Ron Franscell's Blog, page 12
May 3, 2019
10 Wyoming Crime Facts You Didn’t Know
A killer’s dead eyeballs? A truant teenager who kills a mass murderer? A lady serial killer? You’ve been warned. Reading this list will probably change the way you think about the relative safety of Wyoming. Here are 10 sometimes disturbing—and always fascinating—crime-related facts about the Cowboy State you’ve probably never heard of. Want more? Check…
The post 10 Wyoming Crime Facts You Didn’t Know appeared first on Ron Franscell.
April 18, 2019
Fathers playing catch with sons
My son’s eyes brightened when he saw his new baseball glove. He was about to start a sort of pre-school for Little Leaguers, and he buried his face in the smell of new leather. He’s only 4 and he’s only tossed a ball in the backyard, but his very own glove was too much. “I…
The post Fathers playing catch with sons appeared first on Ron Franscell.
April 6, 2019
Why I don’t care about Ted Bundy
The short answer My crime-writing friend Kevin Sullivan is the greatest living expert on Ted Bundy. He’s literally written an encyclopedia of everything Bundy. I have absolutely nothing to add. The long answer Yesterday, the sister of a toddler murdered in 1964 by a serial killer you’ve never heard of emailed me. The slaying had…
The post Why I don’t care about Ted Bundy appeared first on Ron Franscell.
April 2, 2019
And now, the road.
The Author is fond of researching a new story. The Author is delighted to write that story. But most of all, The Author loves—truly, madly, deeply—being among readers. This weekend, The Author lights out for parts west to tour with his new story. He’ll stop in a half-dozen places to talk about the book, read…
The post And now, the road. appeared first on Ron Franscell.
March 29, 2019
15 Best Places for Writers to Retire
What writer wouldn’t want to live on “Ernest Heming Way”? We love the irony or whatever it is. Nobody really knows what irony means. Anyway, as I approach the official retirement age for normal people who dress for work every morning, I wondered about the best places a writer might spend his golden years. After…
The post 15 Best Places for Writers to Retire appeared first on Ron Franscell.
March 26, 2019
Die different.
“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.” —Jack Kerouac, “The Dharma Bums” A long time ago, in another life, I sat with Jan Kerouac, the writer/daughter of Jack, on the bare-wood floor of her unfurnished, rented apartment. I was interviewing her for a story—and maybe for a little enlightenment—about where…
The post Die different. appeared first on Ron Franscell.
March 21, 2019
A ghost in the machine, by Ron Franscell
Twenty years ago, in 1999, the Chicago Sun-Times’ legendary book editor Henry Kisor—who had fallen in love with my first novel Angel Fire—asked me to be one of 10 American authors who, upon the centennial of Ernest Hemingway’s birth in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, would write about Papa’s life and influence. I was…
The post A ghost in the machine, by Ron Franscell appeared first on Ron Franscell.
March 19, 2019
A crime. A boy. A teacher. And a hundred books.
“Up ahead they’s a thousand lives we might live, but when it comes, it’ll on’y be one.” The Grapes of Wrath Fourteen years ago, a couple Southeast Texas high school kids just wanted to score some weed. They were an odd couple. Garrett was a hardened gangbanger with a long juvie rap sheet and a bad reputation.…
The post A crime. A boy. A teacher. And a hundred books. appeared first on Ron Franscell.
March 3, 2019
Cry later.
Not long ago, I stood with my wife Mary at the Houston grave of murderous Texas mother Andrea Yates’ five children, whom she drowned in her bathtub. I was writing about Yates, who suffered a grim array of maladies, from post-partum depression to schizophrenia. I’m an old-school journalist. I believe deeply in “being there”—touching, smelling,…
The post Cry later. appeared first on Ron Franscell.
February 12, 2019
Why I don’t care about Ted Bundy
The short answer My crime-writing friend Kevin Sullivan is the greatest living expert on Ted Bundy. He’s literally written an encyclopedia of everything Bundy. I have absolutely nothing to add. The long answer Yesterday, the sister of a toddler murdered in 1964 by a serial killer you’ve never heard of emailed me. The slaying had…
The post Why I don’t care about Ted Bundy appeared first on Ron Franscell.
