Posts Tagged: Mystery Writing

Max Allan Collins: The Long Road to Perdition

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ROAD TO PERDITION is coming back in November and is now available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo and Google Play.  It’s something of a dream come true for me to finally have my original version out there in the world. In 2002 I wrote a 70,000-word movie tie-in novel (okay, novelization) of the script for the movie that was based on my graphic novel. In my novel, I attempted to be true to the screenplay while weaving in material from the graphic novel as well as historical material about the real John Looney and his era. The DreamWorks licensing department put me through hell, making me cut anything – including dialogue! – that wasn’t directly... more

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Writing Storme: Neon, Tough Guys, and the New Nashville

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W.L Ripley is the author of the four acclaimed Wyatt Storme novels, which have won enthusiastic comparison by readers, critics, and fellow crime writers to the best of Robert B. Parker and John D. MacDonald. Today he talks about how his third Storme novel, Eye of The Storme, arose from his fascination with Branson, Missouri. In 1970, Branson, Missouri was a smattering of bait shops and convenience stores, population 2,550. A few years earlier, Silver Dollar City, an 1880’s theme park much like California’s Knott’s Berry Farm was added to augment the tourist attractions of boating, fishing and the outdoor theatre production of “Shepard of the Hills”. Today Branson is "the New... more

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GRAVEN IMAGES: Finding Garner Quinn’s Voice

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Jane Waterhouse's writing has been described by Booklist "as lyrical as a lullaby and as eerily hypnotic as a cobra’s dance" and those talents are very much on display in her blockbuster thriller GRAVEN IMAGES. Here she tells us how she created the heroine, Garner Quinn, and developed the story. GRAVEN IMAGES  was originally written in the third person. Reading through my first draft of the manuscript it hit me like a ton of bricks—Oh crap. This is a first-person story. But it had taken me months to get to this point and I wasn’t ready to give up control to some imagined character just yet. So I struck a bargain with my protagonist, Garner Quinn. I said I’d go back to page one... more

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Margaret Moseley: How I Wrote “BONITA FAYE”

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Bonita Faye is one of the most unusual, charming, creative, and funny books we've ever ready. It defies categorization. We like to say if Elmore Leonard ever wrote a cozy, it would be Bonita Faye. It's no surprise that this book was an Edgar Award Finalist. We've asked author Margaret Moseley how she came up with this unusual story. Warning...there's a very small spoiler here, so you may want to read this blog after you've read the first chapter or two of her wonderful book. Sometime in the 80's I found myself working as a business communicator for one of the nation's largest long-term care companies, in other words, nursing homes.  I was an advocate (buzz word was Ombudsman) for both... more

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Ripley’s Rules of Writing

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W.L. Ripley is the author of two critically-acclaimed series of crime novels -- four books featuring ex-professional football player Wyatt Storme and four books about ex-Secret Service agent Cole Springer. His latest novel is  Storme Warning.  Here he shares the rules of writing that have guided him through those eight novels. First, forget most of what your English teacher told you about creative writing. This one gets a rise and a few giggles when I address a roomful of teachers. It is, of course, meant to get their attention – and at the same time make a point. Your High School English teacher serves a highly useful purpose by training you in proper usage and grammar and you must... more

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The Story Behind MEMPHIS RIBS: “Give In, Abandon All Hope and Have A Good Time”

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Author Gerald Duff shares the story behind the writing of his novel Memphis Ribs, which Entertainment Weekly calls 'A tangy tale of murder, gang warfare, crack cocaine, and barbecue.' As far as we're concerned, that's a winning combination! The book is available for pre-order and will be released on May 5, 2015 When I wrote my novel Memphis Ribs, I did it for the same reason that all writers take up a task that lasts so long and uses up so much electricity. I was mesmerized by the topic, in this case my trying to understand the essence of the Bluff City where I had come to live for a spell. And it was a spell, because that’s what Memphis casts upon those who come to live with... more

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