Hi Robert, thanks for adding me. I am a lover of short stories, so will check out your blog when I get a moment. I am planing an anthology of short stories for next year, and am hoping that there is indeed an audience out there. I am sure there must be.

Hi Robert...Hope to see you at LIM :o) Will the latest Ransom be there as well?

Hello Rob,

Greetings from Connemara! Love the photo with the dog! Thanks for the short story insight. I'm always learning something from you :) :) :)

Slan, Pat.

Hola Pat from the warm and balmy mountains of West Virginia -- a cool 20 degrees here, far better, I am sure than where you are curled up with a good book--hopefully mine. Your wife appears a prize for you as well. Wonderful to hear from you on Crimespace. I am curious. Since we are corresponding here, does that mean we are "already" linked and friends or do I have to do something more? I have a click button that says I have 13 friend request but the darn thing won't open for me. If you've any insigts, let me know. I will be tripping off to Love is Murder in a couple of weeks. City of the Absent just came out and rec'd a rave review in the Chicago Tribune. You were among the first to see the value of this series, and for that I say you are a prophet. Sadly, sales have not kept abreast of the highest acclaim I have ever enjoyed. Maybe if I win a Lovey at LIM that might translate well. At any rate, on to some new projects. Am wondering about pitching an anthology on Crime Makes You Stupid the World Around, but it is just in the think-tank stage. It would combine an international array of authors with the theme of crime and humor. How Crime makes one stupid.
I am going to pitch the idea to Bleak House at LIM. You on board? Think Ken Bruen would be interested as well?

rob

I love reading your posts on DorothyL. Glad you're my new Crimespace pal!

Lorraine (aka LL)

Thanks. Not everybody gets me. Stay tuned.

Rob

Hi Robert, thanks for joining me. I saw that we share a love for the works of Tess Gerritsen and Jeff Deaver, both of whom I've been fortunate to have been in contact with over the last year. Much of my work is inspired by the style of Jeff Deaver. Glad you llike the covers by the way. I love Pongo! Dog are mypassion inlife. We have 3 recued dogs, all previous vicitms of abuse. the pic on my site is Tilly, who like Pongo, is joined to me at the hip. she never leaves my side, even when I'm busy writing, she'd right there, lying on my foot as I type! It's great to meet you and hope to hear more from you in the future.

Brian

Not doing to many conferences this year but will be at Love is Murder, Chicago, and hopefully B-Con Baltimore this year. If you like Deaver, you'd ike any of my Instinct titles. Check 'em out on amazon for the artwork, descripts, and silly reviews.
Have a great day and enjoy!
Rob

Hi Rob! Nope, we're not on a panel together (though I did propose one) so the impromptu bar panel is a good idea. Haven't read City of the Absent yet, but I will as soon as the current ms. is off to the beta readers. It's my "carrot", as it were.

Good to hear from you, Jana. Miranda will be with me at LIM, and we can catch up. You still in Georgia?

Rob

Hi Rob, you should run the idea past them and see if they like it. If they do surely it is the publisher's responsibility to come up with a decent editor willing to take on the task. The short story medium is definately neglected by publishers and readers alaike and sadly I feel, to their cost.. In my opinion short stories make the idea format for transfer to the big screen. Concise, tightly driven, well plotted stories in three parts. In other words, made for cinema.

Agreed about length and cinama -- Elmore Leonard's novels all translate to film so well due to great plots tightly written. Hombre for example is reallly novella length. He aso wrote :10 to Yuma and Get Shorty and many more --but then you likelly know that. Then there's Alastair McClean, same thing -- he did among others Rosemary's Baby and Boys from Brazil. McClean always wrote short, punchy novels with a single driving story.
As to the anthology ideas, sent two off to a publisher to see if there's any interest. I fear most publishers have been bitten in the ass doing anthologies as they are a hard sell but no one knows why, even an anthology with leading bestselling authors on the cover. Who knows??
Rob

Hi Rob
I enjoy your posts on DL and thought I'd introduce myself. I admire you ability to write in so many genres.

The short story comp announcement will be on March 31st. I'll put up a notice to that effect.

