by Paula Gail Benson Currently, I’m working on an up-to-10,000 word short story for the third Lowcountry Romance Writers’ (LRWA) anthology. The story must somehow involve South Carolina and a vacation. I’m basing mine on characters I developed in my story that appeared in the first LRWA anthology. It’s been fun to give this couple […]
by Paula Gail Benson It’s awards season again. Here are short story and anthology categories for Macavity, Anthony, and Silver Falchion awards. I’ll also note that the Short Mystery Fiction Society is currently polling its membership concerning a new anthology category to be added to the Derringers. Many events on the horizon! Mystery Readers Internation […]
by Paula Gail Benson I’ve heard about plotters and pantsers. In Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott commends E.L. Doctorow’s advice that writing is like driving a car and only being able to see as far as your headlights, yet having the ability to complete the trip with that view. Plotters create a road map. Pantsers […]
by Paula Gail Benson Mary Lee Ashford has already visited this subject in her excellent post from June 6 (‘Tis the Season … for Summer Reading). I particularly like her tips for choosing a summer read. She also has a list of guides with current reading lists. I’ve always enjoyed reading, but I admit that […]
by Paula Gail Benson This year’s Met Gala, the annual event held as a fund raiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute drew its theme, “The Garden of Time,” from the name of a short story by J.G. Ballard. Here’s a link, if you want to read the story: Read the 1962 Short […]
by Paula Gail Benson Until I watched Ocean’s 8, a female heist film featuring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchette, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Helena Bonham Carter, in 2018, I wasn’t very familiar with the Met Gala. Now, after having seen that movie numerous times, I’ve become intrigued by the event and […]
by Paula Gail Benson Whether or not you can attend the fabulous gathering of Malice Domestic at the end of this month, be sure to check out the marvelous novels, books, and stories that have received prestigious Agatha nominations. You’ll have some delightful reading. (NOTE: click on the short story for a link to the […]
by Paula Gail Benson Three great new anthologies are on the horizon. Please add the following to your “to be read” lists: Dark of the Day: Eclipse Stories, will be released on April 1 (in time for the April 8 total solar eclipse). The anthology is edited by Kaye George and published by Down and […]
by Paula Gail Benson On March 1, Terrie Farley Moran, author of the Read Em and Eat mystery series and current author of the Jessica Fletcher novels including Murder She Wrote: Death on the Emerald Isle, posted the following on Facebook: “Welcome to March, the month of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Please remember that the […]
by Paula Gail Benson Last month, I wrote about receiving the book One Word that Will Change Your Life, which advocates that you select a word to focus upon for the year instead of making resolutions. In the comments to that post, Saralyn Richards and Gay Yellen responded that “gratitude” and “kindness” were words that […]