August 2009 Blog Posts (175)

Comparison (with reviews) of example NZ and US bestseller crime fiction (suspense with some romance subgenre)

This blog post is reprinted from: http://kiwicrime.blogspot.com/2009/08/reviews-of-bold-blood-and-fat-tuesday.html Please come and visit the "Crime Watch" blog for regular news, musings, and updates relating to NZ and international crime/thriller fiction...

Further to my post on Thursday about putting some of my reviews of Kiwi crime fiction on this blog, that aren't otherwise available online, here is another couple of… Continue

Added by Craig Sisterson on August 22, 2009 at 3:33pm — No Comments

2009 Davitt Award Winners

At a fantastic night out and ceremony last night the Sisters in Crime 2009 Davitt Award winners were announced, wined, dined, feted and photographed.

The nights festivities were highlighted by a chat between Sue Turnbull and Justice Elizabeth King of the Supreme Court of Victoria, some fabulous food and 130+ Sisters in Crime and Brothers in Law turning out on a cold Melbourne night to celebrate some absolutely fantastic authors and books.

But without further ado - the… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 22, 2009 at 10:44am — No Comments

excerpt from BLEEDER

http://www.sophiainstitute.com/client/products/prodpdf/562.pdf is the link to an excerpt from my mystery, BLEEDER (Sophia Institute Press).
John
www.johndesjarlais.com

Added by John Desjarlais on August 22, 2009 at 7:00am — No Comments

The Catfather

About ten years ago, as a writing exercise, I wrote several fairy tales on the premise, "What if [insert famous writer's name here] had written [insert fairy tale here]?" They were a lot of fun to write, and taught me a lot about voice, both as a reader and as a writer. Last May I posted my idea of how Mickey Spillane may have written "Jack and the Beanstalk." Today's humble submission is… Continue

Added by Dana King on August 22, 2009 at 5:20am — No Comments

Israel grapples with a new kind of violence

Good, old-fashioned murder catches off-guard a country always prepared for war

By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPost

TEL BARUCH, Israel — It may surprise you to learn that many Israelis are only now realizing they live in a violent place. And they’re freaking out.

Not the terrorist violence for which Israel is something of a byword.… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 21, 2009 at 10:42pm — No Comments

Giving Up

When do you give up on a story?

I've worked for months on 50 pages that an agent asked for, a sample of an idea I pitched to her. (She asked what I was thinking about writing, remember?) The idea is there, the characters are there, and I've put in the time. It just isn't working.

I don't know what's wrong with it. Maybe this isn't the time for me to write this particular story. Maybe I haven't done enough research to immerse myself in the time period. Maybe in my heart… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 21, 2009 at 10:04pm — 3 Comments

Meet Me Tomorrow in MD

My next book signing is Saturday at the Borders Express in Westfield Mall. I’ve done well in this store before but last time they hadn’t received Russian Roulette so this will be the first time for that book in this venue. If you missed it before, come back and visit me there and pick up my latest book tomorrow between noon and 4 pm. The mall is at 11160 Veirs Mill Rd, Wheaton MD.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 21, 2009 at 9:12pm — No Comments

Meet Me Tomorrow in MD

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 21, 2009 at 9:11pm — No Comments

Review - Murder on a Midsummer Night, Kerry Greenwood

Book Title: MURDER ON A MIDSUMMER NIGHT

Author: Kerry Greenwood

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Copyright: 2008

ISBN: 978-1-74114-999-9

No of Pages: 292

Book Synopsis:

Melbourne, 1929. The year starts off for glamorous private investigator Phryne Fisher with a rather trying heat wave and more mysteries than you could prod a parasol at. Simultaneously investigating the apparent suicide death of a man on St Kilda beach and trying to find a lost,… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 21, 2009 at 12:44pm — No Comments

Word Nerd guest Bouchercon bloggers

Word Nerd's back in action, or actually, just managing here as her blog is being taken over twice a week from now until Bouchercon by mystery writers.

Tuesdays and Thursdays you can catch new posts by Bouchercon-bound authors writing about writing, favorite memories, crafts, hobbies and everything in between.

