The Fickle Crime Fiction Muse

The hard work of writing my crime fiction novels has brought me joy, some success, and even enjoyment, this setting down of dark crime fiction for others to read. But once in a while the passion fades. And it becomes plain work that I just don’t want to do. I learned...

The Writers Conference I Should Have Attended

Though it’s fast fading into the past—it happened in July 2016—I’m still thinking about this terrific group of law enforcement types, firefighters, and EMTs I met in Las Vegas. Here it is, the Public Safety Writers Association conference in July 2016 in Las Vegas....

Critique Groups and Beta Readers

Writers with more than one publication seldom work alone without help from a critique group, a writing partner, or a paid editor. This means they are sharing their Work In Progress (WIP) or completed drafts with peer reviewers. Good writers will acknowledge that...

A Reader’s Attention Span

How long do you give a new book to hook you? Readers of contemporary fiction don’t have the attention span and discretionary time that readers had in the 1900s. Or even a decade ago. Now, readers will skim until they get to the point where something interesting...

The Magic of Storytelling

I live in a village of maybe 2000 people in the mountains of central California, seventy miles beyond the Los Angeles sprawl in the Los Padres National Forest. There’s a few restaurants, no movie theater, no mall, or much organized entertainment. It’s called Pine...