Workshops Available from
Kathy Lynn Emerson

1. CHOOSING THE WHEN, WHERE, WHO, and HOW

A one hour workshop designed to help writers contemplating writing historical mystery fiction make intelligent decisions about time period, setting, the character of the sleuth, and the method of murder. Information on the current market for historical mysteries is included. Most of the content of this workshop is also applicable to historical romantic suspense, present/past mysteries, and historical mysteries for young people.

2. PAINLESS RESEARCH

A one hour workshop on how to dig up those elusive details that make historical mysteries come alive . . . and have fun doing it . . . whether your history is twenty years ago or two hundred. Among the topics covered are how to evaluate a printed source, tips on using library resources, the benefits of hands-on research, the pitfalls of doing research online, and why historical accuracy is important, even though you're writing fiction.

3. WRITING HISTORICAL MYSTERIES

This half-day workshop consists of two one hour sessions with a break between and a question and answer session afterward. It includes material from both workshops described above and delves into other aspects of writing historical mysteries. Content can be tailored to a specific audience.

4. SLEUTHING THROUGH THE PAST

A forty-five minute talk on the historical mystery genre, geared toward fans, with a question and answer period at the end. Have you ever wondered what prompts historical mystery writers to choose a particular when, where, who, or what, or how they come up with their titles? Sleuthing Through the Past will take you through the steps—and the pitfalls. Full of anecdotes about some of the most popular historical mystery writers around.

Versions of these workshops have previously been presented in a number of venues and formats from an online course for the Kiss of Death Chapter, RWA (2001), to workshops at Murder in the Grove (2005) and New Hampshire Romance Writers Spring Fling (2007) to a special noon hour presentation for readers at Mayhem in the Midlands (2008). Material is updated on a regular basis to reflect changes in the marketplace.

KATHY LYNN EMERSON’s published books include ten novels and one collection of short stories in the FACE DOWN MYSTERY SERIES, set in sixteenth century England, the DIANA SPAULDING MYSTERIES (LETHAL LEGEND, # 4 in the series, April 2008), set in the U.S. in 1888, four historical romances, nine contemporary category romances, and one time-travel romance (most of them romantic suspense), two contemporary mysteries and one historical novel for middle-grade readers, and four works of nonfiction, including THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO EVERYDAY LIFE IN RENAISSANCE ENGLAND and HOW TO WRITE KILLER HISTORICAL MYSTERIES: THE ART AND ADVENTURE OF SLEUTHING THROUGH THE PAST. Under the pseudonym Kaitlyn Dunnett, she writes the contemporary LISS MACCRIMMON MYSTERIES (KILT DEAD, 2007). Her publishers, past and present, include St. Martin’s Press, Kensington Mystery, Harper Monogram, Avon Camelot, Silhouette Intimate Moments and Special Edition, Bantam Loveswept, Writers Digest Books, Crippen & Landru, Perseverance Press, and Pemberley Press. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, American Crime Writers’ League, Novelists, Inc., Sisters in Crime, and Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance.

Speaker fee varies according to travel distance from western Maine, potential size of the audience, and miscellaneous other factors and may by waived under certain circumstances. Provision must be made, however, to have copies of HOW TO WRITE KILLER HISTORICAL MYSTERIES and of Kathy’s most recent novels available for sale on site.

From the Publisher:
HOW TO WRITE KILLER HISTORICAL MYSTERIES
by Kathy Lynn Emerson

Subtitled The Art and Adventure of Sleuthing Through the Past, this useful guide will inspire and delight writers and readers of historical mystery fiction. The popular genre features the amateur sleuth or early PI/police-equivalent confronted with crime at any period during the last few thousand years, and is an enjoyable and memorable way to experience history up close and personal, combined with an intellectual puzzle. Ranging from Samurai Japan to turn-of-the-twentieth-century New York, from Medieval and Renaissance Europe to the American frontier, these books open a vast historical panorama to the curious reader who enjoys murder and mayhem along with past mores and morals.

Veteran historical novelist-nonfiction author Kathy Lynn Emerson published her first mystery back in 1985. How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries is her thirty-sixth published book, and it draws on her experience in researching, writing, selling, and sustaining both her Lady Appleton series, set in Elizabethan England, and her Diana Spaulding series, taking place in the U.S. in the 1880s. This unique reference book also includes the contributions of more than forty other historical mystery writers. Their books’ backgrounds and settings are as diverse as Ancient Egypt and Rome, antebellum New Orleans, early Constantinople, Jazz Age England and Australia, Depression-era California, Victorian London, and 18th-century Venice. Emerson’s book includes the authors’ anecdotes, practical advice, and suggestions for research—as well as additional input from assorted editors, booksellers, reviewers, and fans.

How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries is a useful, complete, and fascinating guide that no mystery or history buff should be without. For the published or the aspiring historical fiction writer who wants to bring the past alive, it’s a must-read.

Advance Praise:

from Carolyn Wheat, author of How to Write Killer Fiction:
"I can't imagine a question about historical mysteries that isn't answered here. The past is a foreign country, and Kathy Lynn Emerson is a wonderfully informative tourguide. Do not start writing your historical mystery without this book!"

from Hallie Ephron, author of Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel
"Kathy Lynn Emerson takes the mystery out of writing a historical mystery. The book is a comprehensive guide, full of seasoned advice and rich examples."

Available from both online and brick and mortar bookstores or order direct from the publisher, Perseverance Press

For more information or to sechedule a workshop, write to:
Kathy Lynn Emerson
P.O. Box 156
Wilton, ME 04294

or send email to Kathy Lynn Emerson at emerson@megalink.net by clicking here:
Please use the heading "how to workshop" on your message. I answer all emails as soon as I am able. If your email bounces or if you have not received a reply within a day or two, please resend your message. Unless I am out of town at a conference or convention, you should hear from me promptly. If you don't, please use the snail mail address.

Most upcoming dates already spoken for are listed here:

© 2008 Kathy Lynn Emerson. All rights reserved.
Last updated 6/1/2008