Within the historic valleys and state parks of New Jersey’s northernmost county lives an active public library system with a burgeoning community of aspiring writers and, even better, mystery fans. And when a community of mystery loving readers and writers asks for an opportunity to hone their craft, MWA-NY answers the call — no matter the distance. On Saturday, September […]
Where would a story be without a character? Character is the engine that drives the narrative, and creating a character is a magical process. Imagine having the omnipotent power to mold a person on the page. Not only do you get to conjure up the character’s physical attributes and such details as a birthdate, but you also have the opportunity
Nelson DeMille is the best-selling author of thrillers that deal with terrorism, espionage, and crime. His books include By the Rivers of Babylon, Cathedral, The Talbot Odyssey, Word of Honor, The Charm School, The Gold Coast, The General’s Daughter, Spencerville, Plum Island, The Lion’s Game, Up Country, Night Fall, Wild Fire, The Gate House, The Lion, The Panther, The Quest,
Beatdown: 1.) an emphatic or overwhelming defeat 2.) a violent physical beating Last week the Internet surged with stories of a young adult book that mysteriously hit the Number One spot on the sacrosanct New York Times YA best-seller list. After an investigation pursued by young adult authors and bloggers, the New York Times book review staff removed the suspect
True confession time: I recently read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith, for the first time. That’s kind of embarrassing for a writer whose whole series takes place in Brooklyn neighborhoods and has an underlying theme of “What changes in Brooklyn and what doesn’t.” I don’t know how I missed it in my bookworm youth and I’m not
If there’s a crime movie I would enjoy more than the 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by the inimitable Agatha Christie, I haven’t found it yet. I’ve seen the movie — starring Albert Finney as the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot — a number of times. And even though
Michele Campbell is the author of It’s Always the Husband, which US Weekly called “a riveting, suspenseful tale of love, hate and murder.” It’s Always the Husband has been featured in Elle, Redbook, BuzzFeed, Huffington Post, the New York Post, PopSugar, BookBub, and Culturalist, and reviewed by the Associated Press, Publisher’s Weekly, and many other publications. Campbell is a former
The Golden Age of detective fiction coincided with a different sort of Golden Age among African-Americans: The Harlem Renaissance. Arguably no-one could have been described better as a Renaissance Man, than Rudolph Fisher, the author of The Conjure-Man Dies. A graduate of Brown University and Howard University Medical School, he was the author of scientific papers and political tracts promoting
You can’t sell Lord Peter Wimsey to a classroom full of millennials. I’m sorry. You. Just. Cannot. Even A.C. Doyle’s “Silver Blaze,” with which I begin my survey course on mystery fiction, is met with cries of “What’s in it for me?” and “It’s just not relatable” (the latter a neologism I cordially despise). Or as Edmund Wilson would have
As I launch into my newest book, I am assailed by the usual crucial questions about my protagonist: Is she going to be a writer or an English professor this time? Should I go real wild and make her high school teacher? Educated at the Seven Sisters instead of the Ivy League? Have her take milk in her coffee instead
Sometimes genre fiction gets a bad rap for being “less than literary.” Nothing could be further from the truth. But, believe it or not, as popular as crime fiction is, it still retains a certain stigma to many readers. Award-winning author and Mystery Writers of America, New York member S.J. Rozan, will endeavor to correct this misconception at the Madison
Deb Pines, an award-winning New York Post headline writer and former reporter, is the author of three Chautauqua-based mystery novels, one novelette, and a stand-alone short story. A mother of two, SoulCycle fanatic and lover of Scrabble, cooking, hiking and show tunes, she lives in New York City with her husband, Dave. “If you enjoy an old-fashioned whodunit, it’s perfect,”
For most of us, it’s hard enough to squeeze in writing time. Participating in a writing workshop may seem like an extravagance that distracts from our writing output, but the occasional workshop can yield interesting insights.
Every writer needs a great editor. When the task of editing falls on our own shoulders, following these tips can help us tackle the task with as objective an eye as possible.
Jen Conley‘s short stories have appeared in Thuglit, Needle, Crime Factory, Trouble in the Heartland: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Bruce Springsteen, and many others. She has contributed to the Los Angeles Review of Books and is one of editors of Shotgun Honey. Her story collection, Cannibals: Stories from the Edge of the Pine Barrens is available now.
