K.P. Gresham's Blog, page 7
September 4, 2023
When the Character Steps off the Page…
Which mystery characters come alive for you? I should’ve mentioned Chet, the canine investigator in the Chet and Bernie series (Spencer Quinn!). That dog leaped right off the page and into my imagination!
by Helen Currie Foster
You go to a play, you’re reading the program, you’re waiting for the curtain to go up. It does. And onstage a character comes alive. You not only believe in that character—suddenly you feel that character is real.
After the play, in the lobby, out comes a chattering group of...
August 15, 2023
MURDER, MAYHEM, CRIME
AND THE GRANDE DAMES OF MYSTERY
Reprint by Francine Paino AKA F. Della Notte
Originally submitted in 2021, I thought the story of the grand old men and women of mystery was worth a reprint. At the end, I have added three books not on the original list, presenting additional feisty, not-to-be ignored seniors who make their way through crimes – sometimes committing them.
Overall, fiction…
July 25, 2023
OUR SENSES: THE WORLD BETWEEN PAGE ONE AND “THE END”
by Helen Currie Foster
Aren’t there two keys to your enjoyment of a mystery? (1) Whether you like the protagonist(s), and (2) whether you’re drawn to the setting?
If I don’t find myself caring pretty quickly about the protagonist (or protagonists—see Mick Herron’s Slough House series, with its delightful collection of failed spies, or Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series with its…
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by Helen Currie Foster
Aren’t there two keys to your enjoyment of a mystery? (1) Whether you like the protagonist(s), and (2) whether you’re drawn to the setting?
If I don’t find myself caring pretty quickly about the protagonist (or protagonists—see Mick Herron’s Slough House series, with its delightful collection of failed spies, or Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club series with its…
July 11, 2023
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By K.P. Gresham
When I start a new mystery novel, there are a lot of decisions that must be made. Is someone going to die? Who’s the murderer? Who’s the victim? What is the setting for the book—location? Era? Is the book intended to be an escape from the world or immerse the reader in a world of reality, using the current (or historical) goings on to push the story forward?
Many authors (past…
To Thine Own Self Be True
By K.P. Gresham
When I start a new mystery novel, there are a lot of decisions that must be made. Is someone going to die? Who’s the murderer? Who’s the victim? What is the setting for the book—location? Era? Is the book intended to be an escape from the world or immerse the reader in a world of reality, using the current (or historical) goings on to push the story forward?
Many authors (past…
June 4, 2023
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Question: I’ve written a novel. Should I quit my day job now or wait till I’m published?
In A Broom of One’s Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning and Life, author Nancy Peacock answers with a story:
*
Two women are walking down the road and pass a frog sitting in the grass. “Hey,” says the frog.
“Wow. It’s a talking frog,” says one of the women. She picks the frog up and holds it in her…
When It Takes Over Two Months …
Question: I’ve written a novel. Should I quit my day job now or wait till I’m published?
In A Broom of One’s Own: Words on Writing, Housecleaning and Life, author Nancy Peacock answers with a story:
*
Two women are walking down the road and pass a frog sitting in the grass. “Hey,” says the frog.
“Wow. It’s a talking frog,” says one of the women. She picks the frog up and holds it in her…
April 20, 2023
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by M. K. Waller
This post doesn’t aim to inform, persuade, or entertain. It’s more of an observation, a meditation, a rumination, a mulling over, a puzzling. A rambling through recent events and old secrets. A mystery.
I. The Story
Crime fiction writer Anne Perry died in Los Angeles on April 10. She was eighty-four. A native of New Zealand and long-time resident of Scotland, she published her…
Death of a Mystery Writer
by M. K. Waller
This post doesn’t aim to inform, persuade, or entertain. It’s more of an observation, a meditation, a rumination, a mulling over, a puzzling. A rambling through recent events and old secrets. A mystery.
I. The Story
Crime fiction writer Anne Perry died in Los Angeles on April 10. She was eighty-four. A native of New Zealand and long-time resident of Scotland, she published her…
