I friggin’ love a good twist in a story. Seriously. I’ll forgive a lot if an author can knock me over with a completely unexpected reveal that seems obvious in retrospect. And because it’s something I love reading, twists are a device I tend to use a lot in my own writing. Now, […]
Edgar Allan Poe Tarot Blending the divinatory power of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot with the visionary writings of Edgar Allan Poe, this deck offers deep spiritual insight into who you are and what you might become. Stunning illustrations based on Poe’s tales of the mysterious and the macabre will inspire your imagination and open your soul […]
For Openers: Great First Lines of Legendary Novels “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” “I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time.” “It was a dark and stormy night.” Well, hello! And count me in. With these concisely atmospheric opening […]
Sibling rivalries have existed throughout recorded history, beginning with Cain and Abel in the bible. I haven’t been exempt myself, and if you have a sibling, you probably haven’t either. Siblings can be the best of friends, and also, the worst of enemies. When I was a teenager, one of my three sisters threw […]
Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me (1952) established him as one of the preeminent practitioners of hardboiled crime fiction. A first-person confession of a small town deputy sheriff going on a murder spree, it is a frightening and gripping novel that earned Thompson the sobriquet “Dimestore Dostoevsky.” Stanley Kubrick, who directed two Jim […]
You can never have too much research Hi all, happy to be back here and chatting with you. I’m working on a little project where I’m trying to come up with great ideas about research. I’ve decided that it’s quite a beast of a project so I’m narrowing it down a bit. Here are the […]
The Astonishing Life and Times of CLIVE CUSSLER, “The Grandmaster of Adventure” (Editor’s Note: Clive Cussler represented a life well lived. He served in the US military during the Korean War, wrote scores of bestselling novels, discovered more than 60 underwater wrecks, his Dirk Pitt and Kurt Austen books are adventure classics, and all his […]
An Exclusive Interview with Wilbur Smith Wilbur Smith is an acclaimed South African author who writes historical fiction about South Africa and its relations with the rest of the world. Your books have sold a collective 130 million copies worldwide. What is the secret to writing a book that readers from any culture can enjoy? […]
Creating Characters Readers Love to Care About The Hardest Trick of Them All Have you ever finished a book and immediately regretted that you were done? That you wish you hadn’t read so fast and could open the pages once more and there would magically be another chapter you didn’t realize was there? An […]
This Year You Write Your Novel by Walter Mosley No more excuses. “Let the lawn get shaggy and the paint peel from the walls,” bestselling novelist Walter Mosley advises. Anyone can write a novel now, and in this essential book of tips, practical advice, and wisdom, Walter Mosley promises that the writer-in-waiting can finish it […]
The Strand Magazine: Issue 54 (Fiction by Jeffery Deaver, William Trevor, David Marcum, Andrew McQuilkin, a feature article by Lisa Gardner and an exclusive interview with Caleb Carr.) In this issue we are very lucky to include William Trevor’s previously unpublished story “The Unknown Girl,” which is due to be released in May as part […]
Five Ways to Begin Your Book My favorite part of writing is the beginning of a book. It’s exciting because I feel free to do anything I want. I haven’t painted myself into a corner yet. Or questioned who came up with this stupid plot? Or slogged through the middle where I’m looking around for […]