There is power in a group. At least writing power. Authors who blog together not only seem to attract fans together but it means less work for each of those authors. After all, I would rather an author be working on a novel than spending time writing a blog.

As one who writes two blogs, this one for Mystery Scene, and also Off the Page for the Sun Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, I know how much time these can take. Blogs are also a great procrastination tool...which is pretty much a hobby for every writer I know.

While I am not convinced that authors who blog by themselves really draw in the fans, I think that those who do it as a group do. No, this is not based on any scientific research, or even any feeble research, or any research at all. Instead it is just a gut feeling that comes from attending myriad mystery writers conferences since 1995. I’ve seen first-hand the community of mystery writers; how when a fan approaches one that writer will beam and express their thanks but also point out a fellow writer or two that the fan may also like. That always seemed to me to be a win win situation—by the time the fan had read the other authors the first author’s new book would be out.

Another appeal of group blogs is that these are not just discussions of writing. Sometimes the posts are about dive bars, or reality shows or Susan Boyle or traveling. Just about all of them also feature guest blogs. Here’s some group blogs that I regularly check out. No, it is not a list of all the group blogs. I don’t mean to leave anyone out. So feel free to add your own blog to the comments section, or tell me what you think of these group blogs.

The Femmes Fatales (Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Mary Saums, Donna Andrews, Dana Cameron, Kris Neri, Elaine Viets)

First, I love the name. Second, is this a set of powerhouse authors or what? This is a newsletter group that has been together for many years. While some members retired and the group suffered one death—the late Elizabeth Daniels Squire—the group continues.

Jungle Red Writers (Hallie Ephron, Rosemary Harris, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Rhys Bowen, Jan Brogan, Roberta Isleib)

I also love the name of this blog. It makes me think of a great scene in the classic movie The Women (the first one, not the remakes). This group calls itself a salon of six mystery writers. Here, it’s all about writing. And not writing. And our search for motive in life, love, fiction and reality.

The Kill Zone (Michelle Gagnon, Joe Moore, John Gilstrap, John Ramsey Miller, Clare Langley-Hawthorne, James Scott Bell, How Hartlaub, Jordan Dane, Nancy Cohen, Kathryn Lilley)

OK, I admit, I have a self-serving interest in this blog. I was a guest blogger for a question and answer session. Here’s that link. The site often has guest bloggers, most of them authors.

The Lipstick Chronicles (Nancy Martin, Sarah Strohmeyer, Elaine Viets, Harley Jane Kozak, Brunonia Barry, Nancy Pickard, Jacqueline Winspear, Kathy Reschini Sweeney, Cornelia Read, Louise Penny, Diane Chamberlain, Heather Graham, Margaret Maron, Hank Phillippi Ryan)

This site never fails to make me smile—how could it not when it’s billed as “Where the Book Tarts talk love, laughter, laundry and the mysteries of life.” But there are some serious subjects thoughtfully tackled.

Naked Authors (Ridley Pearson, Jacqueline Winspear, Paul Levine, James O. Born, Patricia Smiley, Cornelia Read)

So much to like here even though it has quit publishing since March 2010. Still lots of fun content in the archives. Among the archived blogs, check out the one that James O. Born wrote about Susan Boyle, when she was first on Britain’s Got Talent. You just don’t expect this tough Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent to be so taken with Boyle’s singing.

The Outfit (Laura Caldwell, Sean Chercover, Barbara D'Amato, Michael Allen Dymmoch, David Ellis, Jamie Freveletti, Bryan Gruley, Kevin Guilfoile, David Heinzmann, Libby Hellmann, Marcus Sakey)

This group has some of the best authors (as do the other blogs I’ve mentioned) and it contains Chicago authors who blog about one of my favorite cities. Like other group blogs, the authors talk about writing as well as issues of the day.

During an interview with Marcus Sakey for Mystery Scene Issue #106, he told me that The Outfit got its biggest readership boost last year when Guilfoile, fed up with what he cited as shoddy reporting, began to post about the murder of a Chicago dermatologist and his suspected killer, a former patient who fled to France. Guilfoile’s posts were eventually picked up by the Chicago newspapers and television stations. Now that’s the power of writers.

Poe’s Deadly Daughters (Lonnie Cruse, Sharon Wildwind, Elizabeth Zelvin, Sandra Parshall, Darlene Ryan, Julia Buckley)

The post about Charlie Brown suffering existential torment is just too cool for school.