Patricia Stoltey

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Where Does the Time Go?

July 17, 2021 By: Patricia

I’ve not been in hiding, just busy doing other things. I’m working on a cozy mystery with humor. I write a monthly post (usually submitted late) for the Blood-Red Pencil blog. I do social media tasks for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Mystery Writers of America (RMMWA). I’ve been reading a lot (also known as lallygagging).

You know. The usual.

First, I want to catch up my list/links to my Blood-Red Pencil posts:

April, 2021 — Poetry is Just Not My Thing

May, 2021 — Here a Book, There a Book

June, 2021 — Why Do Some Readers Avoid Self-Published Books?

July, 2021 — Do I Need to Understand Tropes to Write a Cozy Mystery?

Secondly, one of the best books I’ve read so far this year is Pamela Nowak’s Never Let Go.

Never Let Go is a historical novel of the finest kind: based on a true story, beautifully researched, and fictionalized with dialogue and detail that seamlessly works the facts and fiction together. The hard life of pioneers drawn to Minnesota turns into a nightmare when Santee Sioux (Dakota) attack the whites during the 1862 Dakota Conflict. Five women are taken hostage. Never Let Go takes us from the women’s pre-Minnesota history through the attacks and life as hostages. Highly recommended.

Finally, the writing.

I’m writing a cozy mystery tentatively called A Bad Week in Wampo. Once I start revising and nail the timeline down, I might have to call it A Bad Week and a Half in Wampo. Of course, that won’t work, so once again I’ll be rewriting to make the days come out right. Or change the title. That might be easier.

This is the natural consequence of writing without an outline or even a vague plan. Called “writing by the seat of my pants” or being a “pantser,” I find it the most fun way to write. It also causes me to spend more time rewriting, deleting, revising, self-editing, and weeping.

This story is lighter than my previous novels. I don’t know if I can pull off the humor through a whole novel, but I’m giving it my best shot.

My Post at the Blood-Red Pencil Blog

March 16, 2021 By: Patricia

Please visit the Blood-Red Pencil Blog for my post on memoir. I’ve listed several recommendations along with my comments.    

Tag: Jim Davidson, Memorial Drive, Natasha Trethewey, Patricia Stoltey, reading memoir, The Next Everest, writing memoir

Random Words About Whatever

February 5, 2021 By: Patricia

The Quarantine Tapes First, let me direct you to the Blood-Red Pencil blog where I’ve posted about The Quarantine Tapes, a series of podcasts of special interest for Black History Month and to inform about how some celebrated writers are dealing with the pandemic. Walter Mosley served as guest interviewer for a couple of the …Read More

Tag: American Idol, Atomic Habits, Begin Again, Patricia Stoltey, The Quarantine Tapes, Walter Mosley

Posted About Mysteries at the Blood-Red Pencil Blog

January 7, 2021 By: Patricia

I’m hooked on quite a few mystery series and mentioned a few authored by writers from Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region when I put together my January post for the Blood-Red Pencil blog. I hope you’ll drop by and check out my list, trying a few of these fine series if the description appeals …Read More

Tag: Blood-Red Pencil blog, mysteries, Sisters in Crime - Colorado

Here I Am, Eleven Months Later

January 1, 2021 By: Patricia

Someone asked me back in March if I was going to write about the pandemic. I said, “No.” And then I realized I couldn’t write about anything without it being tied to the pandemic. So I just skipped out on the blog for a few months and focused on other things. Not the puzzle, though. …Read More

Tag: #amreading, #amwriting, jigsaw puzzles, pandemic

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Meet Patricia

I read, I write, I blog, and sometimes I do the laundry and cook. My 2014 novel, Dead Wrong, was a finalist in the thriller category of the 2015 Colorado Book Awards. Wishing Caswell Dead (Five Star/Cengage, December 20, 2017) is a historical mystery set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Colorado Book Awards for General Fiction. Read More…

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