6 Surprising Things I learned about Agatha Christie
All I knew about the great mystery writer Agatha Christie was that she wrote many of my favorite mysteries and[…]
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Category: Books
Hello World, Here I Come!
Launching a new book always feels a little like watching your child climb onto that big yellow school bus for the very first time. There she goes—your baby—into the big, wide world without you. In exactly a week—on May 10th—The Shadow of Memory, the fourth in the Kate Hamilton Mystery series, will make its debut. To celebrate, I’m giving away a signed copy (plus a few other goodies) to one lucky commenter during the month of May.
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It’s a Mystery: Why I Love Criticism
When I wrote “the end” on the first fiction I’d ever written, I asked my wife to read it. She’s[…]
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Old books, mysteries & ethical dilemmas
Tonight is the official opening of the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair. It’s also Charlotte Bronte’s birthday. So appropriate[…]
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A Mystery with a Detective Team
Recently I’ve taken a step back from the cycle of writing, editing and marketing to get some perspective. And I[…]
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You Wrote a Murder Mystery, Now What? Part Deux: Independent Publishers
Congratulations on writing your mystery! And you want the world to see it! Today we’re talking about independent publishers.
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Vacation Reading: a Mystery Novel, a Memoir, another Mystery Novel, and Vampires
I finally got to travel last week, and I loaded my kindle with plenty of reading material. Four in one week is not my personal best, that is reserved for the vacation where I read a book a day, ran out of books, and had to find a bookstore in a panic before the flight home. Obviously before kindles. I read a mystery novel (times 2), a memoir, and a sliver of vampire fiction by Octavia Butler, who never disappoints in the “taking a trope and turning it inside out, on its head, and sideways” department.
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The Point of Words
Although many living things communicate with each other (my dog certainly feels a burning need to let me know the mail has arrived the very moment it does), humans, at least on this planet, are the only ones who have language. And novels. And stories. And Instagram.
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How a reader becomes a writer
Every writer has been there; on the precipice between reader and writer, wondering how, or if, to make the leap. Here are three steps to get you started on the path from reader to writer.
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Free Stuff
As writers (at least as writers in the U.S.), we are expected to give away a portion of our product. We give away signed books, ebooks, short stories, novellas, etc.
And I don’t even want to put in writing what someone asked me to give away today. Let’s just say the request that landed in my inbox made me think long and hard about the value of a FREE THING.
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