How write she is and you, too! If you think to yoursef OH I'M WRITING AN 80,000 WORDS OR SO BOOK--that's lethal! yes, now that I got my pov right, I work on it one chapter at a time. and if i find that i just can't do a chapter--i work on notes and story/character/lines. that elephant's a big sucker, but I'm hungry and I'm going to get it down, one bite at a time! all the best.

Amazing how many hard-boiled fans there are on this list. Good selections.

Thanks for your generous comment about "Blondes, Blondes, Blondes." There are a few of us who do Baltimore, but none better than Laura Lippman.

Hello Dana King! I didn't know what you look like. good to see you. YOu gave me great advice about one bite at a time. it's working! oh, and I changed my i.d. photo, too. yup, it's me. (I can't help it if I'm a cartoon character! all the best.

I left you a comment on your blog! Sounds like we're fellow travelers in terms of diet and exercise!

Glad I'm not the only one who gets tired of that same-old same-old.... it's especially frustrating when it's a good writer trotting it out!

Thanks for your comment, Dana. Did you know I grew up in DC?

Thanks again, Dana. And for your good wishes. It's weird... you do everything you can in advance of a book coming out, then -- all of a sudden -- it's no longer under your control. You just have to wave goodbye and hope it finds its way into readers' hands. For a control freak like myself, it's discomforting...
Pass the wine, please.

Hi, Dana - late checking on my comments; I'm happy you found a line of mine quote-worthy for a review. Did you like Patriot Acts? Maybe I should wait for the review...

Yes Mr. De Mille, I'm quite ready! .
I put this up last night because I was just in a Norma Desmond mood! by the way, any feedback from your Agent about UK? Eep me posted!

okie dokie, you let me know whenever. Stop by and listen any time!

Dana,
Not a Yupper, but my husband plays one during hunting season! We live south of the bridge about 45 miles. We also lived in Flint the first four years of our marriage while we were gettin' eddicated.
As far as the music thing goes, I can't seem to recover. I direct two different choirs, and I love every second of it!

Thank you Dana!
Happy Thanksgiving to you as well.
All the best!

Thanks, Dana. I have to say the writer's strike is crimping my plans just a little, but I'm hoping it's over soon. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

~Gemma

Hey Dana,

I actually posted the obscenity argument. It's one I get into often. Looking forward to a submission from you.

Best,
-T-

Thanks, Dana. Appreciate it. Good luck with the debut. Wanna be friends?

I was impressed with your ideas about "show and tell." They're not far off what I believe. Yes, knowing how much to show and how much to tell is a delicate balancing act.

Hey, Dana,

I'd be happy to meet with your group. Drop me an e-mail at ascamacho@hotmail.com to talk dates and times.

Meanwhile, how about coming to the next meeting of our chapter of the Virginia Writers Club. We meet in Falls Church the third Sunday of each month.

Oh, and thanks for the add!

I'm glad I was able to help. I also wrote a short piece about Miranda on my blog, The Graveyard Shift. Have you visited the site? You might find it helpful as well.

http://www.leelofland.com/wordpress/

Just saying Hi . . . because you're online and I actually have a few free minutes to spend networking.
Good luck with your novel! You may need to remind your agent that there are more than 5 publishers.

Dana, you should never listen to me.

But, weirdly, I also have a story up this month with a returning vet - also a wheeler-dealer type vet, just returning from a different war to a different country - it's on demolitionmag.com

Dana,
It's hard to believe Dubya could be smarter than Spitzer:) Then again, he has a lot of people covering for him.
Chris

Hi, Dana. Thanks so much for your comments. As I have said, CHICAGO BLUES will always be one of those "golden experiences" for me. Everything came together... the stories, the publishing, the marketing.. it was all so simple and easy that I suspect it was meant to be.
Let me know the next time you're in our fair city for more than an hour. It was wonderful to meet you in person.

you so made my day, Dana! No I hadn't seen that. I never dreamt anybody would really look at my page anyway--you know outside of Crimespace. But when I have a tough day, I just lose myself in the world I created there. btw how are you? Guess what?! I'm a third into my second draft. won't say anything else. too superstitious. will keep you posted!

okie dokie! so glad for you! sounds more than encouraging. Keep on writing--I'm sure you will be busy all summer. All the best to you Dana!

Crais and Child are phenomenal. By the way, I have friends down around Woodridge and used to cover a bunch of stories out that way.

Thanks for the kind words. I'm super excited about the whole prospect. :-)

Dana - Could you share the web address for The Psycholopathology of Everyday Life. It caught my interest and I can't locate it on line. Thanks.
Cynthia Rice

Thanks for letting me know. I did the cut and paste last year during book tour, but now with this, myspace, facebook, the website...no way. So the home site it is. Take care (and thanks for the nice words about JLB)

No can do, either to the 15 posts a week or summarizing my own week's work. I'm at max capacity on this online stuff as it is.

Hi Dana,
Thanks for befriending this cozy mystery author!
- Beth

It was great to meet you too! Bouchercon was great...oh to live in the US and be able to go every year.

