Sign in

Debra H. Goldstein

@debrahgoldstein.bsky.social
258 followers 182 following 45 posts

Author of mystery novels and short stories, former judge, mother of twins, stepmother, and widow are just some of the words used to describe me. But then again, as my personal blog says, "It's Not Always a Mystery."

PostsRepliesMedia
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Once a Mystery, Always a Mystery? By TG Wolff - www.debrahgoldstein.com/once-a-myste...
debrahgoldstein.com
Once a Mystery, Always a Mystery? By TG Wolff - Debra H. Goldstein
Did you know “Mystery”, the genre we all know and love, wasn’t a genre in the early 1800s?  There was romance (which did not mean what it does today) and horror (which does mean what it does today), h...
000
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
SETTING BASED ON REAL LIFE by Valerie (V. M.) Burns - www.debrahgoldstein.com/setting-base...
debrahgoldstein.com
SETTING BASED ON REAL LIFE by Valerie (V. M.) Burns - Debra H. Goldstein
People often ask me where I get my ideas for my books. A lot of my ideas come from real life. Yes, I write murder mysteries, but that doesn’t mean that I have been involved with murders. Sometimes a b...
000
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Why There? Because Settings Matter by Mary Lee Ashford - www.debrahgoldstein.com/why-there-be...
debrahgoldstein.com
Why There? Because Settings Matter by Mary Lee Ashford - Debra H. Goldstein
Why is “Murder She Wrote” set in Cabot Cove, Maine? Probably first and foremost because the creators of the popular series wanted a charming backdrop that provided a plausible home for a retired teach...
000
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Terror in the Research Rabbit hole --- a blog by Anne Louise Bannon on It's Not Always a Mystery www.debrahgoldstein.com/terror-in-th...
debrahgoldstein.com
TERROR IN THE RESEARCH RABBIT HOLE by Anne Louise Bannon - Debra H. Goldstein
“Relax,” said the librarian in the history department at the Los Angeles Public Library. “If you can’t find it, probably no one else can.” Probably. Hmmmmm. Probably doesn’t mean won’t, and knowing my...
000
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Query, Query, Quite Contrary by Dianna Sinovic - www.debrahgoldstein.com/query-query-...
debrahgoldstein.com
Query, Query, Quite Contrary by Dianna Sinovic - Debra H. Goldstein
Four million books entered the marketplace worldwide last year, and at least some of them entered their path to publication via a query letter, addressed to either a literary agent or a publisher.  A ...
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Why Mysteries? by Saralyn Richard - www.debrahgoldstein.com/why-mysterie...
debrahgoldstein.com
Why Mysteries? by Saralyn Richard - Debra H. Goldstein
In 2018, I wrote my first mystery novel, MURDER IN THE ONE PERCENT. In the months after the book launched, I took it on a whirlwind tour of ten U.S. cities, where I met with people at bookstores, libr...
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
www.debrahgoldstein.com/echoes-from-...
debrahgoldstein.com
Echoes from Childhood by Lynn Slaughter - Debra H. Goldstein
Years ago, I attended a presentation on young adult fiction at a writer’s conference in which the speaker exhorted us to “get parents out of the way” and relegate them to the periphery of our stories....
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Josh Pachter, editor of the new anthology, Hot Shots: Celebrating Thirty Years of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, talks about its included stories, each representing one per year since SMFS began giving the Derringer award, on It's Not Always a mystery. www.debrahgoldstein.com/the-short-my...
debrahgoldstein.com
The Short Mystery Fiction Society Celebrates its 30th Anniversary by Josh Pachter - Debra H. Goldstein
This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Level Best Books is publishing Hot Shots: Celebrating Thirty Years of the Short Mystery Fiction Soc...
011
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Kelly Oliver addresses Writing historical fiction today on It's Not Always a Mystery www.debrahgoldstein.com/what-ive-lea...
debrahgoldstein.com
What I’ve Learned Writing Historical Fiction by Kelly Oliver - Debra H. Goldstein
I love reading historical mysteries-Elizabeth Peters’ Amelia Peabody, Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins, Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs, Susan Elia MacNeal’s Maggie Hope, Rhys Bowen’s Georgiana Rannoch...
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
When writing (fiction) and real life (motherhood) intersect - www.debrahgoldstein.com/one-mom-life...
debrahgoldstein.com
ONE MOM LIFE…TWO SERIES! by Kathleen Marple Kalb - Debra H. Goldstein
It took me a long time to become brave enough to write about motherhood. The first mystery I tried to sell featured a main character who was a young single woman, a lot like me a couple decades ago. W...
