by Susan Van Kirk | Jun 15, 2012 | Blog, mysteries, Susan Van Kirk
Do you recognize these famous first lines from novels?”It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” “It was a pleasure to...
by Susan Van Kirk | Jun 8, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk
What do I know about dead bodies, guns, or fires? I’ve been a high school English teacher most of my life. Since I’m working on a novel that has all three, I decided I needed to do some sleuthing and find out as much as I could....
by Susan Van Kirk | Jun 3, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk
In a previous post I introduced Grace Kimball, the main character in my book in progress, A Silent Place to Die. Grace is helped in her amateur sleuthing by a female detective on the Endurance police force named TJ Sweeney, a native of...
by Susan Van Kirk | May 23, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk
In 1968 I began my teaching career in a small basement classroom of Monmouth High School in the tiny town of Monmouth, Illinois. We had no xerox machines, 16-mm projectors, and opaque projectors that were so heavy I could hardly lift them. Before I...
by Susan Van Kirk | May 10, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk
This week I’d like to borrow some information on a post from the U.S. Department of Education on their blog site called “Homeroom.” They have some interesting statistics that most of us “old teachers” already know:”Great...
by Susan Van Kirk | May 7, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk
I considered writing a post about old friends because the book I am currently writing, A Silent Place to Die, involves a number of characters who are old friends of Grace Kimball, the main character. But I believe it would be wise to talk about Grace first....
by Susan Van Kirk | May 2, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk
If a hammer and nails are a carpenter’s bread of life, symbols are the same for a literature teacher or writer. How often I have heard students say, “I don’t believe all this symbol stuff. Do you really think writers purposely use...
by Susan Van Kirk | Apr 29, 2012 | Blog, reading, Susan Van Kirk
During the years I taught at a high school, I spent a great deal of time impressing on students the importance of reading. Some took to that idea better than others. While there are multiple reasons to read books, magazines, and newspapers, I am going to...
by Susan Van Kirk | Apr 26, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk
This week, April 22-28, is officially the Week of the Young Child. Many organizations in our community are recognizing this week as a time to focus on the needs of young children whether they be at home or at school.To celebrate this week, the Teddy Bear Child...
by Susan Van Kirk | Apr 21, 2012 | Blog, Sisters in Crime, Susan Van Kirk
Librarians definitely solve mysteries! I spent the day working as a volunteer at the Warren County Public Library in Monmouth, Illinois. Monmouth is a town of 10,000 in west central Illinois about twenty miles from the Mississippi River. Kathy is the...
