October 2009 Blog Posts (190)

WIND

The wind blows yet you can't see,

you feel it's breath you know it's free.

The branches relent--even the grass,

swaying , rocking, in it's pass.

We each have a wind so real,

to react from to feel.

Life blows from many a direction,

we can't know we lack detection.

The wind of life has a unique sway,

to each it blows a different way.

To some it's hard and unforgiving,

others are caressed with gentle… Continue

Added by RONALD FEASEL on October 11, 2009 at 11:55pm — No Comments

Another story up at A Twist of Noir!

I'm very happy that my story, The Favor, is currently up at A Twist of Noir. This quirky little tale has always been one of my personal favorites. Check it out if you have some time.
http://a-twist-of-noir.blogspot.com/2009/10/twist-of-noir-209-jf-juzwik.html

Added by J. F. Juzwik on October 11, 2009 at 2:30am — No Comments

Covers

Covers are part of the publisher’s sales pitch. Authors are not generally involved in the selection process. That can be both frustrating and infuriating. I happen to be one of those people who cringe at ugliness and mistakes.

Mystery novels are rarely blessed with handsome covers. From what I’ve seen and read, the cover “artist” goes to a large universal photography file, selects a likely scene (usually dark and foggy) and copies… Continue

Added by I. J. Parker on October 11, 2009 at 2:22am — 7 Comments

Page proofs and case files

Well, the page proofs are now sitting on my desk, ready for action! That’s right, Kiss of Death, book 5 in the Sophie Anderson series, is almost ready for the printers here in Australia – sorry, quite a bit longer until press time in other countries :(

My job now is to do a final proof of the typeset pages and write the acknowledgements – that’s it. Can’t believe it’s almost done. A huge sense of both relief and fear; relief that I’m finished and fear that it’ll soon be entirely out… Continue

Added by Phillipa Martin (PD Martin) on October 10, 2009 at 3:25pm — 2 Comments

Fiction writing and Prose

The thing about prose is that it brings out the heart in a writer. The senses are brought to the surface. This will improve the writing of fiction. After writing many pieces of poetry on many subjects I find my fiction writing to be more sensitive to the characters in the novel. I realize I have a long road to travel in my writing. But all writing whatever the genre can assist and develope a writer. Any comments on this subject would be appreciated

Added by RONALD FEASEL on October 10, 2009 at 6:38am — No Comments

Let's do the time warp again

A brouhaha over who can pray at the Temple Mount recalls a similar disagreement ... that became known as the second intifada. by Matt Beynon Rees on GlobalPost

JERUSALEM — I just returned to Jerusalem after a month away. Or at least I thought I did.

I suspect I entered a cosmic wormhole that popped me out in the right place — the Israeli capital — only nine years… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on October 9, 2009 at 11:47pm — No Comments

Added by RONALD FEASEL on October 9, 2009 at 11:35pm — No Comments

The Gift of Murder

I've probably mentioned I'm part of this year's Toys for Tots anthology from Wolfmont, titled THE GIFT OF MURDER. Now I can tell you that I recommend it, since I finished in this morning over breakfast.

I'm pleased to have been included in the anthology, an entertaining mix of holiday crime stories. A great gift for the readers on your holiday list, since you get 19 chances to please instead of just one, and you support a worthy cause at the same time.

Nice work, Tony… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on October 9, 2009 at 9:56pm — No Comments

A Night at the Theater

We just returned from a night at the local renovated opera house. There we saw a much-anticipated national comedian who delivered a wonderful show that was everything we hoped it would be …however (you knew that was coming).

Ten minutes into the main act an aroma that can best be described as late-season-bottom of the-gym-locker-sweat-soaked-sneaker announced itself. It was so strong I missed the punch line of one of the performer’s best efforts. There were three young men sitting… Continue

Added by Karyn J. Powers on October 9, 2009 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Review: Diary of a Witness (YA)

After hearing about it at FiveAwesomeYAFans, I read Catherine Ryan Hyde’s Diary of a Witness. The cover is really nice (you can see it here), simple and foreboding, which made me hope that maybe this was a mystery.

