The best plot in the world. The most thrilling story of the century. A tale so compelling it changes the lives of millions. None of them work if the characters don’t ring true. You might think it’s easy for a female writer to create believable, convincing female characters. It isn’t. Nothing about the writing process is ‘easy’. Having said that, I’ve discovered a way to flesh my women out, make them life-like and three dimensional. But it wasn’t always that way. The essential male / female split Before I was published, I wrote three novels. None have seen the light of day, and they never will, because they weren’t ready. I had to learn the craft of fiction. To wit, in one of those novels, two male police officers were the protagonists. One of them walked into a house to question a witness, and the first thing he noticed were the curtains in the window. “Um… no,” said my writing group. A solid, beefy cop would NOT notice curtains when he walked into a house. “You need to learn the difference between a man and a woman’s point of view”, they said. Looking back, it seems obvious now. But at…

I am of the mindset that there’s nothing better than having a ripe, juicy strawberry on top of my dessert, and I’m beginning to believe the same rule applies to cozy mysteries! CC Dragon’s promotion card caught my eye last fall at a conference in Colorado. There was something about it that was familiar—her cover styles were attractive and appealing—as it turns out, we have the same cover artist! So it makes sense, that I was drawn to her books as much as I am to strawberry topping. I looked for her at the conference, to no avail and ended up stuffing her promotion card in my bag to contact her after I returned home. I hate to say, that swag bag didn’t get emptied until the holidays, but what a great gift it turned out to be! If I’d contacted CC last fall, she would have only had two books out in her series, but as of January, she has three Strawberry Top Mysteries for you to gobble up;) Now that’s a delicious treat! Kym: Please welcome CC Dragon to Fresh Fiction’s Cozy Corner! CC: Hi! Thanks for tracking me down ? Kym: CC can you tell us a…

Fresh Pick for Monday, February 29th, 2016 is THE SECRETS OF LIZZIE BORDEN by Brandy Purdy #SuspenseMonday About THE SECRETS OF LIZZIE BORDEN Anyone is capble of anything In her enthralling, richly imagined new novel, Brandy Purdy, author of The Ripper’s Wife, creates a compelling portrait of the real, complex woman behind an unthinkable crime. Lizzie Borden should be one of the most fortunate young women in Fall River, Massachusetts. Her wealthy father could easily afford to provide his daughters with fashionable clothes, travel, and a rich, cultured life. Instead, haunted by the ghost of childhood poverty, he forces Lizzie and her sister, Emma, to live frugally, denying them the simplest modern conveniences. Suitors and socializing are discouraged, as her father views all gentleman callers as fortune hunters. Lonely and deeply unhappy, Lizzie stifles her frustration, dreaming of the freedom that will come with her eventual inheritance. But soon, even that chance of future independence seems about to be ripped away. And on a stifling August day in 1892, Lizzie’s long-simmering anger finally explodes… Vividly written and thought-provoking, The Secrets of Lizzie Borden explores the fascinating events behind a crime that continues to grip the public imagination—a story of how…

When I heard I’d be writing a guest post for Fresh Fiction on their weekly Suspense Day, I was immediately filled with, you guessed it, SUSPENSE! What was I going to write about??? I was excited, but also a little nervous, and totally stumped for ideas. So, I did what I usually do when I’m stumped. I headed over to my local Novel Solutions store to see if they could help me out. I was relieved to see my buddy Carl behind the counter. “Ms. Held, what can I help you with today?” Carl asked. “You look a little…tense?” “Yeah,” I said. “I need to write this guest post for Fresh Fiction and I’m kind of stumped. I want to write something about suspense, but—” “I’ve got exactly what you need,” Carl said, and he reached under the counter and pulled out a battered wooden box. “What’s that?” I asked. “It’s a MacGuffin.” “A MacWhat?” I reached for the lid. “Don’t!” Carl batted my hand away. “You must not open the box under any circumstances.” “Um, I don’t want to doubt you, Carl, but how exactly is this supposed to help me with my blog post?” I asked. “A MacGuffin…