December 2009 Blog Posts (152)

The Dreaded Read-Aloud Phase

...is over. I read the whole darned thing, which took days and days, a lot of water, and a lot of stopping to fix what my ears heard that my eyes didn't. (Funny how eyes don't hear a thing!)

It's one of the most valuable things a writer can do, and it's also boring. But how clearly those repetitive phrases pop out. How easily you spot a point where there's not an adequate segue. How plainly you see that a character would not use that vocabulary, that tone, that phrasing at that… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on December 11, 2009 at 9:58pm — 4 Comments

Meet Me Tomorrow in PA

Saturday I’ll make a trip up north for my first visit to Waldenbooks in Hanover PA. From noon to 4 pm I’ll have a chance to introduce myself to some new faces and hopefully make some new fans. That store is at 1155 Carlisle Street, Hanover, PA.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on December 11, 2009 at 9:01pm — No Comments

Lift off!

On Tuesday this week I started writing the new Sophie Anderson book, Coming Home. Check out my YouTube video to see how it looked after 24 hours: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLG7C0Wzb7I

As the voting deadline got closer, a clear leader began to emerge for my first question: What sparks Sophie to investigate her brother’s murder? And it seemed that option A had it: After 28 years with no abductions or murders… Continue

Added by Phillipa Martin (PD Martin) on December 11, 2009 at 7:32pm — No Comments

First Thrills anthology announced

The International Thriller Writers officially announced the First Thrills anthology today. Edited by Lee Child and featuring stories from the bestsellers of today and tomorrow, it will be published by Tor/Forge in June 2010.

Two reasons why I'm excited about this: First, it features a fun wee crime caper I wrote entitled UnderBelly; and second, it will be published around the same time my debut… Continue

Added by Grant McKenzie on December 11, 2009 at 2:56am — No Comments

Kirkus Reviews to cease publication

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=174719

Added by John Dishon on December 11, 2009 at 2:48am — 1 Comment

Author-Speaker-Slash-Chameleon

I had a friend in teaching who claimed that she only found contentment when she took on adaptability as her mantra. As teachers we make a plan, but human institutions never completely conform, so that plan has to change. Once she accepted that, she could relax a bit when things didn't go the way she'd mapped them out.

I'm finding that trait worthwhile as a speaker as well. I have a dozen topics that I have outlined, practiced, and presented enough times that they're polished, but… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on December 10, 2009 at 11:08pm — No Comments

THE ROAD OUT OF HELL

Anthony Flacco, author of the new bestseller,The Road out of Hell, joins us 2pm Pacific Time on Saturday Dec. 12th, along with famed comedian Ritch Shydman and "American Horrors" producer/director Hart D. Fisher, two famous men who, like the protagonist in Flacco's astonishing book about the Chicken Ranch murders (as in the movie Changeling,) overcame trauma and severe challenges on their road to success and happiness. Scary, creepy but… Continue

Added by Burl Barer on December 10, 2009 at 10:01pm — No Comments

Author Update

First, a reminder of tonight's book signing at the Borders Express in Dulles Town Center, at 21100 Dulles Town Cir, Sterling, VA, from 5 pm to 9 pm.

Since I updated you last I had my last book signing at the Borders Express in Wheaton Mall before it closes. If you’re near there, stop by and pick up the last few copies of my novels at a nice discount.

I also signed some novels at the Borders Express in Ronald Reagan National Airport. Traffic was down from last year, but we… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on December 10, 2009 at 9:21pm — No Comments

Nice little interview in Indigest magazine.

We did this on gmail chat, which is a weird format--almost like doing it live. Very little opportunity to revise.

Added by Jon Loomis on December 10, 2009 at 9:08am — 3 Comments

Is it new jacket time already ...?

Looks like it ... !

Book 3 in the Gus Dury series is stacking up to hit the shelves on Jan 7, 2010 ... here's the story, in Amazon's words:

Gus Dury is a changed man. He is off the Edinburgh streets and back with estranged wife, Debs. He has promised her that he… Continue

Added by Tony Black on December 10, 2009 at 3:00am — No Comments

Fourth in Series

I've just signed a contract with Whiskey Creek Press to publish Being Someone Else, the fourth novel in my Sticks Hetrick mystery series. I don't have a release date yet. More later.

