July 2007 Blog Posts (261)

Awesome Review

Wow. Yesterday while I was on a hike in the mountains, the

following review was posted on the Amazon page for "Antler Dust."

Here it is:

Economy of language, July 1, 2007

By…

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Added by Mark Stevens on July 3, 2007 at 2:22am — No Comments

Her Royal Spyness comes to reclaim the colonies!

Tomorrow feels like my birthday and wedding day all rolled into one.

My new series, called HER ROYAL SPYNESS, is finally in stores.

It's about the Royal Family in the 1930s and it's been pitched as

Bridget Jones meets Charade (as told by Nancy Mitford). Lots of fun and

satire about the British upper classes as well as being a good

whodunnit.

I have such high hopes for this book. Everyone has been so excited

about it, so I'm trying… Continue

Added by Rhys Bowen on July 3, 2007 at 1:56am — 1 Comment

If the shoe fits ...

Writing is certainly not for the faint of heart or the weak of spirit. You don't believe me? Just click through to Amazon and read some of the customer reviews posted against your favourite books and writers, including yours truly. It can make for some pretty brutal reading.

Never believe a writer who tells you they don't read reviews. It's a lie. They all do, me included. After all, it would be incredibly arrogant not to care what your readership had to say.… Continue

Added by James Twining on July 3, 2007 at 12:00am — No Comments

Bella Donna

Posted by Sheila Connolly

Okay, I'll admit it: I have become a rock groupie.

I mentioned in my last blog that I had recently bought a concert t-shirt. It came from a Stevie Nicks concert, held not far from where I live.

Despite the fact that I came of age during one of the great eras of rock-and-roll history, I never went to concerts. (Note:…

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Added by Writers Plot on July 2, 2007 at 10:30pm — No Comments

The Dollmaker Theme

If you've been around in the synth scene for a while, you've probably heard of the German band Placebo Effect. In 1999, frontman Axel Machens started a new project, Breathe.…

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Added by Amanda Stevens on July 2, 2007 at 10:56am — No Comments

My First Published Story...

Doubleplay

By

Steven Torres

So there he was, on the dusty road. Nineteen years a major leaguer. Nineteen years squatting behind the plate. Over two thousand games. Six thousand plus at-bats. More than fifteen hundred hits. True, not a Hall of Fame career, but not a hand-me-down company car either. One hundred and ninety-two thousand miles. He wondered how many more miles would be clicked off before the day was done. With the road stretching blankly out… Continue

Added by Steven Torres on July 2, 2007 at 6:50am — No Comments

A Shameless Plug.

First of all thanks to everyone who has asked me to be their friend over the past few weeks, I'll get around to visiting all your sites and, perhaps, leaving comments before long.

I've just had confirmation from Associated Content that my latest story has appeared on their site, its not really a crime story as such, nobody gets robbed or shot or anything like that, its more a tale of urban paranoia where nothing much happens but rather a lot seems to happen.

Take a…

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Added by Adam Colclough on July 2, 2007 at 5:47am — No Comments

Making Magic

posted by guest blogger Jennifer Roberson

As an only child, I found it perfectly natural to create imaginary playmates. I made up huge story arcs for my favorite three, and I have a very clear memory of these friends accompanying us when we moved to Arizona in 1957. In fact, one of them reflected a concern that apparently was foremost in my 4-year-old mind: on the trip he was bitten by a rattlesnake. But in time my three invisible playmates were…

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Added by Writers Plot on July 2, 2007 at 5:47am — No Comments

News and Inspiration (cross-posted from Type M For Murder - http://typem4murder.blogspot.com

News and Inspiration

You

gotta love a small town. On the front page of today's Nelson Daily News

there's a story about none other than me. The picture is below the

fold, but the headline "Mystery author meets Draft Dogers" is above the

fold! And it's a very nice article as well, about my new book and how

it's set in a fictional version of Nelson and dealing with Vietnam

era-draft dodgers. Nelson's… Continue

Added by Vicki Delany on July 2, 2007 at 4:26am — No Comments

Week of Excitement!

This is truly a big week for me.

Today my fellow Lady Killers and i kick off our month long virtual

vacation on our blog (www.theladykillers.typepad.com). We're inviting

famous people to take us to favorite places around the world. That way

we don't have to leave home or go through security lines!

And on Tuesday July 3, my new pride and joy, HER ROYAL SPYNESS is on sale in the stores.

