Where Did That Come From? Terry Odell and James L’Eotile As I’m still in New Zealand, I’m delighted to have James L’Etoile as my guest today. I first met James at a Left Coast Crime conference, where he endeared himself … Continue reading
I specialize in murders of quiet, domestic interest. –Agatha Christie * * * Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. Her sales are exceeded only by the Bible and the works of Shakespeare. According to her website at … Continue reading
“Pushing the envelope means testing limits and trying out new, often radical ideas. The expression comes originally from mathematics and engineering, where an envelope is a boundary, but was popularized by test pilots.” (Termium Plus) It has been said that Thomas … Continue reading
Tuesday my wife and I said goodbye to our beloved cat Mittens, who we’d adopted along with his brother Simba when they were ten-week-old kittens. He finally succumbed to multiple health challenges after being our constant companion for over seventeen … Continue reading
Description should create a mood that matches the emotion of the POV character. If we all stood in the same yard at the same time, we’d interpret the atmosphere in difference ways, colored by personal circumstance and experience. A fearful … Continue reading
by James Scott Bell @jamesscottbell “Build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.” That old chestnut is usually attributed to Emerson, who actually put it this way: “If a man can write a better … Continue reading
By John Gilstrap On Monday, Sue Coletta wrote a wonderful piece on how to write a dance scene. As I read it, I realized that a) I’ve never written a dance scene, and b) what a daunting challenge it would … Continue reading
I wanted to follow last time’s Words of Wisdom on short fiction with a Words of Wisdom look at the novella. I’ve written several novellas, and have published three of them, and have been hankering to write another. So, it … Continue reading
Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day. –Isaac Watts * * * We live in a four-dimensional world. For most of us, the three dimensions of … Continue reading
by Debbie Burke @burke_writer Welcome back to another year in The Kill Zone! Yesterday, Kay compiled a great collection of various new year’s resolutions. Today, I’d like to share a different slant on resolutions, courtesy of bestselling author Eric Barker. … Continue reading