A promising start to the Melbourne Writers' Festival. The morning session had publishers, editors and a literary agent up on stage with three first-time writers relating the route they took to successful publication. They sure spelt out the hard road ahead yet gave some useful hints and pointers - enough to emerge encouraged rather than daunted. I by-passed the afternoon session, which promised more of the same but this time for newspaper, magazine and feature writers with which I have already… Continue

It's been one of those terribly frustrating (writer's) days - feeling good and with time to be creative, yet nothing comes. I have my amateur sleuth sitting in his car watching the bad guys who have abducted a couple of young women. Yet no one is moving. The bad guys and their "cargo" are in a limo down a laneway; my man Peter is in his car in the street, watching and not knowing what to do next. Something's got to happen, someone's got to move. I wish they'd hurry up and decide and let me know… Continue

The Melbourne Writers' Festival starts tomorrow (August 24) and continues until Septmber 2. Crime writing features strongly on a program packed with events from morning until late at night. There are seminars, talks, discussions, walks through crime story sites and, best of all, a masterclass for budding crime writers where we will spend an intensive day of tuition under Scottish crime author Quintin Jardine. For the opening day I'll be in the audience at The Whole Shebang which is described…

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