Am reading Open Me, the debut novel from Sunshine O'Donnell. Oh man, is it great. O'Donnell tackles the cult of wailers - professional weeping women hired to "mourn" at the funerals of the rich and famous. She successfully pairs fact with fiction in a really great read.

Not everyone can do that.

This book is great for book groups. It's got incredible emotional abuse of children, legislative documents and quotes from wailing training manuals that will curl your…

Allow me to preface this post: I do not like Miami. It just happens to be on right now. Again. For the forth time. Or fifth. I've lost count. And how do I know since I hate this cheesy segment of the CSI series? I don't know. That's scary.

On the oft rerun episode of CSI MIAMI tonight (Boavista's sista is kidnapped), the lab had a DNA comparison in less than 60 seconds.

All I have to say about this is ....…

Critique groups are funny business. I've been in two, one successfully (well, at least at first), and the other, well, let's just say it didn't go so great.

I want to have a group of writers I can trust, but where to find them, I'm not certain anymore.

What makes a good group for writers? Well, maybe I should touch on the things that are not so cool.

• People you can't trust. I'm not just talking copycats. I'm talking about those people you meet that the pit of your…

A few changes at PopSyndicate.com. You, your publisher or publicist can now send books directly to me for review on our site. Just shoot me a message and I'll get you my address.

Thanks so much for sending over your work!

I was commenting on Amanda Stevens' blog about dolls when the windows of my brain finally clicked together into something that is so obvious, it's embarassing that it took me so long to put it together.

It's not so much that I didn't know what I was thinking. It was a matter of putting it into perspective - a good example to illustrate what I'm thinking.

Recently, I told you that many books I've reviewed have lacked the intensity expected in thrillers. I've been disappointed…

I keep receiving thrillers for review that lack intensity. You know, that spark, flare, flash, heart-stopping, nail-biting, can't-stop-turning-the-pages feel of a great thriller novel.

It's not that the books aren't good. They are. (Well, for the most part.) But they lack that fundamental element that makes a thriller, well, thrilling.

I'm seeing a lot of POV shifts - too many within a scene that causes confusion. I'm seeing stabs at omniscient POV. Unfortunately, the…

I haven't written a word on my novel in nearly four weeks. Oh, I've thought about said novel. I've written down twists and places that need reformatting. But I have yet to tackle the dreaded scene that haunts me.

I got hung up on POV based on some comments from a critique group. Now, all I can see is POV. I can no longer see the story.

Then, I started a new job. I work weird hours, but the character generation potential is awesome. I broke a tooth, and I mourn the loss of Cape…

Being a book reviewer is tough work.

At least for me.

Not only am I an avid reader, but I also write fiction. When I go into a story, I’m searching for not only what works as a reader, but what works as a writer. And when dealing with authors, I’m thinking as a reviewer as well as a writer.

Writers are notoriously sensitive, so when I have to give a harsh review, it’s not easy. But it has to be done. Writers must have thick skins in this business. After all, the biz is…

I started a new job a few weeks ago, so I cut myself some slack on writing. During my lunch break - typically at Wendy's since the 99 cent menu is all I can afford thanks to gas-gauging - I have some time to focus my thoughts on my characters and plot and where it's going.

Of course, those notes are great when I sit back down at the computer, but time away takes its toll - especially on a story like mine. I have a lot of twists I want to pack into the pages to give readers a…