March 2009 Blog Posts (177)

Unusual Homicides

Minnesota has been in the national news recently because of two unrelated but atypical deaths. The first involves former professional wrestler, Verne Gagne. Gagne wrestled for the University of Minnesota and was an NCAA champion before he began wrestling professionally in 1949. The Twin Cites soon became the center of professional wrestling thanks to Gagne’s leadership of the American Wrestling Association.

Gagne now resides in a nursing home in Bloomington, Minnesota. He is accused… Continue

Added by Christopher Valen on March 3, 2009 at 7:02am — 9 Comments

Competition!

Yay, it’s competition time. The third ‘Jill and Max’ outing, Where Petals Fall, will be published on 26th March in the UK and in May in the States and I’m giving all you lucky people a chance to win a beautiful hardback copy.

When two young boys find a woman's body in a quarry, Jill Kennedy and DCI Max Trentham experience a definite feeling of deja vu.

Five years earlier, four women were found murdered in exactly the… Continue

Added by Shirley Wells on March 3, 2009 at 3:57am — 2 Comments

Latest Review for "Said the Spider to the Fly" Gets Excellence Rating!

My latest release, "Said the Spider to the Fly", was reviewed yesterday by Andrea of Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction. She kindly gave me the Top Read Excellence button. She has this to say, "...Miss Mae has skilfully woven a web of intrigue and danger that draws you in and introduces you to characters who may or may not be what they seem...I look forward to reading more of this writer's work..."

Thank you, Andrea! :)

Her review can be found… Continue

Added by Miss Mae on March 2, 2009 at 11:57pm — No Comments

How do you work a meet-the-author book-siging gig

I had a book-siging gig on Friday night at a large Barnes&Noble bookstore. Had a table right at the front door of the place, people coming and going. I literately had to rope'em with a lasso and drag them over to the table to talk to them.

Sold a few books, but not nearly the amount I wanted to. So I was wondering if anyone in here had tips on how to get the crowd to mosey over to your table and strike up a conversation.
'

Added by B.R.Stateham on March 2, 2009 at 11:17pm — 2 Comments

German translation of MIXED BLOOD by Roger Smith on 10 Best list

The German translation of Mixed Blood by Roger Smith Kap der Finsternis is on the KrimiWelt 10 Best crime novel list for March 2009.

The best of the best:… Continue

Added by roger smith on March 2, 2009 at 10:11pm — No Comments

What I Did on My Winter Vacation

What Michiganian wouldn't take a few weeks in Florida in the middle of February? Very few, apparently: we ran into fellow northerners everywhere we went. I did a tour of many Florida libraries, giving talks and letting people get to know my work, and ended the trip at Sleuthfest, a conference for crime writers in Deerfield Beach, Florida. I have to say, I plan a great vacation. Whether my husband/driver/book schlepper would agree is unknown, but he seems cheerful enough if allowed to sit… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 2, 2009 at 8:33pm — No Comments

Making deserts bloom

Jerusalem endures both suffocating dust and torrential downpours as Middle East confronts water shortage.By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPost

Published: February 23, 2009 12:02 ET

JERUSALEM — When you experience the weather here, you start to understand how the biblical prophets found such great material for their doomy prognostications. Last week high temperatures had locals wearing T-shirts in midwinter, then a… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on March 2, 2009 at 7:57pm — No Comments

Weekly Blog - Monday 2nd March

It’s reached that time of year when the summer writing festivals start assembling their line ups, and I can now reveal that I shall be attending CrimeFest in Bristol, which runs from the 14th – 17th May. CrimeFest is a convention for people who like to read an occasional crime novel as well as for die-hard fanatics, and it features a series of panels, interviews, reading groups, crime writing workshops, dinners and award presentations. I have been invited to appear on two of the… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on March 2, 2009 at 7:08pm — No Comments

Virtual Sit-Down Interview of Darden North by the Book Addict - Angela Wilson of Pop Syndicate

Book Addict with Angela Wilson

Virtual Sitdown with Darden North

02/06/2009

by Angela Wilson

Darden North takes his medical acumen into the writing realm, thrilling readers with medical mysteries guaranteed to keep them on edge. Today, North sits down for a chat with Book Addict Editor Angela Wilson. Find out more about his writing habits and his… Continue

Added by Darden North, MD on March 2, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

A Twenty-First Century Hero

(Cross posted on One Bite at a Time.)

We had a pretty good discussion last week about whether modern heroes had to be flawed, and how flawed they should be. This is my response.

A Twenty-First Century Hero

My mouth tasted like a dirty sock. The clock on the wall showed 11:30. Insufficient information. I pulled back a curtain. Sunlight… Continue

Added by Dana King on March 2, 2009 at 4:03am — 4 Comments

Dead End Road Interview in the Big Thrill

For those of you interested in my last thriller Dead-End Road and the Harry Mason / Jacob Tshabalala series in general, have a look at this month's issue of the Big Thrill Magazine. And for those writers who haven't yet joined, or the readers who haven't yet subscribed, check out the whole magazine. It's packed with tons of goodies.

Here's the URL: http://www.thrillerwriters.org/2009/02/dead-end-road-by-richard-kunzmann.html

The interview discusses why I came… Continue

Added by Richard Kunzmann on March 2, 2009 at 3:44am — No Comments

The Middle East and the Art of Non-catastrophic Thinking

When things look bad in the Middle East, foreign correspondents and diplomats and local politicians tend to forecast every catastrophe up to -- and sometimes including -- the end of the world. I generally have a more relaxed approach.

Why? Because of Mary Renault.

I discovered Renault in a used bookstore on a rather ratty lane in West Jerusalem in 1999. I was Middle East correspondent for The Scotsman at the… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on March 2, 2009 at 1:09am — No Comments

I'm Being Interviewed Today at http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com

If you've got a few moments, please check out my interview today at Mysterious People,
http://mysteriouspeople.blogspot.com.

Thanks,
Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Added by Morgan Mandel on March 1, 2009 at 10:30pm — No Comments

Intro and info

Hi Everybody,

I joined this group at the beginning of the month and still haven’t added friends or participated in discussions. Now I’ve got time to get a blog going and go beyond being a member in name only. After just at a glance of the members page, I’ve recognized names of people I’ve met before. It’ll be great to talk about writing with the people I’ve met and make new friends as well.

Even with blogs I guess I need a deadline. What finally prompted me to get going is that… Continue

Added by Bill Moal on March 1, 2009 at 7:11am — 1 Comment

WHAT I'VE LEARNED ABOUT CRITIQUE GROUPS

Besides some basics, such as "show, don't tell," stay in point of view, eliminate passive language and voice, and watch out for too many modifiers, I also learned the following about critique groups:

How to listen, with an open mind, knowing I can always decide not to make the particular change suggested.

What each particular critiquer brings to the table because of different backgrounds and sets of knowledge. Learn what they are, and use that person's background and… Continue

Added by Jan Christensen on March 1, 2009 at 5:45am — 8 Comments

Amazon retreats on Kindle's text-to-speech issue

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10184406-93.html

Well, that solves that problem.

Added by John Dishon on March 1, 2009 at 3:20am — 4 Comments

Memories of blood and corpses

A foreign correspondent builds memories out of blood and corpses. Often they turn to nightmares.

While working on my second Palestinian crime novel, A Grave in Gaza, I sometimes wept as I wrote. I used to think that meant I was a damned good writer. Now I know it was my trauma, collected over a decade of monthly visits to Gaza, seeping onto the page.

I hope that makes it a better novel. I know it saved me from the… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on March 1, 2009 at 1:16am — No Comments