Okay, so I have never done this blogging thing before - I am completely incapable of keeping a regular journal, so how this will work, I have no idea. Stream of thought is probably something I should not do, as my Captain is always reminding me about using my "filter" or "inside voice"...I seem to spout out things that others are thinking and quietly keeping to themselves. No censoring ability. I generally attribute this to tourettes or random neural misfiring... some find it amusing or…

I've been back from a trip to Long Island and the NYC since Sunday. This trip was disappointing in that I had a bunch of short stories cooking up and all I got done during my vacation, was a couple of paragraphs. As things became busier and hectic, I wound up putting pretty much everything on the backburner.

It's hard to get anything accomplished when so much is going on and there is so much to be done, that it almost makes me not want to take another vacation. Worse, there was very…

Posted by Lorraine Bartlett

It's the little things in life that really bug me the most. Stuff I really don't have too much control over. Like...my mouse. Not alive, the one that sits beside my computer. For the past couple of weeks it has been unruly. I cleaned it, I squirted it with compressed air, I cleaned all the contacts and the roller ball (several times), and still it was recalcitrant.

I replaced it. I now have a nice, new laser mouse, but it feels awkward. It isn't the…

"I found her just as you see," the priest told Detective Corse. "I suppose it will be a simple funeral. No one will come."

"She worked here at the church?"

"Yes, she cleaned the place. We'd just had a wedding, you see, and the last I saw her, she was Hoovering up the rice. Makes a beastly mess, you know, rice." The priest examined the stone floor rather than meeting the detective's gaze.

"Looks to me like someone pushed her and she hit her head on the altar," a young…

Well, I'm finally at the end of this monster. It's been two years of on-again, off-again romance, but, in the end, it finally seduced me to come back long enough to finish this time. I don't even really care that some of the scenes read like bad Mexican soap opera! The point is - it's done, and that's something I haven't been able to say about anything I've written for a very long time. I know it'll take several more passes to get it really tight, but there's something that's just inherently…

Writing a novel is like making love, but it's also like having a tooth pulled. Pleasure and pain. Sometimes it's like making love while having a tooth pulled. -- Dean Koontz

Have I mentioned yet that I am Dean Koontz's #1 fan? You'll hear that a lot from me around here. Especially when there's a new book coming out. I'm waiting impatiently for…

Sisters in Crime has been doing book events all over the country for as many years as I can remember. I think I remember booking a booth in 1992 for Sisters in Crime at the Miami Book Fair. Since then we’ve always had a presence at Malice Domestic, Bouchercon and the American Library Association Conference. In fact there have only been two library liaisons for Sisters in Crime in fifteen or so years. Could that be? The wonderful Kathy Harig pioneered the job dragging materials all over the…

Posted by Sheila Connolly

This past week Ellen Goodman wrote in her weekly column about the fact that men dominate the world of political blogs: the column was titled "E-Male". She made the point that while there are many blogs written by a women or women, in the political sphere it is the male bloggers who get heard and who set the agenda.

This blog is not going to be about politics, even if there is a woman running for President (about time!).…

He didn't look like much when he walked into the poolroom. Skinny, kinda gawky looking, a real rube. We figured to have some fun with him, but the guy was focused: no drinks, no "friendly" game, no small talk.

"I'm looking for someone," he said in a soft drawl that had to be deep South, maybe Mississippi or Arkansas. "He owes me some money."

What happened next is the stuff of legend. Our local tough guy came in the door, stopped when he saw the plow-boy, and smiled in a way…

I've been around for few years and I've recieved my share of rejection letters.

I'm no longer bothered by form rejections. Not at all. I have a great critique group that gives me wonderful feedback so I know I don't completely suck. And I"ve sold three books.

But why does an agent think they can reject me then try to sell me something?

This is the first time I received a rejection and a list of books to read. This one was a color brochure about a book the agent…

The 3rd week of my virtual book tour features three more articles and this Saturday's chat session. You’ll find this week's blogs at the following sites:

Sunday, August 12…

On Grow Mercy I share a very personal tregedy with you, and I explain how Whale Song is benefitting others:

Let me introduce you to author Cheryl Kaye Tardif and her story…and how she is using one story to help homeless people.

Thanks, Steve, for having me visit Grow Mercy on Day 12 of my ‘Touring the World’ virtual book tour, where I’m promoting my latest novel Whale Song, a novel that will change the way you view life…and death. This is the first stop…

Interview of Kerul Kassell,

Author of Stop Procrastinating Now

August 13, 2007

What's the title of your book and what's it…