Keith B. Darrell's Blog, page 28

The Question You’re Dying To Ask

Since I’m hard at work writing a new novel, I’m going to turn to you to help me crowd source next month’s blog columns. Send in your questions on any topic for me to answer in upcoming blog posts. Ideally, I’d love to respond to questions about my books –
both published and forthcoming – but I’ll be happy to discuss the craft of writing or any of the myriad of topics we’ve visited on this blog since it began in March 2011.

I realize many readers may be hesitant to participate because of privacy...

The Story Behind The Lobster Thriller

I noted earlier today on Facebook the kind shout-out from Dogo Books to The Lobster Thriller , my short story for kids. It occurred to me that the story behind The Lobster Thriller was almost as entertaining as the tale itself!

Searching for new markets to sell my short stories to, I stumbled across an odd little e-zine called The Journal of Unlikely Entomology. I perused their submission requirements, mentally checking off which ones I met. Speculative fiction? Check. Weird stories? Check. Ava...

Powerball Fever

It's Wednesday, and while that day is celebrated in offices around the world as “hump day”, here at Chez Keith it is better known by the appellation “garbage night”, for this is the day that heralds the weekly chore of lugging the trash to the curb – although, in truth, the plastic bag is seldom heavy enough to be “lugged”, the curb is a mere five feet away, and while ostensibly still a “chore”, the task requires more thought than effort. But today is also lottery night, and with the Powerbal...

Hair - the Age of Aquarius

I was at the barber shop the other day and I ran into a guy who...  what's that? OK, you're right. I admit it: I haven't been to a barber shop since I turned 14 and had my last 50-cent haircut. The Vitalis, greased back wet look was on the way out and the blown-dry "dry look" was in vogue, so with the start of junior high, I convinced my mother to do what all the cool kids at school were doing and have my hair not cut by Sam the barber but instead coiffed by a men's hair stylist.
The sto...

Issues in Internet Law - Download It!

Now available as an electronic download to your computer, laptop, iPhone, iPad, Kindle, Android devices, and more! Save up to $35 off the print edition price! Download the 10th edition of  Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law  from VitalSource for only $99.95!


The 10th edition of Issues In Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law has been updated for 2016 with the latest cases and trends in Internet Law. The new edition not only has an expanded gloss...

Boom Goes the Dynamite!

An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
The frantic blasts of the car horn and the noise of screeching tires were replaced by the eerie calm and silence of Q-Time. Mackenzie tumbled from his bicycle, landing unharmed on the asphalt road. “Phew! That was close. I could have been killed.”
“Yes, you could have. You should be more careful at intersections.”
“Usually, I am,” Mackenzie explained. “But I was rushing because…” He stopped when he realized he...

Stocking Stuffers

‘Tis the season to be giving gifts, and with that in mind, I thought I’d share a few suggestions for stocking stuffers. Books make excellent gifts because they are filled with wonder, can entertain for hours, and provide a uniquely intimate experience for the reader. Here are four rather different books to put on your gift list:
The Halos and Horns Omnibus Edition  is a deluxe coffee-table book with 61 breathtaking color illustrations. The ultimate paranormal, supernatural, fantasy saga is...

Will Someone Pull the Fire Alarm?

An Excerpt from The 25th Hour (Book One in The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer):
Mackenzie rushed in through the doorway moments before the bell tolled the start of history class and sat next to Marlene.
“Good morning, Mac. I thought you might be skipping today when I saw you weren’t in homeroom.”
He gave a sheepish grin. “I had a late start this morning. I had to finish my term paper. You know how important it is to our course grade and Mr. Larson’s not accepting any excuses for being la...

American Fascist

Donald J. Trump has accomplished something truly remarkable: he’s become the first major party frontrunner in an American presidential campaign to be compared to Adolf Hitler by the mainstream media. An Internet meme had previously noted Trump’s similarities to Hitler: both used racism to rise to power, blamed minority scapegoats (Hitler: Jews, Trump: immigrants) for their nation’s problems, proposed an unpopular religious minority (Hitler: Jews, Trump: Muslims) should wear special identifica...

The Colt Principle

I am indebted to my writer friend Colt for introducing me to the literary device I have dubbed the Colt Principle. A writer often finds he has written himself into a corner and desperately needs that can of magic paint to draw a door on the wall from which to escape. Simply put, the Colt Principle says that when you have written a non sequitur into a scene, merely address it and move on.
Surely, it couldn’t be that simple, I said. Take my forthcoming novel Fangs & Fur: Flashbacks. I had wr...