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Frequently Asked Questions
If you don't see what you're looking for below, please click here to send your questions straight to Mindy. Thanks!  Will there be any more books in the Million Dollar Mysteries series?Will there be any more books in the Smart Chick Mystery series?Do I have to read these series in order?Why did you write a nonfiction book? Aren't you primarily a fiction author?I just read The House That Cleans Itself, and I died laughing over the messy house stories. But, come on, are they all true?Where is the email from Callie to Harriet about Tom?When will your next book be coming out, and what is it?Are any of your books available in hard cover? In large print? On tape or CD? In other languages?I heard you also write plays. How can I find out more about them for my church or school?In The Buck Stops Here, you predicted the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina more than a year before it actually happened. How?Can you speak to my church or civic group?Will you critique my manuscript?Will you donate a book to my organization?How do I get a novel published?You mention going to writers conferences. Are there any that you recommend?Do you go to these conferences yourself?Do you have resources for my book club?Where do you get your ideas?Are your characters based on real people?How can I get my book autographed by you?If I send you an email, will you write back?How can I help you?Can't you write any faster?
Will there be any more books in the Million Dollar Mysteries series? That series has five books in all: A Penny for Your Thoughts, Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels, A Dime a Dozen, A Quarter for a Kiss, and The Buck Stops Here. My publisher and I have talked about revisiting Callie and Tom in the future, though it would be at least a few years down the line. So this may be the end forever, or it may be the end just for now. We'll have to wait and see. Personally, I'd love to pick up about five years after I left off and do three or four more in a row, with the two of them solving mysteries together. (One reader suggested I write one called Million Dollar Baby, which sounds like a great idea to me!) Certainly, their story continues in my imagination, as it may in yours. If you'd like to see more Million Dollar Mysteries, send me that in an email and I'll be happy to forward it along to my publisher. 
Will there be any more books in the Smart Chick Mystery series? That series has three books in all: The Trouble with Tulip, Blind Dates Can Be Murder, and Elementary, My Dear Watkins. As of now, there are no plans to revisit these characters in the future, though I sure think the premise would make a nifty TV show! Who knows, I may do some other format with them in the future, such as short stories. Once I got hooked on turning household hints into mysteries, it's been kind of hard to let that go. If I ever do use the characters in anything else, I'll be sure to post the news here on my website.
Do I have to read these series in order? If you really want to get the most enjoyment out of the gradually-developing (and complicated) love relationships between Callie and Tom or Jo and Danny, then yes. If you're not interested in the romance and only care about reading a good mystery, then no, they can be read in any order—though the mystery in the final book in the series makes more sense if you've read the others first!
Why did you write a nonfiction book? Aren't you primarily a fiction author? Yes, I prefer fiction, but sometimes an idea will grab hold of an author and not want to let go, and that's exactly what happened with my nonfiction book, The House That Cleans Itself. Even though The House That Cleans Itself is nonfiction, the whole book came about because of my fiction. It's kind of hard to explain, but if you read the book you'll see how doing research for the Smart Chick series had a very real impact on my life. After years of struggling with mess and clutter in my home, I finally figured out a way to get a handle on it and eliminate it once and for all. I wrote this book to pass along what I learned, and my hope is that it will change the way you see yourself and your house and how you keep it clean from now on. I promise, this is a housekeeping book unlike any you've ever seen before. Oh yes, in and among some incredibly helpful information is a lot of fun and interesting stuff, like the My Most Embarrassing Messy House Moment stories.
I just read The House That Cleans Itself, and I died laughing over the messy house stories. But, come on, are they all true? Yes, they are. Through some wonderful internet groups, I was able to collect amazing stories from a wide variety of people, offering anonymity in exchange for honesty. I also collected stories from friends and family members. By the way, if you have a messy house story of your own, be sure to send it to me, though I warn you it may pop up in future projects or on my blog, The House That Cleans Itself Blog, albeit with names withheld to protect the innocent.
