Terry Odell's Blog, page 286
March 29, 2011
Have You Hugged Your Characters Today?
My guest today is author Ellis Carrington, who's telling us about the importance of loving your characters.I recently acquired a fabulous audio book called Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting by Robert McKee. I love it for two reasons: The first is that the author's soothing voice never fails to lull my kids to sleep at naptime, but also it has a TON of fabulous
March 28, 2011
Left Coast Crime - Forensics
After a very interesting weekend at Left Coast Crime, I'll try once again to provide highlights and recaps of the conference. My panel, Sex & Romance in Mysteries was one of the first sessions, and I was pleased that we had a good turnout. We talked about a lot of the topics I've already discussed here in various posts, so I'll move on to another panel. If anyone has questions about the Sex panel
March 25, 2011
Friday Field Trip - Everglades National Park
Last week my son and the Hubster went to Florida, to the Everglades National Park. Jason was leading a photo safari, and Hubster went along to pick up some pointers. He's graciously agreed to share some of his pictures this week. The pictures come from Shark Valley and Anhinga Trail.
March 24, 2011
Homicide - Hussey: Sex and the Badge, Part 2
I'm still in Santa Fe at Left Coast Crime. Here's Part 2 of Detective Hussey's Sex and the Badge,as promised.As the years went by, there would be more and more instances involving deviants. There was the guy who got his penis stuck in the intake line of the swimming pool at the Holiday Inn. He must have been really enjoying himself, until his member swelled up and stuck in the pipe.Try as he
March 23, 2011
Homicide - Hussey: Sex and the Badge
While I'm at Left Coast Crime, I'll be sharing a couple of posts from the files of Orange County Deputy, Mark Hussey. Since my panel is "Sex and Romance in Mystery", I thought it would be fun to re-post Detective Hussey's post about "Sex and the Badge" from July, 2009. It's a two-parter, so come back tomorrow for the rest.I won't be able to respond to comments in a timely fashion, but I hope
March 22, 2011
Conference Tips
First - a reminder that I'm giving away an ARC of WHERE DANGER HIDES. There's almost nothing to do to qualify, so please take a minute to check the contest tab and follow the directions to enter. Due to unforeseeable circumstances, my scheduled guest is unable to join us today. So, here's the added information on conferences I mentioned yesterday. This is based on a post I did a year ago, but I
March 21, 2011
To Conference or Not To Conference?
What I'm reading: Dying for a Date, by Cindy SampleIn two days, I'll be on the road to Santa Fe for the Left Coast Crime conference. It's the first time I've attended this one, and I'm looking forward to meeting new authors, many of whom are names from internet groups.Why go to conferences? They're expensive, after all, and unless you're a big enough name to be a featured speaker, you're going to
March 18, 2011
Friday Field Trip - Fonthill Castle
This week, more photos from Jason. These are from Fonthill CastleFonthill Castle was built at the turn of the 20th century by the eccentric Henry Mercer. Mercer built the castle as a modern twist on medieval architecture. Fonthill is built from reinforced concrete and has modern (for the time) amenities like running water and electricity.Henry Mercer filled his castle with archeological finds
March 17, 2011
St. Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland
What I'm reading: The Tycoon's Perfect Match, by Christine Wenger; The Switch, by Sandra BrownI realized yesterday afternoon that it's St. Patrick's Day today, and I thought it would be appropriate for my daughter, Jessica, to be a guest today. She lives in Northern Ireland, and can offer some insights into how the holiday is celebrated over there. I thank her profusely for stepping in with a
March 16, 2011
Ins, Outs, Ups, Downs
What I'm reading: More Deaths than One, by Pat BertramThanks to Jane for yesterday's post. I expect I'm not the only one itching to get up and go somewhere. In a follow-up to Monday's topic on the marketing side of writing … a brief follow-up to sales after Read an eBook week is over. No longer am I getting ten or twelve purchase notification emails from Smashwords every few hours. Since Sunday,
