I was intrigued by Daniel's forum post about cutting and editing work and the various routines writers employ so I thought I'd write a little here about my own routine.

The first thing is, I never outline. I'll make some notes of character names, minor details, occasionally pieces of dialogue that I may or may not use, but that's it. That's not to say I don't plan. For months before starting on a book I'll think it through, inhabiting the story until it's become completely mine. If…

Regulars to Love is Murder are all familiar with Joe Konrath, the 2008 Local Guest of Honor. He has a vibrant, dynamic personality and a genuine drive to help others in the writing business. His very popular blog, the Newbie's Guide to Publishing, has great tips on the business side of writing - marketing, conferences and more. Joe is a patron of the Schaumburg Township District Library, so it is unusual to not find one of his Jacqueline…

Posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

Remember "Malcolm in the Middle"? The funny sit-com with the overwhelmed mother? I loved that woman--her family did what she told them to do! My style, overwhelm them with kindness, is not nearly as effective.

Anyway, the theme song from the show was "(You're not the) Boss of Me", lyrics that echo around every playground and family room with kids in conflict. The song was performed by an alternative rock band called They Might Be…

No, I haven't got ADD, but sometimes I feel like that. I have so many ideas that I'd like to explore on keyboard that it's hard to settle down and choose one. Just about the time I get started on a historical, do all the research, figure out the characters, and outline the plot, I'll be skimming through my files and think, "Oh, there's that thriller I did two years ago. Maybe I should dust that off and do some editing; it was pretty good."

I don't think it's altogether a bad thing,…

LONDON FROG's first review

After pulling off a sting of lottery winner Donald Birdie in upstate New York, Todd Gleason returns to his Manhattan home base to work on his next scam; also involving a lottery winner, the Procopio couple. Married ten years, Henri is the CEO of Looking Great Cosmetics while his wife Elise has just won the big prize. They are off on a honeymoon in London to celebrate her winnings.



Over the Internet Todd rents a flat in South Kensington from…

posted by Doranna Durgin

The writing world...especially the genre writing world...it's a small community. It's also a community of intensely creative people...and those who are successful have generally become that way because they're also passionate people. They believe in what they're doing.

We are also, I think, a fairly idiosyncratic group. Not to mention a wee bit professionally incestuous. Put those things together, and it would be easy to…

It's interesting to me that some authors get better with each book, some write the same book over and over, and some actually get worse.

Authors often deteriorate, in my opinion, because they are pressured to get that next book out, even if it isn't quite ready, even if the plot is thin as rice paper or the characters act like raving maniacs. We all had a long time, years for most of us, before that first book sold, and we tinkered with it every few months, improving and fine-tuning.…

Since my last post, I've been preoccupied with one of my other roles. As Administrator of the Memorial Society of the Hudson-Mohawk Region, I've been busy putting out a newsletter and preparing for our annual meeting. Our guest speaker, Lisa Carlson, is a nationally known advocate for funeral consumers, and she'll be talking about "Fractured Funerals" and the importance of advance planning. Lisa is the author of Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love. She's known for her…

My friend Essie from Nashville isn't your typical L.A. tourist. No, she doesn't want to do Hollywood or the Getty. She wants to see the Watts Towers and the Virgen de Guadalupe murals outside liquor stores in Boyle Heights (East Los Angeles). Good thing my husband is from Boyle Heights; he's the perfect tour guide.

I like Essie because she makes me see things in a new way. She really believes long…

Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

I have a beautiful website. Go ahead, go visit it here. I've been working with Blue Hound Visions for four or five years. We've gone through a couple of iterations and you can see them by visiting both sides of the site.…

I've griped before about how life interferes with writing, and it's happened again. My husband is away for the week. I made no appointments, dates, or plans for Monday through Thursday, intent on finishing some writing things that have been nagging at me. Everything was set for four days of concentrated effort, and then Life said, "No, wait. You'll have to deal with this, and by the way, it's going to take up all of Monday and significant portions of each day for an unforeseeable length of…

Just posted a review of a great new book -The Western Banker by Joe Barrett

If you are at all tempted by the review you can always order copies of this and other books from Longueville directly.