by Susan Van Kirk | Apr 8, 2022 | Blog, mysteries, reading, writing, writing novels
This summer on June 7, Level Best Books will be launching two books on the same day. One is The Navigator’s Daughter by Nancy Cole Silverman, and the other is my first Art Center Mystery, Death in a Pale Hue. At first glance, Nancy and I are so different. She...
by Susan Van Kirk | Feb 11, 2022 | mysteries, mystery, reading, small towns, Susan Van Kirk, suspense
“In the heartless cruelty of my sixth-grade year, I sat behind Ned Fisher in English class, joining in the snickers of my friends. Ned had ears that stuck out from his head like Dumbo the elephant, and he probably wished he could fly away. Now, decades later, I...
by Susan Van Kirk | Dec 31, 2021 | Blog
The first week of a new year always seems like a time to consider where you’ve been and where you’re going. The past year for me was a banner writing year, and I’m not sure I can duplicate it. We’ll see. A series of projects all came together, and I suppose it’s safe...
by Susan Van Kirk | Nov 3, 2021 | Blog, mysteries, reading, writing novels
A huge welcome to my friend, Heather Weidner, who writes a wonderful series about one of the most beautiful settings in the world–the Blue Ridge Mountains. Anyone for glamping? Guest Post by Heather Weidner, Author of the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries and the...
by Susan Van Kirk | Aug 5, 2021 | Blog
When you’re self-publishing on multiple platforms, you have to cross your fingers that the various moving parts come together at the right time. Right now, I’m crossing my fingers that The Witch’s Child will be up on Amazon and other platforms for...
by Susan Van Kirk | Jul 26, 2021 | Blog, mysteries, publishing, small towns, Susan Van Kirk, suspense
For people who read books but don’t write or publish them, it seems like a long stretch of time elapses between books in a series. Part of that is because of the work that must be done after a writer types, “The End.” Part of the time stretch has to do with the...
by Susan Van Kirk | Jun 26, 2021 | Blog, mysteries, mystery, Susan Van Kirk
Lesson Plan for Murder by Lori Robbins What’s not to love when an English teacher like me reads a mystery where the chapters are titled Things Fall Apart or Heart of Darkness and the protagonist is a high school English teacher? First, I loved the clever, intelligent...
by Susan Van Kirk | Jun 2, 2021 | Blog, mysteries, mystery, publishing
When I first began writing mysteries, I didn’t know a great deal about copyrights, publishers, or self-publishing. My first series, the Endurance Mysteries, was published by a traditional publisher. After putting out Three May Keep a Secret and Marry in Haste, that...
by Susan Van Kirk | Apr 4, 2021 | audiobook, interviews, mysteries, Susan Van Kirk, suspense
Last Tuesday, my first ever audiobook downloaded on my phone from Findaway Voices/Orange Sky Audio in collaboration with Encircle Publications, the original publisher of my book, A Death at Tippitt Pond. Forgive me if this sounds too gushy, but I’ve never had an...
by Susan Van Kirk | Feb 16, 2021 | Blog, mysteries, Susan Van Kirk, suspense, writing
Last year, Harlequin Worldwide Mystery republished my first Endurance mystery, Three May Keep a Secret, in July as a mass market paperback. These books are smaller than your usual paperback, and they easily slip into a purse or tote bag. I was so excited to see the...