Selecting the Right Subject and Location for Your First Novel   One of the many challenges facing the debut novelist is to select the appropriate subject matter and the optimal setting.  Your mind may already contain vivid snapshots of your characters and exciting fragments of your plot, but you may not yet have explored fully […]

The Magic of the Cage-Free Character Cage-free characters do not arrive in novels prepackaged and preprogrammed. But when a cage-free character does forge his way into existence, an author can count himself as lucky. And I do mean very lucky… So what is a cage-free character? He or she typically starts off as a minor […]

Top 10 Female Sleuths   Each of the characters in this top ten list features a female sleuth who stars in her own series. This list is in no way comprehensive. I love far too many books to list them all here, but the following heroines have stuck with me for a variety of reasons. […]

THE BOY ON THE TRAIN   I’m about to publish my ninth novel – and all nine have been written on the commuter train between my home in Connecticut and my job in Manhattan.  My commute has been so much a part of my novel writing that my first book, The Cold Truth, is dedicated […]

The Fifteen Toughest Book Titles to Play Charades With.   What sparked my original interest in writing suspense?  Truth is, the suspense novelist Robert Ludlum may be the reason you’re reading this – or any writing from me.  Meaning – when I was in junior high, I read an early novel of his, The Osterman […]

YOU ARE NOT ALONE – and after reading these you won’t want to be…   While writing Sister Dear, and even though I knew Eleanor was a figment of my imagination, she still made me (irrationally) double-check my front door was locked. If, like me, you enjoy books about stalkers that get under your skin, […]

Ten Spy/Heist Reads from Bookstore Owners We all have our favorite subgenres in the mystery/thriller world. For me, it’s spy and heist novels, the more escapist the better. Who doesn’t love the skilled patriot working in the shadows for king and country, the cat burglar challenging a high-tech security system, or the grifter spinning the […]

Three Amazing Classic Thrillers That Need To Be Made Into Films Right Now (plus one underrated amazing spy film that you really need to see)   by Michael Ledwidge   Sometimes you come across a book that is so good you shake your head and wonder to yourself why isn’t this a movie?  Here are […]

A Genre in Itself: The Child in Danger/The Child IS the Danger? Are the Kids Alright?   Parenting is complicated.  You drum up anxiety about nearly every aspect of your child’s life.  You fret over their food intake, hoping they’ll eat something with at least a shred of nutritional content (thank goodness macaroni and cheese […]