Season 3 Episodes

To avoid a midlife crisis, Barbara Barrett wrote fiction at night while still employed in human resources for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and two novellas, she turned to the cozy mystery genre, having discovered it years before when pregnant with her first child. She used one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Her next book, Courtesy Call, to be released August 31, 2021, is the ninth in the Mah Jongg Mysteries series and is available now. Barbara spends her winters in Florida and summers in her home state of Iowa.

What is a set piece and where can I get one?

What do writers need to consider about Setting for their story?

Two ingredients that make magic together.

Easy French dessert for cherry season or any time.

British-born, Hannah Dennison originally moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting. She has been an obituary reporter, antique dealer, private jet flight attendant, and Hollywood story analyst. These jobs have inspired her cozy mystery series.

Fast, easy any-time meal.

Settle in for a good read, a hot cuppa, and these delicious Russian spice cookies!

In this episode, Linda Hengerer talks with Amy Vansant about her two upcoming releases. Find out what "Meat Bingo" is and what it has to do with Pineapple Cruise, and how Pineapple Circus came to have a circus setting.

Suzanne Fox and Linda Hengerer are discussing Mary Stewart’s book The Ivy Tree and how she uses Brat Farrar, Josephine Tey’s fictional take on a real-life situation, to guide the reader in one direction before taking them somewhere else.

Honey for Cheese? Yes, please!

Join me for the first themed Tart Words podcast week. It begins Monday with an encore presentation of Emilya Naymark's episode.

Linda Hengerer talks about Dick Francis’s book Trial Run, and how he uses setting to emphasize the story, shows how societal expectations affect actions, and how to build characters for story.

Linda Hengerer talks with Alan Orloff, whose latest YA thriller I Play One on TV came out from Down & Out Books on July 19, 2021. Alan Orloff won an ITW Thriller Award for his novel, PRAY FOR THE INNOCENT, and he won a Derringer Award for his short story, “Dying in Dokesville.” He’s also had novels shortlisted for the Agatha Award and Shamus Award, and a story selected for THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES. He loves cake and arugula, but not together. Never together.

Suzanne Fox and Linda Hengerer are discussing Mary Stewart’s book Thunder on the Right and how she uses omniscient point of view, how her protagonist differs from her usual protagonist, and why we think this might have been the first book Mary Stewart wrote.

No grill? No problem! Learn how to make s'mores any time.

Neil S. Plakcy is the author of over fifty gay romance, gay mystery and adventure, and cozy mystery novels. His eclectic work career includes stints in shopping mall construction, web development, and computer game producing.

What goes into a versatile cherry cream cheese filling or spread?

Raquel V. Reyes is the author of Calypso, Corpses, and Cooking, the second book in the Caribbean Kitchen Mystery series and available now. Mango, Mambo, and Murder, the first book in the series featuring Cuban-American cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith, has been optioned for film and is now available in paperback.

What goes into a versatile cherry cream cheese filling or spread?

What is a set piece, and how do I use it in a story?

What was the inspiration for Barbara Barrett's cozy mystery series?

How is it that only two ingredients are so delicious?

What elements of setting do writers need to consider for their story?