James M. Jackson's Blog, page 15

Kelly Cochran - Guest Author

Please welcome fellow member of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime Kelly Cochran to this week’s edition of 10 Q & As. Kelly describes herself as conscientious, resourceful, suspicious, witty and blondish. Her writing is humorous, approachable, twisty, thoughtful and fun.
Kelly’s short story “Blinded by Murder” appeared in the most recent Guppy Anthology, Fish or Cut Bait. In addition to her other attributes, she is also generous. She is offering to provide one lucky commenter with a cop...

The Allure of a Mystery Series

Panel at 2015 Left Coast Crime
One of my great pleasures of mystery fan conferences such as Malice Domestic and Left Coast Crime is the opportunity to talk with a wide variety of readers. When I get to chatting with a reader I usually ask about favorite authors to compare notes. After a while I’ll ask about how they approach series.
Writers and publishers like series because of the long-tail effect: if someone reads one book in the series and enjoys it, chances are good they’ll read another in...

Erik Therme - Guest Author

Please welcome Thomas & Mercer author Erik Therme. He describes himself as pensive, focused, tenacious, independent, and wry. He writing is dark, brisk, suspenseful, tense, and flawed. (Although he may be picking on himself with that last adjective -- check out the blurb for Mortom at the end.)
Describe your most productive writing venue. What makes it best for you?
I’m fortunate enough to have a ‘man cave’ in my basement (complete with mini fridge) that doubles as an office. I love my...

Beta Testing Your Novel

Doubtful Relations Title PageLast month I sent my current work in process, DOUBTFUL RELATIONS, out to five volunteer readers. I have received feedback from three of them; the other two sets of comments are scheduled back this coming week.

I call this process beta testing and the volunteers beta readers. These terms are used in different manners, so I need to define my terms.

For a few years during my career, I managed a group of software developers. In that environment, alpha testing encompasse...

Catherine Dilts - Guest Author

Please join me in welcoming Catherine Dilts today. She used some unique(to these guest blogs) descriptors about herself. She is a writer, a gardener, a Coloradan; she’s environmental and tech. Her writing is clean, and she writes murder mystery with an amateur sleuth. Her second Rock Shop Mystery, Stone Cold Case will be released in a week’s time. Now let’s see which questions Catherine chose:
What makes a great short story?
In my opinion, three elements combine to make a great short story. Fir...

Joanne Guidoccio - Guest Author

Please welcome Joanne Guidoccio as today’s guest author. Joanne is a fellow member of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She describes herself as organized, flexible, focused, optimistic, and determined. Her writing covers the gamut from cozy mysteries, to paranormal romance to inspirational work. The following are her choices of questions and her answers.
A lucky commenter will receive a Kindle eBook of A Season for Killing Blondes.
Describe your most productive writing venue. What makes i...

Shoot? Don’t Shoot?

Last week I attended Writers' Police Academy sponsored, in part, by the Sisters in Crime. This year it was at a wonderful facility outside Appleton, Wisconsin. That’s less than a four-hour drive for us (right around the block in Yooper terms), so Jan and I both attended.
I was lucky enough to sign up for several special small-group classes. Crime Scene photography was excellent; it helped me understand how those folks actually work a scene using digital photography. I won a lottery and partici...

Vicki Batman - Guest Author

Please welcome guest author Vicki Batman. She describes herself as a sassy. funny chocoholic who is even-tempered and accountable. Her writing is also funny and sassy, but in addition it’s sexy fiction and witty on the side.
What makes a great short story?
I write a lot of short fiction and cut my teeth by writing romances for the True magazines. A good short story will leave you satisfied just like a book. A good short story will have all the same elements as a book. It is NOT a character summ...

Kristina Stanley - Guest Author

Please welcome Kristina Stanley, a Canadian author who has the screenshot to prove that her novel Descsent had the number one ranking on Amazon's Canada list of "Hot New Releases of Women Sleuth Mysteries." (In second place was Sue Grafton's X !) She describes herself as happy, hard-working, loyal, athletic, and an animal-lover. The five words she uses to describe her writing are adventurous, action-oriented, mystery, wilderness, and multi point of view. Here are her answers to the...

Craig A. Hart - Guest Author

Craig A. Hart is a fellow Kindle Press author who describes himself as retiring, self-deprecating, driven, conflicted, and idealistic. His writing is raw, honest, uncomfortable, unflinching, and dark. So be prepared for honest answers, and without further ado, here are Craig’s other answers.
Describe your most productive writing venue. What makes it best for you?
For my last work, I found a small room in back of the local cigar shop. It had a battered poker table and a few chairs. It was always...