The latest from FierceBeyond50, a lifestyle blog from NY Times Bestselling author, Marie Bostwick. Female hand writing letter on white office paper on wooden desk.[/caption] REVIVING THE LOST ART OF LETTER WRITING Remember when we used to send and receive hand-written letters instead of using email or social media or texting? Sure, it takes longer, but it’s so much more special! Here’s why the lost art of letter writing is making a comeback. HOW TO BEAT THE BLUES WITH NATURAL REMEDIES THAT WORK We’ve all had those days. Call it the blues, the doldrums, or the depths of despair. Part of being fierce is learning to deal with those occasional struggles. Here’s how to overcome anxiety, stress, and mild depression with natural, drug-free strategies you can do at home. One of the sure-fire ways? Pick up a book. REV UP THOSE OVENS Cookies, muffins, banana bread, oh my! Here are a few of my favorite baked goods to make and share as well as a roundup of the best baking cookbooks in my kitchen. Because sometimes life calls for sugar. And carbs. And butter. And joy. PRETTY PLANTER IDEAS FOR SPRING When spring arrives, the urge to dig in the…

Hannah Swensen #11 March 2009On Sale: March 1, 2009Featuring: Mike Kingston; Hannah Swensen288 pages ISBN: 0758210221EAN: 9780758210227Hardcover$24.00 Mystery Woman Sleuth Buy at Amazon.com Cream Puff Murder by Joanne Fluke Winter in Lake Eden, Minnesota, is the perfect time to curl up by a cozy fire with something-and someone-sweet. But while bakery owner Hannah Swensen can provide herself with the confections, cuddling will have to take a back seat to sleuthing when her sometime-squeeze becomes a murder suspect… With the launch party of her mother’s novel around the corner, Hannah has a dress to fit into and a date with her sister, Andrea, at Lake Eden’s new health club, Heavenly Bodies. Dragging herself out of bed on a frigid Minnesota morning for exercise, of all things, is bad enough. Discovering a dead body floating in the gym’s jacuzzi? Okay, that’s worse. Nor does it help that there’s a plate of The Cookie Jar’s very own cream puffs garnishing the murder scene. The fact that they were purchased by none other than Hannah’s part-time flame, Detective Mike Kingston, is simply the icing on what’s shaping up to be one very messy cake… Mike may be the prime suspect in the murder of…

To celebrate the release of The Marriage Recipe, out this month from Harlequin American Romance, I’m celebrating a month of home cooking and made-from-scratch recipes. My heroine is a chef and the hero a lawyer (and also a single-engine pilot). Toss in falling in love with the boy-next-door and the girl who longs to return to the bright lights of the big city, you have a recipe for some craziness, kisses, and love. Writing The Marriage Recipe was a lot of fun. One of the most important areas of character development is what the characters eat and drink. Seriously. If I’m writing a character who’s from New Orleans, I bet he or she has had crawfish. If not, what does that say about him or her? My characters located in St. Louis eat toasted ravioli and gooey butter cake; while in Morrisville, where my characters live, they would drink “pop,” not soda. Knowing regional food tastes and verbiage helps build a character in subtle ways. This is why I always set my books in places I’ve lived or visited. That way they come across as real. Setting is also another character—could you imagine Pretty Woman taking place in Chicago instead…