Month: January 2014
Writing Challenge 26
This month’s challenge is related to this Friday’s cocktail (1/31/14). To spark your creativity, The Poisoned Martini features monthly images to get you started. Such images, because of their visual nature, vividly speak to writers and spark ideas for writing. The idea is to view the image below and to write a scene, a short… Read More ›
Friday Cocktail
Vive France with this Friday’s cocktail, the Napoleon. This classic cocktail has been around since the 1920s, having been invented by famed bartender Henry Craddock at the Savoy Hotel in London. The drink named for Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 – 1821) makes use of the quinine aperitif Dubonnet, which was first created for the French Foreign… Read More ›
The Mermaid’s Singing
The Mermaids Singing is a very well-craftet, taut psychological thriller in which a very careful, organized serial killer stalks the streets of Bradfield, a fictional northern England city. It is not a story, however, for everyone. The story opens with a murderer vactioning in Italy and visiting “the one tourist attration I really wanted to see.” The Museo… Read More ›
Famous Detectives
Here’s a new link to check out, Famous Detectives. This index of detectives, fictional and real, may not be exhaustive, but it does cover a number of well-known sleuths separated by category. Detective categories include: private investigators, amateurs, police, medical examiner, and TV sleuths. Each sleuth is given a bio page of sorts with info about… Read More ›
Interview with Mystery Author Duffy Brown
Today, The Poisoned Martini is privileged to be speaking with author Duffy Brown, author of the consignment shop mysteries, Iced Chiffon (2012) and Killer in Crinolines (2013). Her third book in the series, Pearls and Poison, is due out in March 2014. *** The Poisoned Martini: Hello, Duffy, tell us a little about your forthcoming… Read More ›
25,000 Hits!
Earlier today, The Poisoned Martini achieved a milestone … 25,000 hits! So what were the popular posts of the day leading up to this achievement? Info about a cozy mystery site; reviews of two movies, Murder on the Blackboard and Topper Returns; a Friday cocktail, the Green Dragon; and trolls. In light of this milestone achievement, I would… Read More ›
Friday Cocktail
This Friday’s cocktail is steeped in history and a favorite of queens. Try the Dubonnet cocktail! Dubonnet is an aperitif wine containing quinine. It was invented as part of a contest to encourage French Foreign legionnaires, serving in North Africa, to fortify themselves with quinine as a means to combat malaria. Thus, in 1846, Jospeh… Read More ›
Enter a Murderer
As the brief foreword warns, we will know the identity of the murderer early on. Or do we? The scene is set. Actors play out their roles in The Rat and the Beaver on the London stage, but behind the scenes, they have hidden agendas. In front of a live audience, including Chief Detective Inspector… Read More ›
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