May 17, 2026 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller |
Once again, Frank Zafiro brings his characters to life in his novella, Shades of the Job. Private Investigator Stanley Melvin overcomes his challenges and serves his client well, putting her needs ahead of his own.
By treating the dramatic principles of literature almost as characters, Zafiro illuminates Stanley’s story, which might otherwise have fallen flat in the hands of a less skilled author. These principles strengthen and carry the story, effectively building suspense.
The reader enjoys a well-written detective story while gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of the many challenges of writing fiction.
I recommend Shades of the Job to readers and writers alike.
Mar 29, 2026 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller |
Gold Country Writers April speaker will be Karen A. Phillips on “Using Tropes to Strengthen Your Story”. Wednesday, April 15, 2026 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 noon at Auburn City Hall, Rose Room (Downstairs),1225 Lincoln Way, Auburn, CA 95603.
Karen A. Phillips is a past president of Capitol Crimes, the Sacramento chapter of Sisters in Crime. Her books in the Rocky Nelson Boxing Mystery series, which features an amateur sleuth who boxes, are: A Deadly Combo (Book 1), A Deadly Match (Book 2), and A Deadly Hook (Book 3). And yes, Karen does take boxing lessons. For more info and to subscribe to her newsletter, visit KarenAPhillips.com.
Rose Room Directions – Gold Country Writers
Oct 10, 2024 | Crime, Mystery, Police Procedural / Crime |
Author Karen A. Phillips lives in northern California and has several short stories published in various anthologies. Her characters are engaging and fearless. She writes the Rocky Nelson Boxing Mystery series . . . and yes, she does take boxing lessons. Visit her at KarenAPhillips.com.
In the second Rocky Nelson Boxing Mystery, A Deadly Match, Raquel (AKA Rocky) investigates family secrets and murder.
I came up with the idea for the series when I started taking boxing lessons. I thought it would be an excellent hobby for an amateur sleuth and thus, Rocky was born.
In A Deadly Match, I go deeper into Rocky’s character. She’s a fifty-five-year-old single woman living with her twin sister, Bridget. As one can imagine, this is not the ideal situation for two adult women. But they make the best of it. They’re living together because of what happened in A Deadly Combo. If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you do.
I also explored several subplots in A Deadly Match. One is Rocky’s romantic life. She has feelings for both Detective Thompson and her ex-fiancé Angelo, which makes for some interesting scenes and helps add conflict to the story. Another subplot is Rocky’s boxing coach, Cutter, who has a young son who’s been diagnosed with a rare brain condition and needs treatment right away. Cutter is desperate for money as he can’t afford the surgery. He agrees to throw a boxing match for a guaranteed payment. A third subplot involves Rocky’s estranged aunt and uncle, who are famous actors. When they show up, unannounced, to film a movie, Bridget is excited, but Rocky is wary. She doesn’t like surprises—after all these years, why are they suddenly back in their lives?
And, of course, since it’s a murder mystery, there’s a dead body! Every member of Rocky’s family happens to be present when the victim dies. When Cutter is arrested for murder, Rocky throws herself into the investigation, determined to prove her coach innocent.
A Deadly Combo (Book 1) took me five years to write. I wrote A Deadly Match (Book 2) in one year, and it wasn’t easy, to say the least. I utilized many beta readers before sending the manuscript to the developmental editor, then a proofreader. I feel writing is a lot like taking boxing lessons. My coach always reminds me to keep the weight on my back leg and keep moving. Likewise, as I write, I’m constantly reminding myself about the basic rules of plotting a mystery—include red herrings, drop clues strategically, add conflict, end chapters with a hook, throw obstacles at your protagonist, give your characters an arc, and when the climax is reached and the crime solved, make sure the denouement is satisfying with all threads tied up neatly in a bow!
A Deadly Match will be available to purchase as a preorder on Amazon on October 11th.
Stay tuned by signing up for my newsletter at KarenAPhillips.com.
A DEADLY COMBO – Book One – Amazon
Amazon Author Page
Sign up for my Author Newsletter
Check out my Cover Design website
Jul 25, 2024 | Uncategorized |
Writer and editor B. Lynn Goodwin owns Writer Advice, www.writeradvice.com. She’s written three award-winning books, Talent, Disrupted, and a memoir titled Never Too Late: From Wannabe to Wife at 62. Her flash fiction is published in Flashquake, Nebo, Cabinet of Heed, Murmur of Words, 100-Word Stories, Ariel’s Dream, & Writing in a Woman’s Voice, and 50 Give or Take. She’s also a book reviewer and teacher at Story Circle Network, as well as an editor and manuscript consultant at Writer Advice.
All books are available on Amazon, B&N, and Bookshop.org. Use the links in the article below.
I started as a journal writer, and I now write fiction, memoir, articles, personal essays, book reviews, and author interviews, so yes, I write in more than one genre. I’m also an editor who works with all kinds of prose, and you can see what I offer at Writer Advice’s Manuscript Consultation and Editing Services.
