NEVER PULL A PEPPER

By Tracy Clark I just checked my latest manuscript for Pepper. I’m good! Remember the old ‘70s TV show Police Woman? It starred Angie Dickinson as Det. Pepper Anderson? I do. In fact, I remember it every time I sit down to write, because there are some things I have to remember not to do, thanks...

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THE BUSINESS OF WRITING

By Tracy Clark Hiya! Well, another Bouchercon is in the history books. This year’s Bouchercon, the world’s premier mystery conference and heck of a good time, was held in sunny San Diego, and 1,700 mystery and crime readers, writers, editors, agents, booksellers, and those who love them, came out...

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DISPATCH FROM THE CAVE

No Excuses Accepted By Tracy Clark I don’t have anything interesting to write about this time. You see, I’ve been living in a cave, figuratively not literally, for months now. Nose to the grindstone. Shoulder to the wheel. All that jazz.  I have a book to finish. A deadline looming. Writing....

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MY BRUSH WITH GREATNESS

I'm Still Smiling By Tracy Clark When I was a kid, I often thought how cool it would be if Topps made author trading cards like they made all those ho-hum baseball ones. I would have loved to have opened a pack of Topps to find a small sheet of chewing gum and a cardboard card with Agatha...

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THE TALE OF TWO TRIPS TO TUCSON

By Tracy Clark It’s conference season, that busy time of year for writers when they come together with readers and their writing community and celebrate books and writing. It’s like Oscar season, only without Wolfgang Puck’s mini-sliders and that pre-ceremony full-body shellacking Hollywood...

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NOTHING SUBTLE ABOUT A BOOK LAUNCH

By Tracy Clark I just launched my fifth book, Hide. Yay! It’s a busy time. Stuff’s happening fast and furious. But in a rare quiet moment, I got to wondering. Why book launch? Why not book introduction, or book premiere? I’ll admit launch is snappier than book introduction, but it also sounds and...

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BREAKING IN A NEW PAIR OF SHOES

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...

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Characters That Keep It Real

by Tracy Clark I just gave my first author presentations on craft, one on writing settings and one on building book people (characters). I think I did okay. I hope I did. But I’m a writer, not Mr. Chips, so things might have been a little, you know, shaky. I put the presentation together (with...

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