August 2009 Blog Posts (175)

The ARROWSAKE ALUMNI

Hi folks,
I've just created a 'fan page' here at ning for readers/fans of my Joe Hunter books. If anyone would care to join, please follow this link

Added by Matt Hilton on August 12, 2009 at 1:00am — No Comments

I met with my web guy yesterday, and as usual, we ended up talking about a zillion things only marginally related to updating my website. We find similarities in our work, although he's a self-proclaimed geek and I'm SO not-geeky, at least in the technological sense. However, creativity is essential in his work, just as in mine. It's just that I work with words, trying to put them together just the right way, and he works with code, manipulating it to do ever more creative things in… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 11, 2009 at 10:44pm — No Comments

Culture?

I am always astonished at the people I speak to in bookstores who don't appear to belong there. When I mention that I'm doing an author signing some look at me and say, "Oh, I don’t read books."

That’s why I support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 11, 2009 at 9:38pm — No Comments

Review - Deep Night, Caroline Petit

Book Title: DEEP NIGHT

Author: Caroline Petit

Publisher: SOHO

Copyright: 2008

ISBN: 978-1-56947-530-0

No of Pages: 276

Book Synopsis:

Leah Kolbe's father, a dealer in antiquities, left the business to her when he died. Now the Japanese have occupied most of mainland China and threaten the British colony of Hong Kong where Leah lives. When they unexpectedly invade, her fiancé becomes a prisoner of war, interned under the harshest conditions with the… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 11, 2009 at 3:52pm — No Comments

'A Freak'en Mess' Turner Hahn/Frank Morales short story is up on Eastern Standard Crime.

Another one of my homicide detective short-stories featuring Turner Hahn and Frank Morales is featured on the latest Eastern Standard Crime website. Take a peek and tell me what you think.

Added by B.R.Stateham on August 11, 2009 at 2:52pm — No Comments

Do ya' think opening a bookstore specializing in Crime Fiction makes sense?

We hear all kinds of stories about bookstores, publishers, etc., pulling the shades and locking their doors permanently. So does it make sense for anyone to even consider opening a bookstore that would specialize in a particular genre? (for me, I'm thinking Detective/Mystery and anything directly related to it).

Would something like this have even a ghost of a chance to survive? would it have to be a brick-and-mortar store? Or do you think it could work just on the web? (of course,… Continue

Added by B.R.Stateham on August 11, 2009 at 7:26am — 12 Comments

Author Update

Saturday I got a warm welcome at the Borders in Frederick, MD. We had beautiful weather and lots of traffic in the store, and an old friend stopped by to say hi (Thanks, Connie! It was great to see you!) I didn’t quite sell out this time – there were 3 books remaining when I left.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 11, 2009 at 5:39am — No Comments

While Hubby is Away...

...something weird ALWAYS happens. So last night I'm relaxing on the couch when I hear what at first seems to be thunder. But the cat is upset by it to the point where she can't sleep, which is unusual for her. It goes on too long, so I start looking around. From the porch I can hear the rumbling clearly, but there is nothing in sight. I stand there listening to this insistent, hollow sound that can't be thunder, but the yard is empty.

I go back inside; the sound continues. I look… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 10, 2009 at 10:34pm — 3 Comments

Optimistic and excited

I’ve been wrestling with the plot of my next Inspector Horton Marine Mystery crime novel over the last few days – hence the silence on my blog, and the silence around the house. I get so absorbed in it, that I find it hard to think of anything else. I’m just over two thirds of the way through writing the first draft and I’ve got to that stage where I need to know exactly where I’m going and with whom. You’d think I would have it all worked out by now, having written nearly seventy thousand… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on August 10, 2009 at 9:37pm — 8 Comments

Review - Kickback, Garry Disher

Book Title: KICKBACK

Author: Garry Disher

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Copyright: 1991

ISBN: 1-86373-591-7

No of Pages: 192

Book Synopsis:

Wyatt robs banks, and lifts payrolls. Most men like him are dead or in gaol. But Wyatt stamps a cold, pitiless style on his heists - and makes sure that he never gets caught.

