January 2010 Blog Posts (151)

The Eye of the Beholder (9)

Preston rubbed a hand over his forehead, wincing as his fingertips felt the scars. “Not much that I’m actually able to do,” he grumbled. “I refuse to get hooked into stuffing envelopes.”

Tabitha chuckled. “Most of those as scams you know so yeah play keep-away from that.” She looked at the page he’d pulled up. “How are your writing skills?” she asked, tapping the screen.

“I only have a high school education, how do you think they are?”

“Preston,” she said… Continue

Added by Edith Glass on January 22, 2010 at 3:34am — No Comments

Everyone comes back to Jerusalem

Everyone comes back to Jerusalem. I don’t know why, I really, truly don’t.

It’s too damned hot. The people tend to be offhandedly mean, and they drive as though they want to kill you. It isn’t a very pretty place once you look close. Oh and, sure, sometimes it gets violent. With shocking self-obsession, it thinks the eyes of the world are turned admiringly upon it all… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on January 21, 2010 at 7:36pm — No Comments

R.I.P. Robert B. Parker

I first heard the news from Ali Karim on Twitter Tuesday morning. Then Sarah Weinman posted the news as relayed by Parker's U.K. publisher Quercus that he had died "just sitting at his desk." Having said many times he would keep writing novels until a) he died, or b) no one bought them, I think this is just how he'd want to go.

Parker's Spenser was the first P.I. series I read, over the summer of 1993. By summer's end I'd caught up to his current book. Six years later, I was known on… Continue

Added by Gerald So on January 21, 2010 at 5:56am — No Comments

THE LINEUP: POEMS ON CRIME #3

The third issue of The Lineup officially goes on sale April 1, 2010. Edited by me with Sarah Cortez, R. Narvaez, and Anthony Rainone, it will feature work by:

Patricia Abbott

Joe Barnes

Henry Chang

Reed Farrel Coleman

Sarah Cortez

Michael A. Flanagan

Anne Frasier

James W. Hall

David Hernandez

Amy MacLennan

Carrie McGath

James M. McGowan

Kristine Ong Muslim

David S. Pointer

James Sallis

Jackie… Continue

Added by Gerald So on January 21, 2010 at 5:54am — No Comments

The Eye of the Beholder (8)

“Just what are you doing?” Tabitha asked, coming to look over Preston’s shoulder.

“Trying to figure out what I can do to earn a living without having to leave home. I’m almost out of money and I won’t let you support me.”

She smiled at his calling her place home. In the past month, despite the fact that he had often been a total pain in the ass about things, she had gotten used to his being here. For the first week she’d done nothing when he wasn’t sleeping but feed him… Continue

Added by Edith Glass on January 21, 2010 at 3:04am — No Comments

Writing and marketing

An important task for many writers is marketing themselves and their books. This cannot be left solely to the publisher who has a whole range of books to promote and usually across many genres. In the larger publishing houses there are publicists whose responsibility it is to help promote certain authors, who are usually the 'bigger named' authors, (the A list) or those who have been given a huge advance that needs to be 'earned out' leaving great swathes of writers and books to their own… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on January 20, 2010 at 11:01pm — No Comments

"Two Good Hands" ~ Vol.1: The Circling Fan, by Donna Carrick

Just for fun, this week I launched my new weekly Leda And Strachan Mystery Series available for free-reading at: http://blogdc.donnacarrick.com/

This is something that I couldn't visualise as a novel, but it's been dancing around in my brain for awhile. Finally, I decided to use is as a continuing short story.

Hope you'll enjoy! As always, comments are welcome.

Best… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on January 20, 2010 at 10:00pm — No Comments

WOW!

I just connected from .ning to my twitter account. How cool is that? Being an artist, I am reluctantly learning all of this computer graphics, animation, networking stuff. I'm glad sites like this make it easy.

I just found a naturopathic veterinarian today in a nearby city. I never considered looking for one for my beloved Buster till the last two weeks of his life, when I was frantically looking for anybody to help save him. I have done some reading on naturopathy for pets the past… Continue

Added by Dawn M. Kravagna on January 20, 2010 at 12:06pm — No Comments

Poe's Mystery Visitor... Disappears

by Earl Merkel

January 19, 2010, 5:07 pm

There's an ominous, potentially sad feel to the air tonight, especially in a quiet cemetery in Baltimore. For the first time in decades, Edgar Allan Poe's mystery visitor... failed to visit.

Below, from the AP's Joseph White.

--Earl Merkel

Nevermore? Mystery visitor misses Poe's birthday

BALTIMORE – Is this tradition "nevermore"?

