June 2009 Blog Posts (187)

The Well Meaning Killer Was Published Yesterday!!!

Exciting news, as of yesterday, my book, The Well Meaning Killer was published!!! After I finish another shift in the ER tonight, I'm going to celebrate! Currently working on my second novel in the series with firey FBI Agent Megan McKenna and her lovable sidekick Max, a retired search & resecue Lab.

Added by Miranda Phillips Walker on June 12, 2009 at 6:43am — No Comments

New review of Russian Roulette

Russian Roulette has been gathering nice reviews and one of them has leaped from Amazon.com to my web site.

When I got my review copies of Russian Roulette I didn’t just send them to the usual magazines and newspapers. I also asked several of the influential Amazon.com reviewers to take a look. The mysterious Apoem down in New Mexico accepted my offer of an advance review copy and has now posted a very glowing review on the book’s page at Amazon.

Apoem said some very nice… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 11, 2009 at 11:02pm — No Comments

On the Road to History

I'm attending the Historical Novel Society Conference this weekend, which should be great fun. When history nerds get together past and present meld, since many of us feel as close to figures of other times as we are to many folks still walking around.

I'm moderating a panel of talented and varied authors: Kate Forsyth from Australia, Mary Sharratt from England, Chris Blevins from Illinois, Nancy Hull from my home state of Michigan, and Margaret George, who calls Wisconsin home but… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 11, 2009 at 10:12pm — No Comments

Creativity and the hive mind

One of the great challenges to creativity is the Internet as a portal to seemingly unlimited information. Entering that portal turns many of us into yak shavers. We finish with one yak, then another comes along, and another and at the end of the day, the floor is covered with pretty much an indistinguishable amount of yak hair which we’ve done nothing to weave into the next magical garment of the mind. Piles and piles of that hair build day after day until we no longer remember why we came to… Continue

Added by ChristopherGMoore on June 11, 2009 at 4:30pm — 2 Comments

Review - Bleeding Heart Square, Andrew Taylor

Book Title: BLEEDING HEART SQUARE

Author: Andrew Taylor

Publisher: Michael Joseph

Copyright: 2008

ISBN: 9780718147501

No of Pages: 390

Book Synopsis:

It's 1934, and the decaying London cul-de-sac of Bleeding Heart Square is an unlikely place of refuge for aristocratic Lydia Langstone. But as she flees her abusive marriage there is only one person who she can turn to - the genteelly derelict Captain Ingleby-Lewis, currently lodging at no… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on June 11, 2009 at 3:26pm — No Comments

His Heart Is that of Italy

His Heart is that of Italy

The leisurely beauty of Italy,

Il bello d'Italia

The beauty of Italy

Lies down, upon a place of rest

Within his heart

Her skies, seduce the eyes of his soul

Her countryside of rolling hills, vineyards,

Grapes that will become wine,

Her culture, its people hidden by its own rule,

The colour of a peacock, its cuisine, its aroma

More important to him than that

Of his own… Continue

Added by Arthur on June 11, 2009 at 11:04am — 1 Comment

A nice review for my fantasy novel, Roland of the High Crags: Evil Arises

It's not a mystery novel. . . and it is one of my dreaded 'self-published' novels. But it obtained a rather nice review from a British sci/fi online magazine. Go check it out at www.totalscifionline.com/reviews/3608-roland-of-the-high-crags-evil-arises

Not bad for an amateur.

Added by B.R.Stateham on June 11, 2009 at 4:00am — No Comments

Beating expectations

As late as Saturday morning I worried that my book release party for Russian Roulette might not come off as planned, but thanks to lots of friends and supporters and my event-planning spouse everything happened exactly as it should have. It was wasted worry. Just like my dad used to say, it's always darkest before dawn.

So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper, that's the time to do it

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 10, 2009 at 10:23pm — 1 Comment

The Jaded Reader

I learned early on in life that I seldom agree with movie critics' assessments. What they tout as brilliant and ground-breaking, I often find creepy or boring. With a little thought, one can figure out the problem: movie critics see movies for a living and therefore enjoy experimentation and boundary-pushing. I, on the other hand, go to a movie for an evening's entertainment and just want to have a good time. We're looking for vastly different things.

