A huge THANKS! is in order for all you wonderful readers. You have made March my best sales month ever. And even more gratitude to the magnificent readers who spent precious time leaving reviews. My books have some of the highest ratings based on customer reviews. The “hard boiled mystery” category has @ 5,000 books […]
I’m Afraid of ;;;;;; It’s okay for writers to play with grammar. You don’t have to write in complete sentences. Not all the time. Readers know what you mean because that’s the way many people think. Writers can put periods damn near anywhere. Well. Ma.ybe. As the preceding example shows, you can’t get away with […]
Your Characters Don’t Have To Be Pretty I was reading a mystery book the other night and a few pages into it, one of the main characters was introduced. The author did a fantastic job of describing how beautiful she was. I was in awe of this author’s talents. I could picture everything about her […]
It’s Finally HERE! DOWNLOAD 7 HOT NEW THRILLERS From BESTSELLING AUTHORS Select titles discounted for a limited time – WIN Autographed Paperbacks Monday, Mar. 5 – Wednesday Mar. 7 WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING “[TRACES OF KARA] Psychological suspense at its best, weaving a tight-knit plot, unrelenting action, and tense moments that don’t let up, […]
Should Schools Have Mandatory Reading Lists? I was talking to one of my younger relatives a few weeks ago, and I asked what they were reading in school. She groaned, and then said, “The Great Gatsby. It’s on our mandatory reading list.” I empathized with her. I hated The Great Gatsby. Perhaps loathed would be […]
I have been out of town attending a funeral and didn’t have time to write a post this week, so I thought I’d repeat one I did a guest post on. This is more for writers. I hope you enjoy. I Don’t Have to Use Any Stinking Copy Editors. There has been a lot of […]
Conflicting Characters I write crime novels, mysteries, thrillers, fantasy…no matter what you call them, they’re fiction books. But just because they’re fiction doesn’t mean they’re not real. What the hell does that mean? Some readers have written to me and asked how I make my characters seem so real. I thought about that and then […]
Let me repeat that—book bloggers are awesome! There was a lot of friction between book bloggers and authors last year; in fact, there was a lot of friction between authors and authors. Most of the controversy involved reviews in one form or fashion. I have been fortunate when it comes to book reviews. In the […]
What My Animals Teach Me About Writing. There are thousands of books for sale that offer advice on writing, but I don’t buy any of them. I have all the advice I need right here on the animal sanctuary. There is nothing like several dozen animals to teach you about…well…damn near anything. It seems like […]
Mixing Concrete is Like Writing a Great Book I started out my “work life” mixing concrete. Concrete is extremely strong. It’s used for roads, for foundations that hold up skyscrapers and bridges, in dams that hold back rivers and lakes. There isn’t anything that can take the place of concrete. And the most amazing thing […]
