Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 44

One sunny morning in the future of publishing, by Catriona

Thirty(ish)years ago, Octavia Butler’s Earthseednovels looked forward to an uncannily accurate (and pretty grim) version ofpresent-day America. Let’s have some “fun” and write our own utopian/dystopiantales of the publishing business thirty years from now.

I'm not doing too bad for eighty-eight, but it's a daily conundrum whether to stay polite to the pub-tech or protect my blood pressure by railing at them like they deserve. I wish we could go back to six-monthly royalties. And I know that's...

Balance

  Q: The balance between life and work can be difficult to manage as a writer, because we all "work at home". How do you succeed, and fail?

Being fairly prolific (my 33rd book comes out Feb 27th) I am asked quite often how I manage to write so much in what time I have lefter working a day job, raising two kids and all the extra curricular I try to take part in.

There’s no simple answer other than to manage the time you do have well. I’m a night writer. It was easier when my kids were younger and t...

Scene Unseen by Gabriel Valjan

 

Thirty(ish)years ago, Octavia Bulter’s Earthseednovels looked forward to an uncannily accurate (and pretty grim) version ofpresent-day America. Let’s have some “fun” and write out own utopian/dystopiantales of the publishing business thirty years from now.

 

SCENE UNSEEN

 

He had witnessed all the cruelties that accompanied a longlife, from the massive stupidity of politicians through the decades, whichincluded senseless wars and two pandemics, the deaths of friends...

I'm Late, I'm Late

 Q: The balance between life and work can be difficult to manage as a writer, because we all "work at home". How do you succeed, and fail?

 

-from Susan

 

Perfect example. Today’s post is late because, whoops, all weekend I was busy trying to figure out where the brand-new leak in my bedroom window is coming from and who I should ask to fix it. And getting the furnace installers back because the brand-new furnace wasn’t working at all, brrrr. The second problem has been fixed but they still have to ...

In Gratitude

 It’s nearly four years since our lives took that big swerve into the pandemic. Has yours gone back to the same as before? Or are there new normals? Any silver linings?

By Harini Nagendra

My first post for Criminal Minds! So thrilled to be here - a huge thank you to Jim, Susan, Catriona, Brenda, Gabriel, Terry, Dietrich and Josh for inviting me - and hello to Eric too. 

The pandemic and the seclusion changed many things for us - especially since India had a series of extended lockdowns. My mom, now...

I Hereby Resolve AGAIN from James W. Ziskin

It’s nearly four years since our lives took that big swerve into the pandemic. Has yours gone back to the same as before? Or are there new normals? Any silver linings?

My life has more or less returned to normal, albeit with some changes. For starters, during the pandemic, I went back to work. Over the past three and a half years, I’ve been teaching middle school and high school French, and I’m loving it. The kids are wonderful, and the energy keeps me active and sane.

But speaking of Covid—at the...

On the upside

It’s nearly four years since our lives took that big swerve into the pandemic. Has yours gone back to the same as before? Or are there new normals? Any silver linings?

by Dietrich

Has life gone back to the same as before? Well, there are fewer masked faces, less of those floor stickers warning about keeping a safe distance, and less elbow bumping too. But, instead of looking in the rearview at all that, I’d rather look at what’s ahead for ’24.

As for silver linings on the writing front, I’ve h...

New Normal

 

Terry here, answering our heavy-duty question:It’s nearly four years since our lives took that big swerve into the pandemic. Has yours gone back to the same as before? Or are there new normals? Any silver linings? 
 Here is why my life has not gone “back to the same as before:” 
 New normals: 
1) We moved to Los Angeles. 
2) Both our dogs died. 
3) I parted ways with my agent 
 4) I gained weight. 
 Silver linings 
1) We moved close to our son and we see a lot of him. 
2) I signed with a new agent. 
3)...

Post-Pandemic Hangover

It’s nearly four years since our lives took that big swerve into the pandemic. Has yours gone back to the same as before? Or are there new normals? Any silver linings?

Brenda here.

Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to Eric Beetner and Harini Nagendra!

We were saying this holiday season that it feels like ages ago since we were in lockdown but it truly hasn't been that long since we were confined to our homes and couldn't gather to celebrate together. I got used to staying home during the pandem...

No Yum Yucking, by Josh Stallings

 Q: What are your most and least *favoured sub-genres of crime fiction. And, in both cases, why? Since it’s this time of year, is there anything you’re exhorting yourself to read more of?

A: I am not a fan of the entire concept of fiction genres let alone sub-genres. They stem from an outdated way to organize a bookstore. Looking around my public library we have a fiction section that encompasses all fiction. It is a land where Catriona McPherson’s comic period novels and her darker thrillers l...