Mark Bell
@typewritermark
Cozy mystery author. Two series on Patreon: Motte & Bailey (British detectives + archaeology) & Blackstone Mysteries (campus secrets). Free Preview Available! Co-host @mysterymaniacs
Eric Monroe showed up in Maggie's doorway. What followed was equal parts terrifying and heartbreaking. Chapter 14 is live. Did you trust him? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor
Chapter 14 is live. A vodka bottle, a frightened mother, and a young man who almost said too much. Zara and Gordon got out with more than they came with. What did you make of Angela? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor
Maggie just wanted coffee and answers. She got both, plus a crooked tie, a hug, and the name Eric Monroe waiting in her darkened doorway. Chapter 13 is here. What do you think Eric wants? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor
They have a name. Liam Gibb. And Bailey already knows exactly how to play him. New chapter, new suspect, and the partnership is clicking into something real. What kind of character detail pulled you in most this chapter? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor
David came over to look at old documents. He left having joined a standing Thursday game night. Something about men in doorways used to mean trouble. Not tonight. Chapter 12 is live. What pulled you in this week? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor
Bailey set up the incident room before Motte arrived. He stared at it and said nothing for a long time. Chapter 12 is up. Are you a talk-it-out person or a silence person? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor
Maggie told herself it was just a dog walk. Reader, it was not just a dog walk. Chapter 11 of The Blackstone Chronicles is live. Have you ever rationalized your way into a terrible decision one small step at a time? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor #TheBlackstoneChronicles #SerialFiction
The peril problem: how to write cozy mysteries with real stakes without the buckets of blood. I'm genuinely uncertain about where the line is. Do you know? Read this and tell me. https://open.substack.com/pub/markbellauthor/p/the-peril-problem
Ava's kitchen changes things. Tea, a hurt farmer, a tattoo Zara wasn't meant to see, and a whispered ask she wasn't expecting. Chapter 11 lands differently. What did you make of the laugh at the end? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor #MotteBaileyMysteries
Long day, new lead, and then one more thing. Chapter 10 is out now. Which thread are you most curious about following? #MotteBaileyMysteries
Maggie didn't plan on crying in the back bedroom. She didn't plan on finding a lead, either. Chapter 9 is quiet, warm, and moving fast under the surface. What did you make of Lawrence showing up? #BlackstoneChronicles
One of my mystery series is set in a made-up Kent village. The other is set in the real Bloomington, Indiana building where I actually work. Two very different creative problems. New post on the differences. Which setting would you rather visit? open.substack.com/pub/markbell...
Gordon and Zara are finally inside the trench. The mosaic, the artifacts, the shovel in the weeds. Chapter 9 is where the case gets real. How are you holding up with these two? #MotteBaileyMysteries #BritishCrime #SerialFiction #CozyCrime #IndiePublishing #PlagueDoctorPress
Monday mornings look different when you write mysteries on the side. Coffee first, day job second, murder third. The order matters. How does your week start? patreon.com/markbellauthor
No death certificate. No grave. Not even a name in the cemetery records. Mary Macleroy has been erased. Chapter 8 of The Blackstone Chronicles is up. What do you think that means? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor #TheBlackstoneChronicles #SerialFiction
Neither of these books was supposed to be about food. New post on Substack about the accidental food thread. What mystery series does food really well? https://open.substack.com/pub/markbellauthor/p/i-didnt-mean-to-write-about-food?r=6ow3cm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Seven witnesses. 7 people who loved her. Either someone is lying beautifully, or Dr. Sharma had a secret that got her killed. Also, Mrs. Jenkins brought sausage rolls. Who do you think she was laughing with that night? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor #MotteBaileyMystery #serialfiction
COZY TROPE ALERT: Who has it out for the detective's parents? Can they have supportive parents who like their job? Half the time, they are not even there? Examples? patreon.com/markbellauthor
COZY TROPE ALERT: Why does every detective duo have to fall in love? Can't detectives work together and not be romantically linked? Do they solve crimes with locked lips? Examples? patreon.com/markbellauthor
She lied to make a grieving girl feel better, then cried alone in a parking lot. Chapter 7 wrecked us. Have you ever told a kind lie to protect someone? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor #TheBlackstoneChronicles #SerialFiction
Chapter 7 is live. Motte tries to explain partnership using a hockey metaphor. Bailey almost walks away. It actually works. Have you ever had someone reach you in an unexpected way? https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor #MotteBaileyMysteries #serialfiction
New week. Two novels. One very tired but extremely motivated writer in Bloomington, Indiana. Here's what I keep reminding myself: 100+ people showed up for this. That's not nothing. That's everything, actually. What's getting you through your Monday today? patreon.com/markbellauthor
Somewhere between chapter 7 and chapter 8 of both novels, I've started talking to my characters out loud. Not sure if that's a sign I'm deep in the work or just deep in it. Either way, they're not talking back yet. Which is probably fine. patreon.com/markbellauthor
It's Saturday morning, and I'm at my desk with coffee, two open manuscripts, and absolutely no idea which detective I'm supposed to be writing right now. This is the dream, by the way. What does your ideal writing-adjacent Saturday look like? patreon.com/markbellauthor
Chapter 6 of Blackstone Mysteries is out today on Patreon. Free preview available. https://www.patreon.com/cw/MarkBellAuthor #cozymystery #cozymysteryreads #mysteryreads #serialfiction #patreon
Chapter 6 is up. The interview with Wellington goes longer than planned, a rare Roman find changes everything, and Motte realizes too late that partners need a plan. Who do you trust more right now, Motte or Bailey? #MotteBaileyMysteries
Thank you to all Substack followers and especially Patreons! Your support for my work, through your comments and generosity, is really touching! patreon.com/markbellauthor
A behind-the-scenes post just went out to Patreon subscribers talking about Chapter 5s, what I was actually trying to do with both of them, and how we're going to celebrate hitting Chapter 10. If you're already there, go check it out. https://www.patreon.com/posts/thoughts-on-5s-157080296