ONE MAN’S SHORT, SKETCHY CAREER AS A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR IN TRAINING by Tom Turner I thought Contop Investigations was kind of an odd name for a private investigation firm when I went there for an interview thirty years ago. Turned out the head of the West Palm Beach P.I. firm had a romanticized idea of … Read more
Starting a new novel can either be an exhilarating prospect or a daunting one. No matter how many books you’ve written, this reaction still holds true. If you’re a pantser regarding plot, you might begin with a concept, a character, or a setting. You wing it from there with a general idea of where you … Read more
Your Character’s Secret Dreams Character development in fiction writing always mentions goals. These can be long term or short term and are usually practical in nature. But what about your protagonist’s youthful dreams? An article in a news magazine got me started on this topic. It randomly interviewed a bunch of women about their dreams … Read more
On Saturday, we heard bestselling author Joanna Campbell Slan give a talk at the monthly meeting of Florida MWA. Joanna gave pointers on how to be a good speaker but the best example was her own talk that kept us fascinated for an entire hour. I hope I can utilize her tips during my forthcoming … Read more
How to Write Short Fiction—and Why Your Readers Think You Should! Joanna Campbell Slan More and more authors are discovering the power of short fiction to market and promote their work. I’m certainly one of them. Several years ago, I promised my readers that I would write a short story a month in the