August 2008 Blog Posts (153)

Amerithrax Solved?

In case you’re not familiar with the term Amerithrax, it’s the FBI’s code name for the investigation of the anthrax letters that killed five people and injured seventeen in the months following 9/11. Just recently, A person of interest, Dr. Bruce Edwards Ivins died of a drug overdose—an apparent suicide. Dr. Ivins was a resident of Frederick, Maryland, and a long-time anthrax researcher who worked at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases, known… Continue

Added by Wilfred Bereswill on August 23, 2008 at 1:10am — No Comments

My week from Zen-hell on the Okinawa Diet

My sister, a guru of wellness, put me on to the Okinawa Diet recently. Okinawans are not only the longest-lived people on the planet, but they reportedly have great centenarian sex.More

Added by Kathryn Lilley on August 22, 2008 at 11:30pm — 1 Comment

If You Could See My Office!

Let's just say I'm glad you can't. If a neat office is the sign of an organized person, boy, am I in trouble. I keep thinking that once _____ is over, I'll get a handle on things, but there's always something else after that. My writing life is insane, and don't even ask about the world outside this room.

I was discussing busy-ness with someone yesterday who agreed with me that some pressure is good and too much is petrifying. When too many things pile into my brain, I become like… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 22, 2008 at 10:43pm — No Comments

Meet Me in Virginia This Weekend

This weekend I'll be hanging at the Mall with some of my best Border-line friends. What I mean is, I'll spend time at the two bookstores that have given me the most support since I was first published.

Tomorrow I'll sign books at the Borders Express in Springfield Mall. Dan and Ilke are almost like family, and I will be pleased to sign at their store from 11 am to 4 pm. The store is at 6725 Springfield Mall, Springfield, VA.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 22, 2008 at 10:34pm — No Comments

'The Nemesis Cell' Reviewed

My forthcoming paperback release 'The Nemesis Cell' (Steel Waves Publishing) has just been reviewed by the review body, CK2S Kwips & Kritiques and has received a fantastic 4!/2 Klover rating (out of 5). In it's e-book format 'The Nemesis Cell' was placed 6th in the 2007 Preditors & Editors Readers Award Poll and I am thrilled that it will very soon be made available to a wider reading audience in it's paperback version. The review will soon be available to view on… Continue

Added by Brian L Porter on August 22, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Cop Attackers

In a recent blog post I wrote about studies in New York and Los Angeles, which showed that police officers involved in shootings had a hit ratio of about 33%. I concluded that either police officers in New York and Los Angeles, despite extensive training, were lousy shots, or perhaps it was very difficult to hit a target with a handgun, even when the target wasn’t returning fire.

A five-year study released by the FBI entitled “Violent Encounters: A Study of Felonious Assaults on Our… Continue

Added by Christopher Valen on August 22, 2008 at 12:34pm — 2 Comments

A Priceless Resource

Crime fiction writers have resources available to us now our literary ancestors could not have imagined. The Internet. Citizen police academies, where writers can get a taste of police work from the inside. A couple of hundred cable channels competing to see who can show the down and dirtiest true crime stories. Another couple of hundred channels for movies, including some devoted entirely to crime flicks. TiVo and DVRs so you can watch whenever you want. NetFlix. All of these are great; we've… Continue

Added by Dana King on August 22, 2008 at 11:55am — 2 Comments

Answers to Yesterday's Non-stupid Questions

Who Put the Bomp?

The Fool on the Hill/The Man I Love/The Girl from Ipanema

What Ever Happened to Randolph Scott?

Already Gone/Deep in the Heart of Texas/Gone Fishin'

Where Is Love?

Under the Boardwalk/Up on the Roof/Somewhere Beyond the Sea

When Will I See You Again?

You'll Never Know/In the Year 2525/Tonight

Why Haven't I Heard from You?

We're Having a Heatwave/It's Too Darned Hot/Baby, It's Cold Outside

Who Wrote the Book of Love?

The… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 21, 2008 at 10:20pm — 1 Comment

The black hole of promotion

As many of you may know, when promoting a book, there is no instant feedback. Usually we're promoting a book that we:

wrote years ago
sold a while ago
edited a few months ago
forgot about once it was turned in for final line edits
and now have to revisit to promote it

The entire time we're promoting it, we don't know if the promotion is effective because we won't get a royalty check for a few months, so it's hard to determine if the… Continue

Added by J L Wilson on August 21, 2008 at 9:27pm — No Comments

I'm so lonesome I could cry...

Hubby's been gone all month! First he flew to Oklahoma to surprise his son on his birthday, then he flew to Kansas to stay a while with his grandson and his family. He likes it there. I mean, who wouldn't? He has his own little suite complete with a plasma TV. His granddaughter is a great little hostess and dotes on him I'm sure. Why, they even bought a brand new recliner for him!

