Steve Berry Interview

This is one of my favorite interviews. Steve Berry is honest and direct.

Take a few minutes and see if he doesn't have something to say you can use today.







CR: Thrilled to Death by LJ Sellers.

It's all better with friends.

Crime Fiction, Anyone?

Don't wait until April 18th to sign up at our new collaborative blog. It goes live on the 18th, and I think you're gonna love it. As a writer, as a reader . . . and as someone who likes crime fiction.

Check it out: http://www.crimefictioncollective.blogspot.com .

Suspense Novelist isn't going away, just spreading the love.



It's all better with friends.

When a Secondary Character Gets Pushy

I have a secondary character who is acting up. Like she wants the story to be about her. No, not like she wants the story to be about her. She does want the story to be about her.

We fought about it.

I won. But I had to promise I'd consider her for the next one.



CR: While the Savage Sleeps by Andrew E. Kaufman.

It's all better with friends.

Reality vs. Fiction

I'd reached a point where my Medical Examiner needed to get some information in order to move the plot forward. The only problem was that the information she needed to get could not come from any tests she would have ordered.

At one time, the only thing I could think of was a big cheat. "Oh, my. We goofed and accidentally tested for that rare and basically unbelievable thing, and guess what?" Ugh. Way more possible in reality than fiction.

Finally, after supposedly wasting time on FB and who knows what else, it hit me. And although it's a bit of a stretch, it's a helluva lot more interesting and fictionally plausible.

1,749 words popped as a result. Suh-weet.

No one will ever convince me that Facebook is a total time waster.



CR: Top Suspense by a group of authors who know what they're doing. If you get this book, I'm betting you'll find a new author you want to read more of.

It's all better with friends.

Reading Aloud

I have some bookends on my desk that I love. They hold up two of my most used books . . . Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale. On the top of one bookend are my reading glasses (bright green), and a wooden Christmas ornament—a mouse/nutcracker in the uniform of a band conductor. On top of the other one is a beanbag butterfly in hues of purple and blue I got at the Butterfly Pavilion with my aunt shortly after my mom died.

Did I mention I love these bookends?

The bookend that faces me the most has this quote from Maya Angelou:

Do read to someone. When words are infused by the human voice, they come alive.

Who do you read to?

Do you read your words aloud when you edit?



CR: Top Suspense by Top Suspense Group.

It's all better with friends.

Left Coast Crime Spawns Creativity

After LCC, held in Santa Fe this year, I had a much needed visit with my sister in Tucson. This is an emotional time of year for us. Today, April 2nd, is my mom's birthday. I was with her to celebrate her 75th, three years ago. She died three days later. Pictures from LCC and Tucson are on my Facebook page.

But the LoML made this message for me, and when we pulled into our garage I knew I was in a good place. I particularly love the image of him cutting the letters out and putting them on the door.

But I digress.

In Santa Fe, strange things can happen. My hotel was haunted (and a Roman Catholic archbishop knew it). Let me tell you a bit about Sister George. She was rather fond of cigars when she was alive. I didn't know about any of this until I was on the shuttle for Albuquerque, but my roommate and I had spent some time trying to figure out where the smell of tobacco was coming from in our room.

But even more strange . . . a few of us got together and decided it would be fun to do a blog with several contributors. Of course, we did this pretty much in a bar over drinks.

And even more strange . . . we've followed through. I'll be announcing a new blog loud and clear, but you guys get a heads-up. It should be awesome. We have a name . . . Crime Fiction Collective.

LJ Sellers, who was my roommate at LCC and made the decision to become self-employed as an independent author even though she'd been traditionally published, is our headliner. (Other than me, of course. LOL). Judy Borger writes mysteries geared toward providing an escape for manic moms; Andrew Kaufman swears his current book is not horror, but since it began hitting the high notes among the horror fans he decided to go with it; Marlyn Beebe is a librarian and our resident reviewer; and Jodie Renner is LJ's editor and will fill that slot. In addition, we'll have guest bloggers with related topics. ie: technology; screenwriting; audio book production; cover design; formatting; etc.

We've targeted April 18th as Opening Day, and plan on having two weeks of giveaways to celebrate.

This could be a real hoot, and hopefully our fragile new friendships will be able to weather whatever comes down the pike.



CR: Top Suspense by Top Suspense Group, a truly wonderful collection of short stories. If you get this book, I'm sure you'll be introduced to at least one new author you'll enjoy.

It's all better with friends.

Candles vs. Electric Lights

In his March 19th post, Joe Konrath interviews Barry Eisler who tells why he turned down a $500,000 2-book deal to self-pub. I loved this:

Joe: We’ve discussed this before. Paper won’t disappear, but that’s not the point. The point is, paper will become a niche while digital will become the norm.

Barry: Agreed. Lots of people, and I’m one of them, love the way a book feels. I used to like the way books smelled, too, before publishers started using cheap paper. And you can see books on your shelf, etc... those are real advantages, but they’re only niche advantages. Think candles vs electric lights. There are still people making a living today selling candles, and that’s because there’s nothing like candlelight--but what matters is that the advent of the electric light changed the candle business into a niche. Originally, candlemakers were in the lighting business; today, they’re in the candlelight business. The latter is tiny by comparison to the former. Similarly, today publishers are in the book business; tomorrow, they’ll be in the paper book business. The difference is the difference between a mass market and a niche.




CR: Absinthe of Malice, by Pat Browning, the 'electric light' way—on my Kindle. However, I have a candle lit on my desk right now.

It's all better with friends.