Writers
Crime Writers
Crime and Thriller Writing, co-authored by me and my friend Michelle Spring, has three sections to it. The first is our reflections on our writing life; the third is the nuts-and-bolts how-to section. But the middle section is a little of everything–and everyone. Part two is a series of essays by twenty-six other fantastic crime & thriller writers,…
Read MoreIn love with Station Eleven
I try not to take advantage of my middle-sized-fish-in-small-pond status and assert myself at events, but in June when I was one of the speakers at the American Library Association tea, and read up on the other speakers, there was one book I made a leap for, elbowing aside all the librarians who were there…
Read MoreTBT: Intro to LRK
This Throwback Thursday brought to you by Bantam Books. Bantam (now a division of Penguin Random House, aka the Randy Penguin) showed me the love from the very beginning, with the mass market paperback for A Grave Talent forming one third of a summer special in 1995, along with Mary Willis Walker and John Straley. They did T-shirts,…
Read MoreWrites of Passage
Sometimes, you’re looking for a how-to book. Other times, what you need is a how-I book. This is one of those. Writers face turning points every day, dozens of times. Even the most minor scene has repercussions: everything is a write of passage. It’s also, as jobs go, remarkably lonesome, since few of us have…
Read MoreSo Thrilling, it’s Criminal
Crime and Thriller Writing is the how-to book I wrote with Michelle Spring. If you’d like to win a copy, joining the fanfic “Letters of Mary” will put your name in the hat–see below. It’s a collection of reflections followed by step-by-step recommendations on how, what, and why to write. Michelle, unlike me (I am definitely an Organic…
Read MoreCriminally Thrilling Writing
Crime and Thriller Writing is my how-to book—or, about half mine. I wrote this how-to book of crime writing with Michelle Spring, but it’s not just us: we asked twenty-six other bestselling crime writers to write an essay on…anything. That’s right, we just asked them to write us a few pages on whatever was on their mind, or they…
Read MoreCrime & Thriller stars
Crime and Thriller Writing is my how-to book—or, about half mine. (And it’s now available as an ebook.) I co-wrote this exploration of the mysteries of crime writing with Michelle Spring, who unlike me (an Organic Writer) is an Organized Writer down to her bones. But one of the best parts of the book is…
Read MoreCrime writing, anyone?
Coming up in Corte Madera, beginning July 24, a gathering of truly fabulous writers and editors are coming together to talk crime. For 21 years, this has been one of the best crime writing conferences out there—and yes, this year I’m joining in the fun. If you’re serious about starting a crime writing career, or…
Read MoreMystery & Thriller Throwdown!
Fabulous event coming on Saturday, an afternoon of crime, at Kepler’s in Menlo Park, CA: Mysteries & Thrillers, at each others’ throats. Ten great writers (or anyway, nine and me) getting down and dirty about crime–the list of writers is here, and this is the program: 1:00 The “Rules” of the Publishing Game: The Times…
Read MoreOxford Story Museum
A quick reminder: the penultimate library drawing for a Russell Book Club in a Box will be tomorrow, so if your library holds book clubs and if you haven’t sent us their name already, do so now by clicking here. * * I was in England recently, and spent a spectacularly lovely day in Oxford,…
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