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PLAYING FOR PIZZA – by John Grisham

  written by Fran Paino The master of suspense took a break from his usual mystery, crime, and thriller books to write Playing for Pizza; a football story hatched as he researched settings for another...

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An Interview with Elizabeth Buhmann, Author of BLUE LAKE

by M.K. Waller [Notice: Typgress is not authorized to post content from this blog on its site.]   When I began Elizabeth Buhmann’s BLUE LAKE, I was–I’m ashamed to say–afraid I would be disappointed....

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Writing an Academic Mystery

  Academic mysteries are a timeless subgenre in crime fiction. Found on almost every list of the best mysteries ever written, Dorothy Sayer’s Gaudy Night is the epitome of British academic mysteries...

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THE SCENT OF A WOMAN…THEATER…SEA

by Helen Currie Foster Even just thinking of certain smells can yank me straight back to childhood. Oil paint­­s? Mama working on her first portrait. Jello chocolate pudding mix? My sister standing on...

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Recommended Reading: Pat Schneider’s Writing Alone and With Others

  by Renee Kimball Pat Schneider is a poet-healer, a guide and shaman who believes writing is the means to self-healing. Writing Alone and with others is a writer’s guide to forgiving and giving...

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VISITING THE AUSTIN DPS – AN EXERCISE IS PATIENCE AND ENDURANCE

by Francine Paino A few weeks ago, I was forced to visit the Austin Department of Public Safety, where I spent four long, long hours. Let me be clear, however, I’m not slamming the Austin DPS. It’s a...

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Sharks: Who, Where, and How to Get Rid of Them

by Kathy Waller This is a shark:   This shark does not live in the ocean. It lurks in bookstores, libraries, coffee shops: Disguised as an aspiring writer, it invades critique groups and, fueled by...

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Book Clubs for Writers: A Doggone Good Time!

By K.P. Gresham I’m a fiction writer, and my world pretty much revolves around my profession. My friends, my colleagues, my editors, my publicists are comprised mostly of people in the writing...

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An Interview with Author Lois Winston

Award winning author, Lois Winston, has a new crafting mystery coming out for the holidays! She has kindly allowed me to interview her about her writing and to present her upcoming book, Handmade Ho-Ho...

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Further Thoughts on Smell in Literature, or The Dog as Watson

by Helen Currie Foster An author can get great mileage by giving the point of view to a Watson sort of character. The Watson can be present for all events, hear all dialogue and see all clues—while not...

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THE GHOSTS OF HISTORY: WHAT THEY CAN TELL US

The late president Harry S. Truman said, “The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know.”  People make history. What were the lives of those who came before really like? Men and women...

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New Mystery Series: Bullet Books Speed Reads at Texas Book Festival

No matter what they tell you, Texas isn’t all cowboys and cactus and bullets and brush. Texas is also BOOKS, and this weekend there’s proof: This morning, the Texas Book Festival  opens on the grounds...

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Bouchercon: It’s All About Community!

No one else in my family writes novels. When I talk about plotting and pacing, my husband gives me the same blank stare that I give him when he goes into detail about software architecture and...

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Characters We’re Drawn To

By Helen Currie Foster Last week Big D hosted the Bouchercon book conference. Two sessions made me wonder why we’re drawn to particular book characters, and how key they are to readers. At the...

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BOOK REVIEW: FULL DARK, NO STARS by Stephen King

Written by Renee Kimball “From the start . . . I felt that the best fiction was both propulsive and assaultive. It gets in your face. Sometimes it shouts in your face. I have no quarrel with literary...

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The Arts and Our Society

by Francine Paino  Day after day, whether we want to or not, we hear nothing but murder, mayhem, the politics of personal destruction, and a new insistence on rigid lines of political correctness....

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A Mind Unhinged

by Kathy Waller So you start writing your post about the incomparable Josephine Tey’s mystery novels two weeks before it’s due but don’t finish, and then you forget, and a colleague reminds you, but...

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The New Girl Will Scare You Stiff

by K.P. Gresham   I can’t put down THE NEW GIRL–Daniel Silva’s latest book, that is. I have long been a fan of Silva’s series featuring Gabriel Allon, art restorer and master spy. The New Girl (Harper...

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How to Submit Short Stories to Magazines, Anthologies, & Contests

With so many self-publishing options available to writers, no one has to submit work to a publisher to see it in print. However, magazines, anthologies, and contests provide opportunities for authors...

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John Le Carré, Agent Running in the Field (October 17, 2019)

by Helen Currie Foster John li Carre, by Krimidoedel, CC BY 3.0, via Wikipedia Okay, you already know I’m hooked on le Carré. Never did I think any of his characters would buy my allegiance more than...

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