Writing & Publishing Resources
I have had the good fortune to have listened to, read books written by, and studied with a wide range of professionals in the writing and publishing industry over the past several years. They have informed, entertained and guided me on my writing journey ... and I expect they will continue to do so into the future!
​Books on Writing that Inspired Me
So many books… Here is my list of books on writing that have inspired me in one way or another:
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Stephen King: I first read On Writing — A Memoir of the Craft (Simon & Schuster, 2000) many years ago, and I recently purchased and listened to the audio version of the book in Stephen King’s own voice. The book was impactful when I first read it, and the audio version was even more so, and it was tremendously entertaining to boot.
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Anne Lamott: Bird by Bird — Some Instructions on Writing and Life (Doubleday, 1994) was another of those seminal books I read many years ago but re-read from time to time. Lamott’s take on the writing life is succinctly and humorously revealed in vignettes of the real life around her. With chapter headings like: "Shitty First Drafts, School Lunches and Broccoli" how could you not dive into this book?
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Rita Mae Brown: Starting From Scratch — A Different Kind of Writers’ Manual. (Bantam, 1989) I’d been reading her fiction series “Sneaky Pie Brown” when I came across the writing manual. Today, we would probably place that series in our ‘Cozy’ subset, but I hadn’t heard the term when I first read them. Set among the talking dogs & cats, Brown inserts very real-world issues such as women’s rights and their roles in society.
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Sue Grafton, editor – Writing Mysteries — A Handbook by the Mystery Writers of America (Writer’s Digest Books 1992) This book was released again in 2002 by the Writer’s Digest Books, with Jack Heffron and Meg Leder as editors. With contributing authors like Grafton herself, Margaret Maron (one of my all-time favourite mystery writers), Sara Paretsky, Tony Hellerman, Aaron Elkins, Phyllis A. Whitney, Lawrence Block, and many others, it is indeed a seminal tomb on the art and skill involved in writing mysteries.
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Dorothea Helms: The Writing Fairy Guide to Calling Yourself a Writer (Dorothea Helms, 2005, 2011) I heartily recommend this book to any emerging writer. Her wit and humour propel you through this short book and leave you feeling, well, confident in your ability to BE a writer. “Making the statement 'I am a writer' is a big step … a monolithic stride … a monumental psychological breakthrough …”.
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Books on the Craft of Writing
These books are about the general craft of writing, and some are about mystery writing specifically. Of course, the books mentioned in the section above also are about the writing craft as well.
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody (Ten Speed Press / Penguin Random House, 2018) promotes itself as ‘The Last
Book on Novel Writing You’ll Ever Need' and is based on the book Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder.
The Three Story Method by J. Thorn & Zach Bohannon (Thorn Publishing, 2020)
The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne (Black Irish Entertainment LLC, 2015)
The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now! How to Write Dialogue and Characters Readers Will Love by Jeff Elkins (Jeff Elkins, 2023) You will see Jeff is listed in the podcast section and the coaching & editing section as well. I can’t overstate how much I’ve learned from Jeff and the incredible impact he’s had on my writing.
How to Write Killer Fiction – The Funhouse of Mystery & the Roller Coaster of Suspense by Carolyn Wheat (Perseverance Press, 2003)
How to Write a Damn Good Mystery by James N. Frey (St. Martin’s Press)
Mastering Your Mystery by Cheryl Bradshaw (Cheryl Bradshaw, 2021)
Write Your Novel from the Middle by James Scott Bell (Compendium Press, 2014)
Writing Unforgettable Characters by James Scott Bell (Compendium Press, 2020)
Writing the Novel from Plot to Print to Pixel by Lawrence Block (Lawrence Block Productions, 2016)
Sleuth — On Writing Mysteries by Gail Bowen (University of Regina Press, 2018)
So You Want to Write a Novel by Lou Willett Stanek (Avon Books, 1994)
Mysterious Writers — The Many Facets of Mystery Writing edited by Jean Henry Mead (Poisoned Pen Press, 2010) This book breaks down the subsets of the genre with chapters by such notables as Carolyn Hart on Cozies/Senior Sleuths; Rick Mofina on
Suspense/Thrillers, Rhys Bowen on Historical Mysteries, Louise Penny, Elmore Leonard, Vicki Delany, etc.
Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card (Writers Digest Books, 2010)
Writing & Selling Your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron (Writers Digest Books, 2016)
Writing the Killer Mystery: Places, Clues and Guilty by Ron D. Voights (Night Wings Publishing, 2018)
Write Free… Forget Other People’s Rules, Liberate Your Creativity & Write … A Novel That Sparkles by Julie Smith (booksBnimble Publishing2011). Julie Smith is another favourite writer of mine (Skip Langdon series, The Talba Wallis series) so I
couldn’t wait to dive into her book on writing. It’s irreverent, witty, and delightful, as well as thought provoking. ​​​
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The Nitty Gritty
Books on grammar, (my bête noir) editing, word choice, conventions and tropes.
A standard in the field of writing: The Elements of Style (4th edition) by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White (Allyn & Bacon, 1979)
The Elements of Style Workbook, edited by Michele T. Poff (Tip Top Education, 2017)
The Grammatically Correct Handbook — A Lively & Unorthodox Review of Common English for the Linguistically Challenged, by Ellie Grossman (Hyperion, 1997).
Essentials of English, V.F. Hopper, C. Gale & R.C. Foote (Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. 1990).