Where is the email from Callie to Harriet about Tom? It doesn't exist. That sentence was included in an early printing of Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels by mistake. Once that book was finished and I began writing A Dime a Dozen, I realized that the email couldn't exist—because Callie didn't tell Harriet about meeting Tom until much later. (Characters have a way of taking over and doing things their way, you know!) Before Nickel went to press, my publisher removed that sentence but somehow it mysteriously made its way back into a subsequent printing. I felt so bad about the mistake that I began offering a free wooden nickel to anyone who came to my website to find the nonexistent email. You, too, can have a free wooden nickel by clicking here. And please accept my apologies for leading you on! To learn what happened after Callie and Tom meet, you'll have to read A Dime a Dozen.
When will your next book be coming out, and what is it? The next book will be out in November 2009 and is another Southern Gothic mystery called Under the Cajun Moon.
Are any of your books available in hard cover? In large print? On tape or CD? In other languages? Yep. Click here for more information.
I heard you also write plays. How can I find out more about them for my church or school? Click here to learn about the plays available through this website. You might also want to visit the website of Eldridge Publishing, which is at www.histage.com.
In The Buck Stops Here, you predicted the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina more than a year before it actually happened. How? Freaky, isn't it? The truth is, most folks down there have known for years what would happen to New Orleans if a Big One came through. I just put that into a story, as shown: (A man is telling Callie what would happen if a big hurricane slammed into the Louisiana coastline.) "I'm telling you, two million people would be in danger of flooding, including the entire city of New Orleans. The devastation would be biblical in its proportion."I'd like to say that I'm some sort of visionary or the world's best researcher, but the real truth is that this wasn't hard to dig up at all. For further reading on the subject, I highly recommend the wonderful book Bayou Farewell by Mike Tidwell.
Can you speak to my church or civic group? I love speaking to groups both large and small, local and nationwide, Christian and secular. With a background in standup comedy, I present humorous but encouraging talks on a variety of topics. Most of my talks are given to women's church groups, civic clubs, libraries, book stores, and writers conferences and clubs. Click here to find out more about inviting me to speak to your group.
Will you critique my manuscript? I'm sorry, but I'm not able to critique unpublished manuscripts, both for time constraints and legal reasons.
Will you donate a book to my organization? Most writers hear this question so often than if we were to say yes every time, we'd go broke just sending out free books. I must have someone ask me this at least once a week—and sometimes once a day! No offense, but many of these requests are not even coming from legitimate groups but from scam artists who just want free books that they can then turn around and resell. Because it is such a common request, I have had to develop a "policy" about the book donations that I make. This policy is as follows: Primarily, I try to keep most of my book donations local to where I live, so that I can know the groups are legit and that they support a cause I endorse. These local groups include churches, Christian schools, homeless shelters, literacy groups, libraries, foster care and adoption agencies, and various medical-related causes such as Myositis and MPS. If your nonprofit 501(c)3 group is in the Valley Forge, PA, area, send me an email describing your event, along with all related websites, contact names, and other info, and I will seriously consider your request. At a greater distance, I donate a number of books at the conferences I attend and to good causes supported by friends and relatives who can vouch for the legitimacy of the request. If you know me, or know someone who knows me, get in touch that way, and I'll see what I can do. Finally, to be fair, I like to donate books to the good causes of people who are legitimate readers of mine but have no other connection to me. Have we communicated in the past? Can you tell me a little bit about which of my books you like best or had questions about? By asking for a little more info, I'm able to weed out the honest requests from the fakes. Not to make you jump through hoops or anything, but a brief "Can I have a free book?" email with no further personal information or indication that you know who I am is not going to get a response. Those sorts of emails are sent out daily in a wide net, cast to get the highest number of responses. God has blessed me greatly by giving me the career of my dreams, and it's important to me that I "give back" as much as I am able. I hope you will understand that if your request does not fall into any of the above categories, my answer will have to be "no." Rest assured that I am giving away as many books as I am able—and that if you support a good cause and can meet my policies, above, I'll attempt to be as generous as I can, depending on how many other book donations I have already been called upon to make that month. I make far more than you can imagine—and turn down even more requests than that.
