writing
Book tours & Cons
A funny thing happened on my way to Dreaming Spies… Months and months ago, I said to Random House that I didn’t think a tour was really necessary for this novel, since it would be the first Russell & Holmes in 2 ½ years and people might be interested in it even…
Read MoreThe young writer’s Thursday
Today’s TBT is the picture of a young writer…’s work: English descriptive paragraph Laurie Richardson Nov. 21, 1967 San Francisco, as I last saw it, was enough to stir the heart of any native Californian. The scene was movingly beautiful. I can remember it as if I saw it just yesterday. It was from the…
Read MoreCountdown to Dreaming Spies: galley proofs
The proof, or galley stage of a book is when I receive a stack of printed matter that shows what the book will actually look like. This is always a surprise: Wow, it’s a real book! With margins! And pretty stuff!—since the publisher’s art department loves to contribute their little extras to the reading experience, whether it’s…
Read MoreCrime Writing: the quirky nugget at the core
Crime and Thriller Writing: one part autobiography (half mine, half that of Michelle Spring), one part nuts-and-bolts writing manual, and one part guest speakers imparting a whole lot of wisdom. The middle of the book is a series of essays, on topics of their own choosing, from twenty-six other world-rank crime & thriller writers. Like Val McDermid: do I…
Read MoreCrime 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 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 MoreOne Writer’s Home
In my early writing days, I produced scenes, chapters, whole books with my legal pad propped on the wheel of a (stationary) car, while one child or another was involved in soccer practice or a piano lesson. Later, when the kids were in school longer hours and this odd hobby of mine began (to the astonishment of…
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