February 2009 Blog Posts (186)

A Question of Character

Yesterday I suggested that authors of historical fiction need to clarify somewhere in their work how much liberty they took with the fact of whatever matter they take on. There is, however, a fascinating area of history left in a sort of no-man's land: the questions with no answers.

Did Richard III have anything to do with his nephews' disappearance from the Tower of London? Was Richard the Lionheart a homosexual? Did Lizzie Borden really "take an ax..."

Such questions are… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on February 25, 2009 at 7:30pm — 1 Comment

Israeli paper finds 'vivid picture of Palestinian life' in THE SAMARITAN'S SECRET

In the liberal Israeli daily Ha'aretz, Carol Novis reviews the third of my Palestinian crime novels THE SAMARITAN'S SECRET. I'm happy that she doesn't view my novel as coming down on one side or the other in the conflict here. I think of my novels as humanist, filtering out the politics that makes people see the Palestinians as stereotypes (either of terrorists or… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on February 25, 2009 at 5:18pm — No Comments

Modern heroes/heroines

A comment from a writer friend recently got me to thinking when he expressed his desire to write a mystery about a regular guy who lacks the more recent popular vices and hang-ups that seem to plague most modern detectives these days (drinking, smoking, promiscuity…you know what I mean). So mainly what got me thinking is if it’s that our main characters now are really so much more commonly afflicted with such things, or if instead, it’s our definition of what’s considered as such. A character… Continue

Added by Stephanie Padilla, Editor-NewMysteryReader.com on February 25, 2009 at 12:42pm — 14 Comments

'Of Aztecs and Conquistadors' Released Today

Following on from my success in winning The Preditors & Editors 'Best Poet of 2008' Award, I'm delighted that Mythica Publishing have today released the e-book version of my poetry collection 'Of Aztecs and Conquistadors' by Juan Pablo Jalisco of course. The book is currently available at the modest prce of just $5.79 from Mobipocket at… Continue

Added by Brian L Porter on February 25, 2009 at 6:30am — 1 Comment

Lit agent, Binky Urban

If anyone reads Publishers MarketPlace, in the automat section, there is an interesting reprint of an interview with Binky Urban, a high-octane (and some say the best lit. agent out there) with ICM.

She has some interesting points to consider, like;

1. She thinks authors are going to get smaller advances for their books. Advances more closely

in line with what the books will sell.

2. She think's Amazon's undercutting of book prices, especially in the ebook… Continue

Added by B.R.Stateham on February 25, 2009 at 4:46am — 16 Comments

MEGAN ABBOTT MYSTERY NEWS INTERVIEW

The February/March 2009 issue of Mystery News features my interview with Edgar® Award-winning author Megan Abbott regarding the hardboiled past, her works to date, the art of the short story and her forthcoming novel, BURY ME DEEP (July 2009). You can read an excerpt here, and find information for ordering Mystery News if you're not a subscriber.

Added by Craig McDonald on February 25, 2009 at 3:46am — No Comments

Mom's Advice

In the last 3 weeks I’ve attended my two favorite writers’ conferences. In that time I made a slew of new friends, got valuable advice from several very successful writers, and spoke to two different agents who expressed interest in representing me.

It all goes to show that the best advice your mother ever gave you was, "Go! You might meet somebody!"

Added by Austin S. Camacho on February 24, 2009 at 10:42pm — 1 Comment

Mom's Advice

Added by Austin S. Camacho on February 24, 2009 at 10:32pm — No Comments

What's Historical and What's Novel?

I've been speaking a lot on historical novels this week, and the question always comes up: how does the reader tell what's true and what isn't? It seems that the avid reader gobbles up book after book, and in the end may not consider much whether the author has a bias, wants to influence his audience's thinking, or just skews things to make a good story.

I think authors should clarify somewhere, in the foreword or the afterword e.g., what is true and what isn't in a book. History… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on February 24, 2009 at 9:17pm — 6 Comments

Tool Guy wants to know: What writing software do you use?

After Clare's dreamweaver post yesterday, I thought I'd slam us back to earth with some Tool-Guy talk (okay so I'm a Tool Gal, but honestly. who bothers to check under the belt?). Read post.

Added by Kathryn Lilley on February 24, 2009 at 2:00pm — 8 Comments

Best Writers Conference and ME on a Bestseller List!

It seems redundant to say that I had a great time at the Bay to Ocean writer’s conference. I do every year. My presentation was well received, I signed a good number of books, and I got to critique four promising future authors. This is a good place to officially thank all the folks involved with running that super event every year. It is a winner.