The Writer’s Little Helper by James. V. Smith, Jr. (Writers Digest Books, 2012)
Make Your Words Work by Gary Provost (Writer’s Digest Books, 1990)
Macmillan Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 hours by P.R. Hahn & D.E. Hensley (Macmillan USA, 2000) (Ahem… it didn’t but it’s still a useful reference)
A Canadian Writer’s Reference (2nd Edition) by Diane Hacker (Thomson Publishing, 1996)
Conventions and Obligatory Moments, by Kimberly Kessler & Leslie Watts from the Story Grid Beats, Shawn Coyne
Revision & Self Editing, by James Scott Bell (Writer’s Digest Books)
The Anatomy of Genres by John Truby (Macmillan USA)
The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan & Barbara Pease (Bantam Books, 2004)
The Writer’s Body Lexicon by Kathy Steinemann (Kathy Steinemann, 2020)
Editing Fiction At Sentence Level, by Louise Harnby (Louise Harnby, 2019)
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Books on Publishing and Marketing
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By Mark Leslie Lefebvre (Stark Publishing Solutions)
The 7 P’s of Publishing Success
Publishing Pitfalls for Authors
Killing it on Kobo
An Author’s Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores
Wide for the Win
By Judy Penz Sheluk (Superior Shores Press)
Finding Your Path to Publication: A Step-by-Step Guide
Self-Publishing: The Ins & Outs of Going Indie
How to Market a Book Richard Fayet (Reedsy, 2021)
Mark Dawson’s Self Publishing Formula by Mark Dawson (Mark Dawson)
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​Books on Forensics and Crime Solving
Keep in mind that my books are set in the mid 1990s so the forensics I researched are specific to that era:
The Casebook of Forensic Detection by Colin Evans (John Wiley & Sons, 1996)
The Scene of the Crime — A Writer’s Guide to Crime-Scene Investigations by Anne Wingate (Writer’s Digest, 1992)
Mind Over Murder, DNA and Other Forensic Adventures by Jack Batten (McClelland & Stewart, 1995)
The Writer’s Complete Crime Reference Book by Martin Roth (Writer’s Digest, 1993)
How to Solve a Murder, The Forensic Handbook by Michael Kurland (MacMillan, 1995)
Police Procedural, A Writer’s Guide to the Police and How They Work, Russell Bintliff (Writer’s Digest, 1993)
Body Trauma, A Writer’s Guide to Wounds and Injuries, David Page, M.D., (Writer’s Digest, 1996)
The Illustrated Guide to Forensics, True Crime Scene Investigations, Dr. Zakaria Erzinclioglu (Carlton Publishing, 2004)
And the book that probably started it all:
Above the Law — The Crooks, the Politicians, the Mounties, and Rod Stamler by Paul Palango (McClelland & Stewart Inc., 1994)
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Magazines, Newsletters and Podcasts
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Note: Some of the websites noted below represent both newsletters and podcasts.
The Dialogue Doctor: https://dialoguedoctor.com/ Jeff Elkins and his fellow coaches provide an amazing community for learning and practising the craft of writing. I’ve been a follower, listening to podcasts, reading the newsletters, taking several courses/master classes, and had Jeff coach me through several chapters of my first book. I’ve also been a Patreon of The Dialogue Doctor for several years.
Writer’s Digest: https://writersdigestshop.com/collections/magazine-issues
Electric Speed, Jane Friedman: https://jane-friedman.kit.com/05a460478f I learn something (usually multiple somethings) every time I read her newsletter and I’ve taken several of the courses she runs through her site.
Air Facts Journal: https://airfactsjournal.com/email-sign-up/
The Indy Author, Matty Dalrymple: https://www.theindyauthor.com/
Writing Excuses: https://writingexcuses.com/ I subscribe to their newsletter and listen to their podcasts. Excellent!
Pick Your Poison: https://www.pickpoison.com/ I listen to this podcast to learn about inventive ways of poisoning. Can’t have too much knowledge when you’re a murder mystery writer! And it’s fun!
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing: https://www.theshitaboutwriting.com/ The name says it all.
The Creative Penn Podcast: https://www.thecreativepenn.com/the-creative-penn-podcast-for-authors/
Louise Penny’s Newsletter: https://www.louisepenny.com/ I subscribe to Louise Penny’s newsletter and read it every month. She just lifts me up. Every time.
Reedsy: https://reedsy.com/ This site is one I used to find my cover designer. They are an aggregator of writing and publishing services.
Stark Reflections on Writing & Publishing: https://starkreflections.ca/ Mark Leslie Lefebvre was the first writing industry professional I started following, (I am a Patreon member). He’s a writer, publisher, speaker, podcaster, consultant and all-around good guy. His podcast led me to almost all of the people/sites/podcasts noted on this page, and many more.
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Organizations
Sisters in Crime (National & Local Toronto Chapter): https://www.sistersincrime.org/ https://www.torontosistersincrime.ca/
Alliance of Independent Authors: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/
Crime Writers of Canada: https://crimewriterscanada.com/
Writers Community of Durham Region: https://www.wcdr.info/
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Editing, Education & Coaching
My editor is Cheryl Freedman. She does all kinds of editing. If you are interested, she can be reached at: cheryl@freedmanandsister.com
I’ve also used a Beta reader: Val Cober of Red Pen Garden Editing Services at val@redpengarden.ca
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The Dialogue Doctor: https://dialoguedoctor.com/
A Novel Approach Workshop: https://inkslingers.ca/