Recently, I’ve been writing wherever I’m physically comfortable—living room, office, Starbucks, or even the passenger seat of my car.
The first time I put a do-not-disturb sign on my door, my husband didn’t knock.
Whew!
Instead, he texted.
Oops!
What part of do-not-disturb did he not understand? He’s very supportive, but our brains work differently. I tolerate disruptions and relish the times when I don’t have them.
On an average day, I work on Writer Advice, book reviews, do outreach/publicity for both Writer Advice and my latest book, Disrupted, do some editing for clients and Story Circle Network Independent Study Students, and sometimes edit my past work or work on a current project.
Today, July 16, 2024, for example, I’m working on the first draft of a true story about totaling our RV and Jeep on the way home from Texas this past May, reading Javier Zamora’s Solito, sharing that I posted another piece on Writer Advice on social media, publicizing the latest piece to go up on The Winners Are, responding to new Story Circle students, and talking with several fellow writers.
Associations help me build a writing community. For example, I know George Cramer, who shares this wonderful blog through the California Writers Association. I’m on the board at Story Circle and the San Francisco Branch of the Women’s National Book Association.
My characters take more risks than I would. That makes them three-dimensional. An editor once told me that my protagonist can seem mature and foolish in the same chapter and sometimes on the same page. In Disrupted, some characters behave better than others, and you get to see how they respond to stress and situations beyond their control.
Here’s a tip for raising the stakes in your story: As soon as a conflict is resolved, another one comes up, and sometimes it comes up before an earlier one is resolved. The more personal the issue, the more private or shameful or nuanced the problem, and the more life-altering the situation, the faster the stakes will rise.
When I was asked about tips for new writers in an article with the
San Francisco National Book Association, I gave these tips:
Write daily for at least 20 minutes.
Let one idea lead to another. You can edit later.
Read widely.
Review the books of others. You’re giving back to the community.
Edit carefully, asking yourself what you intended to convey.
Keep writing.
Find a writing community.
Don’t try to do it all in one day.
Look for the joys in life.
There are stories all around us, but no two people see them in the same way
If you have the time, I’d love to have you share your opinion of Disrupted in a review on Amazon or B&N. E-mail me through the Contact Page on Writer Advice for details. While you’re there, click on Current Contest. We’d love to read your work. And if you are skilled at WordPress and would like to work on Writer Advice, please contact me.
You can reach me through the Contact box at www.writeradvice.com. Or send me an e-mail at Lgood67334 AT Comcast DOT net and put George Cramer Interview in the subject box so I can open it immediately. Other social media include:
https://www.writeradvice.com
https://www.facebook.com/writeradvice/
https://www.instagram.com/blynngoodwin/
https://writeradvice.com/books-by-lynn/
https://www.threads.net/@blynngoodwin
Thank you for reading. I’d be honored to answer your questions.
Apr 22, 2024 | Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Thriller |
A horse-crazy girl from the suburbs, with the help of a colt that nobody wanted, made history in 1992 when Casual Lies placed second in the 118th running of the Kentucky Derby. He was the highest-placed finisher trained by a woman since its inaugural running in 1875. A record that still stands to this day as the 150th running approaches. Casual Lies went on to run in all three Triple Crown races, another record. Now living in a forest in Central Oregon, Shelley enjoys honing her craft as a writer.
Generally, I find inspiration when I am not looking for it: a story in the news, the lyrics of a song, or a life experience, to name three. For example, my latest novel, Labyrinth of Ruin, was inspired by song lyrics and personal experience. One day, as I was writing, I had music in the background, and Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra came on. I have to ask, how many of you can say that song, with its amazing upbeat sound and inspiring lyrics, doesn’t move you? As I listened to the lyrics, really listened, I detected a subtle message, at least for me.
“Oh, Mr. Blue Sky, please tell us why you had to hide away for so long?”
Latching onto this, my main protagonists were developed to show their differences in ways that set them apart from their peers. And how, whether overlooked, tormented, or bullied, each character strives to go unnoticed.
Secondly, it is often said that a writer should write about what they know. As a woman trainer of racehorses for over two decades, a business predominately dominated by men, I find this especially true in the higher echelons of the sport, like the Kentucky Derby. When I came across a weedy colt that nobody wanted at a sale in Lexington, Kentucky, who could have predicted that one day I would be screaming my heart out as that colt, who had become something really special, was in front of the rest of the field as he ran down the lane in that storied race? Certainly not me.
So, using that hard-earned knowledge, I added wings to the equine athletes I was so familiar with and let them soar into that blue sky. While understanding through my own experiences how something or someone can be ridiculed and overlooked only to exceed all expectations, I let my characters discover their strength and self-worth, as once did I. You can read more about Labyrinth of Ruin, dragon racings equivalent to the Kentucky Derby, as well as Casual Lies at my website www.shelleyleeriley.com
Frank’s one of those writers who never turns in a bad story or book. He’s got several series going and I’ve enjoyed a lot of them. I’m ordering Shades of the Job today. Good luck, Frank, and George, thanks for keeping your blog going.