Tag: Barbara Michaels

  • ‘Tis the Season to Read SUSPECT

    I’ve always enjoyed reading books in the season when they are set.  I’ve done this most often with the work of Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels because that writer, whose real name is actually Barbara Mertz, does such a fabulous job of bringing in the season as well as the physical setting. So I can’t help thinking…

  • Researching SUSPECT

    Writers of historical fiction often spend months researching the various settings of their novels before they begin to write.  While I enjoy reading historical fiction, I’ve never really thought about writing it because I know how every detail needs to be supported. Writers of contemporary fiction often need to spend some time researching, but it varies from project…

  • The First Draft of SUSPECT

    Sometimes it can take a long time for an idea to become a book.  I remember that the initial idea for SUSPECT came to me in 1997 when I was reading about a winery in either Hermann or Augusta, Missouri. It was reopening some of its old cellars after years of disuse.  I remember thinking “What…