K.P. Gresham's Blog, page 16

MURDERCON, 2019--A Perfect Ménage à Trois!

I’m talking about the recent crime writer’s convention recently held in Raleigh, NC. What did you think I was referring to?

To create this perfect threesome, you combine Lee Lofland and his crew at The Writers Police Academy with Sirchie—the leading manufacturer of criminal investigation, forensic and law enforcement products, and add a few crazy crime writers who want to learn new and innovative ways to kill people. Then you title it, Murdercon, 2019, and put all those three elements together...

Well-Rounded Thrillers? Naw...Really?

Sara Paretsky created quite a stir in the mystery writing community with her recent letter to the editor. (New York Times June 14, 2019) This actually surprised me a little.

For years the majority of U.S. publishers, editors and booksellers have preferred male-authored novels in the mystery thriller genre.  Let’s define our terms here. Thrillers are generally male-oriented in intended audience, protagonist sex, and author generation while cozy mysteries are intellectually gender-neutral and ch...

Well Said

“After all, tomorrow is another day.” Recognize that book quote? They’re the five favorite words of Scarlet O’Hara in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. A great line to live by if you need to move on from tragedy, but not very motivational when it’s time to write another blog!

I am in awe of the memorable lines written by different authors. Several changed how I look at life.

“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” This quote from Little Women by Louisa May Alc...

Three Days at Wrigley Field

The Preacher’s First Murder Book Club Questions

The Preacher’s First Murder by K.P.Gresham

Book Club Questions

1.      What characters in the book did you like best? Least? Did the characters in the book seem believable to you? Did they remind you of anyone?

2.      Which character in the book would you most like to meet?

3.      Was the premise behind Matt Hayden/Michael Hogan’s story believable for you? How did you feel about the pace of revealing Matt’s past life?

 

4.      There were two main families in this book, each headed by a strong wo...

Thank You, Lady Gaga!

I recently had the incredible honor of attending Lady Gaga’s Las Vegas Jazz Show. I say honor, because this woman is so talented. Not just at singing, or dancing or playing the piano.

This lady can write.

I write fiction. I like to say I kill people for a living. This incredible woman writes the language of the soul.

I was struck by one song in particular. I am in the final stages of putting out my next book, MURDER ON THE THIRD TRY. The questions I ask myself are overwhelming, and all have a co...

Research the Business, Baby!

Who Are You Writing For?

If it’s for yourself, and you have no intention of selling your book, go for it! There’s a story in your head you have to get on paper, and you don’t care if anyone buys it. You can write anything you want, (and stop reading the rest of this blog). Just go do your thing and enjoy!

However, if you have aspirations to get this book on the market, a writer must take off the fictional hat and get down to business. Literally.

I recently attended the Writer’s League of Texas A...

Research Pot of Gold, Thy Name is Billy Kring!

Blly Kring (author of the Hunter Kincaid Mystery Series and the Ronny Baca Mystery Series) is a perfect example of why I love research.  He spoke to my local chapter of Sisters in Crime a few weeks back. I realized immediately he was the pot of gold I’d been looking for in researching Murder on the Third Try (the third in the Pastor Matt Hayden Mystery Series.) Why? Let me give you some of his background.

Besides being an author, Billy worked as a Border Patrol Agent and as a consultant...

I Love Research and Nolan Ryan!

Writing for me is both a compulsion and an exploration.  I know, I know, they say “write what you know”, but I’d add another clause on that. Write what you know and/or what you’d like to research.

The best book prompt that I know of is “What if?” For example, what if my heroine wants to become a professional baseball player?  (By the way, that is a cheap plug for my first novel, Three Days at Wrigley Field.) Even though I am an avid baseball fan, there&rsqu...

Baseball, Culture Shock and Peoria, IL

   When my family moved to Peoria in 1969, I experienced my first encounter with a large population of St. Louis Cardinal fans.  As I’ve said before, my dad was born on the north side of Chicago in  1920 and was a lifelong Cubs fan.  I swear his DNA had Cub genes in it, and I inherited those chromosomes when I, too, was born in Chicago.  Growing up, everyone I knew, be it family, friends, or the folks next door, were Cubs fans.  That was how the world turned.

   Then my dad got the call to b...