September 2008 Blog Posts (137)

Fall Newsletter Available on PSWA website

The fall issue of the Public Safety Writers Association (PSWA) is now available on the website:

http://www.policewriter.com

The website also contains information about the writing contest–be sure to read the article in the newsletter written by the contest chairperson–and the PSWA conference coming in July of 2009. There is an early-bird price break on the registration fee until September 30. I hope a lot of you will take advantage of this.

I’ve been a member of PSWA… Continue

Added by Marilyn Meredith on September 4, 2008 at 3:25am — No Comments

The Facebook Virgin

New blog post at: http://mitziszereto.wordpress.com

Added by Mitzi Szereto on September 3, 2008 at 11:37pm — No Comments

Getting Ready for Next Month's Convention

On line you’ll see that the panels have been announced for Bouchercon, the biggest mystery convention of the year. All of the panels are named for song titles, and I’ll have great fun with “THE RIDDLE” (Nik Kershaw tune, in case you’re not a music freak like me.) It will be all about challenging the reader, and our moderator is my good friend Diane Marquette. Check out all the Bouchercon panels.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on September 3, 2008 at 10:32pm — No Comments

What Was I Thinking? Part 2

(Cross posted on Working Stiffs)

Back in June, I blogged about the mental illness from which I suffer. The one where I volunteer for things in the belief that if they’re far enough in the future, I’ll be less busy by then and will have the time to breeze through the tasks required.

To be specific, I volunteered in 2007 to be the 2009… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on September 3, 2008 at 10:31pm — No Comments

Hating Your Job

The people there are nuts. The working conditions are lousy. The pay would be laughable if you didn't need it so much. All in all, you hate your job.

Yesterday a woman asked about retirement. Did I like it? Yes, very much. She sighed. "I just can't decide." I suggested that if she couldn't make up her mind, she wasn't ready to retire. "Oh, I'm ready," she assured me. So what's the holdup? As we walked away, my husband, who knows her better than I do, commented that it's the money… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on September 3, 2008 at 10:28pm — No Comments

JONATHAN MABERRY COMING TO ACME AUTHORS LINK - FRIDAY, SEPT. 5

Acme Authors Link at http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com is proud to host Jonathan Mayberry, our Man of Mystery this week.

Please stop by on Friday and leave a comment for him. If you forget, do it when you remember.

Thanks,

Morgan Mandel…

Continue

Added by Morgan Mandel on September 3, 2008 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Too close for comfort

by Kathryn Lilley
My Labor Day was sketchy this year. I nearly became road kill under the shoe of a schizo. More

Added by Kathryn Lilley on September 3, 2008 at 3:00am — No Comments

Ready, set, go

I’m back at work on THE STALKER.

I started last night by reading over the few chapters and scenes I have already. I like what I have—it’s a first draft, of course, so it’s not perfect, but I’m just so very glad that this story is finally coming together for me. I’ve been working on it forever. I worked on it long before I started writing on it. And I gave up writing it twice. Some of you know, because you’ve read both those drafts … :-)

Good things come in threes,… Continue

Added by NL Gassert on September 3, 2008 at 1:28am — No Comments

Seven, a crime fiction sampler

In anticipation of the US release of my first Serpent's Tail novel, Small Crimes, I'm making available free a new anthology of my crime fiction. Seven contains stories that originally appeared in Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen, Hot Blood, Bullet and Futures, as well as one new original story. These are stories populated by con men, mobsters, and monsters, human or otherwise. To read more about Seven and to download the PDF file for it, click… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on September 3, 2008 at 12:27am — No Comments

A Book You Should Own

I like to introduce worthy additions to your library. Usually I aim for mystery or detective fiction, books you’d likely enjoy if you like the Hannibal Jones mysteries. But today I have some nonfiction that deserves a space on your shelves.

If you like Hannibal as a character, you’ll want to own African American Mystery Writers: A… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on September 2, 2008 at 11:09pm — No Comments

The Young vs the Old

I'm not sure when I began thinking of myself as old. Retirement certainly contributes, and people asking what it's like in that tone of "You're done being useful, so what do you do now to occupy the time until you die?" Salespeople calling me "ma'am" instead of "miss" was a big clue. And a group of elementary school kids I worked with recently pronounced me Grandma, even though I haven't yet earned that title. So yeah, I guess I'm in the "old" category if we're choosing up… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on September 2, 2008 at 10:55pm — No Comments

A Novel Every Three Months Would Do It

To celebrate the completion and upcoming release of his third medical thriller, FRESH FROZEN hardcover, October 2008), author Darden North, MD blogs again.

After two years of tapping on laptop keys, enduring multiple edits, working through some research, and waiting for divine inspiration, the manuscript of my third novel, FRESH FROZEN, is finally complete and headed for publication. The urgency imposed by its October 2008 release helped me… Continue

Added by Darden North, MD on September 2, 2008 at 8:05am — No Comments

Happy Labor Day!

Labor Day is here, and not only am I not working - I’m not writing! I’ve come to believe the words of Elbert Hubbard who said that the man who doesn't relax and hoot a few hoots voluntarily now and then, is in great danger of hooting hoots and standing on his head for the edification of the pathologist and trained nurse, a little later on.

Besides, I hope that my mind will be like the fertile field that, after it has been rested, gives a more bountiful crop.

Happy Labor… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on September 2, 2008 at 12:24am — No Comments

Writers Get No Holiday

I can tell that some people consider my lifestyle with envy. I can work when I want, where I want, and in my slippers. I stop for a break when I choose, not when the clock or a buzzer or someone in authority says I can. I gotta tell you, after thirty years of responding to bells every hour or so, it's great.

The other side of that coin, however, is that my brain is a harder taskmaster than most bosses. It doesn't allow for breaks when the ideas are flowing, which means a sore back at… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on September 1, 2008 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Weekly Blog - Monday 1st September

Press and Taxes

Last week was all about press and taxes. The press angle came from an interview I had with Keiron Pim, the literary editor of my local newspaper, the Eastern Daily Press (EDP). The interview went very well, with Keiron proving to be a really nice guy, and I got to tell him all about Justice For All, along with my background as a born and bred Norwich lad. An EDP photographer will visit my house next week to take some shots of yours truly to go alongside the… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on September 1, 2008 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Gone Fishin'

It's pretty easy for three weeks to pass without my posting here, but I just thought I'd let you all know ... I'm going overseas for three weeks. New York and Los Angeles to be exact. I'll definitely be meeting some of the people that I've only known through the internet for the very first time and I hope to meet a few others too. Like… Continue

Added by Daniel Hatadi on September 1, 2008 at 9:30pm — 3 Comments

Anarchists and Mother Nature

Manhole covers spot welded into place. 100 spy-in-the-sky cameras focused on downtown streets. Mobile detection units ready to go. Helicopters set to deploy assault forces. Highway exits leading into the city closed. Fences and barricades built around a no-go zone and a tightly controlled perimeter. Fully armed mobile field force units in place and on standby alert.

Am I describing Baghdad? Nope. It’s my hometown of St. Paul as it prepares for the start of the Republican Convention… Continue

Added by Christopher Valen on September 1, 2008 at 11:05am — 1 Comment