Marilyn's Musings

Edward Harlow writes etiquette books under the pseudonym of Aunt Civility, a secret shared only by his publisher and his brother, Nicholas.  He was hired to write the books by Classical Reads Publishing because he met their criteria: he could memorize facts, such as which fork to use to eat the shrimp cocktail; he turned out copy quickly; and he looked good in a tuxedo (for those times when he would appear in public as Aunt Civility's official representative.) Good manners don't come naturally to Edward, and that's where his brother comes in. Nicholas, who is also Edward's secretary, keeps his brother in check. However, not even Emily Post anticipated the proper response to murder, and when a fellow guest at Inglenook Resort turns up dead, it's every man (and woman) for himself. Though Edward is a fictional character in my latest mystery novel, Civility Rules, I think he serves to remind us that manners are the root of a civil society.  Remember when ...

I write two humorous amateur sleuth series, The Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries and The Empty Nest Mysteries. Currently I’m working on the second Empty Nest Mystery—or I’m trying to. It isn’t easy to write humor when there are so many horrible things happening in the world. I live eighteen miles from Lower Manhattan. My husband, son, and daughter-in-law all commute into New York every day. Fourteen years ago I watched in real time as the second plane flew into The World Trade Center and as both buildings collapsed. I couldn’t write for six months. It’s hard to be funny when the world has turned grim and deadly. I’m dealing with a similar anxiety now as events unfold around the world. Somehow it feels wrong to write about murder—especially in a humorous voice—given what’s happening. And the very last thing I want to do right now is write something dark and grizzly. I wrote dark and grizzly prior to 9/11. I can’t do that anymore. I’d much rather make people laugh than s...

Why are people more apt to judge a “book by its cover” than not?                          What is it about the attractive stranger? We attribute characteristic such as intelligence, status, trust, and good genes to them because on the surface, they are beautiful people. The general thought seems to be, “If they are beautiful, they must be trustworthy and nice.             People go out of the way to help attractive people because they want to be well liked and accepted by good looking people. Studies of babies indicate they look more intently and longer at attractive people. Are they accepting them or are they trying to look more deeply into the interior?                         In Myt...

Hi Marilyn. It’s a pleasure to be invited to Marilyn’s Musings. Thank you for having me. This is my debut blog participation so I'm very excited to be here. By way of introduction to your readers, I’m also a debut author with my first book coming out this month (December 2015). Previously, I have written eight or nine (I’ve lost count) screenplays. I thought I might discuss a bit about how the protagonist in my book, Land Sharks - A Swindle In Sumatra was evolved. When I began writing, I knew that I wanted to write a series involving the common frauds that plague people in their daily lives. For example, everyone knows people who have been hit by identity fraud or phishing messages in our email. Some of us have even been hacked. I felt it was a rich area to include in mysteries. It could even introduce readers to some frauds they are unaware of and learn ways to protect themselves. I also knew I wanted a female protagonist. I named her Alexis Winslow. Lexi for short...

I've had so many guests lately there's been no place for me to write anything. Today was a free day, so I'm catching up: I'm working on my next Tempe Crabtree mystery--Amy Bennett is a character in this one--at least a character is using her name. I sent my next Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery off to the publishers--which means planning a new blog tour. Once again I'll use some of my tried and true blogs and I'm reaching out to some new ones.  One of our writing group invited me to the Diwali Festival, the major celebration of Indians from India. The day before I learned I was the special guest and was expected to give a speech. The celebration was spectacular and the food interesting. Wonderful performances by graceful dancers. Everyone seemed to enjoy my speech. We had 21 here for Thanksgiving dinner and everyone helped. Delicious food and we played a rip roaring game of Estimation. I have two more events this year. This Saturday I'...

Kay Kendall’s Rainy Day  Women is the second book in her Austin Starr Mystery series. In 1969, during the week of the Manson murders and Woodstock, the intrepid amateur sleuth, infant in tow, flies across the continent to support a friend suspected of murdering women’s liberation activists in Seattle and Vancouver.  Kay fills us in on the lure of the 60s.  The Power of Mad Men —and Plain Old Mad Men Too The advent of Mad Men on television witnessed—or helped cause—the return of the 60s to the popular consciousness. For three decades before that, the tumultuous decade of the 1960s had a bad rep. After all, it was such a divisive time, and people grew tired of it. The vibrant economy of the 1980s turned the page decisively on “radical chic,” and even some 60s activists turned to making money, big time. These days In fashion magazines and stores, the number of retro-hippie clothes and accessories astonishes me. I’ve purchased three items with long suede frin...

                                      "How do you do it?  I could never write a mystery."  I'm sure most mystery writers hear this question often.  I teach a mystery writing course at a women writers' retreat in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York -- a perfect setting for a murder, with mountains, a lake and an island a short canoe-ride from the old Lodge.  In fact I've written a short story called "Murder in the Boathouse" to be published soon in the Retreat Anthology.  I teach my writing students that it's not so intimidating a task if you just break it up into its natural sections.  Any mystery must have five ingredients.   (1.) a Detective, with or without a sidekick.  The detective may or may not be a human.  Dogs and cats make popular detective series and I've used a pig named Priscilla in some of my stories -- p...