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Peter James and the Bristol Crimefest

5/24/2016

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From the steps of the Royal Marriott, Bristol, site of the Crimefest
The Bristol Crimefest was a lot of fun. I met some nice people, including an avid reader from Malta. Our team came in second place on the big pub quiz. And I heard lots of fine talks about crime writing.

A lot of the participants were loyal fans who come every year. One couple even comes over from the States! What's common amongst us all: a love of crime fiction. (Who knows where these things come from!)

On Friday I heard panels on Deadly Duos and Dangerous Destinations. On Saturday I heard presentations on British Noir, spies, obsession, and humor.

A special treat was to hear Ian Rankin, who read from his latest book and who explained that his breakout novel came from writing about sad events in his life that he needed to get past. Those events resonated with readers, who could appreciate the problems.

Another real treat was the talk by Peter James. He clearly enjoyed sharing stories about his own writing trajectory. After he was robbed on his honeymoon (how's that for a way to start a marriage?), he became friends with the detective assigned to his case.That gave him grat access to--and respect for-- police officers on any number of levels.

What I appreciated the most about James though was his explanation of his biggest goal: to keep raising the bar with his writing--to keep striving for new levels. To track such progress, I'll have to start reading at the beginning of his Roy Grace series and move all the way through.  When I "grow up," I want to be just like him--fully energized on the way to my next writing challenge.

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Bristol Crimefest Winners

5/21/2016

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My first day at the Bristol Crimefest, I go to the pub quiz. My team takes second place, after beating out 9 other teams! It helps to have Clea Simon on my team. We had to know answers about crime novels--for example, what is Spencer's first name? We had to identify the first lines to several books, including Du Maurier's Rebecca. None of us could come up with the name of Dick Francis' first jockey mystery, however!  (Hint, Spenser never gets a first name. Dead Cert is the Dick Francis title.)
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Being Inspired by Donald Maass

5/17/2016

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With literary agent Donald Maass May 14th, 2016
On Saturday I had the immense pleasure of attending a workshop with the inimitable Donald Maass. He’s run his own literary agency for some twenty-six years, so he’s had plenty of time to analyze what makes writing work and what prevents it from doing so. He shared his best tips with us as we—a roomful of 100 writers, mostly from Sisters in Crime—scribbled notes as fast as we could as we attempted to keep up with him.
 
As he gave more and more suggestions for how to revamp scenes and make our readers care about our characters, many of us were inwardly groaning. “I didn’t say this was going make your manuscript get done faster,” he reminded us. That’s for sure! But if I can keep even a few of his principles in mind, I know I can write stronger material.
 
Here’s the kicker: I actually read his book about the breakout novel about a decade ago. In the fall, I started rereading it. Even though I still agreed with all the advice, I hadn’t internalized it. Hopefully the session in Phoenix will be useful.
 
Even though Don spoke for 7.5 hours, however, he reminded us that there was more. In fact, he runs a week-long workshop. It must be like a secret weapon! I’d better sign up as soon as possible.

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    Big News

    D.R's fifth Andy Veracruz mystery, Brotherly Love, just came out. Gina's new adventure, Carillon Chase, just came out as well. Happy reading!
    ​

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