Terry Shames's Blog: 7 Criminal Minds, page 50

National Book Month

 

Terry here:
Apparently October is National Book Month. Who knew? For me, every month is National Book Month.
I won't be celebrating with anything other than what I normally do: buy as many books as I can carry out of a bookstore every time I walk in. I wish I had gotten on the ebook bandwagon, and I do occasionally read books on my e-reader. But I much prefer a real, solid, in-my-hand book. I like to be able to flip back and remind myself of some part of the action or of a character I don't rem...

Marking National Book Month

October is National Book Month in the US. Do you have any plans to celebrate the month?

Brenda here.

National Book Month is a terrific idea, and I'm not certain if Canada is following the U.S. lead, but we should be!

I personally have a lot of celebrating to do in October, but none that specifically involves this being book month:-) 

Last week saw Ted's and my wedding anniversary, which coincidently is the same date as our friends who live across the street. We decided this called for a road trip an...

F#ck Bouchercon by Josh Stallings

Christa Faust + Me

Q: Bouchercon San Diego is in the rearview mirror. What is your favorite Bouchercon memory, past or present, and what advice would you give to writers interested in attending Bouchercon, so they could get the most out of their experience?

A: Fuck Bouchercon. 

Really Josh? Damn, you definitely know how to win friends and influence board members.

Okay, not really, this is not entirely how I feel. It’s more complicated and nuanced. To figure out how I feel about it, I need to make a ...

Baby seals and other loved ones, by Catriona

Bouchercon San Diego is in therearview mirror. What is your favorite Bouchercon memory, past or present, andwhat advice would you give to writers interested in attending Bouchercon, sothey could get the most out of their experience?

My first Bouchercon was San Fancisco in 2010, when I had lived in the US for about twelve weeks. Val McDermid and Russel McLean were there from Edinburgh and that helped me feel a bit less at sea. Two abiding memories: I was late checking in and the conference-rate...

Oh Bouchercon, my Bouchercon! by Cathy Ace

Bouchercon San Diego is in therearview mirror. What is your favorite Bouchercon memory, past or present, andwhat advice would you give to writers interested in attending Bouchercon, sothey could get the most out of their experience?

 

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend severalBouchercons, including the most recent event, held in San Diego. To be honest,I have so many happy memories, and tips, it’s hard to share them all, but heregoes:

 

TIP #1: IF YOU CAN GO, GO. It’s not cheap, and...

Last night I dreamt I went to Bouchercon for the first time

 

What is your favoriteBouchercon memory, past or present, and what advice would you give to writersinterested in attending Bouchercon, so they could get the most out of theirexperience?

 

My first and favorite Bouchercon was Toronto, in 2017. I wasa conference newbie, a published author, and I had no idea what to expect.NONE. I wasn’t Bambi in the forest when it came to travel either, but Torontowas a new destination. My forays into Canada had been limited to Montréal ...

Dani's back!

 Alas, this week’s question is not current for me. I’ve missed the last couple Bouchercons. My first was in Baltimore ages ago, memorable, before I even had a manuscript polished enough to share. Terry Shames and I went as buddies and while the size, number of people, and atmosphere were new, it was still a thrill rather than scary. One evening, several amazing, multi-published women we didn’t know personally waved us over to join them at the bar and treated us like fellow writers, not imposters...

One Ring - To Scare the Crap Out Of Me

by Abir

 

It’s that time of year. What is the scariest short story or novel you read? 

 

Here’s the thing. I’m one of life’s natural cowards. I say coward, I mean I have an overdeveloped sense of self-preservation. This involves removing myself with utmost haste from any form of danger, real or imaginary, physical, emotional, visual or auditory.

 

This is why I have reached the age of almost fifty without ever being in a fight, (I don’t count stuff that happened before I was seven) and why my skin is ...

I Hear the Pines Whisper and Sigh from James W. Ziskin

It’s that time of year. It’s that time of year. What is the scariest short story or novel you read? The scariest that you wrote and why? The scariest that you wrote and why?

I don’t read or watch horror very often, so it’s hard for me to answer all of this week’s question. But I will do my best on the second half.

 

First, let me ask you, are you afraid of the woods? What about the woods at night?

 

The following paragraph is from my fourth Ellie Stone mystery, Heart of Stone, which won the Anthony B...

Shaking in my boots

It’s that time of year. What is the scariest short story or novel you read? The scariest that you wrote and why?

by Dietrich

Horror is not one of my go-to genres, so I don’t write scary stories. I realized when I was a kid after watching a TV movie called Crowhaven Farm — through the sleepless night that followed — this just wasn’t for me. At that early age, I decided I didn’t like being scared stiff.

As I got older, I did enjoy reading Edgar Allan Poe: The Cask of Amontillado, The Tell-Tale H...