Barbara Fradkin's Blog, page 20

Snow and Long Ago by Steve Pease/Michael Chandos

     Every dozen Octobers, Halloween in Colorado delivers a serious snowstorm. We had an enormous blizzard in 93 (or was it 94?), 60 mph winds, single-digit temperatures and three feet of snow blown to 8 foot drifts. Deadly to man and beast. This 7 November, we had another storm, minus the winds and the super chilly temps, but most of the snow. I live in Black Forest, Palmer Ridge,

Guest Author Lorie Lewis Ham

Lorie Lewis HamThis weekend, Type M 4 Murder is happy to welcome our honored guest blogger, Lorie Lewis Ham. Lorie lives in Reedley, California and has been writing ever since she was a child. Her first song and poem were published when she was 13, and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories, and poems throughout the years, as well as write for a local newspaper, and publish 7

What It's Like to Hire a PI

 By Catherine DiltsThis summer, I hired a Private Investigator. The experience hadlittle in common with what I’ve seen in movies or read in novels. This being arather mundane missing person’s case, there were no late night stake-outs andabsolutely no gun play. Me, being the customer, didn’t fit the classic mold of aglamorous redhead puffing on an opera-length cigarette holder with

Middle Age & The Madness of Art

At the Bangor Pubic Library in Bangor, Maine It’s the first of November, and I’m in Maine watching orange and bronze leaves carpet the scraggly grass of the front lawn. Maine’s seasons come in distinct palettes. Cold, white winters. Mud-brown and tender green springs. Blue skies and lakes and florals of summer. And the warm reds, bronzes, and yellows of fall. As I head into the

Why do we write what we write?

Happy Halloween! I have some scary questions for you today.What leads us to write what we write? And in an ever-shrinking market, what should lead us to write what we write?These are a couple of a handful of questions I've pondered for a while.I wrote five books set on the PGA Tour. They were published by a university press, and the sales figures indicated as much. Then I wrote three books

Happy Halloween!

 by Sybil JohnsonI can’t believe tomorrow is Halloween! The year has sped by. When I was growing up, Halloween wasn’t as big a deal as it is now. Sure, kids went out trick or treating and there were Halloween parties at my grade school. I swear, though, that people didn’t decorate like they do now. I really enjoyed the pictures in Charlotte’s post yesterday. I have seen decorations

Try Seasonal

 by Charlotte HingerI have a neighbor who goes all out for Halloween. Their display is enormous. I'm intrigued by the figures every year. A lot of them are motion activated. For instance this dead woman holding a dead baby begins to rock. It's hideously frightening. It's a funny thing how people love to be scared. Steven King has written a wealth of books that are based on the occult or

Hemingway’s Rules for Writing

 By Steve Pease writing as Michael Chandos"My aim is to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way." Earnest Hemingway developed his writing style writing for the Kansas City Star newspaper.  Their editorial style stressed short, concise and efficient writing, that made the best use of limited page space and minimized costs. His Rules:  1.

The Call

Twenty years ago this month, I got "The Call," meaning the phone call I received from my agent informing me that HarperCollins had offered a contract on my manuscript. For a work like mine, an urban fantasy, they wanted a series and could I write that? Even though I had no idea where to take my character from this first book, I answered, "Of course!"I had been primed for this moment from my

I'm Back!!!

 Hi Everyone,I am back after a long hiatus. I'm logging in to do my first post after being away for months. My Type mates kindly held my Friday space.  after \\I intended to either be here early this morning or write my post and schedule it.  I had a topic all ready to go, but after last night I need to look it up to remember what it was  As Adrian Monk would say, here's