Or is it? These websites are devoted to untangling the twister that is mystery writing:

I Love a Mystery

Mystery Ink

Historical Mystery Fiction

Clue Lass

Bastulli Mystery Library

Long before I ever dreamed up The Hazards of Hunting a Duke, a teacher told my class that the reason we should appreciate history is because we, as a society, can't know where we are going unless we know from where we have come.

I was a cocky, sure-footed 29-year-old when I sent my Godmother a tear sheet from one of the celebrity magazines I wrote for. I was proud of it, in that Los Angeles, I'm-so-important-now kind of way. I was a writer working in the entertainment industry. It just didn't get any better than that. I was hob-knobbing with teen idols, movie and TV stars, rock 'n' roll bands, and had access to any backstage area I chose. Life was good.

I was starting to feel like Milton from Office Space, the character who walks around mumbling, "I... I... I could set the building on fire." Ten years in advertising can do that to you. Finally, one ordinary February day in Chicago, I came home and told my wife I was fantasizing about smuggling an automatic weapon into work. We split a bottle of wine and discussed options that didn't involve jail time. By the end of the night, I'd decided to quit.

So when are you getting married? Subconsciously the idea for my book My Invisible Husband developed from hearing the question one too many times. It tells the tale of one woman's desperate attempt to stop this age-old question posed to all women at some point in their lives.

Being over 30, single and having no kids, people automatically assume the book is about my life. Those things are the few similarities I have with the 34 year old fictional character Nicolette (Nikki) Montana. My Invisible Husband is fiction and strictly a figment of my vivid imagination. Women who have had well meaning family members and friends invade their personal life can probably relate to Nikki and her plight.

This much every writer knows is true: You don't get better by working in vacuum. You need feedback, criticism, a good ripping apart of your page every now and again. So where to find this kind of writerly tough love? (Gentle, too!) Author Julie Smith offers an innovative answer -- over the phone. A New Orleans resident and veteran writer, Julie began her career as a newspaper reporter and has won the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award for her mystery novels. She now teaches "distance learning" writing courses called WritersTrack, where students across the globe get on a conference call and get writing! We spoke to Julie about how to get the most out of writing instruction.