The Final Twist

04/10/2026

Cash Anthony's new show - Thursdays at 1 pm central - is gaining popularity!

https://www.hmstv.org/hms-live/

Congrats, Cash!

04/05/2026

Congrats Cash Anthony!

03/08/2026

Writing an authentic character requires drawing from the real world, and specifically, the human experience.

03/08/2026

Clay Stafford has a conversation with bestselling author David Handler on how the characters come first in his mystery novels and more.

03/08/2026

*** Why You Should Write Short Stories ***

Learn how writing short stories can help writers develop their craft, as well as their career.
When: Sunday, 3/15, at 1pm EDT/ 10am PDT/ 5pm GMT*
*Note, this is the first day of Daylight Savings Time
Who: A thoughtful conversation with authors Ashley-Ruth Bernier, Barb Goffman, P.M. Raymond, and Shannon Taft

Register today at: https://www.sistersincrime.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=2042042&group=

Bios on Presenters:
ASHLEY-RUTH M. BERNIER (www.ashleyruthbernier.com)’s work has appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Stone’s Throw, Smoking Pen Press and others. Originally from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Ashley-Ruth writes mysteries highlighting the vibrant culture of her home. She currently lives with her family and teaches first grade in Apex, North Carolina.

BARB GOFFMAN has been a finalist for major short story crime-writing awards fifty times. She’s gone on to win the Agatha four times, the Macavity twice, and the Anthony, Derringer, and Silver Falchion once each. Barb works as a freelance editor, often focusing on cozy and traditional mysteries.

P.M. RAYMOND is an award-winning author and aspiring screenwriter from New Orleans who knows a thing or two about good gumbo, grits, and café au lait. She is a 2026 Killer Shorts Screenplay Quarterfinalist, the Sisters in Crime 2024 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award Winner, and 2024 Claymore Award and Killer Shorts Screenplay Finalist. Her work has appeared in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Writer's Digest, Punk Noir, Flash Fiction Magazine, among others.

SHANNON TAFT is a Maryland attorney with over twenty published short stories, including a Derringer Award finalist and a story that appeared in Best American Mystery and Suspense. Her works have appeared in multiple anthologies as well as several magazines, including Black Cat Weekly and On Spec.
Website URL: www.shannontaft.com

-RuthMoolenaarBernier P.M. Raymond Author Barb Goffman

03/06/2026

Repurposing Your Past

by C. J. Sweet I recently listened to Trisha Yearwood sing “The Song Remembers When,” and it sent me on a journey of rediscovery to understand why, after so many years, I still couldn’t move on from the pain of my first love, why every song I heard reminded me of a failed relationship that lasted for decades and left me with never-ending guilt....

by C. J. Sweet             I recently listened to Trisha Yearwood sing “The Song Remembers When,” and it sent me on a journey of rediscovery t…

01/25/2026

What is the thing writers do that always throws you out of a story?

01/23/2026

January 24 is National Compliment Day. Time to ready your compliments!

What is the best compliment you ever received and what made it special?

01/23/2026

Should Mark Phillip's sequal to Yeats Alley include the impact of ICE on small town Maine?

12/26/2025

On Creativity

by C. J. Sweet I watched a 2006 movie recently titled Copying Beethoven and received more from it than I expected to regarding writing and creativity. The story is told from the POV of Anna Holtz, a copyist for composer Ludwig van Beethoven, namely Anna Holtz. Given the time period, Beethoven would have struggled to overcome dealing with such a person being a woman, which sets up the main conflict in the story....

by C. J. Sweet I watched a 2006 movie recently titled Copying Beethoven and received more from it than I expected to regarding writing and creativity. The story is told from the POV of Anna Holtz, …

12/24/2025

A huge congrats to our own Mark H Phillips! Mark set a huge Goodreads goal for himself this year - read and review 250 books. He just reached his goal with the completion of The Secret Vanguard by Michal Innes.

Mark is quite an eclectic reader. If you are looking for something different to read, you might check out his reviews. Link provided in the first comment.