August 2008 Blog Posts (153)

T&T BACKSTORY #3: THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI

In the first Hector Lassiter novel, Head Games, Hector visited his old friend Orson Welles on the set of Welles’ noir classic Touch of Evil. It was noted in Head Games (set in 1957) that Hector owed Orson a favor connected to… Continue

Added by Craig McDonald on August 31, 2008 at 9:53pm — No Comments

The Underpants Gnomes

South Park once did a wonderful story about Underpants Gnomes. Tweak, the boys' new friend, was constantly wired on caffeine from the coffee his coffee shop-owning parents kept pumping into him. (Yes, they would do that. This is South Park we're talking about. Besides, if you read past the Underpants Gnomes premise, what's the problem with a ten-year-old caffeine addict?) Since Tweak never slept, he was awake to see the Underpants Gnomes march into his bedroom every morning at 3:30 and steal… Continue

Added by Dana King on August 31, 2008 at 12:54pm — No Comments

FIND THE MAN

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, the right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein. If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is… Continue

Added by Tory Richards on August 31, 2008 at 9:48am — No Comments

Warning for You Pet Lovers

Even if you don't have a pet, please pass this to those that do. Yesterday one of our dog agility friends experienced a tragedy and wanted me to pass a special message along to all of my dog loving friends and family. Over the weekend the doting owner of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch from Target to use in their garden. They loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog Calypso decided that the mulch smelled good enough to eat and… Continue

Added by Tory Richards on August 31, 2008 at 9:36am — No Comments

Win a signed copy of FREEZING POINT!

Romantic Times just named my October debut thriller a "Top Pick" and gave it 4 1/2 stars -- hooray! "Its ingenious plot, genuine characters, superlative writing and nail-biting suspense will change the way you look at a bottle of water."

Now you can get a signed copy, PLUS a bottle of genuine iceberg water. Check out the FREEZING POINT "Star in My Book Video" contest, and thanks for playing!

Added by Karen Dionne on August 30, 2008 at 12:00pm — No Comments

2008 Ned Kelly Winners

We've just returned from a fabulous night at the Neds, with One Of Those Debates! But more on all of that later when I start posting some summaries of the entire MWF week. Suffice to say the winners were:

Best First Fiction:

The Low Road, Chris Womersley

An incredibly deserving winner and 100% my choice so it's absolutely the right choice [VBEG]

Best Fiction:

Shatter, Michael Rowbotham

Again - a very deserving and apt… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 30, 2008 at 12:18am — No Comments

The Concept of Time

I think it was Einstein who began this whole "time is bendable" thing, but maturity confirms it. What used to be a year feels more like seven months these days, and what used to be a 16-hour day feels like nine-and-a-half hours.

Every night before bed, I tell myself that in the morning I'll write for X number of hours. I plan carefully, carving a block of time out of all the other stuff that's going on. When my nine-and-a-half hours arrives, though, the block becomes a brick and… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 29, 2008 at 11:06pm — No Comments

BOOK LAUNCH PARTY!

Anyone in the neighborhood is invited to the Book Launch Party for BLOOD ALONE, the newest Billy Boyle WWII Mystery:

Friday, September 5, 2008, 7:00 p.m.
Lyme Public Library
Route 156 (Hamburg Road)
Lyme, Connecticut

Book talk, refreshments (Siclian wine and baked goods), book sales & signing!

Added by James R. Benn on August 29, 2008 at 5:46am — 1 Comment

Fall ahead?

So after a week on the beach and more lobster than should be legal, I'm back here at my newly clean desk, thinking about what comes next. Before I left, a friend asked me if I knew which project I wanted to tackle: the grumpy pet psychic detective (based on my "pet noir" short story) or… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on August 29, 2008 at 2:41am — No Comments

Thoughts on Labor Day

In thinking of the upcoming holiday weekend I found this marvelous quote from a guy named Douglas Pagels. He said that sometimes it's important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it's essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.

But here's a more objective, scientific view. If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end... well, it would probably… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 28, 2008 at 10:37pm — 2 Comments

And About Those Kilts...

William Wallace never wore one, of course, so the whole mooning thing has to be discarded. But it was a great idea, and a great scene. Having just returned from a Highland Games event, I can attest to the appeal of a group of great, strapping men throwing things about in flowing tartan.

