This was a great week to read this novel. Leo Maloney and his character Cobra, are very patriotic guys: doing the right thing for the right reasons. The story is emotional, raw and intense. I love a novel that wears its heart on its sleeve, makes for a good read. Let’s get right to the action shall we?

“Leo J. Maloney, former Black Ops contractor, penned this action thriller novel as a quasi-memoir about the dark but arguably necessary side of intelligence that the…

The men and women who work in the field of forensic science are always discovering new ways to use available evidence and piece together clues that will bring criminals to justice.  What we are able to learn using DNA samples was unheard of a generation ago, and is allowing us to revisit some cases that have gone unsolved for decades.  This is certainly true with…

I wrote last week's rant a few weeks ago during the time I was attempting to find reviewers for "Night Shadows." At the time, I didn't plan for this to go any further than one blog. However, since then, I've taken on a new assignment: reviewing books for Suspense Magazine, a monthly Internet publication. You can find more details about the magazine at www.suspensemagazine.com. I've agreed review a couple of books per month. If you're…

What can I say about a novel by a guy whose last name ends in a vowel like mine? What do you think? I wonder does he come from the old country like I do, I mean Trenton, N.J. I really don’t know; I haven’t had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing one of my favorite authors on this planet. I have read and consumed every word that the man has written that I can get my hands on. Here in The 6^th Man I thought, hey, he is taking Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, one…

Today I talk about an exciting new bookstore approach on my blog, Another Writer’s Life - http://ascamacho.blogspot.com/

Oak Tree Press will release my first crime novel, Devil's Kitchen, this month. Could be early as May 10th.

Here's brief description:

Devil's Kitchen:

Pima County Sheriff's Detective Manuel Aguilar

investigates an apparently routine murder and

soon finds himself in the middle of a hellish conspiracy

spanning both sides of the border.



Aguilar needs help with this case and his…

Today’s Writers Tricks of the Trade is about networking for writers.

LINK: http://exm.nr/networking-LV

Whether you are…

The Meaning of Recovery

In writing Recovery, the sequel to my first book To My Senses, I incorporated a great deal of my experiences with the aftermath of Katrina into the novel. It was not a cathartic event but writing this novel did help me to redefine what the concept of recovery meant to me.

     I had lived in Lakeview about a half a mile from the now infamous seventeenth street canal. When we were finally allowed back into…

I am going to channel my teenage son here: “Sick is just sic, it is off the hook sic, basically it can’t get any sic’r than it is.” Now to understand the teenage mind just a little bit, that means it is good in a good way even though it doesn’t sound that way. For me, being the geezer that I am, I would say that it is just rad, hip and cool, peachy keano, or something along those old man one foot in the grave type things. But seriously folks, I am a big Cleaner fan, the…

Over on my blog I wrote some thoughts on being a writer who has to work his way through spasms of depression.  And you know we all do, as writers.  All the time.  Go over and check it out.  Leave a few comments.  Find it here:

http://noirtaketurner-frank.blogspot.com/

One of the most exciting and rewarding experiences that I’ve had as a crime fiction writer was the opportunity to participate in a police ride-along.  I have observed patrol, K9, and detective investigative duties for various police agencies throughout the state of California.   

For those of you that aren’t familiar with a police ride-along, it’s a program…

Fellow CrimeSpacer B.R. Stateham has the guest post today on my blog. He's talking about short stories, and he's got 4 bits of advice. Of most interest to me was his insistence that you "leave a few holes in the plot."

I don't think he means to work in inconsistencies. Rather, leave some of the story to the reader's imagination. Do you agree?

You can read all of B.R.'s post on my blog here: http://tinyurl.com/4xrd6tb

At last. It took 220 years, but finally someone has told my story. I always said I was poisoned.

MOZART’S LAST ARIA came out this week in the UK. It’s a historical thriller by the British writer Matt Rees. I don’t mind that the Mozart of the title is my sister Nannerl – I always thought she deserved more…

Gray morning daylight peers inside the dim apartment with beaten walls and cold floorboards. An echoing hollow silence interrupts a family game of tag-your-it across the street. A tall man, 23, with a black hoodie opens the door, slamming it behind him in a stumbling hurry. Out of breath, tense with fear, he walks to through a dark narrow hallway leading to a windowless kitchen. Fists clenched, trembling breath, writhing pain.

A chip of dried blood flutters down onto his…

I’ve joined many other authors who have dropped their Kindle prices to 99 cents.  I will be releasing a new book in a couple of months in the Emily Stone Series.  What better way to get caught up on Emily Stone first?

 2009 Evvy Award Nominee

Compulsion

(Emily Stone #1)…

The best reason I have for writing a novel about Mozart must surely be that I love his music. Other elements contribute, including my fascination with his neglected sister and the growing historical research which I believe points toward his murder. But the music must be at the center of the novel itself.

I’ve played music all my life. But after my initial music lessons I…

http://exm.nr/meredith-LV

Today's Spotlight highlighted Marilyn Meredith, author of thirty published novels. With two books released each year, one for each of her series, Marilyn's popular sleuths continue to delight readers. Check out her interview.

It is often thought that police forensics has been a relatively new contribution to interpreting, reconstructing, and solving crimes in our society.  Quite the contrary, police forensics, or more accurately described as forensic science, has been a part of history for more than a…