By Jessica Thompson When reading a book, watching a movie, listening to a story, or even playing a game, most people focus on the characters or plot, but the third big ingredient is your setting. What is the setting? Google says it is the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned...
Writing Outside the Box Chris Goff: I first met Lee Goldberg at a Bouchercon some 20 years ago, and what sticks with me is his sense of humor and bigger-than-life personality. The man was holding court in the hotel foyer, recounting a conversation he’d had with his beautiful wife, Valerie (who is...
K. J. Howe: Paul Vidich’s Beirut Station is a novel with deep historical roots, and it reads like a real-life thriller. Spies, revenge, betrayal—buckle up your seat belt! By Paul Vidich On March 16, 1985, William Francis Buckley, the newly appointed CIA Chief of Station in Beirut, left his...
Kim Howe: PJ Caldas is a Brazilian writer and expert martial artist who is an ardent supporter of strong female characters, as you will see in the blog below. Welcome to the Rogues, PJ! By PJ Caldas This is Sharon. Five times per week, we train together in a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy in Port...
Kim Howe: Betrayal, murder…and jewels. Please welcome Daniella Bernett as she delves into an unforgettable mystery. By Daniella Bernett Betrayal. The sibilant hiss of the word sends a frisson slithering down one’s spine because at its insidious core is deceit. Betrayal is perpetrated all...
by Victoria Selman Like many crime fiction authors, I am fascinated by the criminal psyche. By what causes good people to do bad things. By what makes monsters. When my husband and I first started dating (what seems like a lifetime ago now!) he introduced me to a TV show that in many ways changed...
by Michelle Bennington Cozy mystery typically calls to mind bakeries, quirky characters, and the sweeter side of life paired with a mystery to solve; they rarely call to mind mental illness. But my book isn’t a typical cozy mystery. With a hoarder, human trafficking, and a possible ghost, Dumpster...
by Tori Eldridge “You’re a ninja?” Nervous laughter. “Guess I better not piss you off!” This or something similar is one of the most common responses I get after disclosing my fifth-degree black belt rank in To-Shin Do ninja martial arts. It’s not what readers—or anyone—would expect from a lithe...
By Wendy Whitman My obsession with murder and my experience working at Court TV and on the Nancy Grace show were the catalysts for my writing journey. My debut crime thriller Premonition was meant in large part to be a tribute to all the murder victims I covered during the course of my nearly...
By Nikki Knight A cozy assassin. Really? Really. Suburban mom Grace Adair only kills creepy men who deserve it. And she makes fudge afterwards. The Hit Mom is a chemistry test. Right now, you’re either laughing and wondering when you can meet her…or you’re wondering why someone sick enough to...
