Author Archives: Charlene DAvanzo

About Charlene DAvanzo

I'm a marine ecology/college professor who never, ever thought I'd write fiction. That assumption changed in an instant as I listened to another scientist - a climatologist named Ray Bradley at UMass, Amherst - describe being harassed by climate change deniers. The idea to write mysteries with climate change understories to help readers understand what's happening to our climate in the context of a fast-paced exciting story came to me out of nowhere. That's what I do in my "Maine Oceanographer Mara Tusconi" series.

Walter Mosley on Writing Fiction

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Charlene DAvanzo

Last week Walter Mosley’s “Elements of Fiction” appeared on my library’s new book display. Delighted, I nabbed it. Mosley is best known for his hard-boiled Easy Rollins series that features a black Los Angeles PI. Maine crime writers will remember … Continue reading →

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An Author’s Life: Editing

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Charlene DAvanzo

Today I finished the first edits of book four in my Oceanographer Mara Tusconi mystery series. So it’s time to kick back and celebrate with a glass of wine, right? Alas, not at all. As any author knows very well, … Continue reading →

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On Semicolons

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Charlene DAvanzo

Get a handful of writers together and ask them about punctuation—not an unreasonable request—and I guarantee someone will harp about semicolons before long. They wouldn’t be alone. While proper use of punctuation makes a lot of people nervous, the semicolon … Continue reading →

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For The Love Of Libraries

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Charlene DAvanzo

This summer I’ve talked about “my transformation from professor to cli-fi mystery writer” in several Maine libraries with more to come. Being not-from-here, this has given me the opportunity to visit little towns I never knew existed. There are about … Continue reading →

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Kingsolver on the Power of Fiction

Posted on June 25, 2019 by Charlene DAvanzo

In my last post I drew on the wisdom and experience of E. B. White who wrote from his Brooklin, Maine home about his love of farm implements and animals, seasons, weather, and wordsmithing. Another celebrated writer, this time living, … Continue reading →