August 2008 Blog Posts (158)

Spring ahead ... to <i>Probable Claws</i>

Just got the word: Probable Claws, my fourth Theda Krakow mystery, will be published next April by Poisoned Pen Press! More info as I get it, and an excerpt will go up on my site soon. But in the meantime: someone is trying to poison shelter cats, and when Theda investigates she finds herself arrested for murder!

Until then, I've reviewed Colin Cotterill's Curse of the Pogo Stick for the… Continue

Added by Clea Simon on August 16, 2008 at 2:39am — No Comments

A Worthy Venture

One of the reasons I love Crimespot is that I can quickly scan and see if there's a topic of interest that's being discussed that I want to read about - instead of taking the time to actually go around to a bunch of different sites, waiting for them to be updated.

One of the shortcomings of aggregators, however, is that they don't filter content. You still have to scan it to see what all the posts are about, and sometimes the short teaser doesn't give the complete…

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Added by Sandra Ruttan on August 16, 2008 at 2:36am — No Comments

French Women DO Get Fat

The headline this week read: “French paradox a diet myth.” It turns out that French women are struggling with a spike in obesity rates. I pause now to snort out a supersized American “Hah!” Continue

Added by Kathryn Lilley on August 16, 2008 at 12:30am — No Comments

Forgotten Book Friday

(When Patti Abbott asked me to write a blog about a book I thought had been forgotten, it didn’t take me but a nanosecond to know what book it would be about. When I pulled it off the bookshelf, I realized I couldn’t explain it without going into explanation of the author, because the book affected my teenage years and the author a good part of the rest of my life.)

Writer Dennis Lynds had many claims to fame in his lifetime; being… Continue

Added by Michael Haskins on August 15, 2008 at 10:39pm — No Comments

Whatever's Wrong, It's Not Your Fault

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves." Shakespeare made that rather surprising statement in Julius Caesar, since the prevalent belief in his day was that the stars controlled a person's destiny. Whether he believed that or not is beside the point: I'd like to propose that we adopt the Elizabethan philosophy.

What I eat does not matter. The stars decree that I will be fat or skinny or flat-chested or hippy. Cool. I can eat fast food five times a week… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 15, 2008 at 10:34pm — No Comments

Meet Me in Maryland Tomorrow

I'll spend the weekend in Waldorf, MD. Tomorrow you will find me at the Borders Express in St Charles Town Center. I'll keep things hopping at the little store from 4 pm to 6 pm. The Mall is at 5000 Highway 301 S Waldorf.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 15, 2008 at 10:21pm — No Comments

First round edits - done!

Just emailed the edited manuscript for my fourth Sophie novel, The Killing Hands, off to my Aussie publisher. Hooray!

I'm really happy with how the book's going and hope my readers will be too! So, here's some more plot info without spoilers:

Set in LA

Features organised crime (Yakuza) and LA gangs

Features more Kung Fu

More of Sophie - e.g. you'll get to 'meet' her parents!

But I really should stop now before I say too much.

Now… Continue

Added by Phillipa Martin (PD Martin) on August 15, 2008 at 3:59pm — No Comments

Heartless

“Heartless” was a television drama produced back in 1997. It told the fictional story of a shy young woman who received a heart transplant and then underwent a personality change that may have been connected to the murdered donor. The movie was poorly reviewed, but the theory of cellular memory was an interesting idea at the time, and one that still generates interest among some members of the scientific community.

Cellular memory theorists suggest that the cells in our bodies… Continue

Added by Christopher Valen on August 15, 2008 at 12:04pm — 2 Comments

Suspending Disbelief in Real Life: A Night Out in The Big Smoke

new blog post at:

http://mitziszereto.wordpress.com

Added by Mitzi Szereto on August 15, 2008 at 11:48am — No Comments

Are you blocked?

I have had some recent writing issues, and am totally going through the healing process.

I posted about this situation over at my group blog, Murder by 4.

If you haven't checked it out, you should! Marta, Aaron, SW and I always have something interesting going on over there.

See what is cookin' in the murder dept. at http://www.murderby4.blogspot.com and leave us some comments. We love visitors!!

Added by Kim Smith on August 15, 2008 at 11:30am — No Comments

Every two months?

I really had planned to blog here regularly. Doesn't seem to be working. Oh well, lots of plans don't work the way we want them to, right? At least I haven't totally forgotten this blog. Every two months is better than only once ever!