A mysterious visitor who left… Continue

Added by Earl Merkel on January 20, 2010 at 11:24am — No Comments

CITY OF DRAGONS Launch Tour

February 2nd is almost upon us--and my fingers are crossed that the groundhog comes out to read CITY OF DRAGONS. :)

I'm about to embark on a West Coast tour -- Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Scottdale. We'll be closing out with an afternoon Valentine's Day party at Poisoned Pen on the 14th.

The 14th itself is not only Valentine's Day, but Chinese New Year (Year of the Tiger) and the 80th anniversary of the publication of The Maltese Falcon ... all of… Continue

Added by Kelli Stanley on January 20, 2010 at 7:36am — No Comments

RIP Robert B. Parker

Today I'm saddened by the news that crime fiction has lost one of it's leading men. Robert Parker has died.

My condolences go out to the Parker family and to the mystery world.

Rest in Peace, Robert.

Added by KD Easley on January 20, 2010 at 5:23am — 1 Comment

Robert B. Parker R.I.P.

Mystery writer Robert B. Parker died yesterday at the age of 77. He was just “sitting at his desk.” Not a bad way to go for a writer that put out 3 books a year, who wrote 5 to 10 pages a day.

He was one of the great ones, one of those writers that gave the private-eye novel several standards that we take for granted now (the dangerous, possible psycho sidekick ala Hawk comes to mind). And if he didn’t invent a new element, he certainly made it popular.

I haven’t read a… Continue

Added by John Weagly on January 20, 2010 at 4:55am — No Comments

The Eye of the Beholder (7)

“Morning Tabby Cat,” Preston said, not turning from the computer to look at his friend and roommate. He always gave her time to wake up and get coffee before she had to face him.

“And morning to you Pres.” Tabitha was used to his ways now and didn’t push it, heading directly to the kitchen, asking as she went, “Did you eat anything?”

“Yeah, toast and juice.”

“Pres,” she growled.

“Not hungry right now, I’ll get something… Continue

Added by Edith Glass on January 20, 2010 at 2:40am — No Comments

Book Tour Week Three underway!

If you haven't jumped on the Buried Angel Book Tour bandwagon, go out to my website at http://www.mkimsmith.com and get the stops list. You can still join us! I am giving away free ebooks and we are having a ton of fun!

Added by Kim Smith on January 20, 2010 at 2:29am — No Comments

The Book of Genesis contains some strange stories by modern standards.

The Book of Genesis contains some strange stories by modern standards.

“Lot’s Incest”

Download Free MP3 at:

http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_3174064

Things got wild and crazy every night in that ancient land of Sodomites. Genesis in the Good Book tells the rest and tops it off with "drunk incest."

When two angels came to stay with lot, creepy neighbors said: "Sexy, show us what you've… Continue

Added by Mike on January 20, 2010 at 1:03am — No Comments

In new Palestinian crime novel NYC dangerous as West Bank

In the current Library Journal, my new Palestinian crime novel, THE FOURTH ASSASSIN (out Feb. 1) gets a great review that highlights the themes and implications beyond the way the detective resolves the mystery. For those whose mailman has yet to deliver a copy of the magazine (in which case you'll have missed the award for Librarian of the Year -- Big up… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on January 19, 2010 at 11:38pm — No Comments

Issue #8 of Astonishing Adventures Magazine is here!

AAM #8 is here! It's chock full of both classic-style and brand new pulpy goodness! It also features an interview with Kelli Stanley ("Nox Dormienda" and "City of Dragons") and my story "The Tsar's Treasure," which is a return to Hammett-style noir.

Check out it out on

Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/?hhdd55fxhdw

And on

Issuu:… Continue

Added by Cormac Brown on January 19, 2010 at 2:50pm — No Comments

Holiday Mondays Always Beat Me Down

I'm not working right now, at least not officially, but I run a business with my son who does have a full time job. If we have a big design project going, we have to schedule weekend time to do it. If there's a Monday holiday, that means we have three days to work instead of two. At the end of those three days, I'm absolutely beat. I'm telling you, my brain is tired.

Before I shut down the computer for the night, I wanted to drop by and mention a few things. I'm enjoying the… Continue

Added by KD Easley on January 19, 2010 at 1:16pm — No Comments

SOLITUDE & THE WRITER

Some thoughts on solitude and its possible dangers/advantages for writers here.

Added by Craig McDonald on January 19, 2010 at 10:47am — No Comments

FFF --

Paid in Full is a story written in response to Friday Flash Fiction, an awesome site that keeps your creative juices flowing. Each Friday you get the first sentence and by Tuesday you post your results. My second attempt, Paid in Full, can be found here.

C'mon you want to read about knives, underwear, and bookies --

Added by Chad Rohrbacher on January 19, 2010 at 9:35am — No Comments