Hi Rob,
Remember to add your RSS feed here.
Morgan

Robert Walker! Well, I swan! Imagine seeing YOU here...hehe.

thanks!
best of luck with it!
Love noir, love to read and write it!

Hey Robster, How's it going? I DID read the interview and messaged you over our encrypted, secret society email. But maybe it's so super secret now, you didn't get it. Anyhow, great article. I've been busy too, editing like crazy on the first NETDRAG podcast which debuts TOMORROW. Who would have thunk such a petite little gal like Kaye Barley would know THAT many swear words? Man, can that little mountain momma ever cuss! Just kidding...the worst word she used in the interview was "hush" and that was only because I wouldn't shut my big mouth and let her talk, hehe.

Robert,

If you take a look at " My Page ", I think we might be able to do some business. Since no law enfocement agency will go near this, it would have to be presented as a " Fictional True Story ", unless your lawyer will file a civil rights lawsuit for me. Let me know.

Google: John Jenney for previous family history.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Jenne

Free early sneak peek download for my upscoming new novel that Tess Gerittsen and Ken Bruen have kissed with fantastic blurbs - DEAD ON simply by going to www.robertwalkerbooks.com and with a single click of the switch, viola. All I ask is that you talk it up if you like it, and I have no doubt you will because i slaved away on this one big time. It's a modern day noir set in Atlanta and the darkest woods you will ever FEEL creeping up around you like cudzoo.

rob walker

Joe Konrath has done his very best to step into my shoes, to follow in my footsteps, and I first noticed it while living in Chicago and meeting him at The Red Lion Inn the night of his reading there. What with the snowbanks outside, yes, he literally allowed me to go ahead so that he, wearing sandals, could follow in my boot-steps. Some years later, he stood up as my best man at my wedding to Miranda, and I have had repercussions from famiy ever since who did an intervention on learning my best friend was Satan in disguise. Now I dare to turn over my time at ACME to the man with trepidation and a mixture of love.

Please heed this warning. Don't leave your internet alone with Joe, and don't leave Joe alone with your internet. Does it make sense? You bet.
Go to www.acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com to get the riff from Joe on marketing your crime novel.

Rob Walker

Hola, Seen-Your Rob!

Yes..I mean, See! I am nearly finished with "City" and then we will definitely be throwing a net over you and dragging you into the spotlight of my podcast! I'm just saving the best for last is all, hehe.

You came in wid da right answer; I got friends ya know in Chicago, so's you know. Glad you're enjoying Inspector Ransom and the strange Dr. Tewes; did you like the scene with the taylor's tape around Dr. Tewes waistline? In my books, I like to screw with the reader's head as much as I can get away with. Did the same in my earlier series, too. And thanks for letting it be known that I did such a good job of editing for Peter R. as I try to make every client happy after they pay me to take a scalpel to their writing. Imagine if you willlllll, they pay me to tear them apart.

Rob
aka the Knife

For all yous guys who write mystery of any stripe, I find DorothyL.com a great place to palaver as well as here. Many a teacher, librarian, editor, cop, cop writer, writer cop, and you name it aboard, numbering over 3,225 I understand. Take a look-see and come aboard.

Rob Walker
Dead On, coming from 5-Star next spring!

When I set out to create Marcus Rydell and Kat Holley in DEAD ON (soon from Five Star), my intention was to "pleasure" my good friend Ed Gorman with a modern day NOIR novel. Now I ask you the question, do you think a guy with my skill set can pull it off? Create a modern day Bogie and BaCall story set in Atlanta of all places and branching out to the darkest woods you'll ever be creeped out in? I believe Noir is not a time period, nor does it need to be a black and white movie, nor a particular setting, but it does have to have a noir attitude and the kind of rapid-fire dialogue true to noir, the sort that verges on hardboiled, you might say. The dialogue is much of what constitutes great noir along with the deep-cut shadows and dark corners and mean streets and layers of gray. If you want to see if I succeeded at modern day noir, and by the way Ed loved it, then you can have an early look at DEAD On by going to my website and clicking on to a free download --
www.RobertWalkerBooks.com

Robo Writer Rob

Who am I to argue with cryptic??? :-D

Hi Rob,

Thanks for the compliment on my covers. 'A Study in Red' was done by Deron Douglas at Double Dragon Publishing, but the others are all by my very good friend Graeme S Houston, one fo the most talented designers around. He's awesome, and sort of 'sees' my books' in his mind in order to produce those great covers. Well done on getting Tess to do that great blurb for your book. I'll be downloading it for sure. You have a great weekend too.

