Can I write without chocolate and coffee?

I work full time as a criminal lawyer, have three children, and I have a publishing contract. The children get older, and so they stay up later, and fight more, and complain more. So my writing begins later and later each day. 9pm is my earliest start, and that's after a day in court and a few hours of children fighting.

One book a year, that's the promise, squeezed into the late hours and weekends, most nights ending well after…

"Are you sure you want everything?"

"Yes. Everything."

"Anchovies? Jalepenas? Garlic?"

"Well, my husband and I don't like pepperoni very much. You can leave it off."

Winners Pizza in Thousand Oaks is being run by real Italians now and there is nothing else on earth like their deluxe pizza, which has every topping on it that the restaurant puts on pizza. Yep. About fouteen different tastes including fresh tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and even eggplant. I could…

Writers’ block. What is it? And, do I have it?

I am probably within 50 pages of finishing my sequel to "Chasin’ the Wind," – Free Range Institution – and haven’t written in weeks! I have re-read the manuscript twice, making changes in it and I know where it’s going and how it ends; I know who the good-guy that turns out to be a bad-guy is. I like it and think it’s good.

I sit and stare at the screen that holds two pages of the chapter I can’t seem to finish, even though…

posted by Leann Sweeney

I have a new release if I haven't mentioned it in the last, oh, thirty seconds. That means promo time--which I am not really fond of. I am a writer not a salesperson, after all. But it comes with the territory. After postcards for one signing arrived too late and some of the people who wanted signed books didn't get them, I…

It's a reference to horseshoes, where you get one point for a "leaner," touching the post but not around it, hence the saying, "Close only counts in horseshoes."

I just got word that I've finaled in another contest. It's always a thrill to be chosen from the herd, but I've learned to practice cautious optimism. Many factors affect the eventual choice, and the dismal fact is that there will only be one winner. Everyone else only came close.

There are ways to maximize the value…

I had a manuscript that was done, at least I thought so. When I told people in the business about it, they showed interest, but when I sent sample pages, the interest died. That told me there was something wrong with the writing, but what was it?

It's hard for a parent to see her child's flaws, and it's hard for a writer to see weaknesses in a manuscript. We might sense from the reactions of others that there's a problem, but love creates a halo of goodness that blurs our vision and…

Mother With An Eye For A Bargain calls me from the supermarket.

'They've got your book.'

These calls are not unusual - since Damaged Goods was published she's spotted them with the trained eye she turned on me as a teenager with hickies.

'There are five on the shelf,' she says. 'So I'm happy with that.'

There's a but comming. I can smell it like a dog before a storm.

'But,' there you go, 'the position's all wrong.'

'These things are decided by the…

THE DARKNESS INSIDE is part of the Private Investigator, ex-FBI, Alex Rourke series. This one sub-titled A Secret for a Secret ... A Life for a Life

Follow the link below to the full review.

Creating a book is not easy.

But it doesn't have to be impossible either. Just make it a part of your life every day. Find inspiration in everything you do, and every where you go.

Are you waiting at the doctor's office? Pull out your notebook and jot down descriptions of some of the other patients. Are they terminally ill? Mentally ill? What could you imagine about them?

Find new ways of describing places as you go there. I once got the description for a police station…

So you missed this morning's interview on WBTC Talk Radio? Not to worry. You can listen now, or at your leisure, by clicking here.

Thanks for tuning in!

Cheers,

Ken

The Edgar nominees will be announced any day now, and I'm on pins and needles. I participated as a judge in one of the categories and the reading of so many books renewed my love for the genre.

Who will be nominated for best first novel? Best paperback original? Do you have any favorites?

I'll be attending this year's Edgar banquet as a fan and I'm really looking forward to it.

posted by Jeanne Munn Bracken

I have been thinking about food lately. Heck, I think about food all the time--often what I should eat, what I should not eat (that chocolate cupcake at the baby shower yesterday comes to mind), or (again, the cupcake) what I should not have eaten. In this new year, the four of us who live here are all doing something about food and our waistlines.

Daughter number one is in a wedding this summer and is "doing" low carbs. Daughter number two is…

Good morning all.

This morning, I'll be appearing on WBTC radio (1540 AM) in Ulrichsville, OH, on Dial & Speak with Dr. Andrea Fanti, at 10:00 EST.

I invite you to listen in by going to www.WBTCLive.com , and clicking on the Listen Now - Live button.

I hope you can join us!

Best,
Ken Isaacson
SILENT COUNSEL, a legal thriller
www.KenIsaacson.com