As I noted last week, Randi, my agent, wouldn't send out manuscript #2 until I came up with an acceptable title. I spent some time leafing through books of quotations and browsing through online quotation sites. Confucius, it turns out, could turn a phrase. How about…

In the summertime, during New Mexico's highest fire risk, I have dark fantasies. Most often, they're sparked by some young woman who throws her still smoldering cigarette butt out of a car window. In spite of my fury, I've never imagined murder -- not in real life -- not with the kids in the car.

I do think about murder when I'm writing, though. The method and the why of it are part of the big puzzle, the challenge in coming up with a "compelling" novel.

And yet, in…

Is it spring, or is it just me? Usually I'm reasonably mellowed out (which means moderately mood-swingy, but under control) but in the past week I've gotten uncharacteristically angry on several occasions.

It's now Monday noon in upstate New York, and it was almost exactly one week ago last Monday morning when I uttered the F-word in my exercise class when the instructor snuck up on me from behind and corrected my moves. (She had us on our knees, our exercise matts facing the wall,…

Natasha Cooper, Evil is Done

I am so annoyed by the main character, but I'm still reading the book to find out what happens. I also read Ken Bruen's Priest over the weekend, which was just as enjoyable as I had expected it to be. Jack Taylor can't buy a break, can he?

And, alas, basketball season ended yesterday in a most pitiful and painful way for this Carolina fan. It's just too distressing to dwell on, and November is so far away. However, it will…

There are so many definitions on what is what and what is supposed to be, but since you are the experts, IMP would like you to tell us your definition of a great mystery.

And don't hold back , tell us what you really think. After all, we did ask.

IMP

Blogs to the left of me, blogs to the right. Blogs here, blogs there. How many blogs can you read? Which ones do you read, and why? How do you find them?

I'm of course delighted that you're reading this one, and hope you'll come back. But just as you are overwhelmed by the choices you have, I'm a little overwhelmed by the fact that with no fewer than four blogs running (counting this one, and not counting my Navy letters blog, A World Ago, (…

OK, I'm not a blogger because actually I am so bone lazy that if I blogged, I would never get anything else done, least of all writing. This said, I should at least thank all the nice people who wanted to be my Crimespace friends. I'm still figuring out exactly how this all works, but I'll get it straight eventually. And I have to announce, of course, that my new historical mystery, A Treasury of Regrets, is going to be in bookstores in about three weeks. That'll keep me busy for a…

To all my new friends on Crimespace:

Meredith Anthony and I will be signing our new book, LADYKILLER, at New York's legendary Black Orchid bookstore on April 11 from 6-8 PM. Hope to see you there.

We'll also be doing a number of signings in Florida the week of April 14, ending up at Sleuthfest in Miami in April.

Email or message me if you want a list of where we'll be.

Thanks, Larry

When I write I like to use videos or DVD as "background music." Usually I choose old movies, but lately I've been enjoying all the TV shows from way-back-when now available on DVD. Today's choice was REMINGTON STEELE Season One.

These have held up very well--better than MOONLIGHTING, I think. They were very well-cast, and entertainingly written. In fact, I found myself so distracted--actually laughing outloud at times--that I got less writing done than I should have.

I…

Hello to all. Let me introduce myself to everyone, although I'm not in the classification of most here. I'm a newbie and heard about crimespace through the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and glad I did. This is a great idea for networking and blogging, let alone the invaluable association of like-minded writers.

Who needs a separate blog now that it's combined in the crimespace community? (How many of us will abandon our current blogs or opt to keep them and add this to our…

Some thoughts about author appearances, specifically at conferences. This is partly based on my

experiences at the Virginia Festival of the Book, which ended today. It

probably goes without saying that an author appearance is basically a

commercial: your opportunity to sell yourself to the attendees. If you do a

really good job, the people at your talk or reading will go on to rave about

you to all their…