Personally Significant Links

     I wanted to acknowledge other authors, or authors-in-training like myself, or friends excited about my writing, who have had an influence on my writing or who have encouraged me in my writing.

     The first author who really inspired me to write is Stephen R. Donaldson, particularly his Thomas Covenant series. I have never met Mr. Donaldson, but I become easily immersed in his vivid portrayal of the Land and the authentic struggles within and between his characters. When I sat down to begin writing my mystery series, I strove to create characters with whom readers could relate and who were flawed but could learn to accept their weaknesses, as Thomas Covenant or Linden Avery have.

     The most influential mystery writer has been the Queen herself, Agatha Christie. I have read all of her mysteries and enjoy each unique twist she adds to her stories. It was even her writing that spurred me on to read many of Shakespeare's works, partly so I could understand her many references in her stories. She was able to “break” the “rules” of mystery writing and get away with it. For now, I hope to simply work well within the “rules.”

     More personally, I have enjoyed four mystery writers' conferences in the past year: Killer Nashville in both 2007 and 2008; Sleuthfest 2008; and Murder in the Grove 2008. At each conference, I made new encouraging friends, some of whose links are to the left. I just attended Killer Nashville again in August and was honored to be critiqued by Kelly Nichols, one of the team who makes up PJ Parrish. I received a lot of great encouragement and help on my writing and am eagerly applying what I learned to the revision process. My next stop will likely be back in Florida for Sleuthfest 2009.

     I also wanted to thank Mark L. Berry who encouraged me to get a website started now. I hope that we can continue to encourage each other as we train.

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