A Blog for Readers and Writers of Mystery, Crime, and Suspense Fiction
“Doesn’t pay attention in class.”
That was a common remark on my school report cards, along with “tends to daydream,” and “head in the clouds.” I know because my mom was a saver, and I still have a box of those early evaluations. To her credit, I don’t remember a single time she berated me for not coming home with all A’s.
USA Today and Amazon bestselling and award-winning author Lois Winston writes mystery, romance, romantic suspense, chick lit, women’s fiction, children’s[…]
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Join me in welcoming Judy Penz Sheluk to Miss Demeanors! Judy is a former journalist and magazine editor and the bestselling author of two mystery series, several short stories, and two books on publishing. She is also the publisher and editor of four Superior Shores Anthologies. The latest, Larceny & Last Chances, will be available June 18. Today Judy is sharing some wise advice from her long experience with the short-story genre.
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Of all the tools available to fiction writers, the most maligned may be the prologue. With the possible exception of the adverb and the semi-colon, no other literary device engenders such visceral hatred. Prologues have been called “superfluous,” “tedious info-dumps,” and “a bait-and-switch technique.” Agents and editors, we’re told, hate them. But are they always bad?
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I’m talking about writers’ conferences, not relationships! Returning last week from Left Coast Crime in Bellevue, Washington, I found a flurry of comments in my inbox, addressing the question: was it worth it? It’s a good question to ask.
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Is the road to hell really paved with adverbs? Heavens! None of us wants to commit a mortal writing sin, and so new writers are advised to ruthlessly cut them out of our writing. Your writing will always be stronger without them, we’re told. But is this advice always true?
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Think back—way back—maybe to your childhood or high school days. And think of a person you remember vividly—someone other than your family or personal friends. I did this recently and immediately thought of an unexpected person—Mildred Rowley, one of my mother’s childhood friends.
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It is a truth universally (well, maybe generally) acknowledged that romance in a good crime novel must be relegated to a sub plot. If solving the mystery is primary, we’re told, the book is a crime novel. If the outcome of the romance is primary, the book is a romance. Makes sense. But what if the romance is the mystery? What if the romantic relationship between two people creates or solves the crime? Because it’s Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d mention five crime novels where the heart of the plot (pun intended) is romance.
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“Sexual repression, dark alleys, great detectives, ornate prose,” says author James McCreet (“Why we all love a Victorian Murder,” The Guardian, 15 May 2011). “No wonder the 19th century is our template for crime fiction. A murder is somehow more quintessentially English when committed on the cobbles of a foggy East End alley. If there’s a silhouetted top hat, a rustle of crinoline and a scream cut short with straight razor, all the better.”
I couldn’t agree more. Here are my Top Ten Reasons why Victorian England is the perfect setting for murder:
Have you ever been ticketed for a rolling stop? In case you’re not familiar with the term, a rolling stop[…]
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