Notes from the writer
Thoughts on researching and writing BELLE, a bit about Belle Gunness herself, a smattering of 1890s history, and the writing life
Best books of 2025
Permission to give up on books meant reading more books and enjoying them more. It meant I moved on to something I could finish apace rather than trying to slog through something I hated.
Feel the glory of a good thing
When Sally Field exclaimed, “You like me!” at the 1985 Oscars, she meant it as a reminder to take the time to appreciate successes, to "feel the glory of a good thing."
Location, location, location
How do authors write about a place they’ve never been to — and make it seem real?
When resolutions lead you astray…
I’m not usually a resolution maker but Belle is, and the one she makes at the beginning of BELLE sets the story in motion.
Belle Gunness and her murder farm
Belle Gunness, notorious 19th century serial killer who used lonely hearts ads to lure men to her Indiana “murder farm”
Who is Eden Francis Compton, anyway?
In which I explain who Eden Francis Compton is and who wrote BELLE (spoiler: me, J.G. Duby)