Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 34

Doom, Doom, Doom

 Q: In your writing life, how do you cope with your self-doubt, feelings of inadequacy, frustrations, and despair?

From Susan

 

Self-doubt comes with the territory and begins with that first empty page.  And while it never disappears entirely, after the first book is in your hands it should abate somewhat. After all, an editor, and most likely an agent before that, and the publishing company that gave you an advance, all saw something in your writing, something that was original and polished enough...

Cover design: by Harini Nagendra

This week's topic is Blogger's Choice - pick what you want! And that's always the hardest, isn't it - at least for me. Choice always makes it difficult - especially when there are no boundaries set! So of course, with a day full of things to do, I spent too much time procrastinating, thinking of various topics I could write about, and then moving to the next shiny thing.

Until I thought of - covers! More precisely, book covers. I've always been fascinated by cover art - there's art, science and a...

Murder at a Wife-Swapping Party from James W. Ziskin

This week's question is Blogger’s choice, a veritable free-for-all, so I’m posting my short story “Prisoner of Love.” This appeared in Get Up Offa That Thing: Crime Fiction Inspired by The Songs of James Brown (May 2023). But it didn’t get much exposure, which makes me sad. I wanted to share it here in the hopes that readers will enjoy a story about a murder at a wife-swapping party on New Year’s Eve 1954. Who wouldn’t like that? 

Eagle-eyed readers might recognize Nelson and Lucia Blanchard, who...

Playing it back

This week it’s blogger’s choice, so I’d like to revisit last week’s question:  Have there been recent novels which had you laughing, crying, clinging to the edge of your seat?

by Dietrich

Every once in a while there’s that perfect new book that comes along, characters with voices that resonate and stories that stay with me. 

These become books that I like to revisit from time to time, to hear those amazing voices once more.

Here are a few favorites I’ve reread and would like to recommend.

The...

How To Begin

 

Terry here, and this week we get to make up our own topic. So since I'm beginning my next Jessie Madison novel, I thought I would do a tiny tutorial for myself (and others who might be interested): 
How To Begin A Novel: 
 1) Think up characters. 
                                                    

     a) The protagonist. If you’re writing a series, that makes it easier. But even if not, you have to decide who your character will be—someone like you? Someone totally unlike you? What will their ...

A New Mystery Anthology!

Let’s make this week's question Blogger’s choice, a veritable free-for-all.

Brenda here.

This is a timely question. I'm pleased to introduce a new anthology titled Larceny and Last Chances, due for release mid-June. 

The call for stories went out last year from Superior Shores Press with entries cut off at 80. From these, 21 stories were selected and an additional story is also included, penned by the editor Judy Penz Sheluk. I'm delighted to say that my story "The Pool" is in the anthology.

Advance...

Books That Kill, by Josh Stallings

 

Q: Have there been recent novels which had you laughing, crying, clinging to the edge of your seat?

A: That is a tall order, there are very few books I’ve read with that wide a swath of emotions. And seeing as Criminal Minds has the word Criminal in the title, it seems like the book's being crime fiction is implied. Also “recent” so the masters are out. Tall but not impossible.

First up is Charlie Huston’s CATCHPENNY. It is a quintessential LA novel. A young man follows his rock star dreams t...

Blame EAT, PRAY, LOVE, by Catriona

I do. I blame it for all those signs you see in people's houses. There's one that says SLEEP in the bedroom, another announcing EAT in the kitchen. LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE gets the livingroom wall. I've never seen one in the loo.

Aaaaaannnyway, this week's question asks us to talk about recently-read books that have caused a notable effect. So here goes.

LAUGH. Right now, I'm reading Alexei Sayle's memoir STALIN ATE MY HOMEWORK and laughing a great deal. It's the story of growing up as the only child of...

Be quiet, I'm reading by Eric Beetner

 Have there been recent novels which had you laughing, crying, clinging to the edge of your seat?

My reaction to novels is mostly muted. I smile, rarely laugh out loud. I cringe, but don't feel compelled to set a book down and walk away. Maybe I'm just emotionally unresponsive, but the act of reading, for me, is a solitary and quiet one.

Of course I want all these outbursts and reactions from readers when they read my books. Who doesn't want a big reaction? Who doesn't want to illicit that knee-je...

Books That Make You Go Hmm by Gabriel Valjan

 

Q: Have there beenrecent novels which had you laughing, crying, clinging to the edge of yourseat?

 

For reasons I can’t say publicly, I’ve not had free time toread recent novels, so the titles mentioned in this post are not new.

 

That said, I’d like to add another category: Thought-provoking.

 

Disclaimer. I love the scent of old books (bibliosmia) and I enjoy deckle pages, a pleasant sensation,against my fingertips. I find reading to be both a tactile and sensual...