FALLING IN LOVE AND A FEW OTHER THINGS by Melodie Johnson Howe Nothing compares to the rush of falling in love. I mean that rapturous, passionate, nothing-exists-outside-this-love-you-feel kind of love. It is all consuming, filtering out all the flaws, and the niggling doubts that maybe something isn’t quite right. It makes the lover impervious to […]

HEARING VOICES by James Lincoln Warren Any scribe worthy of a paycheck works hard to make sure that his characters all speak differently from each other. Having everybody use exactly the same diction is boring and unrealistic. Where it becomes hardest to consistently keep a character’s voice unique isn’t in dialogue, though, it’s in a […]

NOT-SO-COLD OLD CASES by Leigh Lundin Before I wrote mysteries, my interest focused on the puzzle, figuring out the whodunit or howdunit. Classics where the puzzle reigns paramount are still my favorites. As I turned from reading to writing and my drive for verism and verisimilitude, I grew interested in true crime, which I once […]

PROLONGING THE AGONY by John M. Floyd Several weeks ago, during a TV appearance to promote my new collection of mystery short stories, I was asked a question I hadn’t heard before. The interviewer said, out of the blue, “Why do you think so many people like to read crime fiction?” Say what? After my […]

TOUGH GUY, HUH? by Steven Steinbock All this week, and until next weekend, I’m hosting a forum on hard-boiled heroes at AudioBook Community. I hope you’ll stop by if you haven’t already. The landing page features interviews with tough-guy narrators Stacy Keach and Richard Ferrone, as well as my own interview with “Jack Reacher” and […]

THANK A SOLDIER by Deborah Elliott-Upton Today is Veterans’ Day. I can’t think of a better time to pay tribute to those who give their all to keep our country from harm’s way. While you’re reading this article, someone is dying for our freedom to write anything we want about the United States of America. […]

CHEERING THE VILLAIN by Rob Lopresti Melodie’s recent column about the bad guys got me thinking about my favorite villains. Let’s start out by eliminating a couple of obvious candidates. Professor Moriarty has had a very interesting (after) life since he went over the Reichenbach Falls but let’s face it, he only appeared in one […]