Magna 2014 Has Left the Building


I manned the Midwest Mystery Writers of America table for a while, with the able assistance of E.A. Poe

I returned last night from Magna Cum Murder, a mystery conference held in Indianapolis, IN at the beautiful Columbia Club. One can safely say that a good time was had by all, and the organizers, led by the indefatigable Kathryn Kennison do a great job of making everyone feel at home.

Since I've attended many Magnas, I saw lots of authors I've chatted with, dined with, or sat on panels with in the past, either at Magna or at other cons. Molly MacRae, Sarah Wisseman, Sharan Newman, Tony Perona, Albert Bell, Dan (D.E.) Johnson, John Desjarlais, Monica Ferris, Ann Margaret Lewis, Carla Norton, Elaine Orr, Carol Preflatish, Lori Rader-Day, and Brenda Robertson Stewart. Among those authors you will find a wide array of mysteries, from woo-woo to cozy to deadly serious.

What does one do at a mystery con? If you're an author, you sit on panels and discuss why you write, how you write, and what you write. My first panel was on historical novels and the research involved in writing them. It's a delicate balancing act, keeping the story interesting but making sure you don't "fudge" history, as Sharan termed it. The panelists agreed it's a bad thing to stretch history too far. The second panel discussed writing paranormals, and there the panelists agreed that exploring paranormal things makes for interesting writing, but we couldn't agree on whether we actually believe the things we write about are real. (I was a no vote on the whole ghost question, but others were pretty sure they exist. It was a perfect discussion for a date so close to Halloween.

Tony Perona, who moderated the "woo-woo" panel

Readers come to cons to meet authors they like, find new authors, and talk about the mystery genre. I'm always surprised and pleased at the intelligent questions we get, such as one reader who asked concerning paranormal writing, "Should the paranormal element in the book lead to the solving of the crime?" We discussed that for a while. On one hand, if the paranormal doesn't help with the solution, then why is it in the book? On the other hand, is it "fair" to have an element in the story that allows some characters an advantage over others? It was a great question, proving that (unlike many sophomores I used to know) the listeners were digesting the information and actively involved with the topic.

I can't leave the subject of Magna without presenting Luci Zahray and her able assistant, P.J. Coldren. P.J. is a pharmacy tech who reviews mysteries for several different entities. Luci is a pharmacist from Texas who attends mystery cons to help authors poison people (figuratively, of course). She is extremely well-versed in toxic substances (we call her the Poison Lady) and she can scare you to death as easily as she could poison you, just by telling you what can kill you. A couple of the poisons she spoke on this time were saw palmetto and nicotine. Many don't realize how toxic these substances are, and she is horrified (as am I, now that I know) how easily they are bought and how casually they're used. She urged people who feel they must take supplements like saw palmetto to tell their doctors about it. Though it (and other supplements aren't classified by the FDA as drugs, they are not safe in some cases and are totally unregulated, so you don't know the dose you're getting or the quality of it. Saw palmetto, for example, can cause massive bleeding after surgery. If the doctors don't know what the reason is, they might not be able to stop it in time to save a person's life.

Molly MacRae, whose yarn shop mysteries include a depressed ghost

There. I learned some things I didn't know. I saw people I enjoy seeing. I talked a little about my books to people who might not have heard of me before. And I found a new author to read, not for myself, but for John (who likes thrillers). The weather was lovely, I had the company of the easy-to-travel-with Connie Doherty on the road trip. All in all, a great weekend. I recommend it for mystery lovers and wanna be mystery writers--next October.

Book Clubs Take Note: Discussion Guide: Sister Saint, Sister Sinner

When I sent Sister Saint, Sister Sinner to my editor, she was (as usual) helpful about pointing out areas that needed more development, parts that repeated information already given, and places where the logic temporarily failed. At the end, she made a comment that stuck with me: "People are going to be talking about the things you deal with in this book." To me, that meant the story was destined for book clubs. Having visited a few in my years of writing, I knew that they often begin with a list of discussion topics. Now, they often don't stay focused on them, and that's okay. Sometimes it's the wine. Sometimes it's a natural progression. But discussion leaders like having questions that can get the conversation back on track when it strays too far from the story. Every person who reads a book gets something out of it that no one else does. I had the experience once of visiting a book group where one reader didn't like the book and kept bringing up her

What Do You Have of Grandma's?

My grandmother died on my birthday in 1968. We couldn't wish her back, since she'd been in a lot of pain for a long time. Later, I helped Mom clean out her house, and we came upon her sewing basket. For some reason I asked if I could have it, and my mother said yes. I still have it. I think of her every time I take it out of its cupboard, though I can't think of a single time I saw Grandma sewing. It's hers, and that's enough. My other grandmother was the type who asked her progeny what they wanted of her things long before she died. One day when I was visiting I told her about my new hobby, refinishing old furniture. Pointing to a table that had always sat in her living room, she explained that as a young woman she too had taken up that task. The classic-style table was cherry wood, she told me, and she had rescued it from somewhere and given it new life with elbow grease and varnish. "Maybe you'll want it when I'm gone," she said, and I readi

A Story for My Peeps--And a Sale for My E-books

December-r-r E-BOOK SALE You might know about Smashwords. To be honest, I don’t know much. But one of my publishers, Draft2Digital, recently acquired Smashwords, so they are one entity. Smashwords invited all D2D authors to join their December e-book sale, so I did. From December 15 to December 30, 2022, (the kickoff to the real winter season in my home state of Michigan), all of my e-books, both Maggie Pill and Peg Herring titles, will be half off. Fifty percent. Basically, two for the price of one. Is that cool (winter reference) or what? As a rule of thumb, Maggie Pill books are cozy mysteries, (e.g. the Sleuth Sisters & the Trailer Park Tales series) meaning they’re funny (I think), small-townish, and as non-violent as one can get when the story centers on murder. Peg Herring books are all over the map, because I write the story that interests me at any given time. Those who’ve been with me throug

Peg Herring, Mystery Author

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