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
The Beauty of the Amateur in Solving Crimes by Valerie (V.M.) Burns - www.debrahgoldstein.com/the-beauty-o...
debrahgoldstein.com
The Beauty of the Amateur in Solving Crimes by Valerie (V.M.) Burns - Debra H. Goldstein
One of the key components of cozy mysteries is the use of the “amateur sleuth.” Amateur sleuths are usually female, who are not paid to solve crimes. They’re not trained members of law enforcement, no...
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Think about the rituals that help spur you to write (or relax).... Yours and other writers as detailed by Joanne Guidoccio www.debrahgoldstein.com/all-about-ri...
debrahgoldstein.com
All About Rituals by Joanne Guidoccio - Debra H. Goldstein
Rituals are about creating space in time, in our surroundings, and in our own minds. They give us a sense of predictability while still leaving room for creativity and flexibility. Something I already...
011
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
The Choice I Made by Joanna Campbell Slan - www.debrahgoldstein.com/the-choice-i...
debrahgoldstein.com
The Choice I Made by Joanna Campbell Slan - Debra H. Goldstein
Keep breathing. That’s what I told myself despite the immense pain radiating through my chest and shoulders. I hadn’t expected to come out of surgery and feel like I was being crushed alive. The nurse...
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Lessons Learned—and Discovered by James M. Jackson - www.debrahgoldstein.com/lessons-lear...
debrahgoldstein.com
Lessons Learned—and Discovered by James M. Jackson - Debra H. Goldstein
I promised when I created my second series, Niki Undercover Thrillers, that I would make my writing life easier. I particularly wanted to improve ease of marketing the series. Turns out my stories hav...
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
KNIFE RIVER: CRIME FICTION & MUSIC - WHEN ARTFORMS INTERSECT by Baron Birtcher - www.debrahgoldstein.com/knife-river-...
debrahgoldstein.com
KNIFE RIVER: CRIME FICTION & MUSIC - WHEN ARTFORMS INTERSECT by Baron Birtcher - Debra H. Goldstein
In recent months, I have been doing a number of talks and signings in support of the release of the newest installment of the Will Rogers Medallion award-winning Sheriff Ty Dawson crime thriller serie...
030
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Sharing a post by S. C. Merritt on how important it is for writers to surround themselves with kindred souls (posted on It's Not Always a Mystery) www.debrahgoldstein.com/cozy-co-the-...
debrahgoldstein.com
COZY & CO. – The Importance of Surrounding Yourself With Kindred Souls by S. C. Merritt - Debra H. Goldstein
When I began my author adventure in 2020 at the ripe, old age of 58, I decided I may have been ripe, but I wasn’t expired. But I was clueless. And when I say that, I mean I was winging it in every asp...
030
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Writers can write dark because of the light in their lives that support them... Bobby Mathews explains it best. www.debrahgoldstein.com/the-light-en...
debrahgoldstein.com
The Light Enables Mystery Writers to Explore the Dark by Bobby Mathews - Debra H. Goldstein
Here’s a surprising twist on crime and mystery writers that you might not know: these writers who deal with some of the darkest crimes that the human mind can conjure are also some of the nicest peopl...
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Two Truths and a Lie: What Being a Veterinarian Taught Me About Writing Cozy Mysteries by DL Mitchell - www.debrahgoldstein.com/two-truths-a...
debrahgoldstein.com
Two Truths and a Lie: What Being a Veterinarian Taught Me About Writing Cozy Mysteries by DL Mitchell - Debra H. Goldstein
When people hear I’m both a veterinarian and a cozy mystery author, their eyes widen. A veterinary career is surprisingly great training for writing about amateur sleuths, quirky characters, and hidde...
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Writing What You Know, Or Writing What You Want to Know by Carl Vonderau - www.debrahgoldstein.com/writing-what...
debrahgoldstein.com
Writing What You Know, Or Writing What You Want to Know by Carl Vonderau - Debra H. Goldstein
You’re supposed to write about what you know. So what do you do if you’re a banker and you write about crime? You have to make up a few things if you want to keep your job. In my first book, Murderabi...
031
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
Amazing author Lynn Cahoon talks about Keeping Track of Chaos on It's Not Always a Mystery www.debrahgoldstein.com/keeping-trac...
debrahgoldstein.com
Keeping Track of Chaos by Lynn Cahoon - Debra H. Goldstein
Author Lynn Cahoon shares her system for taming the chaos of publishing with planning, goals, and organization.
