April 2008 Blog Posts (187)

Meet Me on Dreamwalker

If you’d like to find me and other authors elsewhere on the web, or if you’re a writer looking to expand your internet presence, here’s an idea.

Dreamwalker Group is a complex of web sites where you can find creative books, cool supplies, inspirational things, information, and more. Artists, writers, and others have been invited to post their details for a web page. At Dreamwalker you can visit and explore over… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on April 30, 2008 at 10:52pm — No Comments

Former ATF Special Agent Sheila Stephens on The Graveyard Shift

Today on the The Graveyard Shift - Author/former ATF Special Agent Sheila Stephens on Covert Camera Surveillance.

The Graveyard Shift
http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/

Added by Lee Lofland on April 30, 2008 at 10:50pm — No Comments

Number Five...and something new...

Well, I finished and submitted Medusa. It's the fourth installment in the Roland Longville series. Still, though, I am relegated to the underworld of the electronic book. My first two books are due out in audio editions, meanwhile, but a year has passed and still I wait. I am therefore, working on a side project, which has nothing to do with my present detective series, as well as the fifth installment of the Roland Longville series. Does anybody out there have any suggestions as to an… Continue

Added by Timothy C. Phillips on April 30, 2008 at 6:07pm — No Comments

The Long Goodbye

I’m late to the party, as usual, but I can’t resist getting in on the City of Chicago’s program that encouraged all Chicagoans to read Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye as part of a city-wide discussion. The Outfit has covered this in detail, and better than I’m likely to do here, but that never stopped me before.

It had been several years since I read The Long Goodbye, though I have always thought it was the most beautifully written of Chandler’s works, and I read Chandler for the… Continue

Added by Dana King on April 30, 2008 at 11:44am — No Comments

Rant #6

Hey, 2 days in a row.

Normally, I don't listen to the dunce-in-chief at a press conference, but I was listening to NPR and was too lazy to turn it off.

Bush has improved as a speaker to the extent that he can regurgitate what they put in front of him without sounding like the worst kid in Remedial Reading. But, in any extemporaneous effort, his responses continue to be proof of a disordered mind.

All he knows he's had to memorize. He continues to stay "on message" even when the… Continue

Added by ed goldberg on April 30, 2008 at 5:48am — 2 Comments

A Time To Dance And A Time to Mourn

Last Wednesday night, my sister Amy and I were among the many die hard Bruce Springsteen fans who came out for his Orando concert after he'd cancelled the originally scheduled one for Saturday, April 19th.

For us, going to the concert started out as a fun thing to do, and somehow became a quest--a way to reconnect with our lost youth since we went to see The Boss back in the 1980s when we were a whole lot younger than we are now. It was a way to honor Amy's late husband Ron, also a… Continue

Added by Judy Nichols on April 30, 2008 at 3:32am — No Comments

Charles Ardai Interview

Suspect: Charles Ardai

Known aliases: Richard Aleas, Charles Gordon Lemuel Cork, and a bunch of other ones I don't know about...watch him - he's shifty!

Occupation: Author, Editor for Hard Case Crime

Last known location: New York City, NY

In this week's show, Charles talks about his two novels (Little Girl Lost and Songs of Innocence, why Las Vegas can be a cool place to write, and why "Schizophrenia Can Be Fun"… Continue

Added by Angie on April 30, 2008 at 2:10am — No Comments

Cyber Book Launch Party

I'm hosting a cyber-party today, celebrating the launch of three new books. Drop by for virtual champagne and real music at my regular blog and check out the quick Q&As I did with special guests Tom Piccirilli and Barbara Fister.

Added by Sandra Ruttan on April 30, 2008 at 1:56am — No Comments

Literary Agent Lucienne Diver on The Graveyard Shift

Please join us today on The Graveyard Shift as literary agent Lucienne Diver tells us how to create buzz for our books.

The Graveyard Shift
http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/

Added by Lee Lofland on April 29, 2008 at 11:27pm — No Comments

Absence of Malice

There’s nothing like a crime fiction convention to remind us that there is evil in the world, and that there are heroes to combat it. Some of the real life heroes at the Malice Domestic mystery con bought mementos at charity auctions for far more than their monetary value. Why? Because children who have faced evil often have emotional disabilities, and the John L. Gildner Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents takes care of them. Because we can make a difference with more than twelve… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on April 29, 2008 at 10:43pm — No Comments

I'm Not Asking for Your Pity...

I came home from a week away to find that I had no Internet. Now I can quote HD Thoreau, "Simplify, simplify, simplify," and I know it's pathetic to be so connected to being connected that one freaks when unable to surf. But you don't know what it's like until you face that little balloon that says, "...limited or no connectivity" for three days straight.

