Mug Shot: Henry Chang

Henry Chang is a native son of New York City’s Chinatown, where he sets his stories, from the underbelly of the immigrant demimonde. He’s been a lighting consultant, and a freelance journalist. He has been a Security Director for the Trump Organization, and for corporate and retail Loss Prevention. A local product, he attended Pratt Institute, and graduated from CCNY.  He resides in the Chinatown area of Lower Manhattan—“in the old ‘hood,” as he calls it. He is currently working on his fifth book in the NYPD Detective Jack Yu series.

WHY WRITERS SHOULDN’T DRINK

“Are you killing time?” she asked. “Yes,” I said, “and I’ve got the bar tab to prove it.” “Would you like some company?”  She sat down on the stool to my right without waiting for an answer. She was not what you would call a pretty woman, but sitting in the bar at O’Hare, two hours to kill until boarding,

BOOKS AT HOME

In January, as a new member of the Board, I became chair of the chapter’s Outreach Committee. I hope to use the committee to support activities and events occurring in communities across the chapter that promote reading and writing. I’ve been keeping a look out for such activities and events and intend to bring them to the attention of the

MYSTERIES AREN’T SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY

As a writer of mysteries, I find myself, from time-to-time, challenged by readers to defend why I glorify crime. And when they realize that I write humorous mysteries, they are appalled that I make fun of murder. When my first book was published, even my mother announced, “Mysteries aren’t supposed to be funny.” One reader made it personal. Had your

Mug Shot: WENDY CORSI STAUB

New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub is the award-winning author of more than eighty books and a two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award finalist. The Good Sister, first in a trio of social networking suspense novels, was on Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2013 list and optioned for television, followed The Perfect Stranger and The Black Widow. Lily Dale, a new adult cozy mystery series, along with her next suspense trilogy, Mundy’s Landing, will launch in the fall of 2015. She lives in the New York City suburbs with her husband of 23 years and their two children.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE MURDERS?

That night at dinner (it was four years ago, but I remember it is as if were yesterday) a beauty pageant queen, a truly delightful young woman, dressed in her sash and crown taught us how to fold our napkin to look like a turkey. It was a dark and stormy night (I’ve always wanted to write that, but it

MOTIVE IN WHODUNNITS: IS IT EVEN IMPORTANT ANY MORE?

To the contemporary police, the weapon used remains important (as a way to link the suspected killer to the crime) and the relevance of opportunity will never go away unless one day people are able to be in two places at the same time. But what’s the big deal about motive?

REVELS REDUX

After our Revels holiday party in December, we found ourselves with some extra holiday gift bags. These snazzy bags were stuffed with new crime fiction paperbacks, a hardcover or two, the latest issues of several crime magazines, and a lovely MWA-NY mug. President Emerita Patricia King came up with the excellent idea of sending these extra gift bags to members

THE DETECTIVE EYE AND THE CRIMINAL EYE

When you write a crime story, do you write it from the detective’s point of view or the criminal’s? It’s a question worth asking because, speaking broadly, most crime fiction tends to be told from one of these two perspectives. You get the bulk of the story from the police/detective/law enforcement side or from the transgressor’s side. There are myriad

PITCH YOUR BOOK — AT A DISCOUNT

New York Writers Workshop is generously offering MWA-NY members a 25% discount for its Spring 2015 Pitch Conference. Polish your pitches then present them to three different editors from major publishing houses. This three-day conference is an amazing opportunity to help you get your crime fiction writing out into the world. Editors provide feedback and may request proposals and manuscripts after the

RE-INVESTIGATING TRENT’S LAST CASE

This piece originally appeared in slightly different form on Criminal Element. Funny how age changes your view of a book. I’m thinking specifically of Trent’s Last Case, the famous detective novel published in 1913 by E.C. Bentley, and how my view of it has flipped between two readings 35 years apart. As a teenager, when I first read it, I

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