Hi, I'm Cheryl Hagedorn, an author from Chicagoland. My book, PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder, was released in Sept. 2006. PARK RIDGE is the first in a series of Senior Center Murders which is where my blog gets its name.
I'm old enough to be part of the Silver Tsunami and to write Geezer Lit or Little Old Lady Lit with a great deal of authority :-) That said, I belong to several online senior citizen communities such as 55-Alive, Eons, Seniors Grand Central, and I Was Twice Your Age.
I blog on different topics when I'm in those communities. I also have other blogs: Life of a Writer, Thought Garden, Crimespace, Book Place, and My Time of Life.
Originally, I thought that the Senior Center Murders blog would be where I would talk about writing the mystery series and my attempts at promotion. But as I became involved with the Chicago Writers Association, I saw that I could do a service to other writers by carrying some of those private discussions into the public arena. So I began posting writing tips and places to get published. I also blog about writing and mystery conferences, getting your book into libraries, even Print on Demand publishing.
Then I moved on to interviewing authors who had accomplished the sorts of things that I wanted to do. Nearly all the authors I've interviewed write mysteries. They've shared their thoughts on plotting, character development, and finding an agent or a publisher or a publicist.
I recently hosted the first-ever BookLocker virtual magical mystery book tour with top-selling authors, Susan Waller Miccio, Peter McGinn, and M.D. Abrams. We did a full week of personal interviews followed by a week of discussions on topics of interest to writers.
I also have a section dedicated to senior citizens. I hesitated to add it at first, but after all my books are about seniors! And I also think that a lot of seniors are reading my book. So I've done some posts on the NetSational Nets Senior Dance Team, books other than mine that are about seniors, and even a recent post on an intergenerational oral history project.
I can think of several reasons, why visitors ought to come on over and visit. First, because the interviews I conduct are thoughtful. I don't ask the questions that everybody asks an author when they show up on your doorstep. A lot of the interaction is highly-focused or topical, like the back-to-back interviews with Robert Fate and Bruce Cook on working with characters.
Second, there's a real mix of content on the site. I like to think that eclectic topics rubbing shoulders with each other promotes serendipity. As you read, your mind can make connections, say between a Library Request Form and pitching retirement communities, that wouldn't happen otherwise.
Third, I'm enthusiastic and inquisitive -- my posts show it. I'm also honest. When an author says something which I think needs to be challenged, I challenge it. By the same token, I once had a comment left by an organization which was pretty much BSP. I thought that other similar orgs should have a chance to counter that with comments of their own so I sent them email notifying them.
Senior Center Murders welcomes writers, mystery authors and mystery readers, as well as fans of Geezer Lit.
Cheryl Hagedorn
Author, PARK RIDGE: A Senior Center Murder
Website: http://www.cheryltime.com/books/
