July 2010 Blog Posts (145)

The Barbara Cartland of Cairo…Sort of: Sanna Negus’s Writing Life interview

Cairo is a place we all know to some degree, even if only the image of the pyramids and the Sphinx. A short visit there is enough to make you wonder about how much of this teeming metropolis you really don’t know. No writer gets so deep as Sanna Negus under the skin of this ancient city, which remains key to the future of the benighted Middle East. Sanna’s the Middle East correspondent for Finnish radio and television. Her new book “Hold onto Your Veil, Fatima! And Other…

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Added by Matt Rees on July 15, 2010 at 9:16pm — No Comments

Review - Watch the World Burn, Leah Giarratano

Book Title: WATCH THE WORLD BURN

Author: Leah Giarratano

Publisher: Random House Australia

Copyright: 2010

ISBN: 978-1-74166-814-8

No of Pages: 389

Book Synopsis:

Miriam Caine is dining with her son in an up-market restaurant when she bursts into flames.

The restaurant's manager, ex-cop Troy Berrigan, is first to Miriam's aid, but she later dies of her injuries. When police find accelerants on the victim, attention is turned to their… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on July 15, 2010 at 3:00pm — No Comments

Living for a Writing

Back when my hair was naturally blond and my idea of dieting was only three scoops of chocolate ice cream drowning in hot fudge sauce instead of four, I went through a stage where I wanted to be an actress.

I was pretty, had been in quite a few plays, and thought I had some potential to go professional at some point. Toward the end of this period, I confided to my acting coach that I dreamed of playing Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, to which she responded with a… Continue

Added by Lauren Carr on July 15, 2010 at 8:26am — No Comments

Part two of Alex Steele and the Death Dealer will be posted Thursday July 15th

(1st excerpt from Dealer of Death)

Two hours later Steele found himself driving through the roughest neighborhood in the city. No one in their right mind would come down here alone in the daytime and most cops wouldn't risk traveling through this part of town late at night but somehow on this dark, quiet night Alexander Steele seemed to be drawn to it. There was movement in shadows of the blocks and blocks of abandon buildings where it was commonplace to see hundreds of… Continue

Added by Lawrence Johnson on July 15, 2010 at 5:49am — No Comments

New edition of Stephen King's "On Writing" out

Anything with Stephen King’s name on it sells, right?

Stack ’em high in the front of the bookstore and watch ’em fly out the door. Everybody wants a copy.

And if it’s a re-issue because of an anniversary, well, the publisher and the stores have another sales hook.

Stephen King’s On Writing is just that, a re-issue.

The book came out 10 years ago and sold more than a million… Continue

Added by Jerry Peterson on July 15, 2010 at 3:45am — 1 Comment

Book locations come to life!

Ever wondered what the settings in the book you're reading really look like? Take the opportunity to explore the locations used in CAPABLE OF MURDER, book one in Belinda Lawrence mysteries.

Midford, Somerset (Milford)

The village of Milford where Belinda Lawrence inherited her cottage and found her aunt dead at the foot of the stairs. Explore the village and countryside.

http://tinyurl.com/ylgyc2z

Pulteney Bridge, Bath.… Continue

Added by Brian Kavanagh on July 14, 2010 at 8:05pm — No Comments

Cop-Out Defenses

German Poet Christian Friedrich Hebbel coined it best when he said, "Whoever wants to be a judge of human nature should study people's excuses." Those have reached bizarre heights in the courtroom. The most ludicrous could very well be the Twinkie defense. It helped Dan White get an involuntary manslaughter verdict instead of first degree murder for killing San…

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Added by Barri L. Bumgarner on July 14, 2010 at 12:49pm — 2 Comments

Lovers of Irish Noir? Visit SCENE OF THE CRIME for an Interview with Author Declan Burke

Celtic Crime: Declan Burke’s Sligo

July 13, 2010 by Scene of the Crime | Edit…

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Added by J. Sydney Jones on July 14, 2010 at 3:37am — No Comments

Meet our new poet laureate

We have a new top poet in our country – W.S. Merwin, the appointment made two weeks ago.

Merwin looks the role – a mop of white hair, somewhat bushy eyebrows. It’s as if he had studied the portraits of Robert Frost and Carl Sandburg and said, “I can look like that.”

