mary Stewart
Everything I know about writing I learned from Mary Stewart. That’s a slight exaggeration, of course; but not as much as you’d think.
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5 Things That Will Make You Fall in Love with Montréal
Martine LeDuc, the protagonist of my Montréal mystery series, is head over heels in love with Montréal—which is a good thing, since she’s the city’s PR director! Here are some reasons why Martine loves Montréal… and why you might, too.
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Dealing with Muddle in the Middle of Your Fiction
To get from your beginning, rife with possibility and excitement, to your ending, a surprising yet inevitable conclusion that fulfills the hopes of your readers, you must traverse the dreaded muddle in the middle.
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Judging a Book by Its Cover
Others’ mileage will vary, of course. But I have all this on my mind today specifically as my publisher reveals the new cover for my new novel… and I’m already fretting about the next.
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