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
Delighted to welcome Maddie Day/Edith Maxwell to It's Not Always a Mystery today. She's writing about what all authors face with their publishers "Will They or Won't They" www.debrahgoldstein.com/will-they-or...
debrahgoldstein.com
Will They or Won’t They? By Maddie Day/Edith Maxwell - Debra H. Goldstein
Mac Almeida investigates a Halloween murder in Maddie Day’s 7th Cozy Capers mystery, Murder at Cape Costumers.
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
With Miranda James' new book, Something Whiskered being released, it's a treat to find out how reading the world influenced its writing.
debrahgoldstein.com
Reading the World by Miranda James - Debra H. Goldstein
Author Miranda James shares how travel and books inspired his new Ireland-set mystery, Something Whiskered.
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
Animals in cozy mysteries... or any writing? Here's how it worked for author Sharon Marchisello www.debrahgoldstein.com/animals-in-c...
debrahgoldstein.com
Animals in Cozy Mysteries by Sharon Marchisello - Debra H. Goldstein
Cozy mystery with cats—both feral and pet. Trap, Neuter, Die tackles murder, rescue, and flawed animal laws in small-town Georgia.
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Desire or desperation, revenge or retribution-how far would you go? Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers: 22 stories of Mystery & Suspense. On It's Not Always a Mystery, Editor Judy Penz Sheluk tells what it took for her story to be accepted. www.debrahgoldstein.com/a-foolproof-...
debrahgoldstein.com
A Foolproof Plan by Judy Penz Sheluk - Debra H. Goldstein
Judy Penz Sheluk shares the 5-year journey behind her story A Foolproof Plan, featured in Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers.
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
A Foolproof Plan by Judy Penz Sheluk - www.debrahgoldstein.com/a-foolproof-...
debrahgoldstein.com
A Foolproof Plan by Judy Penz Sheluk - Debra H. Goldstein
Judy Penz Sheluk shares the 5-year journey behind her story A Foolproof Plan, featured in Midnight Schemers & Daydream Believers.
000
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Curious South – Or Five Weird Things About My Writing by Lexi George - www.debrahgoldstein.com/curious-sout...
debrahgoldstein.com
Curious South – Or Five Weird Things About My Writing by Lexi George - Debra H. Goldstein
Explore Lexi George's quirky writing process: supernatural oddities, hair fetishes, Southern food, and unexpected character appearances.
010
Reposted by Debra H. Goldstein
SinC Desert Sleuths @desertsleuths.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Join us for a fun evening... Let's Make a Mystery! Panelists will create a mystery based on the setting, characters, & weapon you provide. Moderator: @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social Panelists: @evaeldridge.bsky.social, @sarahwriter.bsky.social, & Sue Flaig. Register at desertsleuths.com #amwriting
Text: 
Let's Make a Mystery! 
Wed, June 18, 6p-7:30p MST
Panelists will create a mystery based on the setting, characters, and weapon you provide.
Moderated by Debra H. Goldstein, Panelists: Eva Eldridge, Sue Flaig, Sarah Smith (Editors for SoWest: Danger Awaits!
Register at https://desertsleuths.com

Images: Desert Sleuths logo, sleuth icon, magnifying glass icon.
011
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Family Ties and Writing Inspiration by Ann Michelle Harris - www.debrahgoldstein.com/family-ties-...
debrahgoldstein.com
Family Ties and Writing Inspiration by Ann Michelle Harris - Debra H. Goldstein
As writers we want to tell compelling stories to keep readers turning the pages. One way to do that is to use universal themes to connect emotionally. Whether your primary story is violently intense o...
021
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
On Writers Who Kill, I address what's going on for all of us who write.......
writerswhokill.blogspot.com
The Times They Are A-Changing by Debra H. Goldstein
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Sometimes it takes a little longer for that first book, but then the deadlines......a former law enforcement officer's perspective on the trajectory of her career and balancing it now. www.debrahgoldstein.com/writing-unde...
debrahgoldstein.com
Writing Under The Gun by Cindy Goyette - Debra H. Goldstein
When I wrote my first book, I did so with a gun on my hip. I worked at the New York/Quebec border for ICE (although it wasn't called that then). I routinely volunteered to work the least favorite shif...
000
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
If rooms could talk... or can they? www.debrahgoldstein.com/if-walls-cou...
debrahgoldstein.com
If Walls Could Talk: Historic Houses in Crime Fiction by Kate Michaelson - Debra H. Goldstein
Old homes have always fascinated me. Maybe it's because I grew up in a hundred-year old farmhouse hearing stories about those who lived there long before our family. I remember looking at the towering...
