All Blog Posts (12,730)

Lifelong writers and late bloomers: how old are first-time novelists?

I wanted to be a writer from the age of 7, when I first read L.M. Montgomery's Emily of New Moon. At 11, I learned more about the writer's burning desire to write and the travails of trying to publish from Little Women. While I was in college, historical novelist Cecilia Holland published her first novel at the age of 24 to critical acclaim. She became my role model, not as a writer but as a success. I wanted to be a published novelist at 24. It didn't happen. I did… Continue

Added by Elizabeth Zelvin on March 19, 2007 at 3:49am — 16 Comments

Holy Crap

This here Crimespace thing is exploding! I'm working on visiting everybody's page to say hello, so if I haven't made it yet, just mark it down to cyber-exhaustion. Can't. Keep. Up. Must. Drink. More. And. Type. Faster...

Daniel rocks for getting this dealio up and moving. Even if he is a damn Aussie boy!

Added by Angie on March 19, 2007 at 2:21am — 3 Comments

Crimespace: Week The Second

It's only been two weeks officially, but I already feel like I've been draped over this website-shaped bar for my whole life. And hey, *hic*, I've only known you for ten minutes, but you're already my bestest friend in the whole wide world.

Friends. In the real world, a beautiful thing; on the internet, a bookmark, a way of saying, "hi, you seem interesting and I wouldn't mind getting to know you better." It must remind all of you of being ten again, where everyone was… Continue

Added by Daniel Hatadi on March 18, 2007 at 9:50pm — 17 Comments

It's Official

I have been declared a force of evil.

I am delighted the week ended on such a high note! Considering the source, I take this as quite a compliment (and if you want to know and follow the links you will get there in a recent post on this 'literary' person's site).

I can go to bed now and rest easy, knowing my work for probably the whole year is done...

(At least I'm not…

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Added by Sandra Ruttan on March 18, 2007 at 1:41pm — 14 Comments

What (My) Life is all about

In most parts of life it was a struggle to find my place, but in the evenings I fell into reviewing, fell into webmistressing, and fell into editing. There they were, waiting for me. While I was editing a series of short story anthologies for inexperienced writers (which I still do), I realized that there are a lot of people with fresh ideas who either haven't been able to break into fiction publishing,…

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Added by Joy Calderwood on March 18, 2007 at 11:00am — No Comments

Tea, Pinter and my first reading group invite

Oh, the .... Pinter last .... night was so .... full of .... pauses that at times I think I may have lost the will to live. I have no real idea what it might have been trying to say either and I even may have got to the point where I didn't much care. Which is odd as I've seen some quite sharp Pinters. This ("Old Times") is not one. It even managed to make the glorious Neil Pearson appear dull, which is quite a feat. Only an hour and a half (including a 20 minute interval), but I've never been… Continue

Added by Anne Brooke on March 18, 2007 at 5:50am — No Comments

Marshalling 'The Intruders'

Marshalling ‘The Intruders’ - I'm peeping out from my HUGE to-be-read pile, which is so big that I am frightened in case there is a wmd lurking inside its core.…

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Added by Ali on March 18, 2007 at 5:38am — No Comments

Grrrrrrumpy

Kevin had another call this morning. This wasn't a particularly welcome development. Not only did it wake me up, but he's in a course this weekend, so the alarm was already set for 5:30 am.

The call came in much earlier. Second middle of the night call this week. This time, car accident. Wee hours of Monday morning, fire. For living in the middle of the sticks there sure is a lot that happens out here.

I got up, as I often do. Read my email. Puttered around online…

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Added by Sandra Ruttan on March 18, 2007 at 3:50am — 2 Comments

THE FOLLOWER

Hey, we're giving away some signed advance copies of THE FOLLOWER, my new thiller due this summer from ORION and ST. MARTIN'S PRESS. Just go to www.jasonstarr.com (by March 20) for more details!!

JMKS

Added by Jason Starr on March 18, 2007 at 3:47am — 2 Comments

Let's talk about... gender (cross-posted from Murderati.com)

Ooh, scary. But maybe I can get away with it because it’s St. Patrick’s Day and everyone’s going to be drunk by noon anyway, right?