But that leads to the subject of historical accuracy. Are we as writers educating readers or just telling a good story? If it's the latter, do we care if we fudge a bit on the… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 28, 2008 at 10:03pm — 2 Comments

Achtung Baby--German Rights Sale!

German publisher, Droemer, has bought the rights to my first two novels, Accidents Waiting to Happen and Paying the Piper. This is my 1st foreign rights sale, so I'm quite pleased, especially as I'm getting paid in euros. :-)

The smaller news is that I have a story appearing in Seattle Noir, part of Akashic's city noir series.

Added by Simon Wood on August 28, 2008 at 9:37am — 2 Comments

Faust on Sex.com Radio

I’m being interviewed by Ciara Parsons and Jason Stuart for sex.com radio tomorrow. You will be able to hear me on XM radio’s National Lampoon radio network 154 on September 4th at 7pm and again on the 9th at 4pm (PST). You will also be able to watch streaming video of the program online. However, the busy little internet elves over at sex.com are currently beavering away setting up the radio homepage and archives so I can’t post a link for that just yet. It will be up and running soon and I’ll… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on August 28, 2008 at 5:30am — No Comments

Author Sapphire Phelan is LIVE! Come by and Win!

Join Author Sapphire Phelan as she guest Blogs with us today at Bitten by Books!

This event is LIVE stop by anytime today and say hi!

One lucky participant will receive a $20.00 Amazon.com Gift Card

This is the link to the LIVE event:

http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=940

See you there!

Rachel - http://bittenbybooks.com Paranormal Fiction Review… Continue

Added by Bitten By Books on August 28, 2008 at 2:34am — No Comments

Crime Always Pays

This week on Crime Always Pays: Andrew Nugent’s latest novel, SOUL MURDER; free copies of David Peace’s ‘Red Riding Quartet’; a sneak preview of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, the movie adapted from John Boyne’s novel; more bumph on the Irish crime writers series at Books 2008; Princess Lilyput gives her verdict as the hardback edition of THE BIG O arrives at Chez Grand Viz; the latest on Sir Kenneth of Bruen; Paul Charles’ latest novel, THE BEAUTIFUL SOUND OF SILENCE; and a little… Continue

Added by Declan Burke on August 28, 2008 at 1:21am — 3 Comments

Ya Gotta Have a Gimmick (R)

More and more we hear as authors that there has to be a reason for people to notice your work. Good writing? That's nice. Great characters? Sweet. But what's the hook? Why should people pick up your book and not one of the other 89,999 that will be published each year?

It's not fair that books have to be shilled as well as skilled, but who said life was fair? What's an author to do if she refuses to dress up in period costume, follow people around bookstores dinning them into buying… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 27, 2008 at 10:23pm — 3 Comments

Weekly Blog - Monday 25th August

Justice For All Rocks Up At Reading

Following on from the debut appearance of the Justice For All Road Show at the V Festival (for those of you wondering what I’m talking about, check out last week’s blog), we hit the big leagues over the bank holiday weekend when we rocked up at Reading. The Reading Festival is my favourite three days of the year, and while this was the thirteenth time I’ve attended, it had extra resonance this year as it was my first time there as a… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on August 27, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

WRITER TO AUTHOR OR IS THAT MY NAME ON THAT BOOK

I have been told that anyone more than twenty miles from home who owns their own briefcase is an expert. I've also heard that anyone with paper and a pen or pencil could be a writer, "you have to be published to call yourself an author."

Well, through a stroke of luck or possibly a lowering of standards I have reached the top of the hill. During a one month period I have been gifted with an audio presentation on the net, included in an anthology that will benefit "Toys For Tots", and have… Continue

Added by Allan E. Ansorge on August 27, 2008 at 6:00am — 2 Comments

Northern Haunts

I'll have TWO stories in the upcoming Shroud Publishing anthology NORTHERN HAUNTS. "Sinister Mirth" (a ghost story) and "A Yeti in Green" (a story about a bank robbery gone awry).

Here's what the publisher has to say about this awesome book:

"NORTHERN HAUNTS is much more than an anthology. It is an indispensable guidebook for your journey through the shadowy New England otherworld. 100 original tales of ghosts, creatures, mad men, and other horrifying mysteries. Each story… Continue

Added by John Weagly on August 27, 2008 at 5:57am — No Comments