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Many of you, like me, wrestle with the question of whether you “deserve” to be something. A parent. A computer scientist. An athlete. Or in my case, a writer. Whether I am a good enough writer. Whether I am really even a writer at all or just some Karin Slaughter wannabe.

It can be exhausting, right?

But it persists. I imagine snide comments from unseen naysayers: “So where do you get off, calling yourself a writer? You write for a digital publisher. You’re not a real writer unless your books...

Crime fiction—beloved to readers and authors alike and ever-evolving. I’ve written mystery, thriller, and suspense over the course of my career but most recently have found myself in the deep end of crime fiction. If you aspire to write the dark side yourself, here are some clues on what readers expect from killer crime fiction.

To read my 9 clues, go to https://www.writersdigest.com/killing-it-in-crime-fiction

Most of you know that I create pitches for several books at a time in my series a year to three ahead of when I write the actual novels. By the time I write the books, the world has changed, my life has changed, and even the series has changed due to the books that have been finished and published in the series ahead of the one at hand.

And so it was with Her Burning Lies, in such a big, beautiful and even horrible way.

First... when I pitched, Eric had retired and...

How does a very active two-year-old boy react to jet lag after 2.5 days of travel and a trip to the Palace Versailles in Paris?

His parents and grandparents were dancing on the head of a pin to minimize the meltdowns, I'll you that much! And once in meltdown, boy child wanted only his mommy. What's a writing-MELA to do? Make up a story of course, and in the blink of a tear-filled eyelash and mid-scream, George the dragon was born. George was looking for a friend,...

Way back in 2020, my agent challenged me to write the book that ultimately won me a publishing contract with Hachette UK's Bookouture ("BOT"): Big Horn. Only my editor wanted me to change it substantially or write a different book. I was happy with Big Horn just how it was. I opted to publish Big Horn myself and write Delaney Pace ("DP") for BOT.

Two things happened. The first is that Big Horn slayed and kept slaying for two solid years while I meanwhile had to...

My husband Eric’s great-great grandmother was Arapaho, adopted by his Caucasian great-great-great grandparents. There was a history at the time of children being removed from the reservations for schooling or adoption that was not always with the blessing of the birth parents. We know nothing about her before she joined their family. In fact, my husband has done DNA testing hoping to discover Arapaho relations by shared DNA. That missing chunk of her past and the possible reasons for it gnaws...

My father—the real life character Patrick Flint is based on—never met a mountain he didn't want to climb. In my childhood, he limited himself to the ones he could drag his wife and kids up with him. As we got older, those mountains got taller. His yearning grew sharper. His climbs became more ambitious.

My brother and I moved on to our adult lives, only occasionally joining him, usually for day trips up Wheeler Peak in New Mexico, although Paul aka Perry has been known to climb Wyoming's Cloud...

It turns out that writing a new series for a new publisher messed with my mojo. On top of that, we experienced 3 close deaths in the family during this time frame, I had two surgeries, our youngest blessed us with our first two grandbabies, we got an Alaskan Malamute puppy, we had an historic winter (25-feet of snow at our house, -60 F wind chills), Eric and I spent four months to-and-from-Europe, our senior Malinois passed, we moved to Maine for the summer only to be relocated to...

Funny but true: my editor gave me the titles for the books in this series before I’d written them, based on my synopses. And I—because I’m a genius—didn’t write them down and remembered the second one wrong.

When I sat down to write #2, I thought I was writing Her Silent Grave and that #3 would be Her Silent Cry. I was like, um, okay, I’ve got this, I need a grave in a very silent location.

Turns out it was Her HIDDEN Grave. My location was not hidden, although it...

Confession before I start writing the stories behind the stories for the Detective Delaney Pace novels: it is super hard to avoid spoilers!!! But I promise, I’ll give away less than the Amazon descriptions, so it is safe to read on.

I brainstorm stories with my creative, brilliant husband Eric. He’s not a writer, but he’s a fabulous story partner. The storyboarding process for Delaney took us about six months and included six books. But it was not straightforward,...

