by Susan Van Kirk | Feb 28, 2018 | Blog, mysteries, writing
I read the first Charles Lenox mystery, A Beautiful Blue Death, in 2007. Browsing through the new library books, I plucked it from the shelf, read it too quickly, and enjoyed it immensely. Charles Finch, the author, has now written thirteen books in the series, and I...
by Susan Van Kirk | Jan 27, 2018 | Blog, mystery, Susan Van Kirk, suspense, writing
I’ve never met Micki Browning in person, but I did see her step off an elevator at the Malice Domestic Book Conference in Maryland. Does that count? Even at a distance, she is as lovely as her author photograph. We are as different as people could be since she lives...
by Susan Van Kirk | Nov 12, 2015 | Blog, writing, writing novels
A First Journal November 12, 2015 Note: I have decided to do a brief post every four to six weeks—we will see if it happens–that reflects my thoughts about the direction of my writing or mentions my current research. These posts will also become a record...
by Susan Van Kirk | Dec 27, 2014 | Blog, writing
Communication and perseverance. These are the two words that most come to mind when I look back at a week where I did five book signings, two book talks, and two radio interviews. A debut author is in a unique position in that no one knows her. After she launches...
by Susan Van Kirk | Sep 19, 2014 | Blog, writing, writing novels
What’s to do when my first novel hasn’t yet come out and the second one is done? Catch up on all the piles of stuff that have accumulated over the course of all that writing? Check. Call my children and grandchildren? Check. Read some books which have also piled up...
by Susan Van Kirk | Jul 9, 2013 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk, writing
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…secretive and silent as it had always been, the gray stone shining in the moonlight of my dream, the mullioned windows reflecting the green lawns and terrace. Time could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those...
by Susan Van Kirk | Jan 15, 2013 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk, writing
I saw the movie version of “Les Miserables” this week and the order of actors in the credits reminded me of the Shakespearean quote about the world being a stage. Yes, it’s true that each player has his time and size of...
by Susan Van Kirk | Nov 7, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk, writing
You may have noticed that recently I’ve been absent from this blog. The answer is easy to explain: I’ve had a lot of deadlines as well as editing for my work in progress (WIP). Those problems have taken up every nook and cranny of my brain....
by Susan Van Kirk | Aug 30, 2012 | Blog, Susan Van Kirk, writing
Anyone in the teaching profession knows the old joke about the pregnant teacher who can’t think of a name for the upcoming tiny arrival because each name she considers has a negative association with a former student. “I...
