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    Is Creating a Novel an Act of Alchemy or Engineering? by Paul E. Hardisty For some, creating a novel is an act of alchemy. The transmutation of blank space into a story you just can’t stop reading. It appears as if from nowhere as words flow onto the screen or the paper, propelled…

  I Just Got Out of Jail by Tim O’Mara I just got out of jail. Just like I do every Thursday at approximately eight o’clock at night. Tonight there’s a biting—and for mid-November unexpected—breeze coming off the East River onto the Island. It punches me in the face as I exit the housing unit…

  Dynamic Duo: The Adventures of Caped Co-Authors by Geoff Habiger & Coy Kissee We’ve all seen the memes and jokes on social media. Being an author is great except for…editing, re-writes, plot holes, characters who misbehave, marketing, dealing with writer’s block, and the list goes on and on. We laugh, maybe a little self-consciously,…

Setting As Inspiration by Andrea Carter Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Some places speak distinctly. Certain dank gardens cry aloud for a murder; certain old houses demand to be haunted; certain coasts are set apart for shipwrecks.” I lived on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal for eleven years. It’s a windswept and beautiful place, with…

Why We Kill: A Discussion with Female Crime Authors  by Hannah Mary McKinnon Last year I had the pleasure of attending Bouchercon, the annual world mystery convention where crime fiction lovers gather to discuss all things books. Out of the many panels I went to, the one that stuck with me the most was the…

When an Author’s Character Takes On a Life of Their Own by R.G. Belsky I’m a mystery author, and the character I write about is TV journalist Clare Carlson. We’ve had a complex relationship, Clare and me. It started off as a brief fling, but now has somehow grown into something much more long-term. I’m…

Mycroft? Not Sherlock? by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar In 1969 I was the NBA’s first draft pick. The Milwaukee Bucks had won a coin toss with the Phoenix Suns, which meant that, after four years in warm and sunny L.A., I would be back in the cold and the snow — of a consistency and a tenacity that…

Full Disclosure by Michael Niemann “Write what you know” is the age-old advice new writers usually get. As a result, we get a fair number of novels where the protagonist is rather similar to the author, except, of course, smarter, buffer, and all around more exciting. There’s nothing wrong with that. If you’re going to…

Getting the Most Out Of Your Supporting Cast by J.R. Backlund You’ve spent a lot of time developing your protagonist. She has a good backstory, motivations, internal conflicts, a favorite coffee creamer—everything she needs to be a compelling lead for your story. Now it’s time to make sure she’s surrounded by a great supporting cast.…