Tag Archives: mystery fiction

The World Back in Chechnya

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Mar-Preston

My second mystery, Rip-Off, is a whodunit about Chechen organized crime set in Santa Monica, not Boston. The news unfolding in Boston has me and the rest of the world gob-smacked, as the Brits say. It may be that Chechnya … READ MORE »

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When I am Picking Up Dead Squirrels

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Mar-Preston

My friend Vicky Bingaman is a wildlife rehabber who takes in injured creatures, nurses them back to health, and pushes them back out into the wild. You can’t feed a Cooper’s hawk or a rat snake on cat kibble. So … READ MORE »

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Perils and Pitfalls in Writing About Your Home Town

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Mar-Preston

I live in a mountain village in rural California and my third mystery suspense novel, Payback, is set in fictional Sierra Mountain Village, somewhat like the village where I live.  But I assure you; only nice people live here in … READ MORE »

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Coming Back to Santa Monica

Posted on December 11, 2012 by Mar-Preston

I spent this weekend as a Santa Monica resident for the first time in seven years. Interesting!  Technically my new digs are across the street, the dividing line between Santa Monica and Mar Vista. Coincidentally it’s the same area that … READ MORE »

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I write like a man? Really?

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Mar-Preston

Men who read James Patterson won’t buy my books. I don’t write thrillers in which there’s a maniacal killer and a ticking clock, a lot of car chases, explosions, and everyone is tall, lean, and beautiful.  But there’s lots of … READ MORE »

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Ninety Seconds Stark Terror

Posted on October 22, 2012 by Mar-Preston

The Pitch Slam—or Pitch Slap—is that moment in a writer’s life when you are for the first time across a table from a living, breathing literary agent.  For the writer, this person is more important to you than your beloved, … READ MORE »

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