At an author event last week at the Logmark Bookstore in Cheboygan, MI, I was talking with two other writers about how completely we become absorbed in the book we're writing. It wasn't a new conversation; authors often speak of being immersed in a world of their own creation. When we finish a book, it's like waking up and becoming re-involved in the world outside our heads.We're probably lucky if we find that our significant others still live in the same house and our children haven't…

From time to time, people argue about whether writers can evoke something they've never experienced. I have friends in the writing community who take classes in how to shoot a gun, sign up to go rock climbing, and (of course) travel to faraway places in order to write realistically about a subject.

We know, though, that writers must also use their imagination to create scenes and characters they can't actually visit: battles are pretty much out for me, as is being a teen-aged boy…

I've given up telling people I'm going to Bouchercon next weekend, at least the people who aren't rabid mystery writers like me. Instead I say I'm attending a big meeting for mystery readers and writers in Cleveland. Most of the time that gets me a funny look that might mean, "I knew you were a little nuts." Mystery conferences are in some ways like the teachers' meetings I used to have to attend. There has to be programming, a sort of raison d'etre, so panels on various aspects of reading…

On TV, it works in about three seconds and it's right every time. I want it. I know the face is familiar, but where have I seen it, what is my connection to it, and most importantly, what name is attached to it?

It happens often at book signings, but first, know this: I taught school for many years. Decades, even. Figure somewhere between a hundred fifty to two hundred students each year. Then add in all the people I worked with, especially those who moved on after only a year or two:…

May 7 Seamus Interview Part 3- Melissa's Imaginarium- http://melissasimaginarium.blogspot.com May 8 Writing a Mystery Series- Nancy's Notes from Florida- http://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com May 9 How Did I Know I'd Made It?- Suspense Your Disbelief- http://www.jennymilchman.com/blog/ May 10 Choosing a Great Title- LL-Publications-…