Posted by Sheila Connolly

Okay, here's the much anticipated report from My Trip to Tucson (no, don't go change the cat litter or take a nap–please! I promise I'll be brief). I went, I saw, I conquered. All my flights arrived on time (two were actually early!), and my luggage arrived too. This alone may qualify for some sort of prize. Oh, wait–that was the prize. I'm not complaining. I attribute the smooth return legs to the blessing I received from a chatty…

This is the time of year when we tend to divide into camps: those who get all soft and gooey about lights, tinsel, and manufactured bows opposite those who grumble about conspicuous consumption and overcrowded malls. I thought it might be fun to let you try your hand at listing the best and worst things about your Christmas experience. You can be serious or funny, specific or general, but I won't publish anyone's name, no matter how many ugly ties that person has bought for you in the…

In no certain order :

UPCOMING EVENTS 2008

Left Coast Crime

http://www.leftcoastcrime.org

March 6-9: Denver, CO



Love Is Murder

http://www.loveismurder.net

February 1-3

Bouchercon 2008-Charmed to Death

http://www.bouchercon2007.com

October 9-12: Baltimore MD

The Edgars …

What are you reading? Writing? LIM is less than two months away!

Yep, it's definitely been a while since I last blogged. My family went to Disney World for a great vacation the week after all those deadlines with the many books, and then various family illnesses and events came up. A colleague did try to add some posts but ran into technical difficulties.

Whenever I have finished a lot of reviewing as I did in November, I go through a phase where I can read whatever I want and…

Randy O'Kane posted a looking for 5-minute mysteries ont the Short Mystery Fiction Society forum on yahoo. I have had contact with both Randy and his partner, Tom - who works for an educational publisher. This looks to be an excellent opportunity if you can write very short stories - no more than about 4 or so pages (1500 words is probably too much as far as reading time goes)

Anyway if you are interested - here is the information that was posted and remember even though they…

I'm starting over on my W.I.P.

No biggie. I'm only to chapter 6 and the 2 or 3 chapters I'm going to scrap are actually going to get moved to another section of the book. I was busily writing away, happily enjoying my characters and all of a sudden I realized I'd lost track of the mystery.

I mean, gees ... the guy was murdered in chapter 1 and here I am at chapter 6 and I really haven't dealt with the murder at all. I was having way too much fun with a subplot which will prove…

*Lifting wineglass in a little toast*

Happy Birthday to Marta Stephens, author of Silenced Cry and Crimespace member. Hope it is a happy one!
Kim Smith

I've been running a small series of contests (first two are over but there'll be a half dozen more) over on my blog. Thought I'd give people a taste of it over here.

Okay, so JD Rhoades won the first batch of books (gotta contact him) and Manuel Ramos won the second batch. This doesn't mean there aren't other batches - I'm cleaning house...literally. These books are not signed, but there are a bunch of them. Today's group…

I've been blogging on speaking and listening, sharing what I observed over thirty years of teaching communication. It's important for today's author to be a good speaker, because we must present well before agents, editors, and audiences of potential readers. While I would hate to think we compete with each other, we are compared to other writers as we sit on panels, in pitch sessions, and so on. Many times I've bought books based on the impression a speaker made on me at a convention.…

Here's the first advance review of my novel 'Glastonbury' due for publication by Rain Books in 2008.

Glastonbury…

Here's an early review of my novel 'A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper' soon to be released by Double Dragon Publishing.

REVIEW

A Study in Red (The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper.) By Brian L. Porter

1888 and London is…

The advance copies of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere are being sent out and blurbs have started to come in. This is very exciting.

“McFetridge has a verteran’s way with dialogue and prose, and the pages fly by like greased lightning. You’ll love every word, from the very first windshield splat, all the way to the dynamite end. Who’d have thought there was such a seedy side to Toronto, and McFetridge is the perfect guide. Everyone Knows this is awesome!”—Victor Gischler,…