In April 2015, B.K. Stevens debuted the blog series “The First Two Pages,” hosting craft essays by short story writers and novelists analyzing the openings of their own work. The series continued until just after her death in August 2017, and the full archive of those essays can be found at Bonnie’s website. In November 2017, the blog series relocated to my website, and the archive of this second stage of the series can be found here.
This week, Skye Alexander joins us to celebrate the just recently released third novel in her Lizzie Crane Mystery Series: The Goddess of Shipwrecked Sailors. In December 1925, Crane—a New York-based jazz singer—and her band The Troubadours are invited offer some Christmas entertainment in Salem, Massachusetts. But a dead body disrupts the festivities—as do some unexpected revelations that strike close to home for Crane.
Alexander is the author of nearly 50 books—both fiction and nonfiction—including the first two novels in the Lizzie Crane series: Never Try to Catch a Falling Knife and What the Walls Know. Her first novel, Hidden Agenda, won the Kiss of Death Award. Along with Kate Flora and Susan Oleksiw, Alexander is one of the founders of Level Best Books.
Find out more about the author and her works at her website—and enjoy the introduction below Lizzie Crane and her latest adventure, available now.
Please use the arrows and controls at the bottom of the embedded PDF to navigate through the essay. You can also download the essay to read off-line.
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