Dear Gotham,
I’ve been writing for forty years. I’ve skipped around many genres—mystery, romance, thriller, young adult, middle grade, poems (I discovered I do not have the soul of a poet) and essays about aging, caregiving, and cancer. I was self-taught and wrote a lot of stuff that needed work. After I retired as a teacher, I finally had the time to take writing classes.
Gotham classes are great. I’ve taken five—Mystery, Romance, Humor, Short Fiction, and Novel Critique, and all have been a learning experience and an eye opener about my work. The teachers are nurturing and very cool and the peer review is amazing. Sometimes I heard comments I would have preferred not to, but no pain/no gain, even in writing.
My novel Tile M for Murder, Bella Books 2024, grew out of Gotham classes. A murder mystery, set in Chicago, with two older but wiser Lesbian sleuths. I was going for an Agatha Christie vibe with humor. I like humor in all my writing, even when there’s murder. I have three more novels in progress and in edits. I have started writing short stories again, and am enjoying my own personal development.
Thanks Gotham Writers, for helping me move my writing in a positive and successful direction.
Best Wishes to all,
Felicia Carparelli