The weather is getting cooler, and school will be starting here in just a few weeks. That means I'll have more time to write, but also that NaNoWriMo is quickly approaching. And I'm stuck between two great plots!

While I'm still working on… Continue

Added by Nichole R. Bennett on August 15, 2008 at 11:02am — No Comments

Here's the birth of the another one . . .

http://www.1001cranesbook.com

Added by Naomi Hirahara on August 15, 2008 at 12:30am — 3 Comments

Another Cool Review

I like to feature interesting web sites in this space, even when the site is my own. I always feature the feedback and reviews I receive on my web site, and today I’d like to introduce Peggy Ehrhart.

Peggy is a mystery author I met at the Deadly Ink conference. She gave me an advance copy of her new novel, “Sweet Man is Gone” which I have previously reviewed here. At the same time she purchased my novel, Damaged Goods and was kind enough to drop me a note about it. She told me she… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 14, 2008 at 11:27pm — No Comments

Living Language Means Changing Language

"Nothing gold can stay," said the poet (It's Frost, so you don't have to look it up). We like to think, especially as we get to middle age, that certain things are "right" and must remain so.

I've talked about wording, grammar and syntax this week, and the tendency we all have to regard what we were taught as the right way to speak. Truth is, language changes all the time if it's being used. Rules change, words come and go, and usage/syntax/structure shifts. The reason your… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 14, 2008 at 10:50pm — No Comments

Deathryde Digs Up Another Good Review...

An excellent mystery novel for fans of the genre, August 6, 2008

The natural jump from undertaking to crime? "Deathryde: Rebel without a Corpse" is a gripping mystery about James DeRossa, who leaves his father's funeral home business to embark on a scam that could net him upwards of twenty-five million. Detective Hank Gladwin is on DeRossa's tail about his unsavory endeavors, and their cat-and-mouse chase has twists and turns throughout. An excellent mystery novel for fans of… Continue

Added by Michael P. Naughton on August 14, 2008 at 1:06pm — No Comments

Two New Hardbacks Stone of Vengeance and The Devil's Game

I am pleased to announce the arrival of our two new novels, Stone of Vengeance and The Devil's Game. Stone of Vengeance is a modern-day Western set in Wyoming. It centers around cattle rustling, which still goes on around there. In earlier days, gunslinger Tom Horn was hired by cattle barons to put an end to rustling. He placed a stone beneath the heads of the men he killed. Now, in present day Wyoming someone is mimicking his style by killing a wealthy cattle rancher and placing a stone… Continue

Added by Vickie Britton on August 14, 2008 at 1:30am — No Comments

Victor Gischler Interview

Suspect: Victor Gischler Known Aliases: Mr. Apocalypso (yes, I made that up)

Occupation: Writer, College professor

Last Known Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Listen in as Victor talks about his… Continue

Added by Angie on August 14, 2008 at 1:00am — No Comments

ZOMBIE CSU: The Forensics of the Living Dead

Here's the skinny on my new book:

In the tradition of bestsellers WORLD WAR Z and THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winner JONATHAN MABERRY presents an irresistible, fully illustrated and fascinating guide to the forensic science of the walking dead.

ZOMBIE CSU includes over 250 interviews with real-world experts in LAW ENFORCEMENT, FORENSIC SCIENCE, MEDICINE, THE LAW, PSYCHOLOGY, THE MILITARY and PHILOSOPHY to present the first ever look at how our… Continue

Added by Jonathan Maberry on August 14, 2008 at 12:48am — No Comments

Crime Always Pays

This week on Crime Always Pays: Adrian McKinty on why crime fiction kicks every other genre’s ass; Kevin Lewis Q&A’d; free copies of Tana French’s THE LIKENESS; the full line-up for Dublin’s Books 2008 crime writing series; the latest release from Gerard Donovan; why Good Friday was the death knell for Irish Republicanism; why Irish crime fiction runs the risk of ghetto chic; some flummery about ‘the great post-Troubles Northern Ireland… Continue

Added by Declan Burke on August 14, 2008 at 12:15am — 1 Comment

Important Spinetingler Update For Authors of Submitted Works

This is an important message for writers waiting for a response to submissions sent to Spinetingler.

In the spring there were some web issues, and ultimately Spinetingler's hosting was moved to a new service. During the transitional period, e-mails were set to forward to the new e-mail accounts, as they currently do.

However, some of the initial e-mails forwarded were stripped of the original sender information. All attempts to recover those addresses have failed,…

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Added by Sandra Ruttan on August 13, 2008 at 11:10pm — No Comments