A Writer’s Tools and a Writer’s Process

Guest Blogger: Carla Neggers Thanks for having me here, Janice! Early in my career, I bought my first computer and started typing. Ah. I was in love. It was far more complicated and unreliable than computers are today, and, sure enough, one day I turned it on and got gobbledygook. …

Continue reading

The Good Life

Guest Blogger: Kelli Stanley So. The Writing Life. Or, as I insist on calling it, the good life. And not the “good life” that Jerome Bixby wrote about in his infamously horrific short story (later filmed as a Twilight Zone episode  with Bill Mumy—remember it? But I digress …). Maybe …

Continue reading

Every Writer’s Best Friend

Guest Blogger: Brad Parks A dear friend of mine walked out on me yesterday, just left without word or warning. It happened around 8 o’clock in the morning, shortly after I sat down to my keyboard to write. I didn’t even hear him go. He just scooted out, leaving me …

Continue reading

Writing Powerful and Evocative Settings

Guest Blogger: Allison Brennan Tonight, I’m touring famous Los Angeles crime scenes with none other than James Ellroy. The talented and intriguing Ellroy has a new show with the Discovery Channel called L.A.: City of Demons that premieres January 19. I was thrilled to be invited on a bus tour …

Continue reading

Ready – Set – Action!

Guest Blogger: Karen Dionne I love action. Not in real life. In real life, I’m a writer, which means I spend 90% of my day sitting in front of my computer. Oh, once in a while I get up, stretch a little, put on my shoes, and walk out to …

Continue reading

Best of Bouchercon

I hit up a bunch of authors and other publishing professionals who attended Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, for a bit of writing wisdom they took away from the con. Here’s what they had to say: BRAD PARKS—If you’re going to take writing advice from anyone, might as well be Michael Connelly—I …

Continue reading

The Fascination With Good Vs Evil in Storytelling

WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE: Vampire Hunters and Other Kick-Ass Enemies of Evil

For WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE, we interviewed tons of experts aboutthe struggle of good vs evil in film, comics, pop culture, world myth, literature, and the real world. Here’s what some of them have to say about why people are so fascinated with storytelling about good vs evil? DOUG SCHOONER—People …

Continue reading

She’s such a character!

Guest Blogger:  Alan Jacobson Nearly every interview I’ve done the past three years has included at least this question: you’re a guy and your main character’s a female. (Then the question takes on various iterations.) What the heck? Why? What were you thinking? (Or my favorite:) How do you do …

Continue reading

Picking Favorites

Guest Blogger: J.T. Ellison At nearly every event I do, someone asks me which book in my Taylor Jackson series is my favorite. That question is nigh on impossible to answer, because you’re always in love with the book you just finished, because its done, and you’re always in love …

Continue reading

Crime writer Dennis Tafoya

I’m a guest interviewer over at Sirens of Suspense where I talk crime writing with author Dennis Tafoya. Dennis’ latest book, The Wolves of Fairmount Park received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. Hope you enjoy the profile and quickies. http://www.sirensofsuspense.com/Sirens_of_Suspense/Pro-Files/Entries/2010/6/19_The_Criminal_Mind_of_Dennis_Tafoya.html  

Continue reading