Trying to write an original serial killer story is a nightmare. Thomas Harris’s novels of the eighties are a touchstone for this thriller sub-genre, and hundreds of authors have attempted to replicate his gothic formula of gruesome murders by deviant, trophy-hunting,...
When I’m looking for writing inspiration, first and foremost I’ll turn to my bookshelf. But second? I’ll turn to my television. Movies and prose fiction are close relatives, in my opinion, and there’s much that writers can learn from their silver-screen counterparts....
When my British mother slipped on an apron, four active, hungry children knew food was on the way. And her shout to don our hand-stitched “pinnies,” was as clear a call to dinner as any bell. As I write this, I realize something obvious but never questioned. My...
When I was a little girl, I used to watch "The Perry Mason Show" with my stepfather, and I was not allowed to say a word until the commercials. My stepdad was a lawyer, and apparently wanted to hear every word. Even though I didn’t understand much of it, I fell in...
Let’s go with the old journalism five Ws. What: You know them, collective nouns, also known as terms of venery, are those singular words we use to label groups of things, like a pride of lions, a school of fish or a quiver of arrows. When they are familiar we scarcely...
1) The John the Lord Chamberlain series, of which this is the 12th installment, was the very first novel published by Poisoned Pen Press back in 1999... How did you and Eric manage to connect with the Press, since they had virtually no track record back then? It's an...
