Dana King's Blog (144)

Nice Review of THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE in Slate

Go here.

Added by Dana King on April 24, 2010 at 2:18am — 1 Comment

I am Not a Bot!

Howdy. It's good to be back. Seems I was banned for a few days, as my "level of activity" here on Crimespace identified me as spam. Everything is cleared up, and I apologize to any messages pertaining to me I might have missed. I promise to be somewhat more circumspect in my behavior from now on.

While I have your attention, if anyone needs Canadian pharmaceuticals, wants to please her all night, needs to regain his freedom with a mechanized wheelchair, or make $150/ hour working from… Continue

Added by Dana King on April 2, 2010 at 12:02pm — 4 Comments

Southland

The Beloved Spouse and I were discussing when we'd find time to watch

the episodes of Justified and South Park we have on the DVR when

we remembered Southland dropped

off our radar completely during and after the Olympics. We watched the

first four episodes, then never came back. Neither of us feels any

burning desire to catch up.

We both… Continue

Added by Dana King on March 21, 2010 at 1:58am — 2 Comments

Interview with John McFetridge

My interview with Crimespace's own John McFetridge, as well as my review of his newest book Let it Ride (Swap outside the US) is available at New Mystery Reader.

Added by Dana King on March 17, 2010 at 10:36pm — 1 Comment

Nature vs. Nurture

Dan O’Shea has another thought-provoking post on his blog today, referring to posts by John Hornor and Chuck Wendig about how much of writing is talent alone, and…

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Added by Dana King on March 10, 2010 at 7:21am — 2 Comments

Not Quite a Dream Come True

(Also posted at One Bite at a Time)

Well, someone finally offered me a book contract, with an advance and everything. There were a few caveats.

Among the documents I received were instructions on what I should do to promote the book, all on my…

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Added by Dana King on March 4, 2010 at 11:48am — 7 Comments

Re-Defining Plagiarism

This is wrong in so many ways I don't know where to start.

Added by Dana King on February 20, 2010 at 3:21am — 1 Comment

Another Precinct Heard From

This topic had, mercifully, run its course, but this column was sent to me by a friend who knew I was interested in publishing and thought I might find it interesting. It's a lot the same of what we've read on the Macmillan-Amazon controversy, with a couple of things I hadn't known and hadn't seen elsewhere.

The end conclusion is familiar. Anyone who things author came out ahead here also thinks, in the auhtor's words, "expensive milk is a victory for… Continue

Added by Dana King on February 10, 2010 at 11:45am — 2 Comments

Great Advice

I expect everyone who stops by this blog is at least familiar with the name Joe Konrath. He's a successful midlist writer of crime fiction, with a six-book series to his credit. Recently he's branched out into horror and science fiction. You can't miss him at a conference: no one works the room as tirelessly as Joe. In the promotion department, he's James Brown, the hardest-working man in publishing. The numbers of signings and guest blogs he's done while still knocking out a book a year are… Continue

Added by Dana King on February 5, 2010 at 4:30am — 1 Comment

Amazon Stock Falls in E-Book Dispute

Yes, it's important to us, but not so much to everyone else.

Added by Dana King on February 4, 2010 at 3:51am — 3 Comments

Clash of the Titans

This post may do nothing more than re-assert my ignorance. It won’t be the first time.

I have no dog in the Amazon-Macmillan pissing contest. I’m not published, and I’m not particularly hopeful about the prospects, so it doesn’t have much of an effect on me, other than potentially forcing me to buy books by Macmillan authors elsewhere. I have friends who are potentially effected by this, and I feel for them (John McFetridge must feel like Joe Bftsplk by now), but I have a little… Continue

Added by Dana King on February 2, 2010 at 9:27am — 29 Comments

An Epiphany

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I started the second draft on the work-in-progress last weekend. The first draft was allowed to ferment for a couple of months, then I read it over and made notes. This draft is to address those notes and get things reading like a unified book. Subsequent drafts will add refinements: dialog, description, polish.

Key to a successful second draft for me is to get the voice right.… Continue

Added by Dana King on January 23, 2010 at 2:17am — 3 Comments

"Foresight" on Mysterical-E

Mysterical-E has posted my flash piece, "Foresight," as part of its Winter issue. Several good stories there. Well worth your time.

Added by Dana King on January 6, 2010 at 3:52am — No Comments

Best Reads of 2009

(Also posted at One Bite at a Time.)

I started keeping track of every book I read a few years ago. I never would have remembered all the great books I read this year if I hadn’t written them down; there were too many.

The following list contains the best books I read for the first time in 2009, regardless of when they were published. (Which is why The Big Sleep isn’t listed.) Last year I named five. This… Continue

Added by Dana King on January 1, 2010 at 11:49am — No Comments

December's Good Reads

(Also posted at One Bite at a Time.)

My reading year ended with a bang.

Mischief, Ed McBain – A good, old-school, everyone gets into the act 87th Precinct story, featuring the Deaf Man. Meyer and Hawes get the mystery of abandoned Alzheimer’s patients, Parker and Kling have to work the killings of graffiti artists, and Carella and Brown have to figure out what the hell the Deaf Man is up to. All the stories… Continue

Added by Dana King on January 1, 2010 at 11:46am — No Comments

Female Protagonists

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Christa Faust recently linked her blog to an article she wrote for Los Angeles Magazine on the fetishization of beautiful female victims. (It’s well worth your time; I’ll wait until you finish.)

I don’t read as much crime… Continue

Added by Dana King on December 30, 2009 at 4:05am — 3 Comments

Flash Fiction Challenge

Dan O'Shea ia hosting Crash and Burn - The Steve Weddle Memorial Airport Flash Fiction Challenge over at his blog Going Ballistic. Links to all entries can be found there. It's a good group.

My entry, "Shoeless Joe" is on my blog.

Added by Dana King on December 16, 2009 at 6:30am — No Comments

The Tide Goes out, the Tide Comes In

I was so proud of myself. Twenty books that I knew I’d never read again, their only reason for existence in my office to take up shelf space that could be used for books I will read again, or at least want to keep. This afternoon I boxed up all that excess and took it to the local thrift store, where someone could at least get some value for them. My good deed for the day.

Then I got to wondering what kinds of books a thrift store carries. Parked the car and went in the front… Continue

Added by Dana King on December 14, 2009 at 6:49am — 6 Comments

The Insidious Effects of British and Irish Crime Fiction

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I read a lot of British and Irish crime fiction and enjoy it. Ray Banks, Mark Billingham, Ken Bruen, Declan Burke, John Connolly, Allan Guthrie, Declan Hughes, Simon Kernick, Val McDermid, and Adrian McKinty come to mind—alphabetically—off the top of my head; I’m sure I missed a couple. (Stuart Neville’s Ghosts of Belfast on my TBR pile, for example.) Right now I there are probably more… Continue

Added by Dana King on December 12, 2009 at 1:56am — 4 Comments

Good News in Publishing

The voices of doom make it too easy to overlook the positive things that are happening in writing and publishing today that can help all authors, as this article shows.

Added by Dana King on November 24, 2009 at 4:28am — 4 Comments