Tag Archive for: cozy mysteries

Series Stories: Why We Love Them

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by Sparkle Abbey

The days are short and the nights are long and in many parts of the country it’s really cold outside. The perfect time to immerse yourself in a new book. Or maybe in a new series.

We confess we’ve often found ourselves hooked on a great series, whether a mystery, a YA, a science fiction story, a fantasy novel, or a family saga. It seems we’re not the only ones, readers (and for that matter television viewers) seem to love a series.

What is it we love about them?

Characters – When we’ve connected with the people in a story, we want to know more. They become friends that we want to hang out with again and again. Peope we care about. Often attachment to the characters in a series is what makes readers pick up that next book.

Setting – The setting of a story can be an element that draws us back. Maybe it’s a fictional place that feels very real to us and one we want to continue visiting. Or perhaps it’s a real place that’s described so well that we feel like we’ve been off on a trip to a favorite spot.

Unresolved Issues – Frequently with popular series stories, in addition to things that are resolved within the confines of that one book, there are other questions that remain unanswered. Those questions may arc over the course of the series and while the protagonist may make progress in each book, there’s still more work to be done.

We read a Forbes article that included some numbers on how many episodes it takes before television viewers are “hooked” on a series. According to Netflix data, three is the median number of episodes neccessary to hook viewers. Although there are a few examples where people were engaged sooner. With books, at least for us, often the first in the series decides whether we’ll go on to the next or not.

What do you think? Do you have some favorite series? Book Depository offers this list of what they consider the 20 Best Book Series Ever.  Any of your favorites listed there? What is it that brings you back to a series? We’d love to hear your thoughts on why series stories are so popular.



Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of mystery authors Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter. They’ve chosen to use Sparkle Abbey as their pen name on this series because they liked the idea of combining the names of their two rescue pets – Sparkle (ML’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog).

The authors co-write the best-selling Pampered Pets Mystery Series which focuses on the wacky world of precious pedigrees, pampered pooches, and secrets in posh Laguna Beach, California. The main characters and amateur sleuths are Texas cousins, Caro Lamont, a pet therapist, and Melinda Langston, a pet boutique owner. The two would join forces and work together if they were speaking, but they’re not.  Midwest Book Review calls the series “A sassy and fun mystery!”

Desperate Housedogs, the first book in Sparkle Abbey‘s mystery series is currently on sale for only 99 cents in all ebook formats for a limited time. If you love pets and love light-hearted mysteries, this might be a great time to try out this fun series!

Kindle

Nook

Kobo

iBooks

Movie Stars Merry & Bright

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by Sparkle Abbey

Judy posted earlier in the week about the traditions of holiday movies and we couldn’t help but add our two cents worth on the topic because we love holiday movies. Do you like holiday movies? Do you have a favorite (or two or three) that you look forward to each year as they start appearing in the television line-up?

We love It’s a Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn, Miracle on 34th Street, The Bishop’s Wife, The Holiday, and oh so many others. Such great stories and so many wonderful stars!

There’s nothing like Zuzu Bailey proclaiming, “Teacher says, ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel get his wings.'” Or Bing Crosby singing White Christmas. Or Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, and Jude Law and all the madcap mixups in The Holiday.

But we have to tell you, there’s a new kid on the block. A new entry in our favorite holiday movie must-see list. The Man Who Invented Christmas with Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) as Charles Dickens, and Christopher Plummer as Scrooge was a surprise as we hadn’t heard much about it. But this telling of how Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol did not disappoint!

Perhaps some of the charm for us was the protrayal of Dickens, the writer, and the difficulties he encounters as he tries to work out the plotline and get his characters to behave. And deal with real life difficulties at the same time. We won’t give away any details, but if you get a chance, check out this new movie that’s on our list of favorites.

Speaking of stars, we’ve been busy with the launch of our latest installment in the Pampered Pets mystery series, Barking with the Stars, and we’d love to give away a special holiday gift packet to celebrate. Just leave a comment below before midnight December 9th and we’ll draw from among those commenting for a free Sparkle Abbey book and some other Christmas goodies.

Please share your favorite holiday movie, if you have one. Or if you’re not into holiday movies, is there a movie that you re-watch each year?

Wishing you all things merry & bright and a great holiday season!
Sparkle Abbey

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series.


They love to hear from readers and you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. And if you want to make sure you’re up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by their website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.

Liars or Truth Seekers?

