http://exm.nr/location-LA

This is the link to today's Writers Tricks of the trade in the Los Angeles edition of www.examiner.com. Have you ever read a book set in a location you knew well, only to discover that the author didn’t? Wrong details or atmosphere can be very offsetting to the reader. …

Got a new police procedural series coming out on Feb 3 ... here's the run-down from Amazon:

TRUTH LIES BLEEDING

Four teenagers find the mutilated…

I don't know how many here will be interested in this, but anyway:

I started an online literary journal dedicated to wuxia and other Chinese historical fiction. I'm currently accepting submissions for the first issue. Submission guidelines are here. Although Chinese fiction is the focus of the journal, I'll also accept stories set in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, etc. Aside…

Gus Dury on the screen...

So who would you have play Gus Dury in the movie ... my money's on Tony Danza! But, some folks in Edinburgh have a few, maybe better, suggestions on facebook ... here

Henry Chang’s Chinatown series featuring Chinese-American NYPD Detective Jack Yu debuted to critical acclaim in 2008 with Chinatown Beat,…

The Tuesday kickoff presentation of Mob Month at Clark County Library in Las Vegas proved that sometimes there is definitely humor in true crime. Read the funny situations related by the panelists consisting of Robert Allen (Mob Tour Las Vegas), Dennis Arnoldy (Former FBI case agent), Dennis Griffin (True crime author) and Andrew DiDonato (former Gambino crime family member.)…

Somehow, I seem to have found my groove. I'm back to writing and it's going the way it should have gone over these past three years of trying. And how have I accomplished this? Damned if I know. I do have a few clues, though.

First, I put a lot more economic angst onto one of my two protagonists (Maggie), the one who's a direct outgrowth of me. Let's just say that 2010 was hideous from an economic standpoint and, yeah, those words flowed!

Second, I finally…

Saturday I will help present a seminar entitled "Internet Basics for Authors" at the next meeting of the National League of American Pen Women.  The objective is to show authors how to strengthen their brand through social networking and the use of Web 2.0 to establish a strong internet presence.  I'll share the podium with Trish Wootten, who…

There's a popular book blog called Red Adept Reviews (the name is in honor of author Piers Anthony) that focuses on self-published or "indie" books (though not exclusively). It started up in late 2009 and this year for the first time the site owner gave out annual awards in various book categories. I'm proud to report that my novel, Crack-Up, won first place in the mystery category from over 200 reviewed books in that category. Here's the link to the site's homepage:

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Chck out my personal train wreck of a publishing history! You really won't believe it until you read it!

Go to The Worst Book Ever!!!

Cheers,

Vin

www.vincentzandri.com

Chicagoland's “Those Were the Days” Radio Players will perform at the 2011 Love is Murder Conference in Chicago taking place Feb. 4-6 at at the Intercontinental O'Hare Hotel.

Performances will include a short introduction highlighting some of the sounds of old time radio; an “Escape” program from 11/5/47 titled "Evening Primrose" where a writer takes refuge in a department store only to find a colony of people already living there; and a "Nichols and May" skit about a mother who…

January kicks off with an appearance on Portsmouth Live TV on 6 January with Live at Five with Sally Cronin at 5pm. I’ll be chatting to Sally about my crime novels and also talking about the forthcoming launch of the Crime Writers’ Association Young Crime Writers Competition 2011on 10 January. Once again I will be the southern area judge for the competition and looking forward to reading the entries…

Rosemary and Larry Mild plot murder together, as a husband and wife should, but instead of getting jailed they get published.  You can see how they do it, in their own words, today on my blog, Another Writer’s Life. -…