I got home last night after three weeks in Europe. I'm trying to put my impressions on paper and I realize that the bad still outweighs the good.

We flew into Frankfurt and took the train to Dresden. I'm glad we saw it--it is a completely recreated old city. You'd think the buildings had stood since the middle ages but actually most were faithfully rebuilt after WW2. Still, it was pleasant and we had the most fabulous duck and red cabbage.

Then on to Prague, which to me was a…

SILENT COUNSEL Tour - September 16

Barnes & Noble #2609

Freehold, NJ

Today brought me to Barnes & Noble in Freehold, NJ, just outside the Freehold Raceway Mall—and next door to the famed Jersey Freeze, a notable hot spot (uh, cool spot?) for great sundaes.…

By Guest Blogger Kate Flora

My youngest niece has left for college. Kate is bright, beautiful, and enthusiastic about this new adventure. I’ve had a flurry of excited e-mails with pictures of her dorm room. She loves her classes. Her roommates are great. She calls to ask if I can order a book from Amazon and rush it to her when the school bookstore doesn’t have it. She e-mails to say she’s made the cheerleading team.

I’m so happy for her, this strong and agile young…

Yes, it can be done.

The math teacher (aka me) is going to teach a writing lesson on detective stories to my 8th graders! For all of those who have said that it can’t be done, it is being done. They’re enjoying the lesson, which is all about having a mystery that is based in part of probability. They have to have a sleuth and a Watson, so that they can explain the probability situation to the Watson. If some of the stories are good, I am going to try to put a book of them together for…

by Guest Blogger Raymond White

So, how do you get an agent and get published?

My co-author, Duane Lindsay, and I, Raymond White, cringed at the idea of more query letters. We probably hated the thought of writing them and mailing them as much as agents and editors hate getting them. Those folks are simply buried by the volume of queries they receive and we viewed that as a problem because, since they didn’t know us personally, and we hadn’t been recommended to them by…

Yesterday I went to this amazing pop culture conference, Imprint Life, which discussed Asia's and Asians' role in developing global pop culture. Got me thinking about a lot of things, which I'll probably elaborate more on my website at the beginning of October.

There was a session on blogging, and the panel moderator Josh Spear spoke about this ill-advised web banner campaign that McDonald's embarked on in 2005. It something related to its dollar meal and including the phrase, "I'd…

I will be chatting September 24 @ authorapprentices@yahoogroups.com 8-10 p.m.

I will also be chatting October 16 @ loveromancescafe@yahoogroups.com noon to 3 p.m.

Hope to see you there.

cmr

From one of the editors of AAM, Tim Gallagher...

NEW SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR AAM



Okay, kids, we got the first issue out of the way. It darn near killed some of us, but we did it.

In the process of putting the magazine together, we learned what worked and what didn’t; what we need help with and what we have down pat; and what changes will have to be made in order to ensure things go smoother the second…

posted by Leann Sweeney

Oh you know what I'm talking about. The great rulers of the universe. Our at least of my universe--my prescription drug carrier. Seems they have taken issue with my need for migraine medication, or at least as much migraine medication as they have determined that I need. Does it seem odd that a pharmacy is allowed to change a doctor's order by simply sending the office a fax and then who ever picks up the fax says "oh well, there they go again?" Does…

People can't help but wonder when they have a friend who is an author: Am I in the story somewhere? Of course we use people we know for characters, otherwise everyone in the book would be just like the author.

You needn't fret, however, about looking bad or silly or pathetic. Like the children we create but can't control, once a character steps into a story he or she becomes a unique individual. I may want a character to do something brave, but if it isn't in him, he'll refuse, and…

HELEN BARER

New York

Helen Barer is a New Yorker, born and bred in Brooklyn. She graduated from Bennington College in Vermont, got a Master's Degree from NYU Graduate

School of Arts & Sciences, was a 'gofer' at CBS Television, and…

Happy day. "Resort to Murder," a new anthology published by the Minnesota Crime Wave hit the bookstores this week. It was sweet to see it on the stands at Barnes and Noble. I'm thrilled to have my story "Bird of Prey" included. The anthology is the follow up to the very successful "The Silence of the Loons." RTM features thirteen stories written by Minnesota authors set a resorts in the state.

For those who do not know, The Minnesota Crime Wave are: William Kent Krueger, Ellen Hart,…

Last year at Bouchercon, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel and got to meet fun folks like Dan Hale, who is currently Executive VP of MWA. After that meeting I joined MWA and serve on the Reads committee, which runs a national writing contest for children and teens. This has been a great experience, and further led me to get to know the Midwest Chapter of MWA. This group is now a partner of Love is Murder, as of last year.

The…