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by Sparkle Abbey

Ever play two truths and a lie? The ice breaker game where each person shares three facts about him or herself, but one is really a lie. The others must pick out the lie from the truths. The most successful players know that the best lie contains a truthful element.

According to Stephen King, “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.” Perhaps one can consider fiction to be a form of two truths and a lie.

Great fiction has the power to reveal truth through well defined and developed characters. Yet truth is a matter of perspective – especially in mystery fiction. Truth, lies and deceit are pillars in a great mystery. If the characters, for the most part, always told the truth, the mystery is quickly solved and well, that’s pretty darn boring. And a very short novel. Think about some of your favorite characters. They are most likely flawed, complex, and strive to do the right thing, although at times going about it the wrong way.

Are they liars or truth seekers? Perhaps both.


When do characters lie?

Secondary characters lie to the protagonist, the protagonist lies to other characters, and the protagonist lies to his or herself.

Self-deception is an important element in fiction. Like in real life, our characters are quick to justify and find excuses for lying—even the good guys. It’s only a white lie, to protect someone’s feelings. They didn’t actually lie; they just omitted the truth when asked if they had information. Or maybe they did lie to protect someone they love who is accused of a crime they didn’t commit, buying time to find the truth. Ah…a truth seeker!

 

Professional lie detector Pamela Meyer says, “Lying is a cooperative act.  Think about it, a lie has no power whatsoever by its mere utterance. Its power emerges when someone else agrees to believe the lie.” (Check out her awesome TED Talk: How to spot a liar). 

As writers we “lie” by planting clues of misdirection, red herrings, false clues, inaccurate witnesses, and false confessions. Our lies add tension and hid the truth until the appropriate time for the big reveal. In a mystery these types of lies are acceptable because the reader is already in on the joke or “lie” the second they opened the book. The reader “agrees to believe the lie.”

As writers not only do we want to entertain, but we also have a point of view, a “truth inside a lie” we want to convey to others by storytelling—redemption, love, forgiveness, justice. A truth seeker.

Though we are, you could say, “professional liars” we have a responsibility to the reader to play fair throughout the journey we take them on: to use the lies to weave the story, create the conflict, and eventually to reveal the truth. 

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the neighbors.) They love to hear from readers and can be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, their favorite social media sites. Also, if you want to make sure you get updates, sign up for their newsletter via the SparkleAbbey.com website.

What Inspires You?

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by Sparkle Abbey

“All the effort in the world won’t matter if
you’re not inspired.”―Chuck Palahniuk




Inspiration
is everywhere. As writers, we are always looking for ways to be stirred to
greatness… or at least to productivity. Inspiration drives actions. In our case, that means words on the blank page.


When we’re on deadline, as we are now, we don’t get to wait for inspiration
to hit, we have to sit down and do the work. But that doesn’t mean we stop
looking for ways to be inspired. 


We’re moved by great books and entertaining movies. A photo of the sea or a road trip with our closest girl friends. A great conversation with differing viewpoints or a good laugh. 



Sometimes inspiration is as simple as remembering why we wanted a particular goal in the first place. Remembering the “why” can be pretty inspiring.

Other times you simply need a break in the action. We’ve heard it referred to as refilling the well, and that’s truly what it feels like. Your inspiration and creativity has been depleted and you need to pause and refill.

We also love a good quote. Here are a few that
have inspired us:

“I don’t go by the rule book. I lead from the heart, not the head.” – Princess Diana


“Don’t waste time waiting for inspiration. Begin, and inspiration will find you.” –  H. Jackson Brown, Jr.  

“I am not afraid of storms for I am learning to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott



These are the things that inspire us, but we’re not all inspired by the same things or in the same ways. We’d love to hear what inspires you?


Mary Lee and Anita aka Sparkle Abbey


Here’s a little more news from us:
We are busy working on books nine and ten in The Pampered Pets Mysteries. 


We just received word from our publisher that Raiders of the Lost Bark,
book eight in the series, will soon be an ebook special so watch for that special pricing coming soon. 

Also, if you’re missing any of our backlist this is a great time to catch up so you’re ready for book eight. Details on all the titles are available here.

And if
you want to make sure you’re up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by our
website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.

Retreating In Order to Move Forward

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by Sparkle Abbey

To retreat is an act or a process of withdrawing. At least according to our handy Merriam Webster Dictionary app.  However, it has also come to mean a place you go to get away from it all. A place to relax, reflection and recharge.

