What the heck is in my reference library?
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Like any author, I love buying books. I'm honestly just looking for an excuse. And because a writer's Google searches can sometimes flag the interests of certain investigative authorities - i.e., "Honestly, the searches on poison were work-related!" - it's good to have a healthy reference library in your writing office.
​
Sometimes, readers ask what I use for reference materials, so I thought I would share some of the titles in my big office bookshelf.
​
By category and in no particular order, with order links:
ABSOLUTE ESSENTIALS
(Seriously, I use these nearly every time I start a new story.)
Screenwriting Tricks for Authors and Screenwriters by Alexandra Sokoloff
The Complete Writers Guide to Heroes and Heroines by Tami Cowden, Carolyn LeFever and Sue Viders
And as I write the Mystic Bayou series, the two following books have been absolutely invaluable:
Monsters You Should Know by Emma Sancartier
The Mythical Creatures Bible by Brenda Rosen
​
​
WRITING CRAFT
Before anyone thinks I’m all fancy and cerebral, a good number of these were textbooks for my master’s of fine arts program.
The Writers Workshop by Alan Zeigler
Released into Language by Wendy Bishop
Writers Guide to Character Traits by Linda Edelstein
Stealing Hollywood by Alexandra Sokoloff
How to Write a Selling Screenplay by Christopher Keane
Lew Hunter’s Screenwriting 434 by Lew Hunter
Writers Workshop of Horror by Michael Knost
Adventures in Screen Trade by William Goldman
The Elements of Grammar by Margaret Shertzer
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Brown and Dave King
​
The Cambridge Companion to Popular Fiction by David Glover and Scott McCracken
​
The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman
​
Teaching Young Adult Literature: Developing Students as World Citizens
Young Adult Fiction: From Romance to Realism by Michael Cart
​
The Critical Merits of Young Adult Fiction, Edited by Crag Hill
​
Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell
​
​
SUPERNATURAL STUFF
10,000 Ghost Stories by Lisa K. Webster and Jason Hook
Black Cats and Evil Eyes by Chloe Rhodes
A Field Guide to Demons, Fairies, Fallen Angels, and Other
Subversive Spirits by Carol K. Mack and Dinah Mack
Wicca: A Guide for The Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham
To Ride a Silver Broomstick by Silver RavenWolf
The Complete Book of Spells, Curses and Magical Recipes by Leonard R.N. Ashley
Giants, Monsters and Legends by Carol Rose
The Penguin Book of Witches by Katherine Howe
Don’t Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth Davis
Wisconsin's Most Haunted by Craig Nehring
Haunted Michigan by Gerald S. Hunter
​
Michigan Haunts by John Milan, Gail Offen and Rev. Gerald S. Hunter
​
Michigan's Haunted Lighthouses by Diana Higgs Stampfler
​
​
World's Scariest Places by Centennial Writers
​
Haunts of Mackinac by Todd Clement​
​​​
​
RANDOM STUFF
Young Witches and Warlocks by Isaac Asimov and Others
​
Forbidden Knowledge: 101 Things NOT Everyone Should Know How to Do by Michael Powell
Forbidden Knowledge Sex: 101 Sensual Acts NOT Everyone Should Know How to Do by Claire Bailey
​​
Gypsy Law: Romani Tradition and Culture by Walter Weyrauch
World Mythology in Bite Sized Chunks by Mark Daniels
Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by WB Yeats
Greek Legends and Stories by MV Seton-Williams
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
Myths and Legends by Jake Jackson
Myth and Legends by Phillip Wilkinson
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Mythology by Arthur Cotterell
Bad Girls Throughout History by Ann Shen
Sacred Crystals by Hazel Raven
​
The Illustrate History of Weaponry by Chuck Wills
Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide by Rosemary Gladstar
​
MURDER MYSTERY MATERIALS
​
(If you're going to write murder mysteries, but you don't want to write graphic violence, you better know about poisons.)
The Science of Murder: The Forensics of Agatha Christie by Carla Valentine
A Is For Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup
​
Plants that Kill: A Natural History of the World's Most Poisonous Plants by Elizabeth A. Dauncey
​
Death in the Garden by Michael Brown
​
Gardening Can Be Murder by Marta McDowell
​
Poison: A History of Powders, Potions and Murderous Practitioners by Ben Hubbard
The League of Lady Poisoners by Lisa Perrin
​
​
​
​
(I swear I tried to spell every title and author name correctly, but if I made mistakes, please forgive me.)
