About:MaggieT

Website: https://maggietoussaint.com

Posts by MaggieT :

Photo Credit: Terry Ambrose

Maddie Day Guest Post

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

I’m getting excited for my next Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery to release. Murder at Cape Costumers is the eighth in the series, and it will be out on August 26th. The books take place in fictional Westham on Cape Cod in the general area of Falmouth. If you don’t know the Cape, Falmouth is at the other end of the peninsula from the curved scorpion’s tail that ends in Provincetown. This series started back in 2019 with Murder on Cape Cod, the title of which was my editor’s idea. What does a title have to do with building a town? Well, my editor then suggested that each book be a murder in or at a Main Street business in Westham. In the same way I often respond to his suggestions, I said, “I can do that.” (John S. has excellent suggestions.) […]

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Fifth Monday Guest Author Judy Penz Sheluk

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Anthologies & Lemon Meringue Pie As the editor and publisher of four (soon to be five) multi-author anthologies of mystery and suspense, I’m often asked how I select the stories that appear in the collections. It’s a fair question. Over the course of those five anthologies, I’ve read close to 400 submissions. Of those, I’ve […]

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Guest Author Alyssa Maxwell Muses on the Holidays

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

The holidays are almost over and I’ll be sad to see them go. Because I love it all: the music, the lights, the food, people being a little nicer to each other . . . But there’s a good chance I’ll soon be getting a lot more writing done than I have in the past few weeks. Between shopping, preparing, wrapping, socializing, etc., it’s been hard to be productive. Whether you’re a writer or you devote your time to anything else on a regular basis, I’m sure you know exactly what I mean. But sometimes I wonder if the distraction… […]

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Five Things You Should Never Say To A Writer

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

1. “So you’re a writer. Anything I might have read?” Unless you just handed me a list, how would I possibly know what’s in your personal library? People’s tastes are vast, varied and unpredictable. Some subsist on a focused diet of romances, or history, or celebrity memoirs. Some wouldn’t touch a book with pink in its cover art and others will go from Proust to Janet Evanovich and back again without a hiccup. […]

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Writing What You Know

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Most writers have heard the adage, “Write what you know.” It’s a good principle. If you’re writing about something you know the story will sound authentic and hopefully the passion and sincerity will ring through to the reader. But what if what you want to write is a murder mystery? […]

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Inhale. Exhale. Repeat.

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Is life stressing you out? Take a breath and relax. Or so we’re told. Some days, it’s not so simple. I’ve learned how to breathe four times in my life. Once, with that first, lifegiving gasp. The second time, when I was five and learning how to swim. Third time, in acting class, with lessons on voice projection and breath control. The most important breathing lesson came a decade later. As a young adult I was introduced to biofeedback, a kind of visualization technique used to control some of our body functions like heart rate, breath, muscle response, and brain waves. It can help relax muscles, decrease heart rate, and slow and deepen breathing. It has been clinically proven to help with a myriad of ailments. […]

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Let’s Talk with Lois Winston

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Reviews By Lois Winston I recently read a review from a national newspaper for a memoir that has received quite a bit of hype. The reviewer gave it only two stars, stating that the book left her frustrated because it didn’t live up to what it had been purported to be. Instead of “a dissection […]

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Let’s Talk with Nancy J Cohen

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

New Beginnings by Nancy J. Cohen January is a time of new beginnings. And so it is for me in writing my next book, #18 in the Bad Hair Day Mysteries. I’m in the “Discovery” stage of writing. This involves choosing the setting, doing preliminary research, and then identifying the suspects. Since I’m more of […]

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Let’s Talk with Debra H Goldstein

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Pentimento by Debra H. Goldstein The first time I came across the word pentimento was when I read Lillian Hellman’s book, Pentimento: A Book of Portraits, which were short autobiographical pieces. I thought the book was merely okay, but the word fascinated me. Pentimento, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “the reappearance in a painting of […]

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Happy Holidays To You

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Holiday Cheer from All of Us We’re delighted you enjoy visiting with the authors of Booklover’s Bench. Nancy J. Cohen, Maggie Toussaint, Diane A.S Stuckart, Cheryl Hollon, Debra H. Goldstein, Terry Ambrose, and Lois Winston wish everyone a joyful holiday season. This year we’re each sharing our favorite holiday beverage. Cheers to all! Let’s hear […]

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