I had bills to pay, blogs to write, contacts to make, and sites to research. It seems that every time I thought of something I… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on April 29, 2008 at 10:15pm — No Comments

Rant #5

There is no truth to the rumor that the toilet paper in the White House has the Bill of Rights printed on it, but it might as well be that way.

The whole story of the Bush administration has been the dismantlement of the first ten amendments, except of course for the second. Keep and bear arms to your heart's content. Want a 105-mm. howitzer for your next backyard cookout? No problemo.

Want the cops to have probable cause before they rummage through your mail, email, phone calls or… Continue

Added by ed goldberg on April 29, 2008 at 10:35am — No Comments

Malice after the Fact

The Malice Domestic conference is always a great time. I see a lot of old friends on panels and in the hospitality room. It’s great to see who wins an Agatha Award. It fun to attend a high tea, renew acquaintances with whom I share a publisher and an agent, and meet fans from as far away as Canada. It’s fun to see who is most creative in the hat contest. That was Elizabeth Zelvin in her charming chapeau. It’s actually a chap-Poe with a bobble head of Edgar Allen lashed to the… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on April 29, 2008 at 7:57am — No Comments

Festival Report: Hot Books and Free Squid

The LA Times Festival of Books is a much needed yearly reminder of just how many people actually give a damn about reading. Of course it’s only a small percent of the larger population, but when you put them all together in one place it’s pretty astounding. It’s also always hot as hell. I figure those 20 dollar lemonade dealers have some kind of top-secret weather machine that cranks the mercury up to three digits every year just in time for the Festival. It’s hard to be glamorous and sweaty at… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 29, 2008 at 5:30am — No Comments

Page 123 meme

Sandra tagged me last week with the page 123 meme and in typical fashion I drag assed it. But better late then never.

I'm currently reading a novella, The Brotherhood of Mutilation, that only has 99 pages. Soooo I'll take the liberty of dropping the "1" and do everything from page 23.

"Kline could see he was missing an eye, one closed lid seemed flat and deflated. He was wearing… Continue

Added by BrianLindenmuth on April 29, 2008 at 12:55am — 1 Comment

Perception versus Reality

Extensive research has found that people rarely are capable of total and perfect recall of events. In high stress situations, such as officer-involved shootings, memory and recall become even more tenuous.

Independent studies conducted by Alexis Artwohl and others found that

52% of officers involved in shootings reported memory loss for part of the event and 46% reported memory loss for some of their own behavior. 39% reported disassociation or a sense of detachment or… Continue

Added by Christopher Valen on April 28, 2008 at 2:22pm — No Comments

Agatha Award Winners

The Agatha Award winners were announced last night at Malice Domestic in Washington, D.C.

The Agatha for Best Young Adult Mystery went to Sarah Masters Buckey for A LIGHT IN THE CELLAR

The Best Short Story Agatha went to Donna Andrews for "A RAT'S TALE".

Best Nonfiction Agatha went to Jon Lellenberg, Daniel Stashower and Charles Foley for ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE: A LIFE IN LETTERS.

The Best First Novel Agatha went to Hank Phillippi Ryan for PRIME… Continue

Added by Lesa Holstine on April 28, 2008 at 11:24am — No Comments

An Awsome Review!

American author Barbara Watkins is the latest reader of the book to provide a customer review, the following being the gist of the review which she has submitted to retailer Barnes & Noble for inclusion on their website. She was kind enough to send me a copy of her review in advance of it being published, and this is it:

A Review by US Author, Barbara Watkins

I started reading this afternoon and finished in just a few hours. It was AWESOME! I can't tell you how… Continue

Added by Brian L Porter on April 27, 2008 at 8:14pm — No Comments

Life on Mars (includes slight spoilers)

I started a thread about this a while back, but I thought I would babble about it here.

Goddamn, what a TV show! See, this is what I love about England. They did two series (16 episodes total), ending it before the story ran out of steam. You know when the American version hits the airwaves, they're gonna milk it for as long as possible, dragging it out like a Stephen King storyline.

My… Continue

Added by Johnny Ostentatious on April 27, 2008 at 2:56am — No Comments

Author Competitions: Are they worth it?

I've run several competitions over the past year or so offering free copies of my books both in e-format and as paperbacks, but I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth the time and effort.

In all that time, I think I've only had one 'thank you' from a winner. Now, don't get me wrong -- I don't expect anyone to be eternally grateful, but it would be nice to know… Continue

Added by Lynette Rees on April 27, 2008 at 2:32am — 2 Comments