Miko Johnston is the author of A Petal in the Wind and the newly released A Petal in the Wind II: Lala Hafstein.
She first first contemplated a writing career as a poet at age six. That notion ended four years later when she found no ‘help wanted’ ads for poets in the Sunday NY Times classified section, but her desire to write persisted. After graduating from NY University, she headed west to pursue a career as a journalist before switching to fiction. Miko lives on Whidbey Island in Washington. You can find out more about her books and follow her for her latest releases at Amazon.
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Why do so many writers avoid or neglect promoting their work? Take me, for example. Deep down I believe I’m a capable writer, the author of books that are well written and enjoyable to read, literary enough to satisfy the mind, exciting enough to keep turning pages. But will I tell this to anyone? No.
I just did, you say? Not really. When you write something, you can detach from the words. Not so when you say them to someone face to face. With conviction, so they know you’re telling the truth and not exaggerating.
And it’s not just me. I’ve spoken about this to other writers, particularly women, and nearly all agree they have the same difficulty as me being direct when we talk about our work. We can state facts, like having a best seller on Amazon or having won an award. We can describe what the book is about. But if a prospective buyer asked us flat out if our book is good, I’m not sure any of us would answer, “Yes. Absolutely”.
I suspect one reason is what I call the Good Girl Syndrome. I was raised in an era when females were taught to be modest, not only in appearance, but in manner. A proper lady never bragged, no matter how exceptional or accomplished. I think it’s why I find it difficult to talk about the quality of my novels to prospective readers, despite my enthusiasm.
I’m not alone. I belong to a writers group that has banded together to sell our books at local Farmers’ markets. We help each other and sell whatever is on the stand. I only feel comfortable presenting my own books to customers when they ask if any of them are mine, or if we carry historical fiction. A handful of writers plug their own work, often blatantly, and they sell far more than I do. Most of us hang back and let the customers decide what they want to buy, or we talk up each other’s books. Maybe that sounds more sincere.
I’m thrilled when I hear people who’ve read my novels tell me how much they’ve enjoyed them, how they’re looking forward to the next sequel. More than one has urged me to “hurry up and write more”. I’m most flattered when someone far from my target audience compliments my work. Yet somehow I can’t turn that around and use it to encourage others to buy my work. This has led to a theory: In fiction, the good guys win. In life, the good girls lose. But it hasn’t led to a solution.
Later, as the more intriguing aspects of taking Buster to a psychic began to settle in, I thought I could make up some of my expenses if I could interest a magazine in running an article. I sent out queries and scheduled two appointments for my dog.
Madeline (M.M.) Gornell is the author of six award-winning mystery novels. Her current literary focus is Route 66 as it traverses California’s Mojave Desert. Madeline is a lifetime lover of mysteries, and besides reading and writing, is also a potter. She lives with her husband and assorted canines in the High Desert. For more information, visit her at 
OUTSIDE THE LINES is sixth in the popular mystery series. Sheila Lowe has also written a stand-alone thriller in which her Handwriting Specialist appears in a minor role (What She Saw). Like her fictional character Claudia Rose, Lowe is a real-life forensic handwriting expert who testifies in court cases. She has begun work on the 7th book in the series, UNHOLY WRIT.
Jackie Houchin is a Christian writer, book reviewer, and retired photojournalist. She writes articles and reviews on a variety of topics, and occasionally edits manuscripts. She also dabbles in short fiction. She enjoys creating Bible craft projects for kids; growing fruits, flowers, and veggies; and traveling to other countries. She also loves cats and kittens and mysteries.”
A former private detective and reporter for a small weekly newspaper, G.B.Pool writes the Johnny Casino Casebook Series and the Gin Caulfield P.I. Mysteries. She teaches writing classes: “Anatomy of a Short Story,” “How To Write Convincing Dialogue” and “Writing a Killer Opening Line.”
This takes me to Anna Katharine Green and Mary Roberts Rinehart. These two ladies lived a hundred years ago. Anna Katharine Green wrote her Amelia Butterworth character in 1897, well before Agatha Christie wrote The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) featuring Miss Marple. Christie acknowledges Green as her inspiration. Green also wrote about a young female amateur sleuth, Violet Strange, years before the first Nancy Drew stories hit the bookstore shelves.
he is considered the source for the term: “The butler did it.” She didn’t use that exact phrase, but the butler was the culprit. She even has a series of stories centered around World War I. She was a trained nurse and married a doctor; so much of what she writes has facts behind it. She even served as a war correspondent during World War I in Belgium and toured the front lines, so the visuals are based on things she saw firsthand. Not all her stories are mysteries, but they are all good, solid stories, some even slightly romantic, but nothing even remotely lurid. How refreshing.
Kate Thornton is a retired US Army officer who enjoys writing both mysteries and science fiction. With over 100 short stories in print, she teaches a short story class and is currently working on a series of romantic suspense novels. She divides her time between Southern California and Tucson, Arizona.
Rosemary wrote her first book when she was ten years old – for her little brother. She also illustrated it herself. It was later rejected by Random House!
Miko Johnston is the author of 
Jacqueline Vick is the author of over twenty published short stories, novelettes and mystery novels. Her April 2010 article for Fido Friendly Magazine, “Calling Canine Clairvoyants”, led to the first Frankie Chandler Pet Psychic mystery, Barking Mad About Murder. To find out more, visit her website at 
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e mysteries throw an average person into a mix of lunatics. It’s that duck-out-of-water aspect that makes for big laughs. Take Death by Sheer Torture by Robert Barnard. A perfectly respectable police detective must return to his family home (which he’s avoided for almost 20 years) where he’s surrounded by the suspects–his family members. These include a slob cousin who married the daughter of Italian mafia and their brood of Squealies (the children), a cheerful aunt who collects and admires Nazi memorabilia, and his very real memories of the corpse, his own father, who died in embarrassing circumstances. What more could you want?
The Writers in Residence 
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