Well friends, I will be off to Norwescon 30 in Seattle this weekend... For those of you who don't know this is the premier SF/F convention in the Northwest... A few of us will be there... likely Brian Thornton among others. It should be fun trying to take surruptitious photos of 300 pound Klingons in thongs! I'll be sure and post those.

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Is anyone else writing a mystery? Does anyone else spend hours on the internet before begining to write - looking at interesting sites, doing other work when now is the writing time, playing solitaire? It's very hard for me to start writing - and once I do, I often think its crap. I plow on, I try to be aware that I am procrastinating rather than doing something essential to my well being. Will I ever get to the point I'll just write without any messing around? who knows.

I do know…

WINTER’S CHILD (Police Procedural-North Caroline-Cont) – G+

Maron, Margaret – 12^th in series

Mysterious Press, 2006 – US Hardcover – ISBN:

0891968109



First Sentence: The call came through to

the Colleton County Sheriff’s Department just after sunset on a chilly Thursday

evening in mid-January.…

Well, I'm back from the AUA (http://www.aua.ac.uk) conference up in Nottingham and feel like a squeezed-out sponge. It was well worth going, but these things are always very intensive and it's great to be back.



This isn't going to be a huge blog, I'm afraid (thank God, you all cry!), as I can barely keep my eyes open, and I still have to (a) wash up Lord H's sausage & chips supper (yummy) and (b) unpack. Not to…

This year, I'll have two major publications to add to my credit (Yes. I am keeping score.) and they're both noir. For the novel, The Concrete Maze, I think I may have hedged my bets. It's not quite as bleak as it could have been though it is plenty bleak I think.



With the short story, "Early Fall" coming out in late summer in the antho Bronx Noir, I've written a truly noir story. There's no light at the end of the tunnel. There's not even a tunnel (which might…

From the charming folks at Fantasy Book Spot:

Who Can Win? Open to all FBS Members.

How do you Win? Send me a PM with Suspicious Circumstances as the subject and you are entered.

What is the deadline? Send your PM anytime before April 20th. The winner will be randomly selected and announced soon after.

So, just to clarify - I'm not…

As a fan of true crime, I can't help but wonder what other readers think of this genre. I do read some mystery and suspense, but I find that I am more intrigued by the personal aspect of the books written about real people. I've heard some say it is human nature to be morbidly interested, but I find it interesting to try and inderstand what makes people do evil things.

In crime fiction, the motivation is written right into the story and eliminates most of the guess…

Once again, James Lee Burke has taken us deep into the troubled past of his best character. Crusader's Cross gives us a look at Dave Robicheaux's relationship with his half-brother Jimmy. Having met a peculiar woman in Galveston, TX years earlier, Dave's past comes back to torment him and those closest to him in the present.

This newsest novel shows us more of Clete, a unique side of Helen, and a softer and temporarily calmer Dave. With his typical flair for…