All Blog Posts Tagged 'a' (77)

A Disturbing Letter from a Disturbed Child

I received a rather strange letter from a kid named Timmy the other day. It was totally out of the blue. But once I read it, I knew I had to post the letter on a website. Per Timmy's demands, he said it had to be a website dealing with crime. I'd been published online with Flash Fiction Offensive earlier this year, so I sent the letter there. The FFO editor agreed to post it, giving it the name "Timmy Says Post This on a Website." Click here to read the letter:… Continue

Added by Benjamin Sobieck on November 8, 2009 at 12:56pm — 3 Comments

October Reads

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.) Recommended Reads from October, in the order I read them: The Friends of Eddie Coyle, George V. Higgins – A seminal book. Few crime fiction writers since have been unaffected by Higgins’s work, and this is the book that got him noticed. Should be on a shelf with Chandler, Hammett, et al for crime fiction writers, and anyone else interested in how the gerne has evolved. Chasing Darkness… Continue

Added by Dana King on November 3, 2009 at 6:43am — 3 Comments

Starting Over

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.) I read the first chapter of the book I’m revising last night. (I have a strict and probably over-complicated regimen for edits such as this that I might describe some day, if I think it won’t make me look too geeky.) Tonight I’ll edit what I read last night. My writing style has changed a lot. The previous book and the WIP are multi-POV stories that needed a much different voice from this first-pers… Continue

Added by Dana King on October 31, 2009 at 2:48am — 4 Comments

A Milestone, of Sorts

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.) I finished the first draft of the work-in-progress last night. Took me almost three times as long as usual. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. There were a lot of plotting issues, including a misguided attempt to write this one by the seat of my pants. I won’t soon try that again. I have great regard for writers who can do that well, which includes most of my favorites, but I’m just not wired that w… Continue

Added by Dana King on October 29, 2009 at 5:04am — 6 Comments

Those disorganized Swiss

You know the reputation. "Swiss" isn't a nationality. It's really an adjective meaning highly organized and perhaps even a little too punctilious. That's a myth. The place is just like the Middle East... (Look, I write fiction, but I may be onto something. Read on.) On my recent reading tour, I stopped in Basel as a guest of the superb Literaturhaus Basel. Everyone told me to go the city's main art museum for an exhibition of Van Gogh landscapes.… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on October 15, 2009 at 12:00am — 6 Comments

2009 Davitt Award Winners

At a fantastic night out and ceremony last night the Sisters in Crime 2009 Davitt Award winners were announced, wined, dined, feted and photographed. The nights festivities were highlighted by a chat between Sue Turnbull and Justice Elizabeth King of the Supreme Court of Victoria, some fabulous food and 130+ Sisters in Crime and Brothers in Law turning out on a cold Melbourne night to celebrate some absolutely fantastic authors and books. But without further ado - the winners of the categories… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 22, 2009 at 10:44am — No Comments

Review - Murder on a Midsummer Night, Kerry Greenwood

Book Title: MURDER ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT Author: Kerry Greenwood Publisher: Allen & Unwin Copyright: 2008 ISBN: 978-1-74114-999-9 No of Pages: 292 Book Synopsis: Melbourne, 1929. The year starts off for glamorous private investigator Phryne Fisher with a rather trying heat wave and more mysteries than you could prod a parasol at. Simultaneously investigating the apparent suicide death of a man on St Kilda beach and trying to find a lost, illegimate child who could be heir to a wealthy old w… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 21, 2009 at 12:44pm — No Comments

Five smokes and a new novel: Klaus Modick’s Writing Life

When my second novel A… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 9, 2009 at 8:30pm — 2 Comments

Omar Yussef "the best crime fiction can achieve"

The first rock concert I ever attended was a performance by Canada's greatest rockers Rush. I've loved Canadians ever since. In the London (Ontario) Free Press recently, Joan Barfoot gave me another reason to adore them. She gives a terrific review to the second of my Palestinian crime novels A GRAVE IN GAZA (UK title The Saladin Murders). Of my sleuth… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 9, 2009 at 8:18pm — No Comments

Forward: Palestinian society, warts and all -- and some mortal danger

Robert Rees (no relation) writes about my books in this week's edition of The Forward. Admirably Rob read all three of the books before passing judgment, and a good review it is (as well as an interview, because we spoke for some time on Rob's recent visit to Jerusalem). "Rees has created an award-winning crime series which provides a view of Palestinian society, warts and all, not previously available to a wider public," he writes. Referrin… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on July 23, 2009 at 5:15pm — No Comments

Washington Report: Omar Yussef novels 'rich in intellectual complexity'