But more important than “the look”, Merwin’s a sterling poet who has gathered in a basketful of honors for his work, including two Pulitzer prizes – in 1971 for his… Continue

Added by Jerry Peterson on July 14, 2010 at 1:37am — 2 Comments

It's Gone on Sale in the UK:

Theoretically it was not supposed to be released until the 28th of July, but I've noticed that for Amazon such dates are flexible. U.S. release is not until October 28., yet I'm told it will be available some time in August. It's all very strange, but not at all bad if that gives me a little extra time to sell a few books before the libraries have them.…

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Added by I. J. Parker on July 14, 2010 at 1:15am — 2 Comments

Inspiration or Perspiration?

It's time to choose the next book. My second Simon & Elizabeth (POISON, YOUR GRACE) and my paranormal, THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY, are both in the editing process, so there is nothing I can do about them until I get the editors' suggestions. My newest endeavor, which I titled DEAD INSIDE, is awaiting word from an agent or two. So what do I want to do next?

The perspiration part: write the third of the historical series. I have it outlined on my handy-dandy little tape recorder, and…

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Added by Peg Herring on July 13, 2010 at 10:27pm — No Comments

Death Dealer (excerpt)

Excerpt from the Death Dealer

by Lawrence Johnson Sr.

Two hours later Steele found himself driving through the roughest

neighborhood in the city. No one in their right mind would come down

here alone in the daytime and most cops wouldn't risk traveling through

this part of town late at night but somehow on this dark, quiet night

Alexander Steele seemed to be drawn to it. There was movement in

shadows of the blocks and blocks of… Continue

Added by Lawrence Johnson on July 13, 2010 at 10:21am — No Comments

LONG TIME DEAD - trailer

Added by Tony Black on July 13, 2010 at 7:22am — No Comments

One of the little-known perks of being a published author: true story.

So we spent a week at the in-laws out in L.A., fine time had by all. Saturday, the day before we're scheduled to fly back, I discover that my wallet's missing--flat gone. We turn the house upside down, search the cars, retrace our steps back to the noodle joint where we'd had lunch (last time I'd taken my wallet out to get at my Visa card), no freaking wallet, nada, zilch, vanished, gonezo, n'existe pas. It's really just a card case--Visa, debit card, faculty ID, insurance cards, driver's… Continue

Added by Jon Loomis on July 13, 2010 at 5:30am — 4 Comments

When an Aging, Gray-Haired Mystery Writer Becomes a 25 year-old Female Schizophrenic

Added by James Hayman on July 13, 2010 at 3:27am — 2 Comments

Choosing names for characters in a novel - Pauline Rowson explains how she does it in her crime novels

One thing about writing a series (Inspector Andy Horton crime novels) is that some of the character names are already set, i.e. Inspector Horton, Sergeant Cantelli, Superintendent Uckfield. Then there is DI Dennings, DCI Lorraine Bliss and others, so no need to think up new names for them. But every novel has a new crime and a new set of characters and coming up with names for them can often be quite tricky as can be…

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Added by Pauline Rowson on July 13, 2010 at 1:54am — 3 Comments

Toy Story 3

Did you love Toy Story, that terrific Pixar movie of 15 years ago? Then you’re going to love Toy Story 3 now out in 3-D.

It’s the story of what happens to Woody and Buzz and the other toys now that Andy is 17 and going off to college. The adventures and misadventures are bigger and badder. For the audience, it’s an emotional roller coaster, if you’ll forgive the… Continue

Added by Jerry Peterson on July 13, 2010 at 12:58am — No Comments

A Writing Guide only an Idiot would pass up.

The lastest posting on my main blog features a writing guide that I can fully endorse - http://ascamacho.blogspot.com/

Added by Austin S. Camacho on July 12, 2010 at 9:26pm — No Comments

Review - King of the Cross, Mark Dapin

Book Title: KING OF THE CROSS

Author: Mark Dapin

Publisher: Pan MacMillan Australia

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4050-3962-8

No of Pages: 308

Book Synopsis:

King of the Cross is a dazzling novel that explores the criminal world of Jacob Mendoza: legendary Godfather of Kings Cross and for more than four decades, Australia's most powerful and notorious crime figure. Now in his eighties, Mendoza believes it's time to record his epic life story - although… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on July 12, 2010 at 9:17pm — No Comments

Memories of Art Linkletter

Art who?

One wouldn’t have asked that a half-century ago. Then Art Linkletter was everywhere – on radio and television, in bookstores, he even appeared in two movies. Linkletter also was a regular on the lecture circuit. For a fee, he’d come to your organization’s convention and regale your members for 45 minutes with stories drawn from his life and his television shows.

The man was born 97 years ago in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. He… Continue

Added by Jerry Peterson on July 12, 2010 at 5:38am — No Comments