Author, Compulsively Readable Thrillers
You crack open a new book or click on the first page of an ebook. You’re greeted by that all-important first line. Does it make your heart sink or soar? As every author knows, that first sentence gives you the opportunity to hook your readers. Provided you’ve crafted the sentence the reader knows something is … Read more
The Manhattan Project, featured in War, Spies, and Bobby Sox, was a key WW2 research and development project tasked with creating the world’s first nuclear weapon. Led by the US and supported by the United Kingdom and Canada, it ran between 1942 and 1946, directed by Major General Leslie Groves of the U.S. Army Corps … Read more
Hi, everyone. Here’s something to make your New Year a bit more interesting (I hope). My new book, WAR SPIES AND BOBBY SOX will be released February 28, 2017, but you can win 1 of 3 print copies now by signing up for a copy at Goodreads! Enjoy the read, and I hope you will … Read more
What makes a genre a genre? It’s more than plot. And characters. Take thrillers. At the heart of every good thriller there are at least five key elements that should be present. If you’ve ever read a lackluster, “low-fat” thriller that left you unsatisfied, it might have been missing one of these ingredients. Put an … Read more
Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you’re looking forward to this year. I tend to do better in even years than odd… do you have a pattern like that? If so, which years are better for you? I’m especially excited about this year, because, JUMP CUT, the 1st Ellie Foreman mystery/thriller in 10 years is coming out March … Read more
When you pick up a book for the first time, and the first line grabs you by the—er– throat, you know you’re in for a great ride. As a reader there’s nothing quite as exciting as a line that makes the hairs on your neck rise, or makes you laugh unexpectedly, or intrigues you so … Read more
In Writing Lite #2 we talked about opening sentences. Now in Writing Lite #4 we go to the other end of the chapter.
Welcome to WRITING LITE #2. I’m still talking about suspense, but this time I’m starting at the beginning. I talk about the power of that first line, how to approach it, and give you some of my all-time favorite examples. It is a little longer than I anticipated (at three and a half minutes) but … Read more
I am thrilled and honored to be a part of a brand new, just-launched crime fiction Box Set… Story Bundle.. or whatever you like to call it. Take a look at some of the authors in this bundle (like Lawrence Block, Kris Nelscott, Rebecca Cantrell, Julie Hyzy, and Dean Wesley Smith) and tell me you don’t … Read more
I decided it was time to update the Ellie Foreman series (especially since the 5th Ellie mystery, JUMP CUT, will be released next March), so here’s what I came up with. Yes, there’s a new cover for each novel, but it’s the same award-winning mystery and suspense you expect from the Chicago video producer and single mother. … Read more