11 reasons to enjoy Maynard Soloman

Now before you roll your eyes and say, "Another serialized PI? Puh-leez," I want to tell you why Maynard Soloman is different. I, too, had read a million incarnations of Sam Spade. Maynard Soloman might've worn a fedora, but that's where the similarities end.

Here are 11 reasons Maynard Soloman is worth a look.

1) He was forced into retirement from his career as an investigator for the Obscenities Division of a local…

What happens when you have a cranky old guy with intestinal issues, an RV, spray paint, Walmart and The ATF? Why you have the first, hopefully of many, adventures of Maynard Soloman. The thing about it is not the hijinks that Maynard gets into, but the prose. It is so rich and amazing that that is what makes it for me. The comedy of the situation, you fruit bat, is just a side bar to the whole thing. I defy you in today’s modern digital short story universe to find something like it, that…

Phyllice and I are busy plotting Diamonds in the Dumpster

for the rest of this week. Oregon is a nice change of pace for me and it’s

great to spend sister time and develop a plot at the same time. Yesterday we

were in a restaurant, and a fan of our books came up to us and said “Wow. You’re

the sisters who write those funny Silver Sisters mysteries. I recognized you

from your picture.” Cool!

Today’s Tricks of the Trade is all about book covers.

LINK:…

The Crime Writers' Association (CWA), of which I am very proud to be a member, is celebrating crime writing with National Crime Writing Week between June 13 and 19, 2011.  There are lots of events going on around the UK with author talks, appearances, readings, book signings and workshops.



I am holding a…

I am pretty sure that I have title correct with the two g’s and the two d’s. Different title, different novel. I ran into Lee Pletzers over at Book Town, a nice place and a nice community. Go to my blog and press the button for it and join, give it a whirl and have some fun. Back to the novel at hand: threw me a curve amongst all the conspiracy theory, action novels I have been reading of late. This is a sci-fi, paranormal, horror, and few other categories. Just file it under good if you are…

When it comes to vampires, Laurie Bowler knows her stuff. She has numerous titles under her name, including: Moonrising, Serena Embracing Darkness, The Across The City Series, Vanquished, The Depths of Darkness to name a few. I am starting to work with her on an Author’s Lab/Collaboration called Fang’s Inc. which will be released in the coming weeks. Laurie has a very distinct style and there is a ton of heart and soul in her novels. I am not trying to be flip…

My new novel is set for release in Sept and I can't wait but oh the work that goes into a release. I always knew it was a lot of work but until you actually do the work involved you really have no idea. First you have to write the novel, which I'd always heard was the easy part and I thought, 'Yeah, right.' But as it turns out the wisdom set down by those who did it before me holds true. That really was the easy part.Then came the first round of edits, which I normally do while writing the…

This is my first read on a Cynthia Vespia novel. She has a few other titles to her credit: The Crescent, Theater of Pain, Demon Hunter: The Chosen One, and Demon Hunter :Seek and Destroy. I am going to check out her other titles, I am now a fan of her writing since reading Life ,Death and Back. How did I happen to bump into the author: we are both Book Town member’s.  If you are not a member feel free to click on the badge on my blog and join, good…

I have been having a hard time trying to figure out how to start this post. I enjoyed the novel on so many different levels and for so many different reasons I think I would become boring rather quickly by listing them all. I am also amped over this novel because I get to talk to Joseph Finder June 14^th@11amEST on my blogtalk radio show The G-ZONE. Questions for the man, yeah I have a few. The marketing campaign has been fun, innovative and different and the novel was highly…

Anthony Sowell, an Ohio man accused of killing eleven women and then disposing of their bodies on his property, faced potential jurors for the first time on Monday.  Two hundred men and women from whom will likely come the group that chooses Sowell’s fate were…

I have gotten to know Thomas White over a period of time; he is a really nice guy with a very sharp wit. If you read any of his writing, you come to realize that very quickly. He has been nice also to give me some pointers on the craft of writing as I have worked with him on “G.S.I. Gelati Scoop Investigations Psychotic Detectives”. His words were pointed but I expected no less; he meant well and they weren’t malicious, just trying to speak the truth, and set a beginner straight. Trust me,…

I believe that law enforcement, criminal profilers, and private investigators can learn more about the dynamics of serial killers and their crimes by studying cases of serial rapists.  It has been determined by the way that victims are chosen, plan of attacks, and the fantasy internalization of the specific crime, have some close similarities between serial killers and…

One of my articles has been posted on http://www.bloggingauthors.com about "Writing the Cop Thriller".  This is a a great site for all types of interesting writing information.

Check out my post: Writing the Cop Thriller

I would love to hear your comments.

Over the past few days I've been lucky enough to have had a couple of interviews posted online.

Just today Dan Holloway, author of dark psychological thriller The Company of Fellows, invited me to answer some questions over at his place.

And on Sunday, the wonderfully talented…

Narrative-ly Speaking

By Chantal Boudreau

Choosing what voice you are going to use is an important part of the planning process in fiction writing.  Normally, I hate writing in first person.  I don’t think I’m very good at it, and I don’t think that I necessarily do the narrator proper justice, but sometimes the stories demand it, so I grit my teeth and go.  I have a much easier time approaching a tale as observer.  I’ve heard several…

I find everything about the science of forensics to be extremely interesting.  I can’t seem to shake my curious mind about how and why the various crime scene puzzles interlock and ultimately reveal the identity of the criminal.  Descriptions like “CSI” and “ criminal profiling” are the words that are commonplace in our language today.  

What was the inspiration…

Time frames in novels, and particularly when writing a crime series, are a tricky thing.  There is 'real time' and then there is 'fictional time'.  In 'real time’ I write one DI Horton a year whereas in ‘fictional time’ the novels are currently set over a period of a year.



Tide of Death,…