This past weekend we participated in a different kind of retreat. This was plotting retreat with three other writers – the members of our critique group. We try to do this at least twice a year. It’s especially helpful at the start of a new project.

We started with a great dinner and discussion Friday night and then Saturday morning after breakfast we were ready to go. Each writer gets a two-hour time slot where we all focus on their story. Although we call this a plotting retreat, it’s up to the individual writer how their two-hour session is used. It may be actual plotting, or help with a story problem, or perhaps just brainstorming. There’s a wonderful synergy that happens when we put our five heads together.  It’s intense, it’s productive, and it’s also great fun.

There are several tools that we’ve found work well for us – a big whiteboard, flip charts, markers, reference books, and, of course, plenty of chocolate!

We been doing this for several years and at this past weekend’s retreat we worked on the plot for the 10th book in our Pampered Pets mystery series. We think you’ll enjoy what we’ve cooked up this time!

What about you? Have you ever attended any kind of retreat?

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets–Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). If you want to make sure you’re up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by their website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.

By the way, beginning today the 5th book in Sparkle Abbey’s mystery series, FIFTY SHADES OF GREYHOUND is on sale for only $1.99 for a limited time in all ebook formats.

A Promise to Yourself

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by Sparkle Abbey

Each January our agent asks us for a business and marketing plan for that year. We don’t exactly look forward to it, but we are goal setting, planning kind of women, so we don’t mind. Part of our business plan includes an author mission statement. That’s not unusual. Every business should have a mission statement, and being a published author is running a business. We have goals and objectives, we need to know our target audience, and we need to be aware of our strengths and weaknesses. Makes sense.

But what about a personal mission statement—one that guides our actions, behaviors, and the way we treat others? A description that defines who we are and puts our dreams into words.

A personal mission statement takes honest introspection. You have to know what brings you joy, and causes you sorrow. You have to take an accounting of your strengths—and your weaknesses—a critical observation of your behaviors and patterns. The kind of statement we’re talking about brings focus and purpose to your life. Think of it as a promise to yourself.

Here are personal mission statements from two very successful women:

Denise Morrison, CEO of Campbell Soup Company

“To serve as a leader, live a balanced life, and apply ethical principles to make a significant difference.”

Oprah Winfrey, Founder of OWN, The Oprah Winfrey Network

“To be a teacher. And to be known for inspiring my students to be more than they thought they could be.”

What if everyone had a personal mission statement? A positive sense of purpose? We could change the world.

What about you? Do you have a personal mission statement?

If not and you want to create one, but have no idea where to start, check out Time Thoughts. Not only do they provide great tips and guidelines, they also have a number of sentence templates that you might find helpful as a jumping off point. Keep in mind, your personal mission statement isn’t static. It can change and grow as you discover new things about yourself and enter new seasons in your life. 

Leave a comment and inspire us with your personal mission statements! We’ll start with one of ours: “To live life fully and honestly. To be kind and compassionate to those around me. To always chose joy.”

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets–Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). If you want to make sure you’re up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by their website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.

Fun Facts About Sparkle Abbey

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by Sparkle Abbey
We’ve had a crazy week. We know, it’s only Thursday, but it feels like we’ve crammed in seven days since Monday. It’s times like this when we like to laugh and remind ourselves we have pretty amazing lives. So we thought this was the perfect time to share some fun facts about Sparkle Abbey.

  • We are friends as well as neighbors. We live just one street away from each other. We can see each other’s houses from our windows.
  • We’re plotting to buy the house between to use as a writer’s retreat house. We’ll put in a pool.
  • We were part of the same critique group for years before we started writing together. Our critique group sometimes travels with us and we love to plot stories with them on road trips.
  • We love to travel together and usually navigate pretty well. Although we did once accidentally go to Michigan. (Shh…don’t tell our husbands. We’ve never told them.)
  • Our favorite drink is a margarita on the rocks or an iced tea. When we stop in our neighborhood pub, Francies’, after work the waitresses just ask if it’s an iced tea night or a margarita night.
  • We’re also regulars at our local Starbucks, where they call us Non-Fat, No-Water Chai and Skinny Hazelnut. If one of us is there without the other, the barista often asks where the other half of the team is.
  • We both love beaches and find the ocean soothing.
  • Our husbands enjoy each other’s company and enjoy scotch tastings and comparing preferences.
  • We’re both grandmothers and are crazy about our grandchildren.

