August 2008 Blog Posts (153)

I got the call!

Today, after waiting for two years, I finally got the call I've been waiting for. The phone rang, I picked it up and said hello. Then this tiny little voice said, "hi gamaw", and my heart just melted! Alivia just turned two and must be the world's smartest baby:) I know, if my daughter could hear me now she'd say I'm such a dork. I don't care! I love being a grandma, or in this case, gamaw:)

Added by Tory Richards on August 13, 2008 at 12:00pm — No Comments

MEN OF MYSTERY WEEK at Acme Authors Link

Catch all the action at http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com

Morgan Mandel
www.morganmandel.com

Added by Morgan Mandel on August 13, 2008 at 5:08am — No Comments

Trades start weighing in on Small Crimes

Starred review from PW: "Zeltserman's breakthrough third crime novel deserves comparison with the best of James Ellroy"

From Booklist: "Small Crimes has plenty of crime, but obsession, hubris, and evil, pure and impure, are at the heart of this vivid noir." --Thomas Gaughan

Added by Dave Zeltserman on August 13, 2008 at 2:49am — 2 Comments

In Cold Daylight

The plot line in my thriller, In Cold Daylight, which was shortlisted for the World Book Day Prize 2008, is turning out to become more of a reality than I envisaged when I first started researching and writing it some years ago, probably because it was based on a true story which I overheard my husband's fire fighting colleagues discussing on the station one day.

In Cold Daylight is centred around several fire fighters from one watch dying of… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on August 13, 2008 at 1:01am — No Comments

Novelists! Meet Me Tomorrow in Maryland

I’m coming up on a busy week in Maryland. It starts tomorrow when I address this month’s meeting of the Maryland Writers Association. I’ll chat with the members on “The Joy and Challenge of Marketing Fiction,” which really is rather different from marketing nonfiction books. My speech will be short because I’ll want to leave lots of question and answer time. Meetings are held every month at 7:30 pm in the annex building of the Chesapeake Arts Center, 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park, Maryland.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 12, 2008 at 11:37pm — No Comments

Writers, Learn from Non-writers

When I taught Shakespeare back in the day, invariably students would ask, "Why does it take him so long to say everything?" I'd launch into my canned explanation of the fact that Elizabethans liked the sound of the spoken word, since they weren't immersed in it as we are today, and the fact that the lack of elaborate sets meant the actors had to create the mood and an image of the physical scene, et cetera, et cetera. Often when I finished, the same student would say something like, "Whatever.… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 12, 2008 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Capturing fear on the page

As a young girl, I hated feeling afraid.

But as a grown-up mystery writer (or at least, grown older), I love describing fear.
Read more

Added by Kathryn Lilley on August 12, 2008 at 5:09pm — No Comments

CHASING DARKNESS by Robert Crais

A routine fire evacuation turns up the body of Lionel Byrd, who, three years earlier, was cleared of suspicion in the murder of a prostitute thanks to evidence found by Elvis Cole. Byrd is now found in possession of an album containing grotesque photos of seven murders, including the one Elvis investigated. While everyone else easily accepts Byrd was the killer, Elvis is driven to find out for himself.

Since 1999's L.A. REQUIEM, Crais has used multiple viewpoints to tell his stories,… Continue

Added by Gerald So on August 12, 2008 at 9:47am — No Comments

The Latest

Friday I signed books at the third Borders Books store in Washington Dulles International Airport. They’ve closed a few gates in Terminal B so business wasn’t as brisk as it was in the other two stores. Still it was well worth my time and the folks there are always so friendly I’ll go back for another try later in the year.

Sunday’s signing at the Hard Bean Coffee and Booksellers was a new experience: outdoors during parents’ week in Annapolis, the home of the Naval Academy. The city… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 11, 2008 at 10:58pm — No Comments

It's Hard to Say Good-bye

It's getting close, that time when I have to officially proclaim that I've done everything I can to make a manuscript into a book. I have to turn it over to editors and typesetters and publishers, who will lay it before the world and ask that someone plunk down hard-earned (or even inherited) money for it. But what if there's a mistake?

Saying you're finished with a book is a little like saying you're done raising a child. You are judged by what the public sees, and you can't go back… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 11, 2008 at 9:55pm — No Comments

Weekly Blog - Monday 11th August

A Face for the Radio

Last week I recorded my first ever interview for Manx Radio (who serve the Isle of Mann) to help publicise Justice For All. Their DJ, Bob Harrison, dialled through on Tuesday lunchtime, and after a brief ‘getting to know you’ chat, he hit the big red button on his mixing desk to start recording (I don’t actually know if it was a big red button, but I’ve always wanted to mention one in dispatches) and we were off. The interview lasted for ten minutes or so… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on August 11, 2008 at 7:01pm — No Comments

Think Outside the Box

I recently read of an author who made great sales doing telephone conference calls with book clubs. Of course when I mentioned this to a few fellow writers I immediately got all the reasons why it won’t work. Well, I’ll seek out a list of such clubs anyway, and see if I can make contact. If you’re in a book club and would like an author to join you at a meeting by telephone, shoot me an e-mail.