It was not. It was a real page-turner all the same though, so I thought I would tell you what this book is all about. Our main character is… Continue

Added by F.T. Bradley on October 9, 2009 at 10:24am — No Comments

From the YA Sleuth Blog: Friday Links

As always, here are your Friday YA-related links, and some sundry items I felt like adding:

You can nominate your favorite (recent) YA book for the Cybils—check it out here.

At Teenreads, there are several contests to win books (you have to scroll down a bit to get to that part). Penguin also has a contest where you can win some classic books, more on that… Continue

Added by F.T. Bradley on October 9, 2009 at 10:00am — No Comments

WV Book Festival @Charleston Civic Center October 10-11th

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the WV Book Festival. Come on down Saturday-Sunday October 10-11th at the Charleston Civic Center. Panel discussions, book signings, Agents/Publishing, and chat with local authors.

Join me and Robert Walker at 2:30 on Sunday as we discuss how to get your book ready for an agent/publishing house, methods on finding agents and publishers, a look into the publishing world, book promotion, and much more. We will have a book signing after the… Continue

Added by Miranda Phillips Walker on October 9, 2009 at 8:18am — No Comments

A blog talk interview

Added by RJ Medak on October 9, 2009 at 8:13am — No Comments

Writing a Tech Mystery

My first mystery novel, Null_Pointer, debuts at my local, independent bookstore at the end of the month. I'm not positive, but I'm fairly certain there aren't many mystery books out there where the hero is a computer programmer. I may be carving a new niche for myself. Regardless, there were some interesting challenges in crafting a mystery around the premise of killing someone with computer code.

It was the perfect… Continue

Added by Johnny Batch on October 9, 2009 at 1:58am — 1 Comment

latest Amazon.com review for BLEEDER

A real page-turner, October 6, 2009

By Gerard Webster, award-winning author of IN-SI... (Jacksonville, FL USA) - See all my reviews

Reed Stubblefield--a college professor on sabbatical--is a wounded man...both physically by a student's random shot and emotionally by his wife's recent death. He retreats to his brother's remote cabin in the small town of River Falls, Ill. in hopes of writing a book on Aristotle. It's the middle of March and Reed expects the campsite to be empty;… Continue

Added by John Desjarlais on October 9, 2009 at 12:10am — No Comments

That Wonderful Bottom Drawer

In my writing workshops, I always advise letting a piece "rest" in a drawer or file somewhere for an extended time when it's finished, and I just proved to myself once more the value of that practice. There's something about stepping away that clarifies things: plot flaws solve themselves, characters solidify, and bits that nail the thing together grow between the cracks and almost insert themselves.

My WIP for October is the sequel to HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER, which has been… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on October 8, 2009 at 10:01pm — No Comments

Leselust! Reading to Germans

Here's my latest post on the International Crime Authors Reality Check blog:

When authors travel to promote their books in the US and UK, they’ve given up on referring to their appearances as “readings.” Now they’re “events.” Because no one wants to hear an author read.

It could be because authors aren’t such compelling readers or because many of the biggest-selling authors don’t actually write their own books (I… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on October 8, 2009 at 6:13pm — 3 Comments

Two for the show.

Over at A Twist of Noir, I've got two stories up, and each one's title is also its word count. Keep your eyes peeled for the aptly-titled follow-ups.

One Hundred
Two Hundred

Sex and violence to you all,
Jimmy

Added by Jimmy Callaway on October 8, 2009 at 12:31pm — 2 Comments

I meant to post a blog but . . .

I see that most of you have no problems posting photos and book covers on your blog post. I, on the other hand, don't seem to be able to transfer a cover image from my files (jpeg) to the blog. And nowhere in "Help" is this problem addressed. Neither does the "Upload Photo" method explain why there is an "error" with my image and what to do about it.

Any suggestions?

(And sorry to blog about it, but I didn't know what other route to take)

Added by I. J. Parker on October 8, 2009 at 4:54am — 15 Comments

TRUE STORY

I had a ornery spoiled quarter horse mare That I brought home to train. She was a nasty one. She tried to kick me and bite me because the previous owner spoiled her. She had no fear of humans and was dangerous! I set about to change that. I lounged her and watched her carefully. Working with her daily. I was putting her back into her paddock and I turned my back to shut the gate, She bit me on the back. Out of instinct and reaction I turned and readily roundhoused my fist connecting to her… Continue

Added by RONALD FEASEL on October 8, 2009 at 12:30am — No Comments