Research Trip: Bakewell

Research Trip: Bakewell

Real places often inspire fictional locations in my books. That was the case when I visited the village of Bakewell. I think of my visit as I’m writing about Nether Woodsmoor in the Murder on Location series. Some photos of the village on a gray day:   ...
Research Trip: English Garden Inspiration at Chatsworth House

Research Trip: English Garden Inspiration at Chatsworth House

Chatsworth House was another stop on my research trip and it inspired my fictional Parkview Hall in the Murder on Location series. It was too cold for me to do much exploring in the gardens the day I visited, but they did inspire me. Death in an English Garden (the...
Research Trip: English Garden Inspiration at Lyme Park

Research Trip: English Garden Inspiration at Lyme Park

I visited several stately homes with beautiful gardens on my research trip to England. It was a little early in the year to see the gardens in full bloom, but they still were quite a sight! These are my favorites from Lyme Park, which was used in the BBC miniseries...
The Truth about Writing According to Music and Lyrics

The Truth about Writing According to Music and Lyrics

Hollywood rarely gets creative/writerly characters and situations right. (Just one case in point is the mom character in Cheaper By The Dozen. A publisher picks up her book and in about two minutes she’s touring and has an Oprah appearance scheduled.) So I was...