Diane Plumley I stumbled upon this, and felt I should share. A couple of the writers written about in the article we’ve pointed to before–the others are news to me. Have fun reading about snarky authors! http://flavorwire.com/283530/the-10-grumpiest-living-writers?all=1
Right off the bat, I need to tell you that there is a spoiler alert on this article. I will not be holding any thing back when I discuss this harrowing read by Stephen Dobyns. I almost never divulge important plot points or the ending–but the subject of the book, it’s theme, deserves some delving … Read more
Or so I believe. At least as far as crime fiction is concerned. It seems as though you can’t swing a dead body at a fan convention without hitting at least a dozen wannabe writers. It’s become so overwhelming, that conventions such as Malice Domestic and Bouchercon, the two premier conferences, seem to consist of … Read more
My mother was confused when I referred to the bathroom as the loo. When I explained it was the British equivalent of toilet, or bathroom, she mused with puzzlement, “But the House Hunters show when in England calls it a water closet.” I then had to explain that there is a difference between the loo, … Read more
Who can afford to collect photoplays these days? I checked out a link that ABE sent me. It has a super page full of gorgeous dust jacketed books representing early cinema. Most novels made into films at the time were called photoplays, and published by Grosset and Dunlap, a company known for producing reprints of … Read more
One of the amazing incidents I encountered when a bookseller for a major mystery store in Manhattan, was introducing one author to another and watching their interaction. Sometimes authors arrived at their current profession via other routes, ones where they may have gained success and fame, and now are trying their hand at writing. As … Read more
Thank you so much for protecting us from Apple’s attempts to monopolize the e-book industry. Sure, they set e-book prices and colluded with publishers to do so. And, maybe from the short term view of the consumer and U. S. government, that is a very bad thing. As if monopolies are non existent except for … Read more
“The late, great Charlotte Armstrong once found herself at a party, and she met a woman who asked what she did. Charlotte replied, “I’m a novelist.” “What do you write?” asked the woman. Charlotte responded, “Mysteries.” The woman replied, “Oh, I don’t even have the time to read good books.” Good books. Whatever they are. Why are … Read more