Now his funds are low and his luck is running out - until the day Anna Reid explains about the kickback in her partner's safe.… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 10, 2009 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Review - The Semantics of Murder, Aifric Campbell

Book Title: THE SEMANTICS OF MURDER

Author: Aifric Campbell

Publisher: Serpents Tail

Copyright: 2008

ISBN: 9781846686580

No of Pages: 246

Book Synopsis:

Jay Hamilton lives a comfortable life in fashionable west London, listening to the minor and major dysfunctions of the over-privileged clients who frequent his psychoanalytic practice. But the darker recesses of his own psyche would not stand up to close examination: his brother Richard, a genius… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 10, 2009 at 1:51pm — No Comments

Writing Tools - Misused Words & Phrases

I hate it when words are used incorrectly. The phrase “I don’t think that word means what you think it means!” may be one of my most repeated sentences. Regardless of this, I am guilty of word abuse. Maybe this will help.

Homophones (Words that sound alike but have different meanings) -

Accept/Except: Accept is a verb meaning to receive. Except is usually a preposition meaning excluding, but can also be a verb meaning to… Continue

Added by M.C. Peery on August 10, 2009 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

CSI Myths

The use of forensics in television dramas has created a legal phenomenon known as the “CSI effect.” Jurors today often view forensics as gospel based on what they see on their favorite shows. The August issue of Popular Mechanics magazine attempts to dispel some myths in a cover story entitled, “The Truth About Forensics”.

In real life, many forensic labs are understaffed and have a huge backlog of requests for services. Some state and city forensic departments have mishandled… Continue

Added by Christopher Valen on August 10, 2009 at 8:31am — No Comments

Akitada at Cambridge University

What do you know, a fan -- who is also a professor and of Chinese ancestry -- writes to let me know how much she enjoys the series. She writes from Cambridge University, and I express my gratified surprise, having been told by my agent that the British just aren't showing any interest in the series. Not at all, my wonderful new fan tells me. There is a whole group of Cambridge professors who await each installment eagerly, and the local bookstore, Heffers, plans to do a special… Continue

Added by I. J. Parker on August 10, 2009 at 4:20am — 4 Comments

Five smokes and a new novel: Klaus Modick’s Writing Life

When my second novel A GRAVE IN GAZA was being translated into German, I received an email from my translator. He had a number of penetrating questions about certain phrases I'd used in the book. He also happened to be the only translator who asked me a question about any of my books (and my work is translated in… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 9, 2009 at 8:30pm — 2 Comments

Omar Yussef "the best crime fiction can achieve"

The first rock concert I ever attended was a performance by Canada's greatest rockers Rush. I've loved Canadians ever since. In the London (Ontario) Free Press recently, Joan Barfoot gave me another reason to adore them. She gives a terrific review to the second of my Palestinian crime novels A GRAVE IN GAZA (UK title The Saladin Murders). Of my… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 9, 2009 at 8:18pm — No Comments

Monday 10th August

First this week, a quick reminder that I’ll be signing copies of Blood Law at the Norwich branch of Waterstones (Castle Street) on Saturday 15th August at 12 noon. If you’re in the area, please come along to grab a personalised copy of what’s sure to be one of the summer’s most action-packed reads! The last time I had a signing in my hometown the support from the local populace was humbling, so fingers crossed this one goes just as well.

On the publicity front, I appeared in an… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on August 9, 2009 at 7:23pm — No Comments

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FRIENDS!

Just wanted to let ya'll know, in case you need to cancel anything, change your vacation or take a day off from work that my alter ego Tory Richards will be blogging on August 22 at Coffee Time! I'll, I mean she'll be offering up several prizes throughout the day so you might want to drop in once in a while. She won't tell me what they are, sorry. Below is the link.

Coffee Time Blog

Added by Tory Richards on August 8, 2009 at 9:02am — No Comments

REVIEWS ARE STARTING TO TRICKLE IN -

REVIEWS ARE GOOD. SALES ARE GOOD. WHOOPIE!

5.0 out of 5 stars Reminded me of the Golden Age of Detective Novels!, August 6, 2009

By Carole Gill (England) Author - See all my reviews

Memoirs of Bear reads like the best of the golden age detective novels.

There are few Detectives as interesting as Bear Williams, part Apache--and all American hero! He's hugely engaging.

It seemed to me as I read the novel,… Continue

Added by Tom Cooke on August 8, 2009 at 8:41am — No Comments

A great “What if”: Richard Jay Parker’s Writing Life

In his terrific “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft,” Stephen King notes that the best way to start a novel is with a compelling “what if.” Try this one: “Vacation Killer” sends out a chain email declaring that he’s kidnapped a woman and that if you don’t forward the email to 10 friends he’ll “slit the bitch’s throat.” That’s about as good a “what if” as anyone--Big Steve included--could come up with. It’s the premise for Richard Jay Parker’s debut… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 8, 2009 at 1:23am — No Comments