For those of us who don’t know as much about guns as we’d like/need to, I came across an interesting post on the Make Mine Mystery blog: http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/2008/12/bang.html . Here you can find [...]

I enjoy my subscription to Poets and Writers. Online, their website has a really interesting interview with four, young literary agents.  They discuss the types of material they’re looking for, problems facing beginning [...]

Here’s November’s list of best-selling mysteries from the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association: Hardcovers 1 – P.D. James, The Private Patient, Knopf 2 – Michael Connelly, The Brass Verdict, Little Brown 3 – Donna [...]

Don’t underestimate setting as a valuable part of your mystery and serve to set the tone for the book.  Some of my favorite reads have placed murderers on virtually-inaccessible islands, in lighthouses, in [...]

Sometimes when I’m reading mysteries, I have to suspend my disbelief.  That’s okay, as long as it isn’t too long.  I want to enjoy each book I read, but sometimes that’s hard to [...]

Now, a holiday treat for anyone who’s interested in Christmas mystery reading: a list of Christmas-related mysteries, courtesy of Grave Matters. Enjoy! [...]

I came across a very insightful blog post today, that I thought I’d share.  On the Make Mine Mystery blog, there was a post by Mark Troy that included excellent suggestions on adding [...]

So you’re busily cooking up your mystery recipe, fully realizing some innocent victim or two will die as a result of tasting it.  One of the most important ingredients in your fatal stew [...]

Think creative writers don’t have to work on business writing?  Think again.  It’s as important (or maybe more so) to have a well-crafted query or cover letter as it is to have a [...]

One of the most important elements in your mystery novel is your detective.  Depending on the type of book you’re writing (police procedural, thriller, cozy), your detective might be a member of the [...]

Several of the mystery writers I know really have a lot of fun with their victim.  Sometimes an author purposefully makes the victim similar to someone he’s had a  run-in with or someone [...]

  Sometimes a task can be easier if you make yourself a checklist to ensure you’re covering all your bases.  With that idea in mind, here’s a brief checklist you might want to [...]

To me, one of the most fun things about reading a mystery is the puzzle. I love finding the clues along with my sleuth…and being misdirected by the author’s red herrings. I also [...]

I know there are a lot of writers who have a germ of an idea for a mystery novel. Most of them are mystery readers and feel like, if they can just get [...]

Okay, I’m intending this post to be a warning to all you parents out there.  PLAN YOUR QUIET WRITING TIME IN ADVANCE!  I managed to do this during the summer, but for some [...]

Okay, I know that rejection is no laughing matter.  But if you’re an active writer (i.e., you have finished a manuscript, article, something else that’s ready to submit), then you’ve probably experienced your [...]

A while back I referenced “Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories” as a great tool for mystery writers to use when working on their manuscript.  It is a great tool and offers advice [...]

Okay, here’s the situation. I’ve just come back from a fun, but busy, weekend out of town. I returned to a bunch of laundry, suitcases to unpack, school forms to sign and return, [...]

There was an interesting post at the Editorial Ass blog recently that you can read here: Editorial Ass: how does a stay-at-home mom go about creating a platform? Want to build a name [...]

I love Agatha Christie stories for lots of reasons:  the familiar sleuths (Miss Marple , Tommy and Tuppence, Hercule Poirot), I love the coziness of the locations (the small village, the large country [...]

I came across an interesting blog entry today, courtesy of the Renegade Writer Blog, that referenced ten common excuses for putting off writing. The author of the original piece is Gina Hiatt, Ph.D., [...]

At the Mysterious Matters blog , a mystery editor shed light on common reasons for manuscript rejection.  Apparently at their office, they keep a database of all the works they turn down.  On [...]

Okay, I know it seems I’m hopping around a lot between topics.  That’s because not only am I starting a new book, but I’ve got a book that’s being published next summer.  Although [...]

Agent Susan Rabiner offers seven tips on getting your book proposal noticed on her client, Penelope Trunk’s, blog . On the other hand, Penelope Trunk writes five reasons why you don’t need to [...]

Check out this blog entry by Moonrat regarding the editorial cycle: Editorial Ass: the Editing Cycle (a confession) . It’s reassuring to know that editors experience the same gamut of feelings that writers [...]

Here is Brian Klems’ article for Writer’s Digest on submission don’ts. He’s recently back from the Maui Writers Conference (apparently a great event, if you’ve got the means) and the five “don’ts” were [...]

Nine-tenths of the advice out there urges writers to obtain an agent before negotiating your book contract with a publisher. Here is an excellent blog (written by editor Moonrat) explaining why having an [...]

  The Carolina Conspiracy had a panel discussion this past weekend at the Gaston County Public Library in Gastonia, North Carolina, on the topic “Murder for Fun and Profit.” The branch sponsors many [...]

I would download this book, but I already have it in my library–have had it in my library since high school, actually.  If you’re not familiar with Elements of Style by William Strunk,  [...]

Okay, I know our time is limited as writers. If you have other big things going on (parenting, aging parents, a time-consuming day-job), then you have even less time. But I really think [...]