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...
I’m marveling at the difference between common speech and dialogue that lays on the printed page as I edit my sixth crime fiction novel. If you ask anybody a question in daily life they don’t answer, “Yes.” Full stop. They say, “Yeah, right. Like I said…So…yeah…like I...
I’m off to the Left Coast Crime Conference 2016 in Phoenix this weekend, three days with my fellow fictional crime aficionados. During the excitement of registering on Thursday morning, meeting and greeting old friends, I will be given a conference tote bag that...
I’ve just sent off my sixth novel to my editor and my two best and trusted writer friends. I am hoping to get insightful comments that help me better this mystery. It is the second in my series about a Kern County Sheriff’s Detective investigating a murder in the far...
Like a lot of people today, the day after the San Bernardino mass shooting, I find myself depressed. I can’t work on my novel. I ate a whole package of Graham crackers, and I’ve been checking the online news every half hour or so. Last night was the regular weekly...