A few years ago, my husband Eric posted that we were giving away rusty, fire-damaged barbed wire. One of the takers was Daisy, who showed up with her family to claim some to use for a project. We soon learned that she’d given up oil field trucking in North Dakota—and a side gig as a reality star— for taking over the family homestead, raising her second daughter twenty years after her first, and being a service to others through philanthropy and her physical labor....

When it comes to creating a fictional law enforcement world, you have to start with the real thing. Unfortunately, I have no personal experience in law enforcement, and at first I balked when Bookouture asked me to write it.

Then I phoned a friend. I am so lucky to have Police Chief Travis Koltiska of Sheridan, Wyoming in my corner for this. (Pictured above with his wife Mandy, dressed for Halloween as Yellowstone's Beth and Rip) A fourth generation native of...

Songs. Snippets of Songs. Ideas for Songs. My characters, especially Ava and Maggie, have a lot of them. Here's a few of my favorite passages from the books.

Bombshell (Ava, from BOMBSHELL)

I relive the day, revel in it. We finished the songs for my demo, and “Bombshell” is the song I was born to sing. I swear, Kenny had tears in his eyes when I recorded the vocals. I have tears in my eyes now.

“Money, baby. Money,” he’d said.

I sing it, my breath hitching as my imagination shifts. Now Collin’s...

After four-weeks together exploring the greatness that is the Northwestern US for our Redneck Writer Road Trip Book Tour and being together 24/7 and my plan to remain in Dallas with Eric for a week at the end of it, returning as a a duo to Houston late, late Friday, things had changed. I had to go all the way back to Houston on MONDAY night.

Teenagers. Waddya gonna do?

Well, I did miss them, a little, and Layla too, and Petey most of all. So . . . we're motoring into the DFW-area as I type...

60 cities.

60 days, plus a few driving and mental health days, for a total of 68.

38 states.

17,012 miles.

Events: 63.

Events missed: 0.

Event tardies: 0.

Event reschedules: 0.

One author.

Five full-time humans to make it happen (1 Pamela, 1 Marie, 1/2 Eric, 1/3 Stephanie, 1/3 Allie, 1/3 Heidi, and 1/2 other human consisting of stints by Susie, Clark, Susanne, and Liz :-D).

Revolving companions: seven (Liz, Eric, Marie, Susie, Clark, Stephanie, Susanne).

Full-time companion: one . . . Petey!

One...

Ava’s Painkillers

Mix 2 parts orange juice, 2 parts pineapple juice, 1 part Coco Lopez, and 1 part rum in a blender. Serve over ice sprinkled with nutmeg. Drink at your own risk. You welcome.

Virgin Islands Fish and Fungi

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I’m often asked where I write and what inspires me. My answer has always been that I like to write outside. Pedantic, though true enough. But that isn’t the complete answer. As a writer, becoming really clear about what results in the creation of my best work requires inner transparency, clarity, and honesty. It begs experimentation. It demands I listen.

I write “outside” in a variety of spaces because in order for me to release—or even find—the words from inside me, I need inner space, away...

Imagine a woman who knows she enjoys this soft friendly dog who likes to get in cars, even though she can’t remember its name or gender (you can bet she never blanks out when it comes to #TeamPetey, ha!), but that’s okay because she doesn’t always remember who our kids’ parents are, just that she loves all of them, and us. Emotional memory is powerful like that, seeming to outlast even memories of youth and jingles and nursery rhymes and the re-discovered joy of playing with sticks and leaves...

Have you ever had one of those funky smells in your car, like someone left a chicken strip caked in dried Chik-Fila sauce under one of the seats? Like your teenage son’s six-weeks-worn sweaty gym socks jumped out of their bag and onto your floorboard? Like your husband waited until everyone was out of the car to pass gas, and then slammed the door on it, only you had to run back out to grab the lipstick you left in the console, and nearly fainted when you stuck your head in?

Usually that’s all...

Email from readers is the best. Here’s one I loved:

Yes, I have most of your books. What fun… now about that casserole…happen to have that recipe? Could you please share?

The thing is, I get that one a lot. I mention that stupid casserole in Going for Kona and in Hot Flashes and Half Ironmans. So here’s my answer to her:

Dear awesome reader:

Ah, the decadent tater tot casserole. Every time I give out this recipe I “make it up.” Someday I’ll be smart and put it in a cute file and send it. Or on my...