Next week at Maine Crime Writers there will be  posts by William Andrews (Monday), Kate Flora (Tuesday), Brenda Buchanan (Wednesday), Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson (Thursday), and Susan Vaughan (Friday). Some Wednesdays from now on will be “Win a Book Wednesday” with giveaways, drawings, and announcements of winners. Be sure to stop by at mid-week to see what’s new.

In the news department, here’s what’s happening with some of us who blog regularly at Maine Crime Writers:

You can meet some of our alums at the Ellsworth Library Mystery Series:

https://fb.me/e/egaN4zaN0

Maggie Robinson will be speaking at the Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick on Tuesday, September 14, release day for her fourth and final Lady Adelaide Mystery, Farewell Blues. She will also be doing book giveaways at The Romance Dish blog and the Facebook group the Romance of Reading on Thursday, September 16. Stop by!

Another chance to attend a Zoom panel, this time the topic is: Casting Call: How Writers Staff Their Mysteries.

Here’s the link:

Kate Flora will be teaching a week long crime fiction class at the Maine Media Workshops in October.

Dates:
Oct 25, 2021 – Oct 29, 2021

Levels: All
Workshop Fee: $1095
Class Size: 12 (max)

Got a story idea lurking in your head that you never seem to get down on paper? Are you a big mystery fan who has always wanted to write one but never gets to it? Maybe you want to write a book but don’t how to start and the mystery structure is the answer? We all know writers write, but sometimes it takes a nudge, or a class, or someone giving you an approach to get you started.

These daily sessions will focus on some of the elements that go into crafting a mystery novel. We’ll cover the basics of mystery plotting—that all important framework on which we hang our stories—and we’ll work on creating credible and distinctive characters, both good and bad. We’ll discuss point of view, the importance of setting and the role it plays, review some strategies for planting clues, and examine how mystery writers create tension page-by-page. There will be daily writing assignments, and wherever possible, if the student has a story idea in mind, his or her story will form the basis for the day’s exercises.

More information is here: https://www.mainemedia.edu/workshops/item/crime-fiction-101/

An invitation to readers of this blog: Do you have news relating to Maine, Crime, or Writing? We’d love to hear from you. Just comment below to share.

And a reminder: If your library, school, or organization is looking for a speaker, we are often available to talk about the writing process, research, where we get our ideas, and other mysteries of the business. We also do programs on Zoom. Contact Kate Flora