by Susan Van Kirk | Jun 1, 2023 | Blog, book reviews, mystery, small towns, Susan Van Kirk, suspense
Death in a Bygone Hue Susan Van Kirk Level Best Books 978-1-68512-336-9 $16.95 Paper/$5.99 ebook The second book in the Art Center Mysteries, Death in a Bygone Hue, continues the story of artist Jill Madison’s return to and new life in her hometown,...
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 | 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 | Aug 17, 2020 | Blog, bookstores, small towns
In 2018, Jim Jacobs (YA author) and I had a book signing scheduled in West Burlington, Iowa at Book World. Before we could shout, “Come on in and talk about books!” the store closed, along with forty-four other Book Worlds. Not all was lost, however. We met Teri...
by Susan Van Kirk | Jun 13, 2020 | Blog, mysteries, small towns, Susan Van Kirk, suspense, writing
Back in 2012, I sold my first mystery, Three May Keep a Secret, to a small publisher called Five Star Publishing. It was followed by two more books and a novella, all concerning a retired teacher named Grace Kimball in her small town of Endurance. I called the series...
by Susan Van Kirk | Feb 12, 2020 | Blog, mysteries, small towns, writing novels
I don’t know when I first heard the axiom, “the devil is in the details,” but it is certainly true when it comes to writing mysteries. Mathematically, the ages of characters and dates of events must be worked out in advance. Many a time I have written a paragraph...
by Susan Van Kirk | May 15, 2019 | Blog, mysteries, small towns, suspense, writing
When I considered some of the overwhelming pop cultural trends of the period between the early 1960s and mid-1970s, I knew I would have to include the wild fashions and the music. What better way to do this than to have Beth Russell explore the bedroom of fictional...
by Susan Van Kirk | Apr 6, 2019 | Blog, mysteries, small towns, Susan Van Kirk, suspense
In a recent post, I discussed the move from my Endurance Mysteries to my little town called Sweet Iron, Illinois, in my upcoming book, A Death at Tippitt Pond. This is the first of three posts about recreating the past and present in the lives of characters in a small...
by Susan Van Kirk | Mar 8, 2019 | Blog, mysteries, mystery, small towns, Susan Van Kirk, suspense, writing
When I was growing up, my parents rented a room to a lady who was working at a store in our town. It was shortly after the end of World War II. Her name was Margaret, and she came from a tiny rural town twenty miles away. I imagine our city had more opportunities to...
by Susan Van Kirk | Apr 15, 2014 | Blog, small towns, Susan Van Kirk
Following the interview with our local Police Chief, I next went to the fire department. I use a lot of book research in my mysteries, but talking with experts is really helpful in getting the details right.I interviewed Chief John Cratty in 2011 when he was the Fire...