Maybe I’ve been thinking about gender and writing because there have been some little mini-explosions on the subject on several

listserves/message boards I’m on. Some writers right here on Crimespace challenging a

list of favorite mystery authors because there were practically no

women on…

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Added by Alexandra Sokoloff on March 18, 2007 at 12:33am — 7 Comments

Feed Me

I've added an RSS feed to my Crimespace page showing the five latest posts to Chatterrific, a blog of DetecToday's chats with authors.

Added by Gerald So on March 17, 2007 at 3:22pm — No Comments

Carolyn Hougan, 1943 - 2007

Carolyn Hougan passed away Sunday, January 25, at University Hospital

in Charlottesville, Virginia, after a long and courageous battle with

cancer.

I loved Carolyn like an older sister. In the three years I knew her, I went from fan to friend.

Carolyn wrote the kind of complicated, intelligent, unputdownable books that I aspire to write. The Genesis Code is my all-time

favorite, and the book that inspired me to…

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Added by Karen Dionne on March 17, 2007 at 12:03pm — 7 Comments

What's New With Me

I have just moved to Ashland, Oregon from the Bay Area. Still getting settled in. My fiction, however, will not move with me. The idea is while I sit at my desk looking out over mountains and tall spruce, my poor characters are back there in the mean streets of Oakland, which is definitely surging towards murder capital of the world, lucky to survive from day to day. It's not fair but who said novel writing has got to be fair?

I have just learned that one of my stories "Juanita" has… Continue

Added by Tim Wohlforth on March 17, 2007 at 9:31am — No Comments

The Accidental Poet

In my latest forum discussion, I ask if anyone on Crimespace reads and/or writes poetry as I do. I came to poetry almost by accident, but now it's just as important to me as my prose.

Added by Gerald So on March 17, 2007 at 8:28am — No Comments

Book/Crime Reviews

Over on Sarah Weinman's blog, there is a thread running about book reviewing - more specifically, how book review space is shrinking in newspapers around the country. It turns out that this is a subject I have a view on. Also, it's snowing heavily outside so I have the time.

It seems to me that the book industry was, for a long time, culturally relevant in ways it can no longer be. That is to say, that at one time it was the only cultural game in town. And the realease of the…

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Added by Steven Torres on March 17, 2007 at 7:45am — 3 Comments

Writing avoidance technique

If you're looking for more ways not to write, you can watch CREDO (my last short film) here:

http://www.woollymammoth.com/credo/credo_rlp.html

It was in a bunch of festivals last year, and just went online a few minutes ago.

If you're really lucky, you'll have computer problems when you try to watch it, and won't have to write at all today!

Added by Keith Snyder on March 17, 2007 at 6:37am — No Comments

Currently reading

The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith

Up Next: 23 Shades of Black by K. J. A. Wishnia

I'll also be very busy this weekend watching my favorite sport, college basketball. Go Heels!!!

Added by Alice Morgan on March 17, 2007 at 5:45am — No Comments

An bhfuil tú ar meisce fós?

From Noirwriter:

I have an essay up on Alex Carr's website for her new book, An Accidental American. (By the way, Carr is actually Jenny Siler...when the medication is working). It comes out at an appropriate time as tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and… Continue

Added by Steve Allan on March 17, 2007 at 3:31am — No Comments

Muddling through the day

Lord, what a disjointed day it's been. One minute calm and the next in the depths of frustration - never say my life is not a rollercoaster ride. You must get tired reading about it, but that ain't nothing compared to actually being on the damn thing! Ah well.

The good news however is that my friend with the dead grandfather (at last! at last!) has this week just bagged her first headteacher job - hurrah!! No, double hurrah!! And I'm seeing her tomorrow at her husband's 60th (he's…

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Added by Anne Brooke on March 17, 2007 at 2:52am — No Comments

Two names routinely pop up among readers and writers as I troll around the net, Ken Bruen and George Pelecanos. I consider myself an avid reader, devouring, on average, a hundred books a year. Not on…

Two names routinely pop up among readers and writers as I troll around the net, Ken Bruen and George Pelecanos. I consider myself an avid reader, devouring, on average, a hundred books a year. Not once has a Ken Bruen masterpiece found its way on my list. Same with Pelecanos, only one (Right as Rain). Why?…

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Added by Jeff Greene on March 17, 2007 at 2:48am — 1 Comment