Romance in Spy Thrillers KJ Howe:Romance and spies, two elements that intersect and create such a dramatic tour de force in suspense. But how do you find the right balance? Ask William Maz, author of The Bucharest Legacy. By William Maz It is no news to readers of spy thrillers, or viewers of...
On Tour With Dead Writers By Z.J. Czupor On Tour with Dead Writers is Z.J. Czupor's new installment on Rogue Women Writers. Guess the correct dead writer and be entered to win a free book. Bob Kane (1915-1998), the creator of comic-book and film character “Batman” credits his watching this 1930...
Grumpy Old Men as Inspiration By: Kimberly G. Giarratano Greetings from a glorious Northeast! A bit of magic has been sprinkled upon us: for the past two weeks, we have had nothing but blue skies, sunshine, and a layer of golden pollen whose goal is to take us out one-by-one (I haven’t stopped...
Gayle Lynds: The Irish are renowned for their storytelling, and our guest today is one of the finest. Barbara Ross has created a doozy of a novella called Perked Up. What do you do when you’re snowed in, and the lights go out? You tell a ghost story with your pals ... and if the story is a...
By Chris Goff I was recently asked to participate in a new promotional venture for authors: Discover the best books from Shepard for Authors. It’s a new website and the owner’s philosophy is that “when it comes to books, human recommendations are always better than algorithms.” Hard to argue...
By Lisa Black After a mild argument with my husband about the difference between free speech and libel/slander, I got curious about when actual laws prohibiting either hit the books. Both crimes come under the heading of defamation, which simply means to express something to a third party that...
By Alex Kava According to artist, Chuck Close: “Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.” But what if it’s not about inspiration? What if you’re really stuck in a manuscript. You can’t move forward no matter how many bad paragraphs you force yourself to...
By Jerri Williams Authors know well the question. Readers, as well as new and not-yet-published writers, ask it all the time. “Where to you get your story ideas?” For me, the answer is simple. Many of my premises and plot twists come directly from the true crime tales my guests share on my...
Gayle Lynds: What a thrill to welcome Danielle Girard! With 16 novels and an array of short stories, she’s a true writers’ writer, with books that keep you turning the pages, characters you want to take home with you, and large dollops of wisdom amid the electric suspense. No wonder Danielle hits...
By Tracy Clark I've had a heck of a time writing lately. Shirtsleeves up. Eyes on my laptop. Fingers on the keyboard. Digging for diamonds like those seven little Disney guys. I started a new crime series. And I’m a pantser. Feel me? This means I started with zip, which is fine. I always start...
