I just wanted to let you know what’s coming up in the blog, what irons I have in the fire. I’m looking forward to guest blog posts from other mystery authors. And if you are one, I encourage you to contact me at jeriwesterson at gmail dot com. I’d love to see what you’re cooking … Read more
Since I’ve been writing my Sherlockian pastiche — An Irregular Detective Mystery Series — I have had to research all sorts of things, from what people ate in different social classes, to how they talked, to railway travel, to what they wore. And that brings us to hats. I’m not a formal person. I would … Read more
I’m a bit of a collector. First it was jugs or pitchers, depending on which side of the pond you’re on. Then it was salt and pepper shakers, but I began to think that was too ordinary. So I switched to chickens. Chickens big time. And then vintage typewriters from the late nineteenth century into … Read more
They are the bane of an author’s life. They are a necessary evil. But we gotta have them. Be they from industry magazines (Kirkus Review, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, or Booklist) or from newspapers (USA Today, the New York Times Book Review), or consumer magazines (People, The New Yorker, etc.). I remember a time when … Read more
My Sherlockian series, An Irregular Detective Mystery, features a former Baker Street Irregular Tim Badger who, as an adult, opens his own detective-for-hire agency with his friend and colleague Ben Watson, a Black man who has a scientific mind and won’t play second fiddle. They attempt to solve cases by using Sherlock Holmes’ method with … Read more
When I decided to end the long-running Crispin Guest Medieval Noir series, it was not a whim. I didn’t tire of them, I had a plan. It was all laid out long ago. And I was committed to treating my beloved characters with the respect they and the readers deserved. In fact, by getting to … Read more
My rights reverted for my 2017 series BOOKE OF THE HIDDEN, a paranormal romance about a girl, a mysterious book, misfit Wiccans, a Baphomet biker gang, and a handsome demon. What could possibly go wrong? A quirky-humorous yet edgy-romantic urban fantasy set in a small town in Maine. It’s fun. A four-book series: Book … Read more
Writing historical mysteries comes with its own set of problems. There’s already the problem of writing a historical but on top of that is this layer of mystery woven throughout. Dorothy Sayers talked about her Lord Peter Wimsey book BUSMAN’S HONEYMOON as a love story interrupted by a mystery, and that’s how I see historical … Read more
No, I’m not tiny. Nor am I really a librarian. They call us “stewards” who have these little libraries. I had heard of Little Free Libraries on social media, little hut-like, mailbox-sized structures installed near the sidewalk on people’s properties. The idea that you could put out a box with books with a “Take a … Read more