deborahjay » Writing

First, what is an infodump? If you aren’t familiar with the term, that probably means you aren’t an author! There are a number of structural issues within stories that it’s advisable for au...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/04/22/thoughts-on-infodumps-anyone/

I’m really loving this series, dubbed ‘Downton Abbey crossed with Murder, She Wrote…set in a Yorkshire village!‘ which describes it very nicely. The language used, and the attitudes of th...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/03/25/bookreview-murder-at-the-village-fete-by-catherine-coles-1920s-whodunnit-murdermystery/

For a number of years now, the author newsletter has been touted as the most important piece of unpaid marketing we can do for our books. I’m interested to know how many of you have a newslette...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/03/11/author-newsletters-do-you-have-one/

I only realised I hadn’t reviewed this book when I finished #2 in the series, so I’m going back to address that oversight. I do adore the elegance of the 1920s setting, and enjoy this sort of...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/03/04/bookreview-murder-at-the-manor-tommy-and-evelyn-christie-1-by-catherine-coles-periodcozymystery-cozymystery/

It’s a busy week with teaching and judging at the Scottish Regional Dressage Championships, so rather than miss out on a post this week, I thought I would do another collection of funnies – i...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/02/26/february-funnies-scotland/

Or, to give it it’s full title: What the Cat Knew (Reg Rawlins Psychic Investigator (Paranormal Cozy Mystery) Book 1) Having decided to trend back in the direction of fantasy, but still keeping...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/02/19/bookreview-what-the-cat-knew-by-p-d-workman-paranormalcozymystery/

This topic comes to the forefront of my mind every time someone mentions ‘writing process’. Having covered it before, this post is a mash up of a previous one, and more recent thoughts in the...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/02/12/do-your-characters-take-over-amwriting-writingprocess/

#4 in this series is as fabulous as the previous volumes. There is humour (as expected), but also this time, sadness. Hardly surprising really, when the cast are all elderly and living in a retir...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/02/05/bookreview-the-last-devil-to-die-thursday-murder-club-4-by-richard-osman-cosymystery-darkhumour/

Or to give it it’s full title: Bone Appetit (Flint & Co Paranormal Investigations Book 5) Bit of a jump, from book #1 to #5 in just a few days, but that’s because I enjoyed the first one that...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/01/31/bookreview-bone-appetit-by-rachel-ford-paranormal/

I decided it was about time to depart from my cosy mystery reading binge and get back to a bit of fantasy – in this case, urban fantasy. The somewhat punny title of this one caught my attention...

https://deborahjayauthor.com/2024/01/29/bookreview-no-bones-about-it-by-rachel-ford-paranormal-urbanfantasy/