The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs has a forthcoming review praising my series of Palestinian crime novels "rich not only in character but in intellectual complexity." I blush to report that WRMEA Managing editor Janet McMahon and Don Neff, a famed predecessor of mine as Jerusalem bureau chief for Time Magazine, say I'm "a wonderfully subtle writer with a deep understanding of Palestinians and their culture." Well, actually I haven't blushed since I… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on July 12, 2009 at 7:01pm — No Comments

Tim Myers as Chris Cavender first in a new series A Slice of Murder

A Slice of Murder ($22 Kensington) is the first in a new series from author Tim Myers as Chris Cavender, aka Elizabeth Bright of the Card-Making Mysteries and Melissa Glazer of the Clay and Crime mysteries. If you haven’t discovered these then you are in for a treat! Not too much happens in the sleepy little town of Timber Ridge, North Carolina - which is fine with pizza-purveyor extraordinaire Eleanor Swift. The spunky owner of A Slice of Delight is trying to mend her broken heart and could us… Continue

Added by The Poisoned Pen Bookstore on July 10, 2009 at 4:06am — 1 Comment

A Will to Love is on Midwest Book Review

Today I woke up to the news that my latest release, A Will to Love, has made it onto the Reviewer’s Bookwatch list as a Reviewer’s Choice entry for July 2009 at Midwest Book Reviews. It will stay there, of course, for the next twelve months. I am so excited you guys! I invite you to go out and see the list at http://www.midwestbookreview.com and click on the Reviewer’s Bookwatch link, then on the July 2009 link. A Will to Love is at the top. Kim http://www.mkimsmith.com Continue

Added by Kim Smith on July 6, 2009 at 3:39am — No Comments

Donate my books to Gaza

The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs is organizing donations of books to libraries and schools in the Gaza Strip. I'm delighted to learn that my Palestinian crime novels are included on the list, which I should add includes works by many of my favorite Arab and Muslim writers (I'm a big fan of Tariq Ali's series of novels about Muslim history, in part… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on July 4, 2009 at 8:09pm — 2 Comments

My 5 favorite novels

My second Palestinian crime novel A Grave in Gaza (UK title: The Saladin Murders) is just now published in Holland. The Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant asked me to contribute a list of my five favorite books, or at least those which've had the biggest impact on me as a writer. Here's what I wrote: Let It Come Down – Paul Bowles Writers look for resonance. You mi… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on June 25, 2009 at 1:17am — No Comments

Watch the Video: A Grave in Gaza

The video blog Watch the Video features the clip I made for the second of my Palestinian crime novels A Grave in Gaza (UK title: The Saladin Murders). The rest of my videos feature on my Youtube channel. Many writers make promotional videos for their books these days, as you'll see from the Watch the Video site. Most of them are made up largely of still photos and have quite a lot in common with… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on June 24, 2009 at 12:27am — No Comments

Enter Cheryl's deadly 'Create a Corpse Contest'

Ever want to kill someone off--fictitiously, of course? Maybe your school bully, ex-boyfriend, co-worker, boss, teacher etc? Now you can! :-) From now until July 30th, 2009, you can submit a name (first & last) of someone you know (boss, husband, school bully, ex-friend or yourself),… Continue

Added by Cheryl Kaye Tardif on June 20, 2009 at 12:49pm — No Comments

Thriller Bugbear #69: Plot-Point Techno Madness!

Much as I love Nordic crime fiction, the Europewide megaseller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” by Stieg Larsson made me want to throw knives like the Swedish chef on The Muppet Show. Why? Two reasons. First, the minor reason. Written by a (tragically deceased) Swedish journalist, the book is entirely in the style… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on June 18, 2009 at 9:05pm — 2 Comments

Gaza gets manure, but no one to spread it

Billions promised, but Gazans still waiting Four months on from the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, Palestinians have seen little of the money pledged for reconstruction. By Matt Beynon Rees, on Global Post. RAMALLAH — Money, wrote the English philosopher Francis Bacon, is like manure: of very little use unless it is spread. Since an international aid conference in March pr… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on April 29, 2009 at 2:13pm — No Comments

Understanding CSI: Creating a Believeable Crime Scene

TV shows like CSI are entertaining, but they give an unrealistic impression of how evidence is really collected and how crime scenes are managed. Catching crooks isn't easy--it takes a lot of work and effort on the part of the police and the lab. For a more realistic look at crime scene investigation, check out these two articles on www.suite101.com written with the mystery author in mind. Crime Scene Investigation for Mystery Writers http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/crime_scene_i… Continue

Added by Vickie Britton on April 25, 2009 at 7:33am — No Comments