Clea Simon's Blog, page 96
October 6, 2010
Foreign affairs, by the masters
"Information is dangerous currency. How we get it, what we do with it, and how we dismiss that which we would rather not know are hot topics, especially in contemporary thrillers. Spy master John le Carré has long dealt with these questions, chronicling betrayals both personal and patriotic. His British peer mystery writer John Lawton is now entering this tricky territory as well. In their new
October 1, 2010
Nothing for it but to write
Just sent off the copy edits for Grey Zone. Sent back the corrected ARC for Dogs Don't Lie last week (did I really repeat/misspell that many words? Guess so). Have done enough research so that I should be able to write at least half this book without doing any more. Nothing for it but to write. Hooboy...
September 29, 2010
Scent bottles and other gun terms...
I love writing, but sometimes research takes the cake. I'm getting ready to start the second Pru Marlowe pet noir and have been immersed in the world of antique guns. In some ways this is silly: the collectible that appears in the first scene of this next book will probably not be seen again after page 30. But I want to get it right. And besides, when you start researching something esoteric like
September 6, 2010
Happy Labor Day
morning coffee at the Moors Motel
September 1, 2010
Revisions and the restorative power of rock & roll
I'm re-reading Grey Zone this week - my editor loved it (yay!) but considering all the crap that went down this spring, she gave me a week to re-read/revise one more time. And I'm slogging along when, yesterday, I hit one of those passages where I wonder, "What the hell was I thinking?" Couldn't for the life of me figure it out.Skip ahead a few hours: the Neighborhoods and Iggy Pop at House of
August 23, 2010
"What We Have," a review
We plan, God laughs... my review of Amy Boesky's moving memoir, "What We Have," in today's Boston Globe.
August 3, 2010
Looking ahead....
OK, I admit I am psyched that Dogs Don't Lie, my first Pru Marlowe pet noir mystery, is already listed as available for preorder on Amazon (and I promise, indie bookstores, as soon as you list it, too, I'll post links!) That book won't be published until April, 2011, but it was edited and accepted in June. But I just saw that Grey Zone, my third Dulcie Schwartz mystery, is also now listed on
July 16, 2010
"And behind the chalet, the holiday's complete..."
Cheap Trick and Squeeze, row N. So much fun. Reviewed it for the Phoenix here.photo by Scott M. Lacey for the Boston Phoenix.
"Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away..."
Cheap Trick and Squeeze, row N. So much fun. Reviewed it for the Phoenix here.photo by Scott M. Lacey for the Boston Phoenix.
My total fan-girl moment!
Monday morning, I was sick as a dog but I had one un-missable appoint: a phone interview with Naomi Novik. Novik, you may already know, is the author of the Temeraire novels: Napoleonic-era fantasy, only set in an alternative world with intelligent, sensitive dragons. Not my usual cup of tea, but they're so smart and funny - well, others have made the comparison to Jane Austen. Let me just say it
