Posted by Lorraine (L.L.) Bartlett

Saturday I was part of a group-signing at a (sort of) local library. Of the 13+ authors in attendance, I was the only traditionally published author.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the term, "traditionally published" means that a publisher bought my work. They paid me. I didn't pay them. And not only that, I received an advance against royalties. My work was something the publisher felt could generate income for them AND…

I'm a rattler -- not the snake, mind you, but the kind of person who, when nervous, or happy, or allowed to for any reason, rattles on, telling more than I should and talking more than is necessary. I'm told by kindly folks that I have a lively way of telling stories and my listeners are usually enterained, but sometimes I have doubts. There's always someone in the group who just looks at me, and I imagine them thinking, "Does that woman have any self-control?"

Most writers…

What would you do?

Dr Tom Hackett had the perfect life - young, successful and now with a dream job working for a year in New Orleans. All that changes when his wife is murdered there, her body mutilated,

the victim of a seemingly random attack.

Desperate to leave those memories behind, he returns home to Australia and accepts a job in Sanctuary, an idyllic resort far from the dark shadows of old New Orleans. But there is no sanctuary from…

James Lincoln Warren, the mastermind behind www.criminalbrief.com, a blog on writing and the short story, that I check out daily, recently asked me to be a guest blogger for last Saturday. I was honored. The following is what I sent in and I wanted to share it with you.Please share your thoughts on the subject with me and other crimespace regulars.

My love affair with the short…

In a word -- mush!

Bouchercon in Anchorage was 2 parts Jack London and 1 part Northern Exposure. Full of interesting juxtapositions and outright contradictions. No internet connection in the hotel (the Anchorage Hilton and city's tallest building!). But the governor spoke at the Award ceremony cocktail party. Lee Child wasn't there. But Dana Stabenow was everywhere. I wasn't allowed to show a dvd at my author's solo presentation. But they kept having CSI Alaska presentations…

I received word this morning that my debut crime mystery, Silenced Cry…

Just got back from Bouchercon late last night. The conference itself was wonderful, the trip was Hell. I had always wanted to go to Alaska and I had thoughts when I signed up that I might make a full week trip of it. I was wrong. Life got in the way and the seven days I was going to use turned into six then five then four - two of the four were spent in airports and on planes. Ah well.

One of the disappointments was in the stuff I didn't get a chance to see. For instance, I…

July 8-13, 2008 will be a thrilling time for me. I just registered for the 3rd annual International Thriller Writers conference, aka ThrillerFest. Woohoo!

Yep, I'm heading back to New York next summer. ThrillerFest 2007 was a blast. How could I resist going back?

It will also be a nice break from classes. I'll officially start working on my creative thesis for grad school in the spring and defend in the fall. A trip to New York in between will be a perfect mid-thesis vacation.…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

So I was informed by my AOL Welcome screen a few days ago. Ross Perot (or more precisely his Foundation) owns a copy (a fact I find a little bizarre) and wants to sell it (slightly less bizarre), and…

Laura Lippman emailed me recently in response to a request I'd sent her for an opinion on subgenres in mystery writing. Her feeling is that it's useless to divide up reading into categories, and she has a point. As someone who even reads those cheerful little notes on cereal boxes, I can't claim to be a picky reader. Still, another writer, Julie Hyzy, made the point that readers want to know they're in for a good time before they plunk down their money. If noir depresses you, you're going to…

It’s fall, and time for a new issue of LLBartlett’s Books newsletter. Welcome to the readers new to the list--thanks for joining!

Of course the BIG news is that today marks the debut of the paperback version of MURDER ON THE MIND. Worldwide Mystery Library did a fantastic job repackaging the book, with a new cover and a much more attractive price that makes it affordable for just about everyone: just $4.79 plus postage. (Unless you live in New York State--then you have to pay tax.…