161
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
The Gift that Keeps on Giving by Carmen Amato - www.debrahgoldstein.com/the-gift-tha...
debrahgoldstein.com
The Gift that Keeps on Giving by Carmen Amato - Debra H. Goldstein
"If the police show up, make sure you're holding the package." The fellow CIA officer prepping me to meet a deep cover agent wasn't trying to scare me, although he sure succeeded. No, he was simply be...
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Reviews and Reviewer Opinions by Debra H. Goldstein susanvankirk.com/reviews-and-...
susanvankirk.com
Reviews and Reviewer Opinions by Debra H. Goldstein - Susan Van Kirk
Authors are often told not to read reviews. I don’t fully subscribe to that philosophy because I believe that there is something to be gained from reviews and learning what impresses a given reviewer....
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Congrats to Bethany Maines on her new rom-com book, Elevator Ride - the first in a new series! www.debrahgoldstein.com/release-day-...
debrahgoldstein.com
Release Day by Bethany Maines - Debra H. Goldstein
Today is the official release day for Elevator Ride- Book 1 of the Valkyrie Brothers Trilogy-an action-packed, age-gap, rom-com mystery! For me, "release day" always conjures visions of a novel in a c...
000
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
How to Write a Complex Plot by Maggie Toussaint aka Valona Jones - www.debrahgoldstein.com/how-to-write...
debrahgoldstein.com
How to Write a Complex Plot by Maggie Toussaint aka Valona Jones - Debra H. Goldstein
It is an accomplishment to write the first draft of a book, but it is an even greater feat to polish that book into something that sparkles. This post is written by a mystery author, but elements of i...
040
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Working on a short story, but being distracted by some very nice weather (after some very stormy times) here in Alabama. How are things where you are?
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Loved waking up to award winning Victoria Weisfeld's review of With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying - my newly published collection of short stories (White City Press) vweisfeld.com?p=11344
vweisfeld.com
With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying
I must have gained ten pounds reading this collection of short stories by Debra H. Goldstein. Though she was raised in New Jersey and Michigan (and is an alumna of my alma mater, the University of …
031
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
www.debrahgoldstein.com/living-in-in...
debrahgoldstein.com
Living in Interesting Times by Lois Winston - Debra H. Goldstein
We live in interesting times. Then again, I suppose all times have been and always will be interesting in one way or another. I'm someone who has always found plots and characters for my books in curr...
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Today, I'm visiting BOLO Books to contrasting writing novels and short stories and works that are dark or light from an author's perspective. bolobooks.com/2025/02/debr...
bolobooks.com
Debra H Goldstein on Writing Long and Short and Light and Dark – A BOLO Books Guest Post
From the Booking Desk: I have been friends with Debra Goldstein for years, even working “for” her when she was heading the Sister In Crime Counting Project a number of years back. So I …
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying by Debra H. Goldstein - www.debrahgoldstein.com/with-our-bel...
debrahgoldstein.com
With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying by Debra H. Goldstein - Debra H. Goldstein
I write long and short – novels and short stories. Most writers prefer one to the other because they require different skills, but I really enjoy the challenge of both. One problem with writing short ...
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying released Feb. 4 by White City Press! Available from the publisher and wherever you buy print or e-books. Eighteen stories of families and friends, their sins and sometimes redemption. Many won prizes or were finalists for Agatha, Anthony, or Derringer awards.
111
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
Had fun at Murder in the Magic City and Murder on the Menu. The authors were great - many will guest blog for me this coming year - and best of all, the publisher got copies of With Our Bellies Full and the Fire Dying (a collection of eighteen short stories) there 2 days before its release.
010
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Murder in the Magic City (Birmingham, AL) and Murder on the Menu (Wetumpka, AL) - reader oriented conferences Feb 1 and 2. I'm a panelist with Lynn Cahoon and Kelly Adamson-featured guests:Miranda James and Diane Kelly. wetumpkalibrary.com/friends-of-t... and www.mmcmysteryconference.com
020
Debra H. Goldstein @debrahgoldstein.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Delighted to announce that I'm here! Crime fiction author (novels and short stories), former judge, mother of twins, and stepmother are just a few words used to describe me, but like my personal blog says, "It's Not Always a Mystery." www.debrahgoldstein.com
debrahgoldstein.com
Debra H. Goldstein | Author of the Sarah Blair Mysteries
Debra H. Goldstein is the author of the Sarah Blair Mysteries. New Release! Four Cuts Too Many is Out Now!
160