How do I get a novel published? Ah, that's the age-old question, isn't it? My answer is pretty long, but I've boiled it down to this handy to-do list:
You mention going to writers conferences. Are there any that you recommend? I can recommend several, depending on the genre you are interested in. If you want to write mysteries, check out the following: Bouchercon - The biggest annual mystery conference is usually held in the fall, and its location changes from year to year, so you might take a look at their website and see when it might be coming to a city near you. Malice Domestic - A somewhat smaller but equally excellent conference, it is usually held every spring near Washington, DC. (This one is my personal favorite! The people are all so very nice, the mood is uplifting and encouraging, and the writers who attend are always helpful and informative.) For a smaller, more intimate mystery conference, check the web for ones in your area. For example, I like Deadly Ink, which is usually held in June in Parsippany, NJ. You might not want to fly across the country for a conference of this size, but there might be one just as good in your area, so do some googling. If you want to write Christian fiction, I highly recommend: The American Christian Fiction Writers conference, or ACFW. As far as I know, this is the only Christian conference that focuses exclusively on fiction, and it is top notch. If you are interested in both Christian fiction and/or nonfiction, check out any of the following, all of which are excellent: Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference in California Glorieta Christian Writers Conference in New Mexico Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina Colorado Christian Writers Conference Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference Finally, if you want to write Christian film or TV, be sure to check out: Gideon Media Arts Conference and Film Festival
Do you go to these conferences yourself? Not nearly as often as I would like! I have been to many of them in the past, first as an aspiring author and then later as a published author and/or teacher. But these days, my time is so llimited that I have to turn down many more than I accept. In 2009, I'll be on the faculty at Blue Ridge and attending Gideon as an "Honored Author." I'm still not sure about ACFW, but I hope to work it out so I can be there as well.
Do you have resources for my book club? Yes! Click here to see Book Club Questions for many of my books. There are also all sorts of little freebies that I would be happy to send to your group.
Where do you get your ideas? As with most writers, many of my ideas simply rise up out of the moment. Have you seen the movie Finding Neverland? It's about the fellow who wrote Peter Pan, and in one scene he is watching some kids jump around on their beds. Then his imagination takes over and suddenly (in his mind's eye), the kids float up and fly out of the window—much as Peter and Wendy and her brothers did in Peter Pan. That's sort of how it works: In the midst of a perfectly normal situation, a writer's imagination will take over. Once enough of those little idea-sparking moments have happened, we begin to assemble them into a bigger picture—and a story is born.
Are your characters based on real people? One of my best friends is very much like Callie Webber—and her last name is even Weber! People tease us that I based the books on her, but the truth is that the whole series was conceived and started several years before she and I even met. We just think it's a neat coincidence. A few real people have made cameo appearances in my books, but these were folks who either won that as a prize at a charity auction or to whom I was deeply appreciative for something. Putting someone into a book is a fun and unique way to say "thank you", for sure! Otherwise, I never base characters on real people. I do, however, frequently base buildings and houses on real buildings and houses. I don't have a very "spatial" imagination, and if create a house from scratch and use it in a story, chances are I'll have my characters doing a lot of things that would be impossible (like walking from the kitchen down the wrong hall to a bedroom.) So instead I try to use real houses and picture the characters moving through them as I write.
How can I get my book autographed by you? All books purchased through this website will be autographed. Click here for more info. If you have bought one of my books elsewhere but want it autographed, send me an email with your mailing address and the subject line "Bookplate", and I'll be happy to send you an autographed bookplate. (Be sure to tell me if you need more than one.) Of course, you can always feel free to bring books to any of my appearances, as I will be happy to autograph them there. Click here to see a list of where I'll be this year.
If I send you an email, will you write back? I can honestly say that I have read every single letter that has come to me via email and snail mail. Sadly, I cannot honestly say that I have replied to every single one in the past. I always have the best of intentions, and I almost always write back, but I have been known to let an occasional letter slip through the cracks without a response when I am on a book deadline or traveling on a book tour. Please understand that I love to hear from my readers, and I treasure every single letter. But when things are crazy, sometimes I can be nearly as bad about writing back in my professional life as I have been in my personal life. (And to know how bad that is, just ask my sweet Aunt Fan or any of my friends from college.) In any event, if you wrote to me in the past and never got a reply, please try again. I treasure your kind words, your encouragement, and your questions. I always read every single letter, and I will give it my best effort to respond, especially the second time around.
How can I help you? Wow, I'm glad you asked. Here's a list of suggestions:
Can't you write any faster? Nope, I can't. But if I could, I certainly would! Every writer is different, and for me, one book every nine months is about the fastest I can pull it off. Sorry!
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