friendly friday – The Red Pen of Doom

Check out ONE SMALL SACRIFICE by Hilary Davidson

July 12, 2019August 3, 2021Posted in 6 Friendly FridayTagged Author, friendly friday, hilary davidson, interview, one small sacrifice, ThrillerLeave a comment

It can be impossible to ever know the full truth about a crime. Eyewitnesses don’t have perfect recall, and fingerprints and DNA evidence aren’t the magical solutions that shows like CSI would have you believe.

But how far would you go, and how much would you risk, to seek out justice and prevent future victims from being murdered—without locking up the wrong person?

That tension is at the heart of the new novel by Hilary Davidson, ONE SMALL SACRIFICE, told from alternating points of view: the detective and the suspect.

Click here with your mouse-like object to read the rest of the piece I did for The Big Thrill:
One Small Sacrifice by Hilary Davidson

Hilary got started as a journalist and eventually published 18 travel books.

She’s won a pile of fiction awards–the Derringer, Spinetingler, Crimespree and two Anthony’s–and this was one of the easiest and most interesting interviews I’ve done with an author.

Find her website here or click here to follow her on the Twitter.

Friendly Friday–Author, editor and literary badass Linda Rodriguez

June 28, 2019August 3, 2021Posted in 6 Friendly FridayTagged Author, award-winning, editor, friendly friday, linda rodriguez, literary, plotting the character-driven novel, poetLeave a comment

If you have the Series of Tubes (which you do because you’re reading this), and you enjoy these things I like to call “books,” go check out Linda Rodriguez.

As a huge geek for storytelling structure, I love the fact that she wrote PLOTTING THE CHARACTER-DRIVEN NOVEL after teaching courses all about the topic.

This book is a public service, since novelists are typically thrown into the deep end of the literary pool, filled with tiger sharks and clones of Nicholas Sparks, and told to figure it out. Which happens about as often as you think.

Her first novel, EVERY LAST SECRET, was a mystery that won the Malice Domestic Competition and was published by St. Martin’s Press, but she’s also published award-winning books on poetry and is now working on something with a historical twist.

You can find her blog here: http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com/

And she’s active on Twitter @rodriguez_linda, so follow her, but not in a creepy way. DO IT NOW.

Unlikely animal friends will restore your faith in the world

September 7, 2018August 3, 2021Posted in 6 Friendly FridayTagged animals, compilation clips, friendly friday, unlikely animal friends, videosLeave a comment

Because we’re apparently living in a reality show dystopia, and watching the news can put you in therapy, take a little break to watch this video.

Then cuddle your cat, play with your dog or befriend a murder of crows by feeding them peanuts (in the shell, it’s a happy puzzle!) every day until they start bringing you shiny objects as tribute. These shiny things may include car keys. Resist the temptation to turn your crow army into a crime ring with a chop shop behind the wrecking yard.

If taking some time with your furry pookies doesn’t help, watch THIS video of unlikely wild animal-human friendships.

Hey there

August 10, 2018August 3, 2021Posted in 6 Friendly FridayTagged blogging, editing, friendly friday, guest posts, Movies, music videos, novels, WritingLeave a comment

Here’s the deal: I’ve been crazy busy with Other Things, and did not post to this silly blog much lately. And I missed it.

Missed dissecting the first pages of novels, the full three minutes of insane music videos and the reasons why the Series of Tubes will always, always be awash in videos of cats.

Missed talking smack with writers, editors and creative types scattered on every continent.

Missed the whole damn thing.

It’s good to be back here. Am writing a post every day for the month of August (so far, so good) and it’s made writing other things, for work and fun, much easier and faster. A happy snowball.

So: thanks for reading, thanks for commenting or tweeting at me–and thanks to many of you for teaching me a lot.

P.S. Just shout if you have suggestions for posts, such as which novels, music videos or movies (a) desperately deserve to get bled on with a red pen, (b) need to be taken apart to see why they work so well or (c) are so godawfully bad they circle back to good. I may open this thing up for guest posts, even. YOU NEVER KNOW.