Friday Five: Q&A with cozy fiction writer Sally Bayless

Cozy mystery writer Sally Bayless.

Today’s Friday Five is with Sally Bayless, a novelist who writes in the “cozy” mystery genre. Sally and I met many years ago when I was a reporter for a now-defunct daily newspaper and Sally was a summer intern. Since that time, she graduated from journalism school, worked as a newspaper copy editor (remember those?), and ended up in corporate communications, where “I edited everything from an article on gastrointestinal scopes to a report on the use of depleted uranium in armor-piercing weapons, all of it (honestly) fascinating.” These days, she’s working on book seven of her Dogwood Springs Cozy Mystery Series. All of the book titles are alliterative and set in the mythical Ozarks town of Dogwood Springs.

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Friday Five: Thoughts on Steve Almond’s ‘Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow’

Why Steve Almond’s new book about the craft of writing is worth a read.

Cover image of the book "Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow," by Steve Almond.

I’ve read my share of books about writing in my time, and most of them have given me at least a nugget or two of wisdom or inspiration. A new entry to the craft genre by Steve Almond, Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories, which came out in April, is one of the best I’ve read in a while.

If you’re a writer, you should read this book. Here are five reasons why:

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