SleuthSayers: Purchase. Read. Vote. by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: Purchase. Read. Vote.: Though the first Bouchercon was held in 1970 and the first Anthony Awards presented in 1986, Bouchercon 2020 will be, if I’ve counted correc...

SleuthSayers: Time Share by Robert Lopresti

SleuthSayers: Time Share: I have a story in the June issue of Mystery Weekly Magazine, and for that I must thank Barb Goffman, who was my inspiration.  Sort of. ...

SleuthSayers: Do's and Don'ts, Wills and Won'ts, Part 1 by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: Do's and Don'ts, Wills and Won'ts, Part 1: I had planned a different column for today, but some things I've seen over the past two weeks have steered me in another direction. (...

SleuthSayers: Where To Start? by Barb Goffman

SleuthSayers: Where To Start?: "You're starting in the wrong place" is something I've told many an editing client. Sometimes authors start their books ...

SleuthSayers: The Possibly Last Case of Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: The Possibly Last Case of Ray’s Dad’s Cadillac: Over the course of two-plus years, I’ve written stories for three anthologies edited by Josh Pachter and, publishing being what it is, all t...

SleuthSayers: Talking About Dialogue Part 1 by Steve Liskow

SleuthSayers: Talking About Dialogue Part 1: My wife Barbara claims she has acted in about 80 productions, but I'd say it's at least twice that many. Since we met, she has playe...

SleuthSayers Blog: Shot By Your Partner by Robert Lopresti

SleuthSayers: Shot By Your Partner: Let's talk about Machine of Death, a concept I mentioned back in  October  (and will review below).  I wrote two short stories for th...

SleuthSayers: Collateral Damage by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: Collateral Damage: At the Private Eye Writers of America’s November 1, 2019, Shamus Awards Banquet in Dallas, Texas, Max Allan Collins said something during hi...

SleuthSayers: How to Kill Your Story by Robert Lopresti

SleuthSayers: How to Kill Your Story: I have been reading a novel by an author I much admire and have run into a roadblock.  About a third of the way through the main characte...

SleuthSayers: Meet the Finalists for the 2019 Anthony Award - Sh...

SleuthSayers: Meet the Finalists for the 2019 Anthony Award - Sh...: We have only nine days until the fiftieth annual Bouchercon—the world's largest mystery convention—begins in Dallas, Texas. I know some ...

SleuthSayers: In ME TOO Anthology, A Different Kind of Protagonist Fights Back...

SleuthSayers: In ME TOO Anthology, A Different Kind of Protagoni...: By now, many SleuthSayers readers know about Me Too Short Stories: An Anthology , SleuthSayer emerita Liz Zelvin's cunning plan to strik...

SleuthSayers Blog: Open Your Heart and Bleed by Michael Bracken

SleuthSayers: Open Your Heart and Bleed: What are your stories about? I’m not interested in elevator pitches—“My stories are about a plucky private eye who searches for missing la...

SleuthSayers: Negotiating Writing Contracts by Paul D. Marks and Jacqueline Seewald

SleuthSayers: Negotiating Writing Contracts: by Paul D. Marks and Jacqueline Seewald A couple of months ago I read a blog post by Jacqueline Seewald that I really liked and thought c...

SleuthSayers: Taking Stock by Steve Liskow

SleuthSayers: Taking Stock: by Steve Liskow When I was in kindergarten, we started school the day after Labor Day, and somewhere in the next few years, we backed off ...

SleuthSayers: My Small Business Plan by R. T. Lawton

SleuthSayers: My Small Business Plan: by R.T. Lawton I'm not getting rich from my writing sales, so I'm grateful I don't have to rely on writing for my main in...

SleuthSayers: Made in the Decade by Robert Lopresti

SleuthSayers: Made in the Decade: by Robert Lopresti Back in January, when I produced my yearly thing I wrote: "I was somewhat surprised to discover that this is ...

SleuthSayers: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Very Lo...

SleuthSayers: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Very Lo...: by John M. Floyd I've always been fascinated by titles. It's usually a case of Whoa, what a great title , and then Why couldn&#...

SleuthSayers: Plot, Not Snot! by Barb Goffman

SleuthSayers: Plot, Not Snot!: by Barb Goffman Realism. It's something authors strive for and readers look for. If I see something in a book that seems completely ...

SleuthSayers: My Writing World as I See It by R. T. Lawton

SleuthSayers: My Writing World as I See It: by R.T. Lawton A few weeks ago, Michael Bracken wrote a blog piece, " With Malice Aforethought ," which discussed writer motivat...

SleuthSayers: Suspense Fiction by O'Neil De Noux

SleuthSayers: Suspense Fiction: by O'Neil De Noux These are not rules, not guidelines, not anything etched in stone. These are observations about suspense novels fro...