November 2009 Blog Posts (145)

Review - Pandaemonium, Christopher Brookmyre

Book Title: PANDAEMONIUM

Author: Christopher Brookmyre

Publisher: Little, Brown

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 978-1-4087-0060-0

No of Pages: 394

Book Synopsis:

The senior pupils of St Peter's High School are on retreat at a secluded outdoor activity centre, coming to terms with the murder of a fellow pupil through the means you would expect: counselling, contemplation, candid discussion and even prayer - not to mention booze, drugs, clandestine liaisons… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on November 18, 2009 at 1:33pm — No Comments

Belatedly and pointlessly, another review:

I just found this via Google. No idea where it's been hiding. I also found out that my book was one of the 10 bestselling tradepaper mysteries at Poisoned Pen in August.

Book Review

BookList

From BookList, , 2009, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The sixth Sugawara Akitada novel, set in eleventh-century Japan, finds the Ministry of Justice official leaving his job to hunt down the murderer of an old friend. But his… Continue

Added by I. J. Parker on November 18, 2009 at 5:58am — 5 Comments

Storage-Actual and Otherwise

Don't ask me where these things come from, but I started wondering this morning why we keep the soy sauce behind the dish soap and the teriyaki sauce in a different area, next to the cinnamon. No logic there, merely an unconscious decision at some point in the past that became habit and now is required. I can imagine either my husband or I bellowing to the other, "Where have you put the soy sauce?" if it were to end up somewhere else.

That's how my files are, too. Everything is… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on November 17, 2009 at 11:01pm — 1 Comment

Why?

Useful appliances usually have names that reflect their purposes. Dish washers and toasters come to mind. But hot water doesn’t need heating. So why isn't it called a cold water heater?

Added by Austin S. Camacho on November 17, 2009 at 9:12pm — No Comments

Why?

Useful appliances usually have names that reflect their purposes. Dish washers and toasters come to mind. But hot water doesn’t need heating. So why isn't it called a cold water heater?

Added by Austin S. Camacho on November 17, 2009 at 9:12pm — 1 Comment

Check out ShadowLine Press web page

For those of us who dream of getting published, you should go over to ShadowLine Press and check'em out. They're new--and they're looking for writers. The kind of writers found in here. Being brand new means everyone is starting on the ground floor. Kinda exciting, if you ask me.

And when you go over there, check out their 'authors' page. Neat, Maynard.

They're at

http://www.shadowlinepress.com

Added by B.R.Stateham on November 17, 2009 at 2:39am — 2 Comments

Answers Will Vary

My mother, an elementary teacher, once had a student hand in homework that stymied her for a few moments. All the true-false, multiple choice, and short answer responses were correct, but all the essay questions were answered with the phrase "Answers will vary." She finally figured out that during recess, while she was on hall duty, the kid had swiped her teacher's edition from the desk, copied what was written there onto his paper, and then put the book back.

What I've been thinking… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on November 16, 2009 at 10:12pm — No Comments

Author Update

I had a successful book signing at the Waldenbooks in Cumberland MD, which the manager described as “a little off the beaten path.” She gambled and ordered a big stack of The Troubleshooter in hard cover, and they all sold.

Also, my guest shot on Madame Mayo’s blog posted a couple days ago. Her blog combines literary subjects with an international flavor, so I… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on November 16, 2009 at 9:38pm — No Comments

CRAFTING TWISTS AND DROPPING CLUES

Today I gave a mini version to the Las Vegas Quill Keepers of the workshop I'll be presenting at the Las Vegas Writers Conference in April 2010...in...where else? Las Vegas. The title is "Crafting Twists and Dropping Clues." It was very well received, so I can't wait to present it complete with Power Point and a short interactive workshop.

While preparing the presentation, I realized that one of my all-time favorite Twist and Clue movies was "The Usual Suspects." I revisited it and… Continue

Added by Morgan St. James on November 15, 2009 at 2:21pm — No Comments

Daughter Am I Blog Tour -- Final Week!

My Daughter Am I blog tour is winding down -- I have seven days to go (eight if you include today) and I don't know whether to be sad or to rejoice. Since my promotion motto is "Promotion is just another word for party," I decided to rejoice and have an end of blog tour party on the 22nd and 23rd. You are all invited, of course.

The most interesting aspect of the tour has been coming up with… Continue

Added by Pat Bertram on November 15, 2009 at 12:30pm — No Comments

WHY I WRITE MYSTERIES

I grew up in a house full of readers where everyone’s favorite pastime was to gather around the fireplace and read, talk about books, or read aloud from books such as The Hound of the Baskervilles. Gradually I became aware that some of my parents’ favorite books were mysteries, but I didn’t really understand why until I started to write one.

