Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 108

The Straw That Stirs the Drink

Have you written about any controversial issues or created controversial characters in your books? Do you raise issues of conscience or do you steer away from moral questions?  

From Frank

I've learned to be less than detailed about works in progress, since things change during the creative process (including being canceled). But I've mentioned this one before, so I guess it's fair game.

The novel I'm working on now is called THE RIDE-ALONG. A police ride-along is something many agencies offer - a ...

What Is Controversy?

 Q: Have you written about any controversial issues or created controversial characters in your books? Do you raise issues of conscience or do you steer away from moral questions?  

 

-from Susan

 

I write stories about people being killed. How is that not a moral issue? How is the act of trying to bring the killers to justice not on some level an issue of conscience and morality? How is a person who would kill another person in a private act for money, revenge, sadism, or fear not controversial?

 

Mo...

A Drug Deal in Bradford and an Ass-whooping in Delhi...

This week, I'm pleased to introduce you to my good friend and fellow author, A.A. Dhand. His new novel, Blood Divide, is an action packed thriller set in England and India, and is out this week.

Abir

What lengths do you (or would you) go to in order to get the geography right in your books? Is it okay to take liberties?

I’m five-thousand miles from home, deep underground in the largest underground market in Asia – Sadar Bazaar located in Delhi, India. 

 

It’s sensory overload – thousands of vendors a...

In the Driver’s Seat from James W. Ziskin

What lengths would you go to in order to get the geography right in your books? Is it okay to take liberties?

In fiction, geography, like history and guns, is all about the details. It’s important to get those details right, or you risk incurring the wrath of outraged readers. Expect supercilious e-mails that tell you where you went wrong. Or worse, angry e-mails. That’s why you must have a strategy.

First, always remember that you, the writer, are in charge. You decide which details to include in...

Without geography, you’re nowhere

Image by PexelsWhat lengths would you go to in order to get the geography right in your books? Is it okay to take liberties?

by Dietrich 

When describing a setting, my aim is to create a believable image, both for the readers who don’t know the location, and particularly for the ones who do. If there’s a point or structure within the setting, I might make it up if one doesn’t exist, or if an imagined one better suits the story. I guess what I’m saying, I don’t have any hard rules. I’m just out to ...

Controversy

UH-OH: Please note that I made a mistake and wrote a post in reply to next week's question, rather than this week's. 
 Terry Shames answering NEXT week's question: Have you written about any controversial issues or created controversial characters in your books? Do you raise issues of conscience or do you steer away from moral questions? 
 To answer this question, I’ll start with a few reviews of my books: 
A Killing at Cotton Hill: 
"A favorite of fans who like their police procedurals with a stro...

UH-OH: Please note that I made a mistake and wrote a pos...

UH-OH: Please note that I made a mistake and wrote a post in reply to next week's question, rather than this week's. 
 Terry Shames answering NEXT week's question: Have you written about any controversial issues or created controversial characters in your books? Do you raise issues of conscience or do you steer away from moral questions? 
 To answer this question, I’ll start with a few reviews of my books: 
A Killing at Cotton Hill: 
"A favorite of fans who like their police procedurals with a stro...

Location, Location, Location

What lengths do you (or would you) go to in order to get the geography right in your books? Is it okay to take liberties?

Good Monday morning. Brenda Chapman at the keyboard.

My first books are set in fictional towns so that was easy peasy. I was the town planner, mayor and puppet master, making up locations to suit the story. My last two series have been set in real locations -- Stonechild and Rouleau in Ottawa, Kingston and surrounding towns, from Montreal to Toronto. I used Google Earth and map...

Rain Man meets Bosch By Josh Stallings

Q: Publishers and agents usually ask you to compare your book to somebody else’s and want to know that you are up to date on what is popular at the moment. How much importance do you place in writing for the market?

A: And now we come to the part dear readers, where I destroy all hope of gaining fame or fortune… I don’t think about the market one bit. At least not while writing. I write because an idea, setting or a character shows me a glimpse of a world worth falling in love with. A world I wan...

If you liked Babe Ruth, you'll love Madison Baumgartner! by Catriona

 Q: Publishers and agents usually ask you to compare your book to somebody else’s and want to know that you are up to date on what is popular at the moment. How much importance do you place in writing for the market?

Short answer: what Cathy said yesterday.

Slightly longer answer: No really what Cathy said yesterday - even the fact that I write three different sub-genres of crime fiction and have different "comps" for each.

Real answer, since those first two don't constitute a blog . . . 

I can't re...