This week's bad news is that I didn't get to the Love Is Murder writer's convention. United cancelled all its flights to Chicago Friday. I tried to get around this by booking a flight on US Air through Philadelphia. That was fine…

The plan was a good one. I would join the Book Club and sneak in quietly, becoming inconspicuously a part of the scenery. Once people knew me, they would read BEAUFORT FALLS and love it for what it is, a funny, satirical look at another part of the country that has a serious message lightly sprinkled in. The store in question is a tiny one but one that attracts the very best talented and new authors from all over the country, or the world, for that matter,and their bookshelves hold books by…

You can see my latest article over at Inspired Author http://www.inspiredauthor.com -- This one about how to create memorable characters.

I have contacted a few major league authors about my "quotes to write by" section of my website. If you are a published author, and you would like to have a quote posted in this area, please contact me.

By Guest Blogger Lesa Holstine

I love authors. I’ve always said they’re my rock stars. I’d cross the street to see an author any day before a movie star or celebrity, with the exception of George Clooney. (Then my husband and I are racing each other across the road.) I admire the way authors use words and develop ideas and plots. And, nowadays, I admire their skill in public speaking and self-promotion.

As a public librarian, I feel that authors and librarians have a…

With the “trip to Jerusalem” THE BIG O would have no chance: The book falls between all chairs. It is not one of those humour crime novels, but it is rather subtly funny, it does not show off with local colour, still plays recognizably in Ireland, it is no real thriller, nevertheless, uses this form and it is not a noir, but is heading that way … For those who don't regularly read the blog Crime Always Pays, whose keeper Declan Burke is, THE BIG O makes it clear…

Last night we spent an hour in the 911 dispatch center and an hour touring the jail. Both were very exciting and scary for different reasons.

I was a child when Ed Sullivan's show aired, but I remember the plate spinners who kept 20 plates spinning on thin wooden dowels three feet off the table tops. Watching them always left me breathless. That's how I felt two minutes after we arrived at the 911 Dispatch Center.

Our's is a 911 dispatch that serves a county…

Besides giving a short reading from Glitter of Diamonds,…

My direct flight to Chicago was cancelled due to weather, I've searched for alternative transportation, and now find myself sitting in the Philadelphia airport waiting for a flight to the Love is Murder conference. Whiel I wait, I may as well tell you about another great blog.

Work-in-Progress is a cool place, a blog in which author Leslie Pietrzyk explores the creative process and all things literary. She posts almost daily, and on any given day you might find poetry from an upcoming…

The crime novel I'm currently reading is in danger of being tossed. Several years back I stopped believing that I have to finish any book I start, and this one would already be gone if a friend hadn't recommended it. I trust her, so it has to get better, but right now I'm pretty unhappy with the author's coyness.

Teasing the reader, giving her the tiniest snatches of information in a jumbled mess of characters, events, and unexplained flashbacks, becomes irritating to me after while.…

My cover has been born!

Final galley is in hand!

Here is what Carlton Stowers had to say:

Boundy's Justice is Coming is a speed-read journey into a dark and dangerous netherworld where low crimes are committed by people in high places. An entertaining and provocative debut novel...

Did I mention he's a two time Edgar winner?

I can't thank him enough for being generous enough to hear from an…

I've written a few novels, all but one unpublished. The reason the ones not published aren't is mostly because I think they need more revising, and I'm really stumped on how to do that. Short stories are pretty

easy--there's not a lot of words to work with; they usually take place

over a short period of time, so no timeline needed; they have fewer characters

to keep straight, and so on.

Oh, but a…

I spent the last hour or so on a "blog tour" searching for inspiration for today's post. I didn't find any. For the record, I like blogs. I have three myself -- one for family and friends, one

spiritual, and this one. Each of mine gets added to fairly regularly.

Since I didn't know what to write about here, I thought I'd read some of blogs I've bookmarked and maybe be inspired by a topic there. I went through the writing blogs -- also called "blogs by authors" --

and…