Guest Post-Do Readers Influence Your Writing?-Cheryl Hollon, Author of Shards of Murder

Recently I read and reviewed Shards of Murder ( see my review here ). I definitely enjoyed this book and asked if the author would write a guest post for my blog--well here it is. And yes, Cheryl Hollon, this is definitely one of those cozy mysteries where you wish the next installment was already in your hands!!

So without further ado I give you the guest post for this author!

Do readers influence your writing?

In my pre-published days, I would have quickly answered, “No. How would that happen?”

The books in the Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery Series are written in my little writing shed while I’m completely alone and quietly visiting the imaginary world of Savannah, Edward, Amanda, Jacob, Suzy and Rooney. There are no readers in my backyard retreat.
I create the mystery word by word, scene by scene, chapter by chapter, without a second thought about readers.

I was wrong. Everything has changed.

On Sunday evening, I returned from an exhilarating conference in Phoenix, Arizona, where I attended the Left Coast Crime Great Cactus Caper. There were over 700 attendees. The vast majority were readers. Cozy mystery series readers are a special breed. They read an enormous number of books each year – in series order, mind you – and they have definite expectations. At Left Coast
Crime,I met wonderful readers who are loyal, supportive, generous, kind and quite clear that they expect you to provide a cozy, satisfying, read. I’m good with that. I write what I would like to read. But I have to admit that I’m no longer alone in my writing shed. I hear the echoes of the conference attendees chatting about their favorite writers. How much they enjoy their books. How they wish the next book was released already. It inspires me to be that writer – the one they want to read.

About Shards of Murder: (from the publisher Breakthough Promotions.net)

When a glass-making competition turns deadly, glass shop owner Savannah Webb must search for a window into a criminal's mind…
As the new proprietor of Webb's Glass Shop, Savannah has been appointed to fill her late father's shoes as a judge for the Spinnaker Arts Festival, held in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. With her innovative glass works, the clear winner is Megan Loyola, a student of Savannah's former mentor. But when Megan doesn't show up to accept her $25,000 award, rumors start flying. And when Savannah discovers the woman's dead body on festival grounds, the police immediately suspect her of murder. To keep from appearing before a judge herself, Savannah sorts through the broken pieces of glass scattered around the victim for clues as to who took this killer competition too far. . .

Meet the Author: (from the publisher Breakthough Promotions.net)

Cheryl Hollon writes full time after she left an engineering career designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for creating glass art. In the small glass studio behind the house, Cheryl and her husband George design, create, and produce fused glass, stained glass and painted glass artworks.

Buy Links:

Pane & Suffering

Shards of Murder

You can visit Cheryl and her books at

Authors Website
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads

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