And to my author friends: Never be afraid to try something new. Remember: amateurs built… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 11, 2008 at 11:27am — No Comments

SLING WORDS - A Blog review

“Chasin' The Wind”

by Michael Haskins Hardback: 238 pagesPublisher: Five Star, Gale Cengage LearningISBN-13 978-1-59414-638- Copyright 2008

The cover of Chasin' The Wind has palm trees gilded by a setting sun and a boat, silhouetted on a patch of gleaming water. All else in the peaceful scene is darkness. The cover artist perfectly captured the essence of this book, the first Mad Mick Murphy Mystery, by Michael… Continue

Added by Michael Haskins on August 11, 2008 at 4:04am — No Comments

Anachronism Theater

Without going into a long rant about these-young-kids-today and their ADD addiction to mile-a-minute jitter and flash, allow me to draw your attention to the fact that Eddie Muller’s excellent, old-school and decidedly grown-up short film The Grand Inquisitor is now available online. Check it out and if you like it, be sure to rate it. You can also read more about the fascinating history of this film on the… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on August 11, 2008 at 3:16am — No Comments

On the way to a conference by Margot Justes

I missed the blog last Saturday, was in San Francisco for the Romance Writers of America National Conference. I was a tourist, one of my favorite things to do. The hotel was well situated, right up the street from Union Square-perfect location.

I love to walk, and walk I did…from the hotel to China Town, to Little Italy, to Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39, to chocolate square otherwise know as Ghirardelli Square and finally to the trolley stop for the ride back.

I knew I was… Continue

Added by Margot Justes on August 10, 2008 at 9:21am — No Comments

Meet me for Coffee Tomorrow

As good as the chain stores have been to me, there are a few private stores that I hold dear to my heart. One of them is the Hard Bean Coffee and Booksellers at 36 Market Space in Annapolis, MD. This place has been very kind to local authors and I’ll be there tomorrow from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm. If you’re anywhere near this fine establishment, drop in Sunday. Mention that you read about my signing on line and I will buy you one of the finest cups of coffee… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 10, 2008 at 12:25am — No Comments

Weekly Blog - Monday 4th August

Last week brought some exciting news, as I discovered that Justice For All has been selected as a recommended summer read by the Daily Mirror newspaper, which has a circulation of around 1.5 million readers a day! My novel, which featured alongside the latest offerings from big-league authors Simon Kernick and Jeff Abbott, was described as ‘a debut of the highest order’, and was deemed ‘uncompromising from start to finish.’ As you can imagine, I was chuffed to bits. Pre-launch publicity doesn’t… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on August 9, 2008 at 12:43am — No Comments

Patterns in Syntax=Good Dialogue

A six-year-old visitor got me thinking about syntax and speech patterns. So much of personality is conveyed in how we put our sentences together, and if a writer can capture unique syntax for her characters, they sparkle and stand out, distinct from each other.

With children we might see, as I did, an adult pattern copied unconsciously by the child who lives almost exclusively with polite adults. As my little visitor went outside to play, he glanced at the table where I'd set out… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 8, 2008 at 11:00pm — No Comments

ELDERCIDE is out at last!

I'm delighted to report that ELDERCIDE, my new novel of suspense, is finally published. I took a break from CrimeSpace during the lengthy revision process, but I'm back at last.

The novel grew out of my experience as President of ElderSource, Inc., a Licensed Home Care Services Agency I ran for eight tumultuous years. We specialized in round-the-clock live-in care for clients nearing the end of their lives. Often the emotional toll for clients and their families was enormous. More… Continue

Added by Julie Lomoe on August 8, 2008 at 7:06am — No Comments

Book Signing Part II - Florida and NY

I’ve written a little about my early book signings in Key West and South Florida and you can see photos from all my signings on my website, http://www.michaelhaskins.net/, if you are interested. If you came to any of the signings, you may find your photo there.

Marshall Smith, owner of Key West Island Books, hosted my first signing days after the release date of “Chasin’ the Wind.” I sold 80 books and he told me the only person to sell more at a book signing was Carl Hiaasen. It was… Continue

Added by Michael Haskins on August 8, 2008 at 6:30am — No Comments