February 2010 Blog Posts (134)

How does that grab you? Great openings to new books

The first line of a top-notch novel usually has a lot of punch -- to "grab" you. My long-time favorite is "The Sun Also Rises," which manages to tell you a great deal about one of the main characters, but even more about the narrator: "Robert Cohn was once middleweight boxing champion of Princeton. Do not think that I am very much impressed by that as a boxing title, but it meant a lot to Cohn." This weekend The San Francisco Chronicle has… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on February 28, 2010 at 7:31pm — 4 Comments

"Cleansing Eden" Gets New Clothes

The possible new cover of "Cleansing Eden" just switched to being the actual cover. I like the new one, especially since I picked out the cover image. A graphic designer handled the rest.

It's not that the other version was bad. Shadow Line Press did a good job coming up with something that represented the struggle of the main character. He's got a drug problem and it's not…

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Added by Benjamin Sobieck on February 28, 2010 at 2:30pm — 2 Comments

The Eye of the Beholder (27)

“Tired already?” Preston asked with a mocking grin as Tabitha sat down on the park bench.

“Well I have been on my feet all day. Give me a few and then we’ll do the whole walk around thing, look at the moon and the stars and be glad we’re alive to see them.”

“You sure you’re not really Pollyanna in disguise?”

She laughed. “No, that was my sister.”

“Somehow… Continue

Added by Edith Glass on February 28, 2010 at 12:16pm — No Comments

New Book Cover!

I don't have a release date yet but wanted to show off my new book cover. The Wild Rose Press artist did a great job at capturing a scene in the book. Read an excerpt here.

Added by Tory Richards on February 28, 2010 at 3:00am — No Comments

New York Times Book Review: THE FOURTH ASSASSIN 'engrossing,' 'New Yorkers will be startled'

New Yorkers tend to have a "seen it all" outlook on life. Unsurprisingly, given the madhouse that is the Big Apple. But I've now officially done something that'll shock them. In The New York Times Book Review's crime fiction roundup by Marilyn Stasio, my new novel THE FOURTH ASSASSIN is called "engrossing." It's also described as a novel that…

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Added by Matt Rees on February 27, 2010 at 5:01pm — 3 Comments

The Eye of the Beholder (26)

Tabitha linked her arm in Preston’s, not pushing or tugging him into walking through the door, just being there with him. For him.

‘I can do this, I need to do this.’ Preston took a deep breath and stepped out into the cool night air. Immediately he closed his eyes as a couple walked by as if that could hide him from their sight.

“They didn’t even look in our direction Pres. Most people are too self-absorbed, especially couples out for an evening stroll… Continue

Added by Edith Glass on February 27, 2010 at 12:25pm — No Comments

Improving Murder Mystery Live Events!

Hello all you Super Sleuths,

I was wondering what people thought about live murder mysteries. I'm the owner of The Murder Mystery Company. We do Murder Mystery Dinners across the country. However,

I'm always looking to make them more satisfying to the audience. We…

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Added by Scott Cramton on February 27, 2010 at 11:40am — 1 Comment

How to Get That Deer-In-The-Headlights-Look on Lauren's Face

I just read my friend Sunny Frazier’s informative post, Welcome to Your World about a writer’s pet peeve: Meeting people who say they have a book in them, but are just too busy to write it. If you are a budding writer who simply can’t seem to get your book on paper, I suggest you read it.

This week I have been dealing with my own writer’s pet peeve:…

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Added by Lauren Carr on February 27, 2010 at 6:01am — No Comments

Scene of the Crime, new post: Chicago in the Blood

Chicago in the Blood

February 26, 2010 by…

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Added by J. Sydney Jones on February 27, 2010 at 3:48am — No Comments

Born Hamas, turned Shin Bet

How the son of a Hamas founder ended up an Israeli agent, as told by the "Green Prince" himself. (I posted this on GlobalPost)

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Parents often lament that their kids don’t follow them into their chosen professions. They ought to think themselves lucky. They…

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Added by Matt Rees on February 26, 2010 at 10:44pm — No Comments

The Boston Globe asks...

"Who is the next face of Boston crime fiction?"

Their answer:

This motley crew!

You can read the article here!

