Maya Corrigan
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Writings
    • By Cook or by Crook
    • Scam Chowder
    • Final Fondue
    • The Tell-Tale Tarte
    • S'more Murders
    • Crypt Suzette
    • Gingerdead Man
    • Book Club Topics
    • Stories and Nonfiction
  • Mystery 101
    • Mystery Milestones
    • Detective Story Origins
    • Mystery Fashions
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • Poe and Lincoln
    • Holmes & Dracula
    • Christie's Clues
    • Christie's Plays
    • A.A. Milne's Mysteries
    • Poe Trivia Quiz
    • Christie Trivia Quiz
    • Sleuthing Sweethearts Quiz
  • Food
    • Candy Corn's Haunted History
    • Chowder in History and Literature
    • Gingerbread's Dark History
    • Pie's Peculiar Past
    • S'mores History
    • Short Story: Delicious Death
    • Recipes >
      • Five-Ingredient Main Dishes
      • Easy Pies and Tarts
      • Six Sweet Recipes
      • Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
  • News/Contact
  • SmorgasBlog
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Writings
    • By Cook or by Crook
    • Scam Chowder
    • Final Fondue
    • The Tell-Tale Tarte
    • S'more Murders
    • Crypt Suzette
    • Gingerdead Man
    • Book Club Topics
    • Stories and Nonfiction
  • Mystery 101
    • Mystery Milestones
    • Detective Story Origins
    • Mystery Fashions
    • Edgar Allan Poe
    • Poe and Lincoln
    • Holmes & Dracula
    • Christie's Clues
    • Christie's Plays
    • A.A. Milne's Mysteries
    • Poe Trivia Quiz
    • Christie Trivia Quiz
    • Sleuthing Sweethearts Quiz
  • Food
    • Candy Corn's Haunted History
    • Chowder in History and Literature
    • Gingerbread's Dark History
    • Pie's Peculiar Past
    • S'mores History
    • Short Story: Delicious Death
    • Recipes >
      • Five-Ingredient Main Dishes
      • Easy Pies and Tarts
      • Six Sweet Recipes
      • Gingerbread Cookie Recipe
  • News/Contact
  • SmorgasBlog

Costumes: Mirrors of the Soul?

7/13/2019

30 Comments

 
Cover of Crypt Suzette by Maya Corrigan with a black cat, jack o'lantern, candy corn, and shelves with books and Halloween decorationsPicture
Crypt Suzette is now available for pre-order and discounted at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Target, and BAM. 
Does a costume disguise or reveal who you really are? That question comes up in Crypt Suzette, my sixth Five-Ingredient Mystery. When Val caters a Halloween party at Bayport’s bookshop, a costume contest is part of the festivities. The contestants are supposed to dress as fictional characters. When the prizewinner, Suzette, is murdered, her competitors are suspects. Val can't help wondering if they might have something in common with the violent characters they portray: Lady Macbeth, the Phantom of the Opera, Count Dracula, and Morgan le Fay, the evil sorceress from Camelot. 
 
Val, who dresses as Nancy Drew, tells her friend Bethany, “People choose costumes that mirror their personalities.” Do you agree? Or is wearing a costume an excuse to take on a totally different personality? How do you choose a costume?

Comment by July 21st for a chance to win an advanced reader edition of Crypt Suzette.
UPDATE: The contest is over. The winner is Gail. Thank you to those who wrote about the costumes they've worn and their reasons for choosing them. It was fun to read the variety of comments. The common thread is that we express ourselves through costumes whether they represent who we are or who we would like to be. 
30 Comments

Book Clubs: Why I Love Them

7/12/2019

0 Comments

 
I enjoy visiting book clubs because ...
  • Book club members tell me if they figured out whodunit. Like most mystery writers, I spend a lot of time thinking up motives, clues, and red herrings, but did I succeed? Book club members let me know if my red herrings worked.
  • Book club members focus my attention on my writing process. Questions about how I come up with plots, structure the mystery, and lay clues make me stand back from the daily word count and reflect on what I do. Answering those questions reminds me of the big picture.  
  • Book club members ask questions about the publishing process that I couldn't answer five years ago. Now I can. It reminds me what an unexpected adventure publishing a book has been.
  • Book club members give me ideas for future books by telling me about the characters and threads they want me to explore.
And finally…
  • Book club members have made recipes from my books! So have bookshop owners. It’s an incredible treat for me, not just to eat what they’ve made, but also to hear that the recipes were quick and easy . . . and also hear their suggestions for improvement!
Picture
My neighbor's Reston Book Club
Picture
Brandeis Women's Mystery Book Club
Picture
Brandeis Women's Mystery Book Club
I like visiting book clubs even if they don't feed me and even if I do it remotely by Skype or FaceTime. Check out my Book Club page for topics of discussion about the Five-Ingredient Mysteries.
0 Comments

    Maya Corrigan

    This blog, like the books and stories I write, combines mysteries, food, trivia, and a bit of humor to leaven the grim subject of crime. Sometimes random subjects intrude here .

    Archives

    February 2022
    April 2021
    February 2021
    June 2020
    July 2019
    November 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    October 2015
    June 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    April 2014

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Book Club Questions
    Book Reviews
    Culinary Mysteries
    Fives
    Freebie
    Halloween
    Jane Austen
    Mystery History
    Poe
    Recipes
    Sleep Tips

    Contact Me

Submit
Vertical Divider
© 2023 Mary Ann Corrigan
​
​Legal Fine Print: Unless otherwise noted, I have purchased the rights to images on this site, the owner has granted free use of them, or they are in the public domain, the United States copyright having expired.
Newsletter Signup 
​
Subscribe to my seasonal newsletter for contests, discounts, and book news.
​I give away a book each time I send a newsletter. You can always unsubscribe. 
​​

powered by TinyLetter

Photo used under Creative Commons from Brett Jordan