New Book: Nothing Ever Happens Here

 I’ve read Nothing Ever Happens Here,  my current novel, at least 23 times before you, as readers ever see it. That means beginning to end. From the first draft to the moment when I superstitiously write The End and sent it off. I suspect most authors do. I...

Whodunits or Thrillers?

Distinctions about what readers like to read and what writers write can be divided neatly. You can find my own subgenre of the mystery crime/suspense thriller genre on the police procedural branch of the subgenre tree. Specifically, the whodunits.  I like the cerebral...

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....

A Very Private High School

I wish I felt more enthusiasm for the launch of my new Dave Mason mystery. For me, once I’m finished a book, that is, the revised revised final final version, I’m really done with it. And by then I’m onto to the next book and all its problems and challenges. I want to...

Writing a Mystery: What I’ve Learned

I took a break away from the hard work of writing another police procedural mystery when I’d finished the third in the series called On Behalf of the Family. At that point I was waiting for the proofreader to finish up. I couldn’t look at the manuscript one more time....