Writers are the movie critics of… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 10, 2009 at 10:21pm — 2 Comments

Warm Guns and Whingers: Happy-Guru Eric Weiner's Writing Life

What’s happiness? A large income, Jane Austen said. Absolute ignorance, according to the delightfully morbid Grahame Greene. Or John Lennon’s less delightfully morbid warm gun. Whatever else it is, happiness is done to death. But where it is? That’s something new. The genius of Eric Weiner’s New York Times… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on June 10, 2009 at 7:11pm — No Comments

The End of an Era

From my blog at:

http://mari-thewritersblock.blogspot.com/

I have a moderately boring life, but, like many people, I'm careful to follow my routine. For a while it was hectic, but with the slowing of the economy, I am finding one thing after another coming to an end. It's almost as if 2009 blasted in, with C H A N G E as its slogan, and nothing IS as it WAS. My schedule changed, eliminating the wonderful Westlake Library book group mid first Wednesday of each month. The same… Continue

Added by Mari Sloan on June 10, 2009 at 2:15pm — No Comments

Bloody Words Ottawa

Had an excellent time at Bloody Words in Ottawa this past weekend. The organizers did a good job. Great panels. I even got to sit on one about PI's and Police. A great dinner as well. sat with the prolific and funny Rick Mofina as well as Rhys Bowen and Kate Jamet. This conference has really become something great. Lousie Penny and Denise Mina were hilarious during their talks.

Looking forward to Bloody Words X in Toronto next year now.

Added by Jeff Ross on June 10, 2009 at 1:19am — No Comments

My short story, 'Justice' up today on Crookedwebzine

Crookedwebzine today has my short story, 'Justice' up and running. The story has my two homicide detectives, Turner Hahn and Frank Morales, it it. These two are in my novel, Murderous Passions. If you get time, drop by on the web and give it a look.

Added by B.R.Stateham on June 10, 2009 at 12:33am — 1 Comment

ALL the news on the Russian Roulette release

The release party for Russian Roulette was all I hoped for and more. The historic Farr House proved to be the perfect location for such an event. The food was great and there were some very good bottles of wine present. But much more important were the friends, coworkers, and fellow authors who turned out to share the occasion – and the very cool cake - with me. It was the most fun a writer was could.

But the second most fun for authors is getting together with other wordsmiths.… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 10, 2009 at 12:07am — 1 Comment

Just say no to dialect, y'all

I'm visiting my family in North Carolina this week, and was pleased to run across an article in a local paper that described the enduring value of regional dialects. Read rest of post.

Added by Kathryn Lilley on June 9, 2009 at 10:36pm — 2 Comments

The Part I Love

It's the moment in a thriller-type book where I as a reader think, "They're never going to get out of this!" One panelist I heard recently called it the "Oh, s*&t! moment."

Sometimes the author can't deliver, and things get solved in an unrealistic way, but when it's well done, it's very pleasing. Maybe the key is something you learned early in the story but didn't pay much attention to. Maybe the characters seize on an opportunity or make one from sheer determination. But the… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 9, 2009 at 9:52pm — 5 Comments

Review - A Deadly Trade, Michael Stanley

Book Title: A DEADLY TRADE

Author: Michael Stanley

Publisher: Headline

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 978-0-7553-4408-6

No of Pages: 438

Book Synopsis:

How can a man die twice? That's the question facing Detective 'Kubu' Bengu when a mutilated body is found at a tourist camp in northern Botswana. The corpse of Goodluck Tinubu displays the classic signs of a revenge killing. But when his fingerprints are analysed Kubu makes a shocking discovery: Tinubu is… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on June 9, 2009 at 4:50pm — No Comments

Review - Dark Mirror, Barry Maitland

Book Title: DARK MIRROR

Author: Barry Maitland

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 978-1-74175-741-5

No of Pages: 364

Book Synopsis:

When Marion Summers - red-haired, beautiful and mysterious - collapses and dies in the rarefied surrounds of the London Library, DI Kathy Kolla and DCI David Brock are sent to head the investigation. Kathy finds a reluctant kinship with the feisty Marion, who had, like Kathy, left a difficult home life… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on June 9, 2009 at 1:00pm — No Comments

Question: What has a crime writer, giraffe, red-eyed frog and bat-eared fox got in common?

Answer: We'll all be at Marwell Wildlife on 23 July 2009 between 3pm and 5pm.

This summer, for the first time ever, Marwell is holding a series of literary teas and I am delighted to be the first author to kick start this exciting programme of entertainment. I will be reading from my novels, answering questions (on writing - not exotic animals) and signing books. There will be afternoon tea, cakes and scones. Yummie!

I'll be talking on 23 July 2009 in the spectacular… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on June 9, 2009 at 4:36am — No Comments