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The Mysterious CHIRP has launched on YouTube and your favorite podcast platform

Incoming! The Mysterious CHIRP Podcast

Update: The Mysterious CHIRP has launched and begun her adventure through space. Listen to episodes on the 4th of each month and follow our Instagram account for updates. Check out everywhere you can find the CHIRP. — I love all things space-related. I wanted to be an astronaut as a kid, and my love of space sciences continues to this day. While other little kids made scrapbooks with horses and favorite sports teams, mine was full of images from Voyager I and Voyager II. As an adult, I followed the exploits of the Mars Rovers and have attended the World

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Holly Adams on a panel discussion at Bouchercon

The 3 mysteries in my life

I have always loved mysteries. I voraciously read mysteries, I enjoy television shows with a mystery or someone who solves them (have you seen Lydia Poet?), and I love narrating them. The biggest mystery in my life: Why does my husband love living with a goofball? JK! August was filled with mystery and adventure that has spilled into a lovely September. Yup, I am elbow deep into three mystery experiences! The Mysterious CHIRP I love adventuring into the world of the Mysterious CHIRP Podcast, a science fiction mystery series I’ve created that unfolds over the course of 6 episodes. At

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Mystery & Adventure Agency cemetery photo

Celebrate Halloween with these unique and creative activities

Today is the day! The ghouls and goblins have populated the fronts of houses, the children are excited about “what to be,” and the parents are dreading the sugar crash while sneaking a few king-sized bars. Some of my friends and colleagues bemoan the hype, commercialism, and calories. I personally LOVE Halloween (I’m a theatre person, remember, with an active inner child), but this blog is dedicated to those who don’t. You can make this holiday about something more meaningful. Here are my recommendations for doing something for All Hallows that doesn’t have anything to do with haunted houses or

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Holly and her family sitting around a table for a mystery dinner

Sharing Without Spending: 3 ways to connect even across distances

With Chanukah and American Thanksgiving just around the corner, and festivals of light and Christmas not far behind, some of my friends are at a loss as to what kinds of presents to give or how to connect with their family, friends or communities across the miles. I was mentally masticating on this conundrum as I picked up a wonderful anthology I am reading, Murder for Christmas.Then it struck me like a frying pan to the face—WHAT A GREAT PROJECT TO DO! This being an arts-in-ed blog, I am hoping none of my readers freak out, but instead read on

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Holly Adams in her studio recording an audiobook

Why do we love mysteries?

I often ponder the question, “Why are we drawn to the mysterious?” From zombies to Agatha Christie, we are sucked in like moths to flame by the unknown. As part of my work, I run Mystery & Adventure Agency and have narrated many mystery novels, so I get a little glimpse into this genre and why it appeals to us so strongly. What makes mysteries so fun and exciting? There is something wonderful and joyous about the opportunity to safely “let go,” whether that means portraying something or someone scary or allowing oneself the latitude of being deliciously, shriekingly frightened.

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Holly Adams in her studio recording an audiobook

Art, History, and the Zombie Apocalypse

I am lead writer for the Mystery & Adventure Agency, and we have participated in many events, including co-hosting a fund-raising 5K for arts education in our community. It was spectacularly popular, fabulously fun, and full of people clamoring to dress up and perform, and who paid for the privilege and then felt better afterwards. It was a 5K Zombie Run. But why are zombies popular? One evening I was taking a break with an international publication, and after finishing the article about Mauritania’s Conservation Coast, I turned the page. It was an article called, “Monsters from Mesopotamia.” It was

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