All Blog Posts (12,730)

SPRING CLEANING

It's snowing outside, yet I've started my Spring Cleaning.

One of the things about being a writer is I've collected a large mass of printed matter. Books and papers are everywhere they shouldn't be.

I'm not ultra-neat by nature, but in self-defense at times I force myself to tackle the job and find spots for all of these accumulations - free books, other ones I couldn't resist buying so I could get them autographed, conference handouts, bookmarks from other authors, lists of…

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Added by Morgan Mandel on April 12, 2007 at 10:47am — No Comments

Sad News

I found out through a cozy discussion group that one of my favorite authors, Elaine Viets, is very ill. She was scheduled to be the Toastmaster at this year's Malice Domestic next month. I was very excited at the thought of meeting her. Now I'm just sad that she is ill and I'm praying her condition improves completely and swiftly. Her doctors are saying she has a long road ahead, but should recovery. That's great news!

To post a 'Get Well' message for Elaine, go to:…

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Added by Laine on April 12, 2007 at 9:42am — No Comments

Harris, C.S – WHEN GODS DIE

WHEN GODS DIE

(Historical Mystery-England-1811) – VG

Harris, C.S – 2^nd in series

New American Library, 2006- US Hardcover – ISBN: 0451219686

First Sentence: He knew she’d come to

him.

Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, is at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton when he, and other party goers, enter a room to find Prince George with a dead woman in his

arms. The woman is Guinevere… Continue

Added by LJ Roberts on April 12, 2007 at 9:30am — No Comments

Thanks to Bryon, a time saver

Because I've been so busy with the first draft of my fourth book, I haven't had much time to spend over here at Crimespace. But my good friend Bryon Quertermous has given me a wonderful idea so I can keep up here, and over at my blog at First Offenders. Cross posting. I'll start here, and you can link over there to get the full picture. It's less time consuming, and I can still stay in touch with everyone over here.…

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Added by Karen E. Olson on April 12, 2007 at 7:52am — No Comments

The Waiting Game

One of the most difficult things we endure as writers is waiting. I can deal with rejection. Take it, with or without salt, and let it go. But the waiting game is a sort of Purgatory, a nebulous limbo that feels as hellish as being a polar bear in Aruba.…

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Added by Michael W. Sherer on April 12, 2007 at 5:24am — 2 Comments

TurboTaxing It

Taxes are done. Thank God.

Added by Naomi Hirahara on April 12, 2007 at 3:25am — No Comments

Eyes on TV

What makes a good P.I. TV show? Discuss.

Added by Gerald So on April 12, 2007 at 3:03am — No Comments

The Argument Against BSP

Who, Me? Lose My Temper? Yes, I lost it yesterday, so I went and deleted what I said moments later.

The reality was, there wasn't anything wrong with what I said, except for the use of one four-letter word. And so I'm going to vent my spleen here, sans cuss words.

I've been on a few forums over time. I have seen a few forums I participated in regularly get shut down. One forum I used to frequent has become one I won't recommend because the trolls won. The mantra…

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Added by Sandra Ruttan on April 12, 2007 at 2:47am — 19 Comments

Amazon review and a better writing day

Was thrilled yesterday to get an email from an old school friend whom I haven't heard from for ages - it really made my evening, and my morning today indeed as she replied to my reply, hurrah! We're currently trying to make a date for catch-up, now we're both over our 2006-ish traumas (God, what a year that was ...), so hope I'll be able to see her soon. Not only that but the thrice-blessed woman has actually gone and ordered my books through Amazon - for which huge thanks indeed.…

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Added by Anne Brooke on April 12, 2007 at 2:42am — No Comments

Latest book(s)...

I started One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson over the weekend and got pretty far into it, only to receive notice from the library that Peter Abrahams' Nerve Damage and Craig Johnson's Kindness Goes Unpunished were waiting for me. It was a toss-up, but I started Nerve Damage and now have two books going concurrently. This usually doesn't work well for me, so we'll see how things go (whether I finish either one).

Added by Craig Larson on April 12, 2007 at 12:13am — 2 Comments

Batteries not Included

There's no instruction manual on how to be a writer. No simple "how to" guide that you can turn to for help and guidance. Or if there is, no-one gave it to me.

I'm not talking about the writing part of being writer - the "doing", if you like. That's the easy part! Well maybe not easy, but at least once you've armed yourself with an idea, a computer and (most… Continue

Added by James Twining on April 11, 2007 at 8:30pm — No Comments

I think it's official...

...I've got the biggest gun on Crimespace.

Har.

Added by Rob Kramer on April 11, 2007 at 8:20pm — No Comments

LCC Hawaii Here I come

I have, as they say in the classics, done the deed.

I'm a signed up registrant for LCC 2009 in Hawaii.

Sometime late in 2008 I should imagine there will be some worrying going on around here.

I've told the dogs its only for a few days - they don't look convinced.

How on earth do you explain abandonment to a flock of chooks......

Added by Karen from AustCrime on April 11, 2007 at 6:37pm — No Comments

The Hardboiled Cozy...

Is it an oxymoron to say that I write Hardboiled Cozies? There is violence, but the stories are set in a small town with a sheriff who knows everyone and the killers are generally people he's known all his life. To my mind, there's a way of looking at even Dame Agatha's books and saying "That's Noir." What's more noir than the ending of Murder on the Orient Express? Not to spoil the story for anyone who hasn't read it...this is your chance to stop reading...but "Everybody…

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Added by Steven Torres on April 11, 2007 at 3:38pm — 7 Comments

Review: HIDDEN DEPTHS - Ann Cleeves

Title: Hidden Depths

Author: Ann Cleeves

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

This edition published: April, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-230-01612-5

Format: Trade Paperback

Price: $32.95

371 Pages

Twelve-year-old Luke Armstrong is a troubled boy, diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. His only friend, Thomas, drowned several months ago despite Luke's best efforts to save him. So when Luke's mother discovers her son dead in the bath, her first reaction is suicide. But there are… Continue

Added by Sunnie Gill on April 11, 2007 at 11:57am — No Comments

Murder Must Air

I'm looking forward to listening to L. C. Hayden's Murder Must Air tonight. I've read Paul Levine's books and Sandra Parshall but not the other authors on tonight. Guess I'll be out buying more books after tonight.

HappyRuby

Added by HappyRuby on April 11, 2007 at 11:06am — No Comments

National Library Week

National Library Week

April 15-21, 2007

National Library Week is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries, librarians and library workers and to promote library use and support. National…

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Added by David Magayna on April 11, 2007 at 9:47am — No Comments

Harris, Joanne –GENTLEMEN & PLAYERS

GENTLEMEN &

PLAYERS (Academic Mystery-England-Cont)

– VG

Harris, Joanne – Standalone

Doubleday, 2005- UK Hardcover – ISBN: 0385-60366-5

First Sentence: If there’s one thing

I’ve learned in the past fifteen years, it’s this; that murder is really no big

deal.

Roy Straitley is Latin master at St. Oswald’s, a long-established boy’s grammar school. Although there have

always been incidences… Continue

Added by LJ Roberts on April 11, 2007 at 9:30am — No Comments

Edgar Symposium

Okay, it may take me a while to figure out how to navigate here on crimespace, but, in the meantime, I'm curious, with Edgar Week approaching, who else is planning to be at the Edgar Symposium this year?

Added by Jeff Markowitz on April 11, 2007 at 8:12am — 1 Comment