  • We both enjoy old movies, especially the vintage romantic comedies.
  • We have taken yoga classes together, although one of us (guess who) has been known to fall asleep during the relaxation portion.
  • We love Broadway shows and packed as many as possible into our last New York City trip. We also had a Rod Stewart sighting. Ask us about it.
  • At least once a week, we text each other and ask if it’s possible to join the Witness Protection Program.
  • We are featured in a Writer’s Digest book “Writing with Emotion, Tension, & Conflict” in the chapter on “Tension and Pressure.”
  • We picked the pen name ”Sparkle Abbey” because those are the names of our two rescue pets, Sparkle (ML’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog.) The other choice using our other pets’ names was – Chewbacca Matisse

  • We go to the same hairdresser who has the best stories. She used to cut Elvis’ cousin’s hair. Yeah, that Elvis.


Okay, now it’s your turn. Share some of your fun facts!




Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets–Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). If you want to make sure you’re up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by their website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.

What Can You Do to Help Out Your Favorite Authors?

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by Sparkle Abbey
A portion of this blog was originally published in April of 2013. 

 It’s the beginning of a new year, and most people are making resolutions or setting goals for 2017. We are definitely in the goal setting camp. Setting goals gives us a clearer picture of what we want for the year, or next 3 years. It drives us forward with focus and keeps us organized, and most importantly, keeps us accountable.

 Something else we do each year is to make a concerted effort to support our fellow authors who have new releases. For us that means spreading the word about their awesome books on social media or posting a review. 


As we were discussing our goals for 2017, we thought this would be a great time to remind us all how we can actively support our favorite authors.

Let them know what you think. 

  • Write the author a quick email or letter telling them how much you liked their story. Writing fiction is itself is a solitary pursuit but ultimately we writers put ourselves and our work out there for the world to see. You can’t imagine how much someone taking the time to comment means to us. 

Share via bookstore sites.

Depending on where you buy your books, you can help readers find your favorite authors books by providing quick feedback.

There are a couple of things you can do for the paperback and/or Kindle versions.

    1. “Like” a good review that you agree with.
    2. If you read the book and enjoyed it, post a short (even 1 or 2 sentences) review on either the paperback or Kindle version about specifically what you liked about the book. (One review goes both places, unlike the tags and ‘like’).

There are a couple of things you can do for the paperback and/or Nook versions.

    1. Click that you found a good review “Helpful.”
    2. And again, if you read the book and liked it, post a short (even 1 or 2 sentences) review on either the paperback or Nook version about specifically what you liked about the book. 

If you’re a member of Indie Bound for independent book stores, add your favorite authors’ books to your “Wish List” or your book lists on the Indie Bound website at http://www.indiebound.org/ 

 You can also link to your friends and tell your friends about the books. 

Spread the news via Social Media

Tell your friends about their book. 

  • Share with friends and family via Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, blogs or word-of-mouth.


A sample Tweet might be (This one is more than 140 characters, but Twitter will shorten the link for you): 

 Great fun read: Raiders of the Lost Bark #book #mystery
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/sparkle-abbey 

 or  www.amazon.com/Raiders-Lost-Bark-Pampered-Mysteries/dp/1611946778

 If you’re currently reading the book, you can always tag it as a #FridayReads.
A sample Facebook post could be something as simple as: Check out my friend Sparkle Abbey’s book, Downton Tabby, at your favorite bookstore or visit their website at www.sparkleabbey.com

 If you’re a member of Goodreads, check out your favorite author’s Author Profile and click on “Become a Fan.” For instance our Author Profile page looks like this: Sparkle Abbey: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5283557.Sparkle_Abbey 

 If you’ve read the book, you can also rate the book and add a review. Much like Amazon, you can also “Like” positive reviews

 Another great help is to visit review sites or book-related blogs and comment if you have the time. For instance, we’ve been featured on our very own Dru’s Musings, The Mystery Gazette, Cozy Chicks, and Seekerville.

 Whether you do one thing or all of the above, showing your support and sharing your love of books with others truly makes a difference.
Are there are ways to support your favorite authors that we didn’t mention? Leave a comment and tell us about it!


Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets–Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). If you want to make sure you’re up on all the Sparkle Abbey news, stop by their website and sign up for updates at sparkleabbey.com.