I also had a book signing at the Borders Express in Waldorf, MD. I’ll be making monthly stops there until June because this is the store… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on February 24, 2009 at 4:57am — No Comments

ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING AND AUTHORS' SITES

I put together the following list for my local Sisters in Crime chapter. I'd welcome your comments and additional suggestions, as I plan to keep this updated. The original formatting was classier, but here it is.

ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING AND AUTHORS’ SITES

Blog Book Tours (www.blogbooktours@yahoogroups.com) Good advice for authors on negotiating the online world of blogging and social networking.

Crimespace (www.crimespace.ning.com) Attractive, user-friendly… Continue

Added by Julie Lomoe on February 24, 2009 at 4:23am — No Comments

Weekly Blog - Monday 23rd February

Some good news - Justice for All has been selected for inclusion in the annual book groups run by the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. The internationally acclaimed Festival, sponsored by Theakstons Old Peculiar, is now in its seventh year, and I’m really pleased that JFA was chosen as competition was fierce. The novels will be sent out to reading groups in the north of England, the titles will appear on the festival website where they’ll generate discussion, and they’ll also be discussed at a… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on February 24, 2009 at 3:30am — No Comments

How Did I Get So Dependent?

No Internet where I'm staying (but a great view of the ocean). And last night my cell phone called in sick. Now there I am, unable to communicate. How quickly I've become used to the things I had no inkling of a while back! So the question in my title is rhetorical. I think.

Added by Peg Herring on February 24, 2009 at 12:55am — No Comments

So how do you write?

An idea for a novel plops into your brain matter suddenly and unexpectedly. How do you begin? Is the idea a complete novel--or just an intriguing 'scene' that needs to be fleshed out? Is it an opening scene? A comment said?

So you begin writing--do you outline the entire book first? Or do you just plow into the first chapter and build from that? Do you edit each page as you finish or do you keep on writing? Someone once said Hemingway did one page a day. When someone asked him why it… Continue

Added by B.R.Stateham on February 23, 2009 at 10:59pm — 17 Comments

First Post

It's Oscar night!

I have to wonder. When was the last time a classic murder mystery was filmed for the silver screen? Everything else has made a comeback...westerns, musicals, etc. So isn't it time for the classic whodunit to make a roaring return? Time will tell.

No doubt I'll watch the Oscars tonight, but I'm hoping to write. It's been too long since I've worked on much of anything other than my first novel. Soon it will be time to resubmit, but I'm having someone give it a… Continue

Added by Brian Abbott on February 23, 2009 at 11:11am — No Comments

La Voie des Braves has legs!

The French version of my 1st novel, How the Strong Survive, was released a few weeks ago, and it it doing well. It is titled "La Voie des Braves" and debuted at #14 on the Amazon.Fr bestseller list

http://www.amazon.fr/gp/bestsellers/books/112858011

The tranlsator, "Sholby," and I are thrilled that after 18 days, it is still on that bestseller list. It fell as low as #95 before jumping back to #19, then fell to #65 and then bounced back up to #45, and it is now again back to… Continue

Added by Newt Love on February 23, 2009 at 10:30am — No Comments

From These Roots

When I was a young girl my mother filled my life with books. I cannot remember the name of my first set, but the stories taught me many of life's most important lessons such as; the impact a smile can have on a lonely person and how not to judge a book by its cover. When I got a little older, twelve, perhaps, she introduced me to the Trixie Belden series. I was hooked. I still have have quite a few of them and it's fun to re-read those great little mysteries. I identified with Trixie… Continue

Added by Dianne on February 23, 2009 at 5:24am — No Comments

FIRST TAKE ON ROGUE MALES

Over at the Drowning Machine, Corey Wilde has a first take on my May 2009 book, ROGUE MALES: CONVERSATIONS & CONFRONTATIONS ABOUT THE WRITING LIFE, featuring interviews with Andrew Vachss, Pete Dexter, James Crumley, James Sallis, Daniel Woodrell, Ken Bruen and James Ellroy among many others.

Added by Craig McDonald on February 23, 2009 at 5:03am — No Comments

HOW BIG IS YOUR BOX?

HOW BIG IS YOUR BOX?

Talk about diminishing venues to speak and sign, difficulty getting book sales and name recognition makes me wonder--how far out of the box are you willing to think?

I live in a small town, pop. 23,000 (Lemoore). Ten miles away is a larger town (Hanford). Forty miles away is the Big City (Fresno).

I lived in the Big City over 25 years and was never able to get a signing or even a book launch. The local newspaper ignores local authors in… Continue

Added by Sunny Frazier on February 23, 2009 at 4:03am — No Comments