Why I Treasure My Writing Group - Guest Post!
- J.H. Jones
- Oct 21
- 4 min read
Welcome, Marilyn Levinson! On October 21, Marilyn, a prolific and award-winning author, launches her new Books on the Beach Mystery series with DEATH ON DICKENS ISLAND (writing as Allison Brook). This latest book is a delightful paranormal cozy mystery, with lovable characters in an engaging setting--features for which Allison Brook is famous. (You might be familiar with the very popular Haunted Library series.) Marilyn is active on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Enjoy updates about her newest series, as well as pictures of her kitties, Romeo and Juliet!
Sitting down at my computer every day to work on my current novel is a solitary activity--except when one of my kitties comes meowing, demanding attention. But after writing twenty-six novels, there are many times when I need input from other writers. Perhaps it's a grammar question, or one regarding a law that might impact one of my characters. Often it's the need for camaraderie--sharing a joke or simply knowing that my writer friends are doing exactly what I'm doing.
I started writing many years ago, when writers mailed manuscripts to agents and editors, and there was no such thing as email. My first book sale was a children's book. While attending a conference, a speaker mentioned that she belonged to a writers' group. As soon as she finished her talk, I hurried over to her to ask about her group. She told me some published children's book authors got together to talk about writing and publishing children's books. She invited me to attend the next meeting, and I was a member for many years. Though the group has disbanded, I'm still close friends with one of my fellow authors.
The situation was quite different when I started writing mysteries over twenty years ago. I joined Sisters in Crime and the subgroup called the Guppies. (The Great Unpublished) By then, email was available, and with email came instant communication. A few of us unpublished writers banded together to critique and share information about agents, publishers, etc. That group morphed into another and it's still going strong today.
We seven members live scattered across North America. And yes, we're all published authors. When one of us asks for help regarding a plot problem, we offer suggestions and solutions. Invariably, one comment turns out to be the perfect solution. Or our suggestions inspire the writer with the plot problem to come up with a solution of her own.
We help each other in many other ways: suggesting book titles, coming up with a theme for a new series, resolving grammar questions. When my publisher asked me to create a pseudonym, I asked the other members which of five names they liked best. Allison Brook was the winner.
It's no surprise that we've become very close friends. We commiserate when one of us learns that her series won't be continued. We celebrate when someone's received an outstanding five-star review. We know about each others lives. We share photos of grandkids and pets, and give each other advice about other kinds of problems. We recommend books and TV shows. Three of us report daily on our writing output. Since there's no sense of competition, we never hesitate to say we didn't write one word that day and why.
Being a member of my mystery writing group is something I treasure. It's wonderful sharing my day-to-day news with people who understand exactly what I am experiencing.
A former Spanish teacher, Marilyn Levinson writes mysteries, novels of suspense, and books for kids. Her books have received many accolades. As Allison Brook she writes the Haunted Library series. Death Overdue, the first in the series, was an Agatha nominee for Best Contemporary Novel. Death on Dickens Island, the first book in her new series, has been released this October. Other mysteries include the Golden Age of Mystery Book Club series, the Twin Lakes series, and Giving Up the Ghost. Her suspense, Come Home to Death, was released in April, 2024, and her suspense, Dangerous Relations, has been republished.
Marilyn's juvenile novel, Rufus and Magic Run Amok, was an International Reading Association-Children's Book Council Children's Choice and has come out in a new edition. Books two and three in the series, Rufus and the Witch's Drudge and Rufus and the Dark Side of Magic have been released. And Don't Bring Jeremy was a nominee for six state awards. Her YA horror, The Devil's Pawn, came out in a new edition last year.
Marilyn lives on Long Island, where many of her books take place. She loves traveling, reading, doing crossword puzzles and Sudoku, chatting on FaceTime with her grandkids and playing with her kitties, Romeo and Juliet.
Connect with Marilyn at https://www.marilynlevinson.com/, and you can purchase her latest mystery here:
Or visit Amazon here.
Thanks for this post! I too treasure my writing critique group. The four of us are SinC indie authors experienced in writing and publishing a mystery/suspense/thriller series. Our geographical locations and our sub-genres are different, but our feedback to each other is so valuable. We post our submissions of about 5,000 words on our shared Google drive for written feedback, then meet on Zoom every two weeks to discuss the feedback. Like your group, we also share ideas on publishing and marketing. The accountability keeps us writing and even if we're traveling, we rarely miss a submission.