Guest Author Bethany Maines

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

I started my career in traditional publishing when “chick lit” was the trend du jour. And my first novel, Bulletproof Mascara, got pitched as “chick lit mystery,” which came as a surprise to me since I had not realized I was writing either. In my head, mysteries involved a dead body and probably a lot of British people. (Try not to laugh at me too hard. I was in my twenties.) I thought I was writing an adventure-romance about what would happen if James Bond were a twenty-something girl… […]

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Guest Author CB Wilson

Posted on by Maggie Toussaint

Here’s something mystery readers instinctively understand: the best puzzles don’t always start with a body. Sometimes they start with something small, glittering, and absolutely irresistible—something that promises beauty while whispering danger. Diamonds do this better than almost anything else. For centuries, these stones have appeared in crime fiction as far more than shiny valuables. They’re emotional time bombs. They ignite conflict, uncover buried secrets, and expose humanity at its best and worst. Writers keep returning to them because diamonds refuse to be passive props—they’re catalysts with their own lore built in. The symbolism goes deeper than you’d think… […]

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