Steven M. Moore's Blog, page 105

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.—Ald...

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.—Aldous Huxley

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Aristocrats and Assassins. In #4 of the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series,” Castilblanco and his wife are on vacation in Europe when a terrorist starts kidnapping members of European royal families. Castilblanco and eventually Chen work with authorities to discover the terrorist’s agenda. This fast-moving mystery/thriller/suspense novel is on sale now at Smashwords in all ebook formats; use coupon code VN74R.

And l...

Rembrandt’s Angel…

I have fun writing…and that goes far beyond making money at it (which I don’t). I also have fun reading. By the time I finished junior high (7th and 8th grade in California, part of middle school in the Northeast), I’d read all the sci-fi, mystery, and adventure novels in our public library (for the most part, “adventure novels” later became “thrillers”). But I soon had an immodest epiphany: I could write this stuff too, which would be doubly entertaining (“immodest” because a lot of people d...

Can you afford Trump’s tax reform?

Like many rich people, our president doesn’t mind spending money as long as it isn’t his. In the case of his proposed tax reform, he’s willing to steal from the middle class in a nefarious campaign to enrich his friends and destroy your future. Moreover, he’s also happy to waste money as long as you foot the bill.

Let’s start with the security for Trump Tower in NYC where the wife hangs out with the kid while he goes prancing around the country to faux campaign stops designed to bolster his a...

Monday words of wisdom…

A perv, a con artist, and a fascist walk into a bar. Bartender says, “What’ll it be, Mr. President?”—seen on a church sign…just channeling the new Executive Order ahead of time?

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Aristocrats and Assassins. In #4 of the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series,” Castilblanco and his wife are on vacation in Europe when a terrorist starts kidnapping members of European royal families. Castilblanco and eventually Chen work with authorities to discover the terrorist’s agenda. This fast-moving m...

!Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

A todos nuestros amigos Mexicanos, aqui o en America Latina y el mundo, les deseo a Ustedes un feliz Cinco de Mayo. “Por mi raza hablara el espiritu,” y mi espiritu esta con Ustedes en su dia.

Complexity and story forms…

Fiction writers have their comfort zones. Some love to write long novels; at the other extreme, others prefer short stories. A return to oral tradition like in the Moth Movement emphasizes the latter, but normal fiction that communicates via the written word comes in all sizes. There are constraints imposed by all story forms too, but authors’ comfort zones are just as often evident as they are hidden.

One reason that I refuse to use Twitter is that I can rarely communicate anything without t...

News and Notices from the Writing Trenches #142…

It’s a reader’s world! If you’re an avid reader like me, sometimes you’re overwhelmed with all your choices. Some stats (I apologize for not remembering the source): 300,000 indie books were published in 2015; 75,000 traditionally published print books were published in 2013. How can we swim in this vast sea of opportunity to catch those extra special books that will entertain us and make us think?

First, price. I don’t know about you, but I won’t pay for an ebook that’s almost as expensive a...

One hundred days…

OK, Trump has had his chance at the honeymoon waltz after winning an election. He can’t dance. He’s all but admitted he’s not up to the job. He’s created a lot of noise—sound and fury signifying nothing. He has failed and will continue to fail. He can’t bring the country together and has no desire to do so. In fact, he has polarized it even more. His cultish base still thinks he walks on water, but he has the lowest approval rating overall than any president since approval-rating polls starte...

Monday words of wisdom…

Don’t go on automatic when listening to a fanatic.  The bet’s on the horse with thoughtful discourse.

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Aristocrats and Assassins. In #4 of the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series,” Castilblanco and his wife are on vacation in Europe when a terrorist starts kidnapping members of European royal families. Castilblanco and eventually Chen work with authorities to discover the terrorist’s agenda. This fast-moving mystery/thriller/suspense novel is on sale now at Smashwords in all ebook for...

Old v. new mysteries…

I’m finishing another P. D. James’ mystery, A Certain Justice (Adam Dalgliesh #10); some Big Five subsidiary has decided to make more money by (finally!) releasing the James’ mysteries in inexpensive ebook editions. I’m not proud—if I missed it, I’ll buy it, if it meets my less-than-$5 criterion for ebooks!

The first part was tedious enough that it set me thinking: there’s a big difference between the “classic” and modern mystery writers—at least in what I’ve read. James’ book spends the enti...