On the centenary of the Great War, a journal has come to light with weekly entries from a very young Mary Russell. It begins, appropriately enough, on August 4, 1914, when Russell is living with her parents and brother in San Francisco. This is week five. (To read from the beginning, click here.) 1 September…
Read MoreCrime 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 MoreIt may be entirely redundant, considering I live in Santa Cruz, to point out that I used to be a hippie. However, I thought you might like to see how very long that has been the case. This taken in 1971, when I was taking my first classes in religious studies at West Valley College…
Read MoreOn the centenary of the Great War, a journal has come to light with weekly entries from a very young Mary Russell. It begins, appropriately enough, on August 4, 1914, when Russell is living with her parents and brother in San Francisco. This is week four. (The journal illuminates that portion of Miss Russell’s memoirs…
Read MoreCrime 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 MoreToday’s Throwback Thursday post serves as proof that some authors do their research long in advance. Long, long in advance, like this picture, taken in 1982, a good twenty years before this particular writer set pen to paper to write The Game. And here, said author contemplating the possibilities of alternate universes, wherein she and…
Read MoreOn the centenary of the Great War, a journal has come to light of weekly entries from a very young Mary Russell. It begins, appropriately enough, on August 4, 1914, when Russell is living with her parents and brother in San Francisco. This is week three. (To read from the beginning, click here.) 18 August 1914…
Read MoreGoing through some files the other day, I came across a few unexpected voices from the past—so I thought, hey kids, let’s have a couple of Throwback Thursdays here on Mutterings! So, how about some old covers that didn’t quite make it into the real world? I’ve talked before about the original proposed cover of…
Read MoreYes, Mary Russell’s War is officially a Thing. Every week from now until, well, until I run dry, we will read an excerpt from Miss Russell’s childhood diary, gathered together under the title of “Mary Russell’s War”. This week, the Germans are battering at the gates of Liege, a part of the Schlieffen Plan (which…
Read MoreOn the centenary of the Great War, a journal has come to light, containing weekly entries from a very young Mary Russell. It begins, appropriately enough, on August 4, 1914, when Russell is living with her parents and brother in San Francisco. This is her second journal entry. (To read from the beginning, click here.)…
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