People Watching – A Writer’s Hobby

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by Sparkle Abbey


If you haven’t heard, Iowa was quite a big deal this
week. According to the NBC evening news Monday night, the whole world watched
as we were the first state to caucus for the next president of the United
States. We’re not sure the whole world
was watching our state, but we were certainly watching the folks around us.

As writers we love people watch, looking for something
that might spark an idea for a character or storyline. The clothes someone is
wearing, a subtle hand gesture or facial expression, a speech pattern, any and
all of that can inspire our characters.
Photo: Laura Arenson

There’s no doubt about it, we hit the jackpot of people-watching
this week. At their core, people are fascinating. And we have to tell you, folks
are enthralling when they’re crammed in a hot, stuffy auditorium, passionately
trying to convince the room-at-large to vote for their candidate of choice.

There are a few people who literally thumped their
chest in emphasis, others who shared heartfelt stories of how a candidate had
personally helped them, moving listeners to tears. There were some who were so relieved
to be surrounded by like-minded people for the first time in months they
radiated relief.

There were a couple of young twenty-something girls who
caught our eye. Or more accurately, our ears. They chatted excitedly, heads
together, giggling about how there were so many good-looking single men in the
room. Men with jobs. They plotted how to snag a picture of a good-looking guy
on stage who was about to make a speech. Within seconds, the tall blonde pulled
out her cell phone to capture a quick photo of the “hot guy” under in the guise
of recording a woman’s impassioned speech. Somehow, those twenty-somethings
will make it into a story.

All thanks to the Iowa Caucus, we’ve collected details this past week and have refilled our pool of creative ideas. What about you? Where do you people watch?



Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of authors Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter. They write a national bestselling pet-themed mystery series set in Laguna Beach. The first book in the series Desperate Housedogs, an Amazon Mystery Series bestseller and Barnes & Noble Nook #1 bestseller, was followed by several other “sassy and fun” books in the series. The most recent installment is Downton Tabby and up next is Raiders of the Lost Bark. www.SparkleAbbey.com

Saying Goodbye and Planning for the Future

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Hi Gang,
I’m turning in my Stiletto heels with this post. The amount of writing and promo and releasing and of course, the day job, has caused me to cry uncle.

If you don’t know, I have two series – The Tourist Trap and the new Cat Latimer Mystery series that releases to book stores in September 2016. I have the lovely cover, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy until my publisher does a cover reveal. So watch for that coming up.

I hate not doing things well, and I’m struggling to get everything on my list completed. So I’ve been contemplating what I can juggle. I’ll be focusing my blogging on my website – www.lynncahoon.com
Stop by soon. There’s a gooey butter cake recipe that was the hit of the Thanksgiving table this year.

Anyway, I wanted to leave you with my favorite time management techniques since it’s almost time to set new goals (or resolutions) for 2016.

#5 – List out what you HAVE to do. Set these deadlines in ink on your 2016 planner. What? You don’t have a planner? Get one. Digital or paper (I still love my paper), a planner is an easy way to set reachable goals each month and adjust when emergencies happen.

#4 – Set annual goals – Want to save money? Set a yearly goal, then work at it each month. You’ll be surprised how fast those dollars add up if your consistent. Same with word count. You don’t write a 100K novel in a week. (Or at least I don’t, but I hear rumors it’s been done.) You write it by getting your daily word count done every day. 500 words a day equals  176,000 words in a year. Or a novel plus two weeks of vacation time.

#3 – Divide your goals into month’s targets. It takes me just about two months to write a cozy. A little less to write a contemporary series size romance.  I know what I’m writing all of 2016 and had to move some of my want-to-write projects to 2017. A successful author early in my career told me they had a spreadsheet for the next five years on what they were writing. Now that I’m contracted, I understand the necessity of her process.

#2 – Make a weekly to do list – I have a list I write in my planner each week, filling in the days with appointments or book related activities. This week, I’m attending my critique group, so my word count for that day will be slim to none, but I can adjust to other days. Planning to reach goals during the week gives you the flexibility and accountability.

#1 – Do one thing today before 11 am that moves you toward your goal. Just one thing. Rinse and repeat tomorrow.

I hope that helps you take your dreams and turn them into reality.  I’ve enjoyed my time here with the Stiletto Gang and I’m sure I’ll see many of you out there on the web. Thank you for being part of my virtual family.

Lynn