Best regards

Brian

My son, Stephen is a graphic artists, and he's done some 13 covers for me. All can be seen at Fictionwise.com and a truly cool one is up at Amazon.com for FleshWar. I think the most important sales tool we have is the cover art.

Rob

Hello Rob,

Always lovely to hear from you. The INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS (ThrillerFest) conference in Manhattan was terrific. My wife, Jean, and I had a great time. Here’s her article (published in our local newspaper, Connemara View) :

http://www.thrillerwriters.org/thrillerfest/2008/08/impressions-from-thrillerfest-2008.html

Just got the CD of my own panel - which was damn good, if I don't mind saying so :) You can see my panel here (and buy a copy if you wish):

http://www.vwtapes.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=15100

Anyway, thanks for dropping by ... big hugs to Miranda!

Best, Pat

www.thrillerwriters.org/connect/Pat%20Mullan

Hi Rob,

Just visited your site, very cool and you have some great book covers there. You son is doing a grand job. I used the idea of an island as a tool to isolate and highten tension. I think the landscape in any novel is another character and one that should be treated with equal respect as your hero or villan.

Agreed, a great novel has a great setting, and the setting is made a character in and of itself.

Rob

Hi Rob
I'm having a busy weekend! I've never offered a download of my novel, but I've heard this used as a promotional tactic. Usually for a only a limited period of time though. I haven't heard any follow-up about whether it was effective. Let me know how it goes.
Lj

thank you so much!
I love the past (not mine either-wish it was though)!
btw Chicago has the best hot dogs I've ever had in my life! I changed planes there once and didn't want to go!

New giveaway, new website, new cover art. Come visit me at the site -
www.robertwalkerbooks.com

Thanks, Rob - I will consider you a friend whether or not it's official on Crimespace. Aren't you the one who posted those great tips for signings on MWA? I will check out your website when there's time. (See my latest blog entry - but give me a few minutes to write it first!)

I liked your comment about watching out for blood clots - I'm of that age, too. So is my husband Robb, who spends a lot of time in the recliner with his laptop and whose build resembles yours in your photo (hope you don't take offense at this!)

Hello Rob,
Thanks for befriending this fellow author!

Hi Rob:
Isn't re-writing fun? Especially a whole damn book? Well, keep plugging away on it. It sounds like a fascinating story. And, yes. Jeff Cohen is a VERY funny guy!

Hi Robert, I want to introduce you to my debut novel "A Circle of souls" which is a murder, mystery, psychological thriller and a tale of justice and hope. Do visit www.acircleofsouls.com to read more about the book. Make sure you sign up to win an autographed copy of the book. You can also read more reviews by clicking on the More Reviews button at the website. Thanks for your time in advance.

Best regards

Preetham Grandhi

Early Endorsements for “A Circle of Souls”

Linda Fairstein, NYT Bestselling Author: "A fascinating debut - this novel takes the reader to the darkest places in the human soul, from a writer with the authenticity to lead us there. A stunning thriller and an important read."

Judge Judy Sheindlin, star of the Judge Judy Show: "The seminal work of this fine author kept me glued to my chair until the adventure was over and the mystery solved. A great read!"

Book Synopsis:

The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town s top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury s hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya s parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope.

The situations confronting Leia and Peter converge when Naya begins drawing chilling images of murder after being bombarded by the disturbing images in her dreams. Amazingly, her sketches are the only clues to the crime that has panicked Newbury residents. Against her better judgment, Leia explores the clues in Naya s crude drawings, only to set off an alarming chain of events.
In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.

Robert, I have an email on its way to you with the poem on Kitty.

Hey Robert,

So glad to reconnect with you! Finally revised my third novel but might need some of your great insights. How's the new book going? Will you be at Bouchercon next month?

You wouldn't charge that much for your protegee, would you?????

Thank you so much.

You like today's post, from my days as a newspaper humor columnist.