I just finished reading _A_Bomb_Built_In_Hell_, Andrew Vachss' first novel, written in !973 but unpublished until 1999. I've long been a Burke devotee, but I stumbled upon a link to ABBIH on the wikipedia hardboiled page. It is Wesley's story, and parts of it have been cannibalized (Vachss' word) in some of his other early novels. It is available as a free PDF download at:…



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I just posted a new short story on my blog, One Man Crime Spree. If you get a chance, check it out and let me know what you think.

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A few weeks ago I got a crimespace friend request from Jack Bludis. He astutely surveyed my "likes" and recommended the Yahoo Group Rara Avis (rare birds), a group dedicated to the discussion of hardboiled and noir writing. I've been hanging out, you might say lurking, ever since. It's an entertaining and informative group. There're around 600 members and there're around… Continue

I had a golden opportunity this summer and I decided to take it. My company changed hands and I had a chance to walk away and take the summer off. Yeah, I could have stayed and made just as much money, worked with the same people (whom I actually like), done the same job, had roughly the same life. Instead, I cashed my options, paid some bills and took the summer off. My goal was to write the sequel to my first POD novel, unReQuiTeD. Somewhere along the line, my plan went awry, but in a… Continue

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I spent the weekend at the Columbus (OH) Writer's Conference. Every time I attend one of these things I feel like maybe, just maybe, someday I'll be able to write my way out of a paper bag. The conference was not Mystery specific, but there were several good workshops on the art of writing the crime scene and forensics. The star of the show was Lee Lofland Lee has got a new book out that is flying off the bookshelves,… Continue

I've been writing novels off and on for about ten years. My first novel, which shall be forever unnamed and unpublished, was the product of a ten-week blast of stream of consciousness that I will probably never find again. The result was 400 pages of aimless rambling. Rather than exulting in my accomplishment, I went into a five year tailspin of postpartum depression. I didn't write for five years. Those of you who write, can you imagine that? The upshot of that is the I read A LOT. I'm talking… Continue