Added by J.R. Lindermuth on December 10, 2009 at 1:25am — 2 Comments

Susan Whitfield, guest blogger on Novel Works

Susan has written and published mystery novels, GENESIS BEACH, and JUST NORTH OF LUCK. HELL SWAMP, the third novel, will be released by publisher L&L Dreamspell on February 21st. She is currently writing GATOR CREEK, set along the Cape Fear River in Wilmington.

Her article, "Inside the Mind of A Mystery Writer: Challenges" is posted on Novel Works today.… Continue

Added by Marta Stephens on December 10, 2009 at 12:55am — No Comments

I Am Not a Flake!

Everyone in Michigan has the same thought this morning: snow. It's here, it's on its way, it's going to continue. Deal with it. Driving home from Petoskey the other day, I saw those first gentle flakes fall. Each one was tiny, fluffy, and light. The next day I shoveled several inches of the stuff off my sidewalk. The tiny-fluffy-light thing was totally somewhere else.

Everything big is made up of things that are small. (Isn't that profound?) Like the Walrus and the Carpenter, we… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on December 9, 2009 at 10:49pm — No Comments

Meet Me Tomorrow in VA

Thursday I’ll make a rare evening appearance at the Borders Express in Dulles Town Center, which will be gone in about a month. My farewell book signing at that store will be from 5 pm to 9 pm. If you need to Mapquest, it’s at 21100 Dulles Town Cir, Sterling, VA.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on December 9, 2009 at 9:10pm — No Comments

That's It, You're Barred!

http://mitziszereto.com/blog/thats-it-youre-barred/

Added by Mitzi Szereto on December 9, 2009 at 10:46am — No Comments

A Tip Of The Hat From Sherlock Holmes

Some of my earliest memories of reading center on the excitement I found in the pages of the Sherlock Holmes stories. I was just a lad, so I was forever looking up those huge words Sir Athur Conan Doyle used in his narratives with Holmes and Watson. I couldn't pronounce most of them, and I was quite sure they would never come up in conversations with my school mates, but I was determined to understand every aspect of the stories. Doyle made quite an impression on me, and that excitement has… Continue

Added by R. Michael Phillips on December 9, 2009 at 10:15am — No Comments

Casey Affleck as Lou Ford, or: Here Comes Another Thompson Revival

I just learned that in 2010 we will see a new film adaptation of Jim Thompson's "The Killer Inside Me". I have several reactions. One, an anticipation to see the final product; two, a fear that the final product will be sludge; three, boy, I sure love that book.

I first read "Killer" back in 1998 when I had decided to abandon spy fiction (reading and writing, only to return to writing it recently) and take a whirl-wind tour through hard-boiled literature. What a great place to start!… Continue

Added by Brian Drake on December 9, 2009 at 6:16am — No Comments

Free Poetry Writing Contest WINTER & POEMS – win cash with your poems

There is currently running a free-to-enter poetry contest on BookRix for poets and readers. The theme is "Winter & Poems". Prizes on the line include $1.600,00 in prize money for writers, "fame!" and Amazon vouchers (each worth $20) for voting readers. The 10 best-rated poetry books will be given to an independent jury consisting of the Georgia Writers Association and a professional writer who works for BookRix as a freelancer.

Perhaps you want to submit your own poetry in the… Continue

Added by Nils on December 8, 2009 at 11:59pm — No Comments

Meet Me Tonight in VA

It’s a busy time of year for book promotion. Tonight I’ll join two other authors whose work is featured in the holiday mystery anthology, “The Gift of Murder” at the Reston Regional Library. Starting at 6:45 we’ll spend an hour or so talking about our holiday short stories, how we got involved with this project to help the Toys for Tots foundation. We’ll also answer questions about mystery writing and anything else pertinent that comes up. And of course, we’ll sign copies of the book for anyone… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on December 8, 2009 at 11:36pm — No Comments

Casting Your Characters

My upcoming book finaled in a contest once, and part of the last step was to suggest actors who might play the roles in the story. This was difficult for me because I don't know the names of any actors under the age of forty. In fact, I don't know the names of many actors still living. Luckily my children were able to help, and I came up with a girl reminiscent of young Elizabeth, Ron Howard's daughter. (You see, I have to put them into a generation I can identify with!)

It's a… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on December 8, 2009 at 10:24pm — 3 Comments