Melissa Westemeier

Disclaimer: I’m a HUGE fan of Hench, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the sequel! The wait was long, but at last readers can start reading Villain to learn what happens to Anna, AKA the Auditor, since she left The Draft and started working for Leviathan. Author (and game designer and journalist and wickedly witty) Natalie Zina Walschots explains what prompted her inventive and gripping superhero series and exposes the dark and painful journey leading to the sequel. Findi

I'm SO THRILLED to announce I've joined the team at MISS DEMEANORS: A Blog for Readers and Writers of Mystery, Crime, and Suspense Fiction. Click through and read my first post, More Flavors in Writing!

After a slow, cold, wet spring, Wisconsin finally got a blast of proper balmy weather! I spent last weekend outside making some sweet discoveries. A year ago my favorite nature preserve underwent extensive logging. I felt sad to see the trees go, but many were dead from disease and compromised the health of other trees. Naturally, losing so much canopy meant many new grasses and plants took over the ground below and I worried I'd seen the end of the trillium. Trillium are the

LLimited time offer on BookBub!

The Wild West, gangsters, railroads, Pinkerton PIs, murder, intrigue, one bad-ass heroine, and Mark Twain are all featured in Dana Stabenow’s new book The Harvey Girl. I was astonished to learn this prolific writer’s been churning out books for ages! I’m officially a Danamaniac, listeners! Dana shares how visiting family in the Southwest inspired her new series. Fred Harvey created the prototype of franchise restaurants and women made it happen while they helped establish com

Fri.- Sat. May 1 - 2 Lakefly Writers Conference, Oshkosh, WI (presenting humor writing workshop) Sat. May 9 1 - 4 p.m. Caramel Crisp Bookstore, Oshkosh, WI (Spring Wine Walk / Mystery Event) Sat. May 30 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Block of Books, downtown Appleton, WI

Guest of Honor Annette Dashofy and ME at Malice Domestic 2026 A spring weekend in Bethesda, MD is wonderful, but getting to schmooze with writers I admire, meet other mystery readers and learn pro tips to improve my writing game at Malice Domestic '26 raised the awesome bar considerably. Yes, I got to shop at the Gap (not an outlet, a real Gap store, Nicole!) and eat a crab cake sandwich and walk around outside wearing short sleeves but that's barely exciting compared to the

Murder is ON THE TABLE all weekend long!

If you’re a fellow Anglophile who watched The Crown, you MUST check out S.J. Bennett’s series Her Majesty the Queen Investigates. The Queen of England as amateur sleuth? YES PLEASE! Bennett gives readers an inside look at royal life while serving up a puzzler of a crime for HRH to solve. Sophia discusses the inspiration behind her series, which includes her father’s service to the Crown and her own attempt to land a job in the Queen’s inner circle, how she researches her char

When I was young I remember making umbrellas out of construction paper and our teacher hung them on the classroom wall with the words " April Showers Bring May Flowers ." In May we cut tulips and other flowers from the stack of construction paper to replace those umbrellas. The smell of Elmer's Glue brings me back in time... Spring's a sloppy season for Midwesterners. In a single day we can get snow, sleet, seventy degrees and sunshine, a tornado warning, and torrential rain.

I’ve been a longtime fan of the Sparks and Bainbridge Mysteries by Allison Montclair, and I couldn’t wait to pull the author into the studio and ask questions. Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge are two of my favorite sleuths and their dialogue is the snappiest I’ve encountered in fiction. Alan Gordon shares what prompted him to begin this historical mystery series featuring two women who open a marriage agency in London after WWII. Both Iris and Gwen have suffered trauma, and A

April 1st was my maternal grandmother's birthday, and I assure you, Gloria was not a pulling pranks type of woman. I don't have many clear memories of my grandfather, but Grandma was a thoughtful, curious, no-nonsense, exceptionally organized individual. Opinionated, well-read, and well-traveled. But NOT particularly humorous as far as I recall. It's weird because my dad and his two brothers each have a keen sense of humor. Perhaps they inherited it from their dad? These thre

Q: What do you get when you mash up Blazing Saddles with a western romance writer? A: USA Today Bestselling author Paula Altenburg’s new series! Book one in the Roped In Time rom-coms (honestly, com-roms) is The Cowboy Contract . Beau Jones is a music star forced by his agent to go to cowboy camp, but Burning Scrub is really a cult-turned-off-the-grid-commune where wealthy clientele pay for an elite “authentic” Wild West experience. Beau is roped into learning how to cowboy

TWO HOURS of Nun the Wiser Mystery fun over at The Cozy Mystery Party Facebook Group! There will be giveaways. There will be inside scoops. This is a BIG DEAL, so join the group and buckle up for a fun ride!

(according to my friends at Merriam-Webster: distinctive feeling or quality capable of being sensed) feeling serious As a facts matter type of person, I've been rightfully accused of ignoring feelings because I value logic more than my vibes. It's a quality I deliberately tend to in my writing. I always revise for emotional value in scenes and within characters, layering in reactions and fears and preferences is vital when developing characters and plots. Vibes DO have a pur

Anthropologist and mystery fan Michelle L. Cullen draws from personal experience moving her mother into a patio home to create her amateur sleuth, Harry Lancaster. Harry’s recovery from a fractured hip is made more interesting as he spies on neighbors. Assisted by his caregiver, Emma Stockton, Harry does more than just PT when a neighbor urgently phones Harry for help and they find her dead on her kitchen floor. Michelle talks about her research for this new series, what make

I had a blast ON THE AIR WITH FLORENZA! Listen/watch + share! YouTube: https://youtu.be/r5Aq-VVqedk SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/authorsontheair/melissa-westemeier-co-hosts-on/s-EmM4yNtnFek?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing&si=e91bf1ae83a649708ad84c175357aab0

Readers, I'm so thrilled to bring you a very special guest today! Author of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery series & USA Today and Amazon Bestselling Author and friend Lois Winston! (Be sure to leave comments to enter her giveaway!) Would you expect to grab a clarinet for the first time and immediately play Rhapsody in Blue ? Or lace up toe shoes for the first time and immediately dance Coppélia ? Or pick up a paintbrush for the first time and immediately create a mus

It's me! I'm the guest over at Blackbird Writers! Tracey S. Phillips and I chat mysteries, humor, Gen Z characters, and I use my hands A LOT as I talk!