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Sucker for the Handwritten Word

I must have been sick the day they taught us to write the cursive form of ‘z’. Too shy to ask for special help, I just added a loop either side of the block letter, and no one, I thought, was the...

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Technically Correct Is Not Enough

I’ve been reading a book recently that I don’t want to name because I don’t want to call the author out in public. It’s a good book. Well-rounded characters and a nice, twisty plot. Plenty of murders...

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Brand New Books as Precious Objects!

Shy REFINEMENT beneath today’s dust jacket When I posted this past September on the Espresso Book Machines (EBM), I mentioned how that fulfilled one personal wish for how the digital revolution could...

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Fifty Shades of What?

People who know me know I am deeply immersed in the business of books. They know I read romance. They know I write romance as well as crime. And of late, every single one of them, it seems has asked...

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My Little Tirade

Enough! I have to say something! I’ve been watching “True Blood” since the first episode and truly enjoyed the first season, which closely followed book one of the Southern Vampire Series, a.k.a....

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Plagiarism: An Unintentional Error?

A hypothetical: In the course of doing research for an article, you come across a piece in which the author, Ms X, cites a source you’d like to use. You tweak her language, i.e. paraphrase her...

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Just the Facts, Ma’am

I recently read a book for review that I thoroughly enjoyed . . . except for one little flaw–the writer referred to characters by their last names. As a former reporter, I know this is a common...

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The Art of the Con: Shut Up And Listen

Years ago, I began attending writers conferences. The first one I went to was while I was living in St. Louis, the second when I was living out in East Hampton. In both places I was fairly isolated,...

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Write a Good Book Description, but not FOR YOUR LIFE!

Richard Ridley wrote a post for CreateSpace with advice on writing book descriptions, what you might think of as the book blurb or flap copy. Reading it, I thought his advice was pretty good. You won’t...

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Another Writer’s Overnight Success: Installment #532

Take it from a Caesar, Erwin is The Man!! Did you hear about the guy who wrote a blog post over his lunch hour, which spread like thumbs-up wildfire across user-voted Reddit.com, netting him instant...

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Vintage Sherlock PWNS the 21st Century: Part 1 of 3

I had fun dashing off this silly essay, but since the place I wrote it for didn’t need it after all *ahem*, I share it here in 3 deluxe installments! Illustration by Sidney Paget Some people may regard...

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PSA: Thyroid Cancer on the Rise

I am a Thyroid Cancer survivor. My surgery was four years ago this month and my radiation was completed  four years ago October, so I want to give a reminder to all. When you have your annual check-up...

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Vintage Sherlock PWNS the 21st Century: Part 2 of 3

Delivered in 3 deluxe installments- here’s Part 1 11 Reasons Why Sherlock Holmes is Better at the 21st Century Than You Are (cont.): 4) Holmes is aware of current events and pop culture, but is immune...

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“Where the press is free and every [individual] is able to read, all is...

In our house, my father always came home at night with two newspapers: The New York Times, of course, and the World-Telegram & Sun for the closing stock market prices. In addition, the Long Island...

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Vintage Sherlock PWNS the 21st Century: Part 3 of 3

Delivered in 3 deluxe installments- here are Part 1 and Part 2 11 Reasons Why Sherlock Holmes is Better at the 21st Century Than You Are (cont.): 8) Holmes doesn’t require guarantees of success. When...

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Ranting, Passion, and Social Media

Last summer, I met Molly O’Keefe at the RWA national conference. I love Molly’s books, so it was a squee moment for me. But also, it was a frankly hilarious moment because she said something to me no...

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The Brutal Honesty of Kids

This post on Distractify.com ~ a collection of handwritten notes revealing the brutal honesty in the nature of children’s writing (“The 35 Funniest Moments When Kids Decided to Be Brutally Honest,”...

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“Branding” Yourself Shows Respect for Readers

Author branding is the current buzzphrase for a collection of activities that, I think, ought to boil down to one thing: creating accurate reader expectations. Sure, there may also be romancing,...

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Burglar Swipes Snickers

For sixteen of my twenty-one-years with the Suffolk County Police Department, while assigned to Public Information (liaison with the media) and Crime Stoppers (taking anonymous tips from the public to...

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How to Read Fiction Aloud: Slowly, 150 words/minute

Laura and I are back in one piece from last weekend’s Noir at the Bar, and what a fun time it was! Lots of writers, yummy crepes. It was cozy and collegial, and that was a night with many terrific...

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