Added by Dave Zeltserman on February 26, 2010 at 4:29am — No Comments

Ffolkes is finally out on the high seas!!

Well, it's finally out! My pirate-detective, Geoffery Armitage Ffolkes. If you like brass-assed, obnoxious, narcisstic ego-maniacs, you'll love Ffolkes. But there is a good story here and a real 'whodunit.' Along with some pirate lore/history out of the 17th Century,

Go to my web site and check it out. Order thru me and I'll sign it for you.…

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Added by B.R.Stateham on February 26, 2010 at 2:24am — 2 Comments

The Murderer Next Door: The Only Real Mystery is Why Nobody Stopped Her Sooner.

Like a lot of people who write mystery and suspense novels for a living, I regularly comb the news for true crime stories that might someday form the basis of either a down-the-road Mike McCabe thriller or

possibly a stand-alone. When I find one, I cut and paste it into something I

call my “What If?” file. When the news recently broke about the murders

recently committed by Dr. Amy Bishop, I thought to myself this might be the basis

of something…

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Added by James Hayman on February 26, 2010 at 12:39am — 13 Comments

Playing to the Crowd

Today's guest blogger on my main blog is Lisa M. Campbell, who writes Celtic romances... MOST of the time. Lisa has some interesting ideas about how to decide what to write. Read it at http://ascamacho.blogspot.com/

Added by Austin S. Camacho on February 25, 2010 at 11:56pm — No Comments

Inventing the Palestinian detective

The dead man's mother raged and cried as she told me how she’d discovered her son’s body, in the cabbage patch outside her home. She’d gone down on her knees, she said, touched his blood and wiped her fingers on her face and called out that God is most great.

As the wind came winter cold off the Judean Desert, I watched her weep and thought: “I have to write a novel about this.”

Forgive me if that sounds heartless, but I’m a…

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Added by Matt Rees on February 25, 2010 at 4:52pm — 1 Comment

Insomnia and The Fine Art of Writing Murder Mysteries.

Did you ever wonder what it takes to write a successful murder mystery? Or a series of murder mysteries or suspense thrillers featuring the likes

of Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch, Tess Gerritsen’s Jane Rizzoli or

Sara Paretsky’s V.I. Warshawski? One answer is not sleeping. Ms.

Paretsky once noted the secret to her success as a writer (or at least

one secret) was the…

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Added by James Hayman on February 25, 2010 at 9:27am — 2 Comments

New blog "The Weekly Bastard" in support of my August book launch!

My historical true crime book THE BOOK OF BASTARDS: 101 WORST SCOUNDRELS AND SCANDALS FROM THE WORLD OF POLITICS AND POWER comes out from Adams Media in August 2010, and I've launched a blog to support it sales. Come see what all the fuss is about on my new blog "The Weekly Bastard". It can be found at:

bookofbastards.wordpress.com/

Up first: a medieval pope… Continue

Added by Brian Thornton on February 25, 2010 at 8:49am — No Comments

Crime Writer John Harvey on Missing Children, Western Movies and Rhythmic Prose

John Harvey's new mystery novel FAR CRY comes out in June; it is his 100th book.…

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Added by Julia Buckley on February 24, 2010 at 9:36am — 2 Comments

The Crime Fiction Insider: Duncan Campbell's Writing Life

One of the great pleasures of life as a writer is being paired with interesting authors when you speak at book fairs. (It's also an occasional rough ride when you find yourself stuck with a bum who can't write, but I'm being nice here so I won't go into any of those.) The most delightful fellow I've ever met in this way is Duncan Campbell, with whom I was paired at the book fair in his native Edinburgh two years ago. He also happens to be the British crime writer with the best knowledge of…

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Added by Matt Rees on February 24, 2010 at 4:09am — No Comments

The Eye of the Beholder (25)

“So?” Tabitha said as soon as she walked into the living room the next morning.

Preston shrugged. “So nothing. We talked a lot is all.”

“Oh Pres what am I going to do with you? I bet you didn’t say a word about your feelings. And before you say it’s too early to remember that you’ve known him a lot longer than you have me. He’d have to be a fool not to know on some level what you feel even if he won’t admit it to himself.”

“Tabby, damn it, he’s in a relationship… Continue

Added by Edith Glass on February 24, 2010 at 3:27am — No Comments