During a writers’ meeting the topic of prologues came up. One writer wondered if he should use a prologue for his story. I immediately said “No, don’t do it.” Another writer questioned that, which made me stop and think about my response. I’m always telling others there are no “nevers” … Continue reading
What is the difference between self-publishing your book, calling yourself a hybrid author, or using assisted publishing? What can one method offer that another can’t? Those were the questions discussed during a self-published author’s open house held in May at the Lincoln Township Public Library. I attended because a writer … Continue reading
I wouldn’t call myself a control freak, but I like to know what’s going to happen next: I plan ahead. keep lists, write appointments and events on a calendar that I check often, and I would rather “do it myself” than delegate jobs. Whenever I hear or read advice on … Continue reading
Not long ago I saw an ad on Facebook for a book contest. Two writer friends had “Liked” it, and the contest sounded great: free advertising for a period of time and a certificate/label you could use on your book if you won. Also, for this month, they’d reduced the … Continue reading
Please welcome Charmaine Gordon, a writer of many talents. (Read more to learn what those talents are.) Charmaine has just released Charlie’s Family Secrets, an “Omnibus Edition” of three of her novels: Reconstructing Charlie, Sin of Omission, and The Catch. Reconstructing Charlie Charlie Costigan has a secret. Home life goes … Continue reading
During a talk I recently gave, one man asked how I came up with names for my characters. I told him the truth, that a lot of times I pick up a newspaper, find names, and mix first and last names up (so I don’t use someone’s real name). That works best … Continue reading
We’ve all heard those words. Never … (you fill in the blank)! Stop…! Don’t…! They’re edicts we must follow. Right? Of course not. Never write sentence fragments Never start a sentence with and or but. Never end a sentence with a preposition. Beware of sentence fragments. Oh yes, the terrible … Continue reading
This will be my last summary of the Sleuthfest 2017 panels I attended. This one was held Saturday evening. Oline H. Cogdill interviewed Reed Farrel Coleman, Jane Cleland, Jess Lourey, and S.J. Rozan. I’m not going to give all of the questions and responses, just the highlights, and I apologize if … Continue reading
I’m continuing my summaries of sessions I attended during Sleuthfest 2017 with the Saturday afternoon session titled “Different Paths to Publication.” This panel included Lynnette Hallberg, Sharon Potts, John Keyse-Walker, and Dan Ames with Gregg Brickman moderating. Dan Ames started the conversation by comparing the three common ways of being … Continue reading
David Baldacci was the Saturday keynote luncheon speaker at Sleuthfest 2017. He began his talk by relaying a humorous story about why he won’t go up to anyone reading his book. He said he saw a man reading one of his books and offered to sign it for the man. … Continue reading
Saturday morning (February 25), I had a meeting so I didn’t get to “Shooting Solutions, Part 1,” presented by Sharon Plotkin, until it was more than halfway over; nevertheless, I still picked up some interesting information to add to my mysteries. For one thing, Sharon said, “Use gloves to pick … Continue reading
You know you’re at a mystery writers’ conference when the luncheon speaker entertains with pictures of dead bodies. (Gruesome pictures.) Dr. Vincent Di Maio, a Forensic Pathologist who has performed over nine thousand autopsies, “entertained” us with a few cases where the murderer hoped the police would classify the death … Continue reading
MARCH 22, 2017 Today is a special day for me. It’s release day for ECHOES OF TERROR my thriller set in Skagway, Alaska. I’m sure Sergeant Kenneth Cox (who spent over an hour with me in 2007 explaining what the Skagway police department would do if a teenage girl was … Continue reading
The guest editors attending Sleuthfest were Emily Giglierano (Mulholland Books), Juliet Grames (Associate Publisher: Soho Press), Annette Rogers (Poison Pen Press), and Neil Nyren (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, a division of Penguin Random House). Diane Stuckart moderated the panel. All four editors said they (generally) only accept submissions through an agent. … Continue reading
The agents’ panel at Sleuthfest 2017 started at 8:30 a.m. Friday. I missed a few minutes right at the start (I had to bring some books to the book store, and it didn’t open until 8:30), but I heard most of what the agents had to say. The four agents … Continue reading
At Sleuthfest 2017, held in Boca Rotan, Florida last week, I heard both encouraging and discouraging words about the publishing industry. Some presenters (agents, editors, and authors) listed the increase in small, but viable, publishing houses as a plus and that many writers were now going hybrid (published by traditional … Continue reading
Tomorrow evening, if the stars are aligned correctly, I will be in Boca Raton attending the welcoming session at Sleuthfest 2017. This is my 4th (maybe 5th, I’m not sure) time to attend a Sleuthfest conference. Put on by the Florida MWA (Mystery Writers of America) chapter, it’s a three … Continue reading
For the last week I’ve been reading cozy mysteries. For anyone who doesn’t know what a cozy is, think of Agatha Christie’s books or the TV series, “Murder She Wrote.” The books usually involve a small town or community, an off-stage murder, some quirky characters, and an animal—a dog, cat, … Continue reading
Years ago I had an editor ask me to change my point-of-view (pov) character from a female to a male. I’d written some books where I’d used both povs, but I wasn’t sure I could pull off a story written completely in the male pov. What I discovered was I … Continue reading
Last week a unique voice died. Actually, each of us has a unique voice, but writers often hear that agents and editors are looking for a “new” voice, or that it’s “voice” they’re interested. I’m never quite sure what that means, and I’m not sure they know, either. What I … Continue reading
