Kelly Cochran's Blog

The Laziest Puppy in the World

I’m lucky to have had my heart touched by fourteen dogs (not at the same time!), several cats, birds, hamsters, fish, a turtle, a small snake, a tree frog, and even a squirrel. Living with so many animals taught me that just like humans, animals have their own personalities. But not until Boomer did I learn how drastically different those personalities can be especially when it comes to the everyday life of an animal.

Earlier installments of The Dogs under My De...

In the middle of writing the second book in my humorous mystery series and my first ever short story, Blinded by Murder, I found myself overcome with fear. Would these stories be good enough, were they too boring, not funny, and – gulp – unworthy of readers? I worried so much I found myself spending time surfing the web instead of writing. My fear was so great that I couldn’t see the path in front of me.

Have you experienced this kind of fear? Have you ever wanted to do something – skydive,...

I’m a dog lover! My three dogs are my co-workers, keeping me company during the days as I sit at my desk. The Dogs under my Desk is a three part blog on each of my co-workers and what makes them special.

My first installment features Tidbit, my Bichon Frise, and tells the tail of how she came into my life and the contributions she made to my book Buying Time and how she helped research for my upcoming book Borrowed Time. Check out the Tidbit installment on Lois Winston’s blog where I was a g...

I’m a dog lover! My three dogs are my co-workers, keeping me company during the days as I sit at my desk. The Dogs under my Desk is a three part blog on each of my co-workers and what makes them special.

My first installment features Tidbit, my Bichon Frise, and tells the tail of how she came into my life and the contributions she made to my book Buying Time and how she helped research for my upcoming book Borrowed Time. Check out the Tidbit installment on Lois Winston’s blog where I was a gue...

One evening on my way to a bar in the late seventies, I saw a UFO. I know, “On your way to a bar? Really?” Yes, I hadn’t had a single drop of alcohol…yet. It made such an impression that I used the bar’s phone (pre-every-teenager-owning-a-mobile-phone) to call the local air traffic/Air Force. Later, in 2008, I entered my sighting into the National UFO Reporting Center. It was amazing how so many other sightings had similarities to what I and many others have witnessed over the years. Read my...

When every episode of CSI ends up with investigators doing the crime scene walk through using only flashlights, I figure it isn’t really how things are done. And I’m smart enough to know that the same person who collects the DNA doesn’t run the DNA testing, and especially not in an hour. But, what else didn’t I know about evidence collection?

I found out when I attended the 2014 Writer’s Police Academy held in Jamestown, North Carolina. This blog is the second in a series and shares a few tidb...

After a few glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon, late at night, in the woods behind my hotel, I found I wasn’t alone. What could have become an unfortunate event in a murder mystery, was in reality something very cool. Not only was I not alone in the woods, I was with a large group of writers. We were all there to experience what it would be like to view a crime scene under various levels of light. The show and tell was all part of the 2014 Writers’ Police Academy held in Jamestown, North Carolina....

Happy to announce that Buying Time is now available at The Book House in Maplewood, Missouri.

The Book House was recently in the news, when the historic Victorian house which had been home to the independent bookseller for over 25 years was set to be torn down to make way for a storage facility. In September 2013, it closed its doors and reopened at its new location 7352 Manchester Rd, Maplewood MO 63143. The new store is in a great location on Manchester located near several independent resta...

Recently, fourteen new species of dancing frogs were discovered in southern India, bringing the total known species of dancing frogs in India to twenty-four. Think about that. Think about the number of species? No. Think about dancing frogs. Doesn’t that put a smile on your face?

The frogs in the photo above don’t dance; they are vintage ceramic Schmid Design Folio tchotchkes. The collection includes a pitcher, napkin rings, creamers, sugar bowl, and plate, and they live in my laundry room. I...

Before publishing Buying Time in 2012, I’d done much soul searching. With only ten agents queried (a miniscule number when it comes to agent hunting), I longed for the validation of a traditional publishing contract, but wasn’t sure I wanted to spend years of precious time trying to find one. The day I heard about the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) Contest, was the day I set my destiny in motion.

I entered the contest in 2012, telling myself if I didn’t win I’d move forward with self p...