My first royal tea party to celebrate the launch takes place… Continue

Added by Rhys Bowen on July 2, 2007 at 1:36am — No Comments

Selling out

Yesterday, for the first time, I left a bookstore signing early. No, I wasn't angry at the folks at Borders in Manassas. Quite the contrary, they had done a wonderful job of talking up my signing and sharing my brochures with their customers. No, I left 45 minutes ahead of schedule because I had already signed the two dozen books they had ordered. It is a wonderful feeling to sell out at a bookstore, and there are few ego-boosting experiences to match watching two mystery fans deliberating over… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on July 1, 2007 at 11:29pm — No Comments

Newbie on the mean-ish streets

Hi folks -

Just a quick line or two to say howdy, I've signed up not really knowing what I'm letting myself in for ... the name is Declan Burke, I have a new novel out called The Big O and there's a blog dedicated to Irish crime fiction (yep, there's more than Ken Bruen, genius that he is ...) called Crime Always Pays. If anyone wants to drop by and say hi, you're more than welcome.

Cheers,

Declan…

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Added by Declan Burke on July 1, 2007 at 10:12pm — 1 Comment

June Reads

She's only a tiny little thing - less than 2.5 kilos of thing, but that blasted dog (and The Seducer) ground my reading to a halt this month. Who would think such a thing could happen!

Anyway - pathetic as it is:

Thirty-Three Teeth, Colin Cotterill

(Australian release at last!)

My Rating: Woo woo abounds, didn't care - liked it very much

In THIRTY-THREE TEETH it is summer in Vientiane and it is hot, bloody hot. Laotians greet each other with that phrase as… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on July 1, 2007 at 1:47pm — No Comments

A Monster in My Backyard

There was a monster in my backyard where I grew up.

Okay, not literally in my backyard, but only a few miles away in the White…

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Added by Amanda Stevens on July 1, 2007 at 12:50pm — No Comments

Catching Up

It's been a while, I know. Summer appeared rather abruptly, offering its various distractions. Plus, I've been trying to catch up on my reading, which has been lovely, to be honest. I'm getting ready to head east for a week or so, first to visit family and then to travel to New York City for ThrillerFest, as well as a reading event at the New York Center for Independent Publishing.

The NYCIP event will be Wednesday, July 11. It's called…

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Added by Bill Cameron on July 1, 2007 at 6:15am — No Comments

John Dunning - Funniest Dark Scene Ever

I'm listening to John Dunning's "The Bookwoman's Last Fling" on CD.

Amazing narrator, great story...and main character, Cliff Janeway.

There's a scene in this book that I would like to nominate as one of

the darkest and funniest and most real scenes I've ever "read."

It's the scene when Cliff is stuffed in a car trunk. I know,

somewhat routine idea but the execution here is over the top, the way

he wakes up and starts to try to put the pieces together of where he… Continue

Added by Mark Stevens on July 1, 2007 at 5:59am — No Comments

Which Came First, the Story or the Title?

In a posting on the Inkspot blog a couple of weeks ago, Nina Wright, the charming and witty author of the Whiskey Mattimoe mysteries, wrote: “[C]hoosing a title is generally one of the last details of the book-writing process.” Yes, that’s how it usually works. My Dot Dead had a working title of Maid Dead until just before submission. The contract I…

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Added by Keith Raffel on July 1, 2007 at 3:14am — No Comments

Darkness - Patricia Highsmith

I'm in the middle of a wonderful biography of Patricia Highsmith,

"Beautiful Shadow" by Andrew Wilson. I have always liked the darkness

in Highsmith's writings. My favorite titles are "The Story Teller,"

"This Sweet Sickness," the Ripley books, and "Strangers on a

Train." There are many more interesting novels in her collection,

too. What really strikes me about her writing is how much of it is

based on a very dark interior life. Anybody who reads it will… Continue

Added by Mark Stevens on July 1, 2007 at 1:01am — 4 Comments

Rejection, but no so

I recieved a rejection today that really is only a rejection if I choose to not take the editor's advice.

I actually liked what the editor had to say. It resonated with me and because I truly want my books to be their best I will take her advice and resubmit. Which she said I could do.

So it isn't really a rejection letter, but a revision letter with no guarantees.

But I'm still sad. Though I feel I shouldn't be.

And I know it will pass and by tomorrow I'll be…

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Added by Chris Redding on July 1, 2007 at 12:53am — 1 Comment