Hummm...I'm beginning to wonder if he's coming home at all. This is the longest he's been gone. At first… Continue

Added by Tory Richards on August 21, 2008 at 7:30am — No Comments

THE EVIL THAT MEN DO by Dave White

Having lost his P.I. license in the aftermath of When One Man Dies, Jackson Donne is forced back into action when his brother-in-law's restaurant is bombed and his brother-in-law is kidnapped. Part of a multi-viewpoint, multi-generational adventure, Donne must figure out who is targeting his family before it's too late.

The Evil That Men Do improves in every way on White's aforementioned debut novel. Though… Continue

Added by Gerald So on August 21, 2008 at 6:39am — No Comments

There Are No Stupid Questions

Okay, then--

Who Put the Bomp?
What Ever Happened to Randolph Scott?
Where Is Love?
When Will I See You Again?
Why Haven't I Heard from You?
Who Wrote the Book of Love?
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your LIfe?
Where Is the Love (You Said You'd Give to Me)?
When Will I Be Loved?
Why Do I Love You?

Added by Peg Herring on August 20, 2008 at 11:03pm — 1 Comment

Another Cool review

I like to feature interesting web sites in this space, even when the site is my own. I always feature the feedback and reviews I receive on my web site, and today I’d like to introduce Eugene Booker.

I met Eugene during my most recent book signing at Washington Dulles International Airport. That was on July 25th, and he e-mailed comments to me just four days later. In his e-mail he described himself as “the Black/Filipino guy with glasses” but what I remember most was how… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 20, 2008 at 10:46pm — No Comments

Tropical Storm Fay

Well, I got ready! Since hubby has been in Kansas all month I haven't been watching that much TV, especially on my days off. I enjoy the peace and quiet. I didn't even know we had a storm out there until I made the mistake of stopping to grocery shop at Wal-Mart Sunday afternoon. The store was packed like it was the day before Christmas!

I asked the cashier if it was always like that on Sundays (making a mental note NOT to go back) and she said it was because it was the first day of… Continue

Added by Tory Richards on August 20, 2008 at 1:00pm — 4 Comments

Website Update, and Muse Online Writers Conference

Finally got my website updated. The update includes a pdf download of the short story "The Uncle Hunt", previously published in "Hate: An Anthology of Mystery and Murder."

The Muse Online Writers Conference for 2008 is coming in October. Registration is open, but it closes on September 1, 2008. The conference organizers are keeping the deadline strict this year, so if you don't… Continue

Added by Pepper Smith on August 20, 2008 at 11:18am — No Comments

Weekly Blog, Monday 18th August

Justice For All Takes To The Road

As weeks go, the last seven days have been pretty special for me, as Friday saw the release of Justice For All (JFA) in the UK and Eire. Ever since I was a kid, I always dreamed of being an author, so to finally see my debut novel hit the shelves was an experience I can’t even begin to put into words (which is probably something an author shouldn’t admit to!) It’s now on sale in Asda (where it’s number 26 in their chart), Borders, Waterstones,… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on August 20, 2008 at 4:19am — No Comments

Point of View Plus

I have just returned from giving a talk to a local reading circle. It was their fourth anniversary of meeting and they wanted to mark it with the visit of a 'live' author. Think I qualify on those grounds - though sometimes I'm not so sure about the 'live' bit. They were a lovely and lively group of women (sadly their only male member had recently left to go into a nursing home). It was a pleasure to meet them all. I talked about how I write and read… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on August 20, 2008 at 3:24am — No Comments

Inventing Words

Poe did it. Shakespeare did, too, and we let them. Now it's rappers, techies and teenagers who are on the cutting edge. They invent terms or use them in new ways and the rest of us pick it up, trying to be cool even though we're way past junior high. I've learned to say "He texted me" but he'd better not, because I'd have no idea what to do if he did.

We need some new words that no one is working on, though. As a writer, I find phrases that are outdated, but there isn't a good… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 19, 2008 at 10:16pm — No Comments

Political Overload

I get irritated and a little depressed by the amount of political rhetoric being thrown around in the mass media - and we haven't even had the conventions yet. Until then, these two guys are only the SELF-declared choices of the two major parties.

I was starting to wonder if the whole electoral brouhaha is even worth the trouble. Then a buddy reminded me that politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly... and for the same reason.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 19, 2008 at 10:00pm — 1 Comment

What I love most about bad guys

By Kathryn Lilley When I pick up a thriller, I want the slayer to be super-sized. My killer's got to be so cold and bad-ass, he’s doing the Monster Mash all over the page, leaving behind a trail of bloody footprints.… Continue

Added by Kathryn Lilley on August 19, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments