Just when you thought it was safe… the feisty and fun Women of Mystery are back, armed with spine-tingling holiday reading ideas! I have learned so much from these gifted and tenacious writers. I love their work and am gifting several of their novels myself this year. Award-winning mystery tales, unique voices, and […]
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Special Guest Blog: Short Stories Come to Life
by Kessika F. Johnson As an employee of Spider Road Press, I have had the pleasure of helping our recent collection, Eve’s Requiem, come to life. Now some of my jobs seemed small and seemingly not super book-related. I typed. I proofread. I went to Target. I ordered cupcakes. Other tasks were obviously connected to the […]
Continue readingFive Things That I Learned from my Book Launch Push
I’ve edited and published two books in the last 14 months. That’s either ambitious or kind of crazy, depending on one’s point of view. I also contributed a short story to the most recent one. A story in a new genre for me, no less (historical mystery fiction). I feel proud, humbled, grateful and damned tired. […]
Continue readingThe Colors of Suspense
Catching up With Horror/Science Fiction Writer and colorful crafter Lani Longshore…. Hi, Lani. Your work is truly original. But everyone has their influences. Which mystery, thriller, suspense or horror writer has had the most influence upon you? In brief, why? Every author I read influences me in some way, but let’s start with first ones […]
Continue readingIn Character – A Blog Hop
Meet Anna Sterling. Anna is a hardworking, loyal, unmarried woman doing what it takes to help provide for her working class family in 1919. My ideas about Anna, her time, and a stranger-than-fiction historical rarity grew into my story “Bitter Sweets.” I will be discussing Anna today in my section of a character-centered blog […]
Continue readingGear Up for All Hallow's Read with Horror Writer Eden Royce
My favorite season of spooky literacy, All Hallow’s Read, approaches. It makes perfect sense to a fan of horror fiction that books and Halloween go together like chocolate and…pretty much everything. Haven’t heard of All Hallow’s Read? The movement to give the gift of a scary book (along with all those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups) […]
Continue readingInterview with Mystery Writer Pamela Fagan Hutchins
Thanks for dropping by, Pamela, to chat about writing and writers. Which mystery, thriller, suspense or horror writer has had the most influence upon you? Why? Wow, this is a hard one. I think the one I admire most is Ruth Rendell, and while my writing doesn’t resemble hers, her imagination and versatility admires me […]
Continue readingDark, Sticky Death
“The steel tank of molasses collapsed. A wave of thick, sweet liquid flooded the waterfront and roared into the surrounding streets. At the same time, pieces of metal from the tank hurled into the air, raining down on unsuspecting sailors. The flood of boiled sugarcane syrup soon gushed for block after block. The wave of […]
Continue readingSomething Wicked This Way Comes
What makes a memorable villain? American novels and films are crawling with devils. (Sometimes literally.) Ghosts linger. Stalkers lurk. And, if you’re a horror fan, it’s all in looking-over-your-shoulder fun. But as a writer, how do you make your villain leave a frightening aftertaste? As I get older, I’m starting to think that the most […]
Continue readingSetting Intrigue
Some of my favorite fictional characters are cities from the past. I feel like Hugo’s Paris, Cheever’s New York and Winterson’s Venice remain so vibrant, exaggerated and well-defined that you miss them like flawed but magnetic old friends. Dennis Lehane’s portraits of pre-gentrification Irish and Italian-American Boston neighborhoods […]
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