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What writers read
Before we can write, we read – and, ideally, we never stop! In fact, the first and best advice I can give aspiring authors is read. Read everything! First, read it for fun, but then read like a writer. Figure out why the good parts work, and why the bad parts don't,...
Zoom on in!
Long before Bad Boy Beat was even a dream, I wrote a fun little mystery about cats – specifically about a young woman who meets a possible cat hoarder – a "crazy cat lady" – and who, when that poor older woman is killed must figure out not only who killed her but what...
BAD BOY BEAT takes the p. 69 test!
Do you know about the p. 69 test? It's when you open a book to page 69 (in other words, some random point well in) and see if that page touches on the major themes and/or action of the book in ways that will ideally clue in and entice the reader. The test, referenced...
Readers love BAD BOY BEAT
"Bad Boy Beat is a fantastic book that I couldn't put down." "This is one of Simon's best." "I am a bit of a fan of this author's Blackie and Care series of books so I was eager to see what she did with a more conventional mystery. And I wasn't disappointed at all..."...
Want a signed book?
I'll be at Harvard Book Store on May 9 (7 pm) but if you can't make it, you can still order a copy of Bad Boy Beat and I'll personalize it for you that night! The store's event site has a special link for ordering signed books – and they can either mail it out or hold...
Kirkus loves BAD BOY BEAT!
“Simon’s staccato prose sets a tense mood that keeps readers on the edge . . . New territory for Simon that’s definitely worth another chapter” – Kirkus Reviews
“The cats steal the show…”
Talk about an embarrassment of riches! Yesterday, the Bristol Public Library book blog also weighed in on To Conjure a Killer. I encourage you to visit the original blog site (here:...
Conjure is “a treat”!
Librarian Lesa Holstine's Lesa's Book Critiques is a must-read for mystery fans, and I'm thrilled that she has weighed in on To Conjure a Killer, calling it "a treat for cat and cozy mystery lovers." Here's the full review, but please click through to her wonderful...
The best gift!
As a very lovely solstice gift, Harvard Book Store (my favorite local indie) just sent me the link to the event a truly wonderful and generous group of local authors did of my new "To Conjure a Killer" on Nov. 15. (I was recovering from surgery so couldn't do it). If...
Conjure is “irresistible”!
That's the verdict of Purrs of Wisdom, Ingrid King's superlative all-things-cat blog! Here's her glowing review in full: To Conjure a Killer is the fourth book in Clea Simon’s charming Witch Cats of Cambridge series, and like the other books in the series, the...