The Maine Crime Writers
Author Archives: Maureen Milliken
Should you read a fiction series in order? The answer is…
So, I somehow just binge-read a 23-book series over the last two months. I’m not sure how — or even why — and don’t want to delve too deeply into that part of my psyche right now, so this post … Continue reading
Why write? Because of stuff like this
NOTE TO READERS: Holy Covid! Was it really almost two years ago my last book came out? I’d like to say I’m rerunning this old post because I’m busy finishing up the next one, but I’m actually just really busy … Continue reading
Posted in Maureen's Posts
Tagged Augusta, Bad News Travels Fast, feedback, reader responses, The writing process
1 Comment
Hey writers, there’s no excuse for boredom
You may have seen the clickbait “news” last year that Dover-Foxcroft is supposedly the “most boring” town or city in Maine. It was apparently based on the fact that it has the oldest median population, combined with lack of population … Continue reading
Posted in Maureen's Posts, Uncategorized
Tagged Dover-Foxcroft, mystery writing tips, settings in fiction
6 Comments
Happy summer! Writers, can you feel it?
One day last week, one of the ones that was forecast to be hotter than Maine should be allowed to be, I decided to mow the lawn while it was still “cool” out before I started work for the morning. … Continue reading
Where do writers get their ideas? Try right outside your door
As anyone who reads this blog, or anything written by any writers anywhere, knows, one of the top questions for fiction writers is… wait for it… “Where do you get your ideas?” We’ve discussed this before. You know we have. … Continue reading
Posted in Maureen's Posts
Tagged AMHI, Augusta, Imagination, No News is Bad News, writers' imagination, writing ideas
3 Comments
Welcome to my daily briefing: Writing, book store stats, cat trees, leaf blowers…
We are now in the locked-in era of the daily briefing — they’re ubiquitous and they’re not going away soon. At least there’s a little something for everyone. I like the calm and rational updates by Maine’s Dr. Nirav Shah, … Continue reading
Posted in Maureen's Posts
Tagged bookstores, essential workers, Mad magazine, Maine, writing
2 Comments
Hey Maine, guess whose birthday we missed in these strange, strange times?
There’s nothing about COVID-19 and everything that’s going on that you haven’t already heard, so I’ll save it except to say that I’ve been a social isolation hobbyist for my entire adult life and I can assure you, you’ll come … Continue reading
‘So what, it’s Maine’ isn’t good enough for the book you’re writing
I was wandering through a local gift shop recently, a little stunned at how such a large store could have so little I wanted to buy, when I came across a small Maine section. Imagine my delight when I saw … Continue reading
Watching true crime TV is good for your writing. Honest.
I have a lot of reasons for not getting far with my new book. Actually, I got semi-far, but the hard drive on my laptop died, and while I thought I’d saved the book to the cloud, I apparently didn’t. … Continue reading
Maine in winter: cold, darkness and, hopefully, some writing
Happy Boxing Day! This is the day that people in countries under the British crown give gifts to their servants. I know this from a lifetime of reading English mysteries and careful watching of “Upstairs, Downstairs” as a child, and … Continue reading
Charlene D’Avanzo 
Lea Wait/Cornelia Kidd