Today's featured author is Camille… Continue

Added by Bethany K. Warner on August 21, 2009 at 4:05am — 1 Comment

My latest culture clash

Here's my latest post on the International Crime Authors Reality Check blog:

The Austrian Hospice of the Holy Family is a beautiful sandstone building on the corner where the Via Dolorosa turns briefly onto the main alley of the Muslim Quarter’s souq. Buzz at the main gate, climb up two flights of enclosed steps, and you’re in a palm-shaded garden fronting a broad, four-story façade. Nearly 150 years old, it was built for… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 21, 2009 at 1:44am — No Comments

My Stuff and Yours

I've been going through stuff, doing the spring cleaning that never happened because spring just arrived in Michigan (a nice day, three days of rain, a nice day, etc.). It brings to mind George Carlin, one of my favorite wordologists ever. He claimed that my stuff was "stuff" but your stuff is "shit," as in "Get your shit out of the way so I can put my stuff down." So true.

What other people consider keep-worthy is a mystery. We've all had the experience of spouse or roomie throwing… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 20, 2009 at 10:28pm — 6 Comments

Book bloggers love Omar Yussef

Since the first of my three Palestinian crime novels was published in early 2007, I haven't been short of terrific reviews in the mainstream media. After all, The New York Times said I'd written "an astonishing debut novel" and every outlet from The Sunday Telegraph to The Sowetan has raved about the books. But I'm always particularly pleased when I get good write-ups on individual book blogs. It makes me see the series is building a grass-roots momentum. So two recent reviews were very… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 20, 2009 at 5:25pm — No Comments

Banzai Birds at Beach Blanket Blood Bath

I’ll be reading my short play “Banzai Birds” at BEACH BLANKET BLOOD BATH 2009.

I’ll be joined by esteemed thespian Mark Mendelsohn.

Here are the details:

Mark Mendelsohn and John Weagly reading

“Banzai Birds” at

BEACH BLANKET BLOOD BATH

Monday August 24

7:30pm

At Bistro on the Lake

2401 N. Lake Shore Drive

(On the banks of Lake Michigan at Fullerton Avenue)

Food and drinks are available at the… Continue

Added by John Weagly on August 20, 2009 at 3:19am — No Comments

Imagine (with Apologies to John)

What is the future of reading? Imagine what a book will look like ten, twenty, fifty years in the future. Hard to do, I know.

It may help to imagine the past: some old scribe scratching away at a scroll and muttering, "Those idiots who slice paper into sheets are wrong, wrong, WRONG! People want a book that unrolls in front of their eyes. It's more satisfying."

It doesn't help to realize that we aren't even capable of imaging what possibilities await. Remember the guy who… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 19, 2009 at 10:40pm — No Comments

Book Trailer - Thriller - The Heart

Hey Folks,

Here is my new book trailer for my upcoming thriller ... enjoy!

you can also watch in glorious quality on… Continue

Added by Christian Heinke on August 19, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Review - Bruno Chief of Police, Martin Walker

Book Title: BRUNO CHIEF OF POLICE

Author: Martin Walker

Publisher: Quercus

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 978-1-84724-977-7

No of Pages: 262

Book Synopsis:

It's market day in St Denis, a small town in the Perigord region of south-west France. The locals are on the alert because inspectors are about to make a 'surprise visit', hoping to enforce the unpopular and bureaucratic EU hygiene rules. But for Captain Bruno Courteges, St Denis' Chief of Police, this… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 19, 2009 at 8:11pm — 1 Comment

What brings us together...

A friend sent this to me and I wanted to share.

A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked like. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby and said, 'Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today.'

After a few minutes,… Continue

Added by Tory Richards on August 19, 2009 at 10:55am — No Comments

Another Cool Review

I like point out changes on my main web site, and share reviews of my work. Today I’d like to introduce you to Joann.

I believe I met Joann the last time I was at Borders Express in Wheaton Mall. She said she didn’t read many mysteries but decided to give one of mine a try. What makes her comments stand out is that I believe hers to be the first feedback I’ve received from a mobile device. You can tell by the way a message is written that it was a text as opposed to an… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 19, 2009 at 12:17am — No Comments

Idiot Tolerance

When you go through medical procedures these days, they often ask about your pain tolerance. I never know what to say, having not dealt with a lot of physical pain in my life. If I have a headache, I take something and it goes away. I don't know where that rates on a scale of 1 to 10.

What I do notice is that I'm losing my tolerance for idiots. It was never terribly high, maybe a 4, and now I find myself ready to scream at 2. Yes, I know we're not all educated to the same level; in… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on August 18, 2009 at 10:33pm — 8 Comments