Dana, thanks, a friend just told me. Very exciting...

Thanks Dana - wish you could be there. It should be a lot of fun!

Dana, when you come back thru Salian, give me a call and I'll take you out for some BBQ ribs that'll knock your socks off!

Dana,
And we think Rhett Butler had a hard time getting "Frankly, my dear. I don't give a Damn " on film. Clark Gable had to threaten a lot of people to get that past the censors. Look at the filth that gets on film today.
I feel vindicated in my discussion opinion. This morning when I booted up my computer, guess what popped up on MSN? An ariticle entitled, "How Hollywood takes good books and makes them into bad movies." Is someone out there penning their articles from internet discussions? Creepy!
Charlotte

Dana,
In regard to your blog, Reviewing the Reviewers, there is a website you and the other members need to check out. It is MidwestBookReview.com Authors can get reviews on their work. The website tells them what they need to do in order to be considered for review.
Charlotte

Dana,
The article I mentioned talked about Revolutionary Road.
Charlotte

I love to start arguments...ah...excuse me...Discussions.
Don't you just love Sematics.
Charlotte

Hi Dana -- "Double Whammy" is also my favorite Hiassen. I think you're absolutely right that his plots are driven by the comedy. That's fine, as long as it's funny (and Hiassen certainly is).

Reece

sweet of you to comment on my blog, Dana.
It's appreciated, believe me!
don't get on here often--but will to see how my friends are and you're one of the very best who always helped me with stuff I asked!
best wishes and all kinds of good things!

Hi Dana, I want to introduce you to my debut novel "A Circle of souls" which is a murder, mystery, psychological thriller and a tale of justice and hope. Do visit www.acircleofsouls.com to read more about the book. Make sure you sign up to win an autographed copy of the book. You can also read more reviews by clicking on the More Reviews button at the website. Thanks for your time in advance.

Best regards

Preetham Grandhi

Early Endorsements for “A Circle of Souls”

Linda Fairstein, NYT Bestselling Author: "A fascinating debut - this novel takes the reader to the darkest places in the human soul, from a writer with the authenticity to lead us there. A stunning thriller and an important read."

Judge Judy Sheindlin, star of the Judge Judy Show: "The seminal work of this fine author kept me glued to my chair until the adventure was over and the mystery solved. A great read!"

Book Synopsis:

The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town s top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury s hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya s parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope.

The situations confronting Leia and Peter converge when Naya begins drawing chilling images of murder after being bombarded by the disturbing images in her dreams. Amazingly, her sketches are the only clues to the crime that has panicked Newbury residents. Against her better judgment, Leia explores the clues in Naya s crude drawings, only to set off an alarming chain of events.
In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.

Thanks for the friendship, Dana. We share an admiration of Chandler, Crais, Rozan, and others. Hope you have a chance to check out my website www.michaelwileyonline.com.

Best,

Michael

Re: "What should the courts do?" Thank you for taking the time to respond and I truly appreciate your most informative response.
http://connect.lawofficer.com/profile/johnnyrussell

Awesome. Thanks for taking a chance!

Well, now this is the only way I can respond. Yes, the poll tax was abolished with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But, you also had to own property to vote, as many illegals do not--but they tend to vote anyway. You must not be familiar with places like the Texas Valley. Yes, it was a Jim Crow practice--against legal citizens of this country. I spoke out against illegals voting. The First Amendment became law in1791, which gave us the right to speak freely. I was unaware we all had to agree on the Crimespace site and wonder how you learn if you just feed the same thoughts back and forth to one another. Thanks for the free personality analysis. It is always helpful when someone gives you an honest assessment of your behavior, as they rarely do, and all but tells you that you are not welcome. A hurt animal, etc.. . .hmm. . .you will have to dig a little deeper for some really alarming and shocking potty-mouth phrases; because, you may recall I am married to a sailor and have heard them all.

Dana:  I looked through your blog and your info here and see that you are a fellow fan of The Wire.  I am right there with you.  I actually spent a week in Baltimore Homicide in 2001 with a detective named Dennis Raftery, when HBO was just starting to scout the series.  Very interesting stuff going on down there. 

That's  a GREAT story, and no, I hadn't heard it.  The old Homicide station (from the TV show) is down by the harbor, and for a long time they had people going there trying to report actual crimes.  The City had to put a plaque on it saying "THIS IS NOT A POLICE STATION" or something to keep people from bleeding out on the steps waiting for the cops to come out.   

Hi Dana,  the discussion on the forum about social commentary in crime fiction has gotten quite a lot of responses.  This has inspired us at Noir Nation to add a new section to the first issue of Noir Nation wherein writers opine on the following question: Must crime noir have a moral point?  The word limit is 300 to 500 words. Include short bio, and photo. There is a $25 honoraria, payable on publication. Best five get published in Issue No. 1. Send to eddie@evegaonline.com

 

-- Eddie Vega, Noir Nation editor in chief