Blowing from up high in the tower (hoog van de toren blazen): to talk big, be high and mighty

#WordWednesday #DutchExpressionOfTheDay

The Ouse Valley Viaduct in the winter sun. The text reads: Quite Nice, Actually: translating British to English. A new blog post on christabakker.com

I'm Dutch. What's your excuse? Read my take on Britishness in a new blog post on ChristaBakker.com

#Dutch #British #AllGood

christabakker.com/blogs/writers-blog/sorry...

Throwing soot in the food (roet in het eten gooien) - Mess a good thing up.

#WordWednesday #DutchExpressionOfTheDay

A rusty old padlock, some mismatched keys, a big ol' kitchen knife, a tiny silver goblet and a small flask of bright green liquid flank a leather notebook on a colourful mat.

The Mystery Writer's Toolkit. My daughter came up with this pretty picture. Doesn't it make you want to solve a mystery this instant?

#CozyMystery #MysteryFiction #DetectiveFiction #AuthorLife #SolveAMurder

Painting of a lady from the fifties, except she's reading Death by Naked Ladies, which was published in 2023.

Would you like a free book? Of course you would. It has wine, and murd3r, croissants, and whoops-did-my-skirt-just-fly-up humour.

http://christabakker.com/newsletter

#FreeBook #CozyMystery #DetectiveFiction

A collection of doors with the text overlay: Who is Christa Bakker? Random fact number 2.

I like doors. Another fact about Christa Bakker you'd been dying to know! I mean, just look at these doors. How cool are they? They've been there for a while, most of them. What's behind them? What are they keeping hidden from me? Not that I'm curious, of course. Not me. Nuh-uh. I just like doors.

I'm holding up a pebble that has a natural question mark on it. The text reads: Question of the week: what was your first job?

I took over my brother's paper route, but what I would consider my first 'real' job was as a domestic cleaner when I was a student. What was your first job?

#QuestionOfTheDay #FirstJob #JustCurious

Tree blossoms against a blue sky

Whipped cream trees (slagroombomen). This one isn't actually a Dutch expression. It's something my mother invented to describe spring blossoms. One day, I'll include this one in one of my novels, as I really love it.

#WordWednesday #ExpressionOfTheDay

Handy tip number 2! Make sure those books stay pristine!

#CozyMystery #MysteryFiction #BookLover #HouseholdTips

What happens next? How will she react?

Read Death by Naked Ladies, a clean, fair-play mystery set in the sunny Beaujolais, to find out!

#CozyMystery #funny #MysteryFiction

Three different interpretations of a spiky blob of clay with the text: new blog post.

Not another person talking about AI!
Don't worry, this is just a bit of fun.

https://christabakker.com/blogs/writers-blog/a-not-so-i

#AI #NewBlogPost #AuthorLife

Make Your Own Wordle Guess the hidden word in 6 tries. You can also share your own word!

Made you a Wordle!

https://mywordle.strivemath.com/?word=dszve

Let me know how you did 🧩

#puzzle #wordle #TestYourWits

Knikkers: marbles. Do pronounce the first k, or else you'll get into trouble.

#WordWednesday #DutchWordOfTheDay

My goofy face showing off my knitted hat and mittens with their pattern of a Penguin classic crime book, but with my name and book title.

mittens and a wool hat that are meant to look like a Penguin classic crime book, but with Christa Bakker as the author, and Death by Naked Ladies as the title.

The Penguin Classic Crime book as it would have looked with Christa Bakker as the author and Death by Naked Ladies as the title.

Excuse me while I nerd out! I know I'll never be a classic Green Penguin crime book, but I made sure to get as close as I could! 😂 The homage in number 3 was made by a lovely friend with a shared love of classic crime and knitting ❤️ Thank you!!

#knitting #craft #ClassicCrime

A page from Roger Hargreaves & Agatha Christie's Little Miss Marple shows a round, purple character in a yellow hat on grey curls knitting a long, orange scarf and looking very deductive.

Actual footage of me plotting.

No, of course this is from the brilliant Little Miss Marple: Muddle at the Vicarage. We all need something to aim for.

#LittleMisstery #CozyMystery #ClassicCrime

Like Evie Woods and Agatha Christie? You're sure to like my books! Beaujolais Blood is set in a snowed-in wine chateau which may or may not be haunted...

#MysteryFiction #CrimeFiction #CozyMystery

I'm holding up a pebble with a natural shape of a question mark. the question is: What's your favourite season?

I'll go first. It's absolutely 100% spring. I've had enough of the grey cold now. Spring, please!

#QuestionOfTheDay #Seasons #ILoveSpring #LetItComeAlready

It'll be a sausage to me (Het zal me worst wezen) - I don't care.

#WordWednesday #DutchExpressionOfTheDay

The video you've been waiting for! How to -finally- take proper care of your books!

#BookLover #MysteryFiction #HouseholdTips #Funny

#CozyMystery #MysteryFiction #AmateurSleuth #WomenSleuths #DetectiveFiction

Old-fashioned typewriter keys illustrate the text: New blog post: The extraordinary ordinary, flash fiction at ChristaBakker.com

Free fiction! Okay, so it's only slightly more than a paragraph long, but it is free!

christabakker.com/blogs/writers-blog/flash...

RoboCop with a speech bubble saying De Tribulationis Manere. The text reads: today I learned...

#TIL RoboCop can speak Latin.
Or, at least, the actor who played him in 1987, Peter Weller, has studied Latin texts for his career in Renaissance art. But that doesn't sound so cool. There, hopefully I've helped you get through your next party small talk.

Ink fish (inktvis) - squid

#DutchWordOfTheDay #WordWednesday

A hand with just the tops of the fingers bent. The Text reads: Who is Christa Bakker? Random fact number 1.

I can bend just the tips of my fingers. Useful skill, I know!
Follow for more random facts about me. Because you want to know.

Two AI caricatures of Christa Bakker, one of which has been subtly altered. The text reads: spot the difference.

I've been at the AI again! Where's the difference this time? Or is it still too easy?

Dust sucker (stofzuiger) - a vacuum cleaner

#WordWednesday #DutchWordOfTheDay

It's like a flag on a mud barge (als een vlag op een modderschip) - like lipstick on a pig: you can try and make it look better, but it's obviously not pretty (or good, or correct. Not necessarily meant for physical appearances)

#WordWednesday #DutchExpressionOfTheDay

2025 Advent Book Calendar by Jolie Tunnell

One last blast of free books! Go to Jolie Tunnell's advent calendar to get your fill of cozy and historical mysteries!

https://jolietunnell.com/christmas-advent-book-calendar
#FreeBooks #CozyMystery #HistoricalMystery

Top view of festive decorations with fir branches on a yellow background. Text reads: Happy Holidays!

Have an absolutely gorgeous Christmas, everyone!

A pin-up girl in a sheer nightgown is holding up an ereader Christmas present with Noël's Bells by Christa Bakker

A French Christmas Dinner with a Side of Jewel Theft

With the Beaujolais wine flowing, the family is turning into a bigger problem than the stolen jewels I found. Dodging old and new grudges, can I find the thief or should I run for my life?

https://bookfunnel.christabakker.com/8i1z8c80xa