Patricia Stoltey

Author

How I Wrote a Historical Novel Set in an Era I Knew Nothing About … by Jennifer Kincheloe

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Five years ago, I knew nothing about the Progressive Era. I mean naught, nothing, nada. I had some vague notion that they washed their hair with egg yolks and drank Coca Cola laced with cocaine, but that was about it. I ran across a brief article about a police matron, Alice Stebbins Wells, who became …Read More

Getting Back on the Horse …. by Liana Brooks

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It has been scientifically proven that good habits are easy to break. There’s rarely social support for “good” habits like eating vegetables, controlling portion sizes, honestly assessing yourself, recognizing your talents, or doing monthly breast exams. We all know these things are necessary, but the stores still sell candy bars at the checkout, the restaurants …Read More

Finding a Voice … by Kathleen Ernst

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In the book world, “voice” is a difficult-to-define but prized element. “I can’t describe voice,” editors say, “but I know it when I see it.” When conceptualizing my latest Chloe Ellefson mystery, Death on the Prairie, I’ve thought a lot about finding a voice—and not just my own as a writer. Chloe is curator of …Read More

Character Growth: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

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By Jason P. Henry (Conference Director, 2016 Pikes Peak Writers Conference) I’d like to believe my writing abilities have come a long way since I first started. I could attribute my improvement to many things, but there’s one factor that I hold in highest regard. That is the multitude of amazing people I have met …Read More

Literary Mystery Fiction: Finding the Sweet Spot … by Nancy G. West

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Many people divide literary fiction from mystery fiction based on considering these elements: memorable characters and/or prose, sensory details, pacing (timing of events); high stakes; and tone (serious to humorous.) Which elements do these literary fiction authors, and one mystery writer, incorporate into their work? Most of these authors use all the elements. Since they’re …Read More

For the love of “old stuff”: the Chaw’se Miwok and Me … by Catriona McPherson

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Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy in Northern California but sometimes I miss the . . . old stuff that surrounded me in Scotland. The mediaeval streets, the fortified castles, the Roman walls, and of course the really old stuff: the standing stones. I’ve got an ambivalent attitude to standing stones, actually. I sort …Read More