Traditional mysteries are layered puzzles, like archaeological digs. The best ones are rich in character and setting, hard to put down but… Continue

Added by Sarah Wisseman on November 15, 2009 at 8:00am — 1 Comment

MORAL DILEMMA Ch. 2

CH. 2 FAST JACK

He was moving along smoothly as the wheels clicked over the separations in the sidewalk- tic-tic-tic. Jack was a striking figure in his wheelchair. A fit specimen in a

Wheelchair with a short crew cut dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt with odd stainless steel caps just below his knees adding to his total look of curiosity. His lower legs had been shot off. And the caps caught the attention of passerby’s. His upper body was muscular with his arms betraying his strength.… Continue

Added by RONALD FEASEL on November 15, 2009 at 12:30am — No Comments

Germany Remembers Fall of Berlin Wall & CROSSROADS

Sphere: Famous Street Was Caught Between East and West

Merkel, who grew up in East Germany and was one of thousands to cross that night, recalled that "before the joy of freedom came, many people suffered."

She lauded Gorbachev, with whom she shared an umbrella amid a crush of hundreds, eager for a glimpse of the man many still consider a hero for his role in pushing reform in the Soviet Union.

THRILLER CROSSROADS provides some of the subtleties hidden… Continue

Added by STEVEN NEDELTON on November 14, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Who is that woman, and why is she smiling?

That would be me! And I'm smiling because I'm the new Managing Editor of the International Thriller Writers' webzine and newsletter THE BIG THRILL. Very happy to be in a position to give back to an organization that's done so much for me.

If you've never been to the website, be sure to check it out. And if you… Continue

Added by Karen Dionne on November 14, 2009 at 4:30am — 4 Comments

Page proofs and the jitters

The page proofs have arrived for the new Inspector Horton crime novel Blood on the Sand which is being published on 25 February 2010.

This is the final stage before the novel goes to print and perhaps the most nerve racking (apart from publication that is) because it is too late to make major changes, or even too many small ones apart from typo… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on November 14, 2009 at 3:56am — No Comments

Is Abbas really ready to quit this time?

Worn out has-been or drama queen? Interpretations of the Palestinian president's threat to quit vary greatly. By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPost

JERUSALEM — Sometimes a quitter really does quit for good.

The Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, announced last week that he wouldn’t run for re-election… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on November 14, 2009 at 1:21am — 2 Comments

Insanity Defense?

Die, Vampires Song

Download MP3 at:

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2005373

At a party late one night

Saw this vixen smile at me

She said come up to my room

If there’s more you’d like to see.

Something told me not to

Lust said it had to be

She pulled me into her room

Used a key to lock the door

Started kissing on my neck

Took off all the clothes I… Continue

Added by Mike on November 14, 2009 at 12:30am — No Comments

The Trojan Project

One Of The Best Books I Have Ever Reviewed

The Trojan Project

By Eileen Thornton

Available from Amazon

Stand where you are and listen to the stillness. Do you hear anything? Do you hear the rustling of the trees, the cattle or sheep moving? Do you see anyone out there while looking down from the top of the mountain? Now, look up into the sky and out into the distance. Do you see that green light? Don’t get too close and find shelter before it… Continue

Added by Eileen Thornton on November 13, 2009 at 11:03pm — No Comments

The Trojan Project

TITLE: The Trojan Project

AUTHOR: Eileen Thornton

COPYRIGHT: Eileen Thornton

FORMAT: Paperback

GENRE: Fiction

PAGES: 292

PRICE: $12.99 (US), £8.99 (UK)

ISBN-10: 1905609094

ISBN-13: 9781905609093

Imagine…you’re waiting for your husband to come home from tending the sheep. Out of nowhere appears a green flash in the night sky. It’s followed by a strange green mist. You hear your friends and neighbors in the valley below screaming… Continue

Added by Eileen Thornton on November 13, 2009 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Writing Funny

I can't do it. I envy those who can.

I will admit that as a playwright, I wrote some things that were funny. But in my novels, nobody's going to laugh out loud.

I note this because I started reading a friend's MS last night and I did...laugh out loud. She has the knack of being funny without being silly, and entertaining without stooping to farce, which irritates me. I was never a fan of the Lucille Ball-type heroine, so overdrawn and asinine that I wanted to slap her. My… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on November 13, 2009 at 10:44pm — 4 Comments