I admit it; I've become a picky reader. Becoming more aware of writing as I practice the craft, I am increasingly intolerant of writers who are sloppy and formulaic. In the last two days I've started no less than five books only to drop them in the give-away pile an hour or so later. It's something I never would have done in the past, but I've decided that there's too much good writing out there to waste my time on junk.

I've ranted here before about secondary characters who have no…

Really, I can't.

The case is The People vs. Dota, 33 F3d 1179. A business president is sweet on his secretary, but she won't return the favor because she has a boyfriend. So the president hires someone to kill the boyfriend. The guy he hires turns around and hires someone else to do the killing for him. That guy hires 2 more people to help him.

They beat the boyfriend with bats and shoot him. The boyfriend survives. When the secretary phones work that that she can't…

Aug. 22^nd and 23^rd: I decided to take a two day workshop at the Valley Farm Art Studio in Montfort, WI. (http://www.valleyridgeartstudio.com/index.asp)

For the first time, my publisher has allowed me to give you a sneak peek of chapter 3 of my bestselling novel Whale Song, a novel that author New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice called "a compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart".

Chapter three

I WHIRLED AROUND and saw a girl about my age treading water near the raft. She had black hair braided into two long plaits and dark eyes that stared at me…

Eureka Point is a spellbinding story of romance, deceipt, crime, suspense, and intrigue. It's available as a downloadable ebook at http://www.lulu.com/content/818107 Go ahead, get swept away...

Hey, y'all!

I just received word that BAYOU JUSTICE received 4.5 stars from Romantic Times Magazine. Not only that, it's a TOP PICK for October! Here's an exercpt from the review... (you can read the whole review by subscribing-visit www.romantictimes.com for details)

Bayou Justice (4.5), by Robin Caroll, is a solid story that has a powerful emotional edge, as well as compelling secondary characters. The parallel stories of…

I went through to Edinburgh this evening to see Allan Guthrie and Stuart MacBride in an event at the Edinburgh Book Festival - and very good fun it was too. I wish I had taken notes because there were loads of funny lines, but here's flavour of the event.

On day 27 of Cheryl Kaye Tardif's 'Touring the World' virtual book tour, she stops off at John Kremer's site. John is a respected book marketing expert and the author of numerous books including 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. At writers' conferences, he often presents on book marketing, publishing, writing, branding, and more. When John asked Cheryl if she could supply an article on marketing tips, she knew she had the perfect article, especially…

At a crossroads in the middle of the woods -- that's where I am with my novel ... trying to find may way to home base. Don't want to pick the safest route. But don't want to get lost on a run with no patrol or sweep, either…

The cover for SILENCED CRY is now featured in BOOK COVER OF THE WEEK. It will be displayed for one week on the home page at www.erinaislinn.com. A link to my home page is included.

Voting for the Best of AUGUST will run from SEPTEMBER 3-30, so I invite you to please take a moment to visit the site, and vote for the book cover of SILENCED CRY. Voters will be automatically entered for a chance to win a copy of my book. The voting page will be at:…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

My across-the-street neighbors are delightful people. They've been married fifty years (we were invited to the big party thrown by their family in honor of the event, even though we had known them only three years). Both retired, they are diligent gardeners, and the missus delights in holding yard sales several times a year. (It is worth noting that mister left the state altogether to avoid this most recent sale–it's the women in the family who do…

I'll still take more oldie stories if you've got one, but I'm back to ruminating on writing. I'm doing research for a sequel to Macbeth's Niece, and it reveals what a quagmire I've gotten myself into. You see, there's the real Macbeth, who lived and died a king and never murdered anyone that we know of, and there's Shakespeare's Macbeth, the character that most of us know. After he died (not killed by Macduff or anyone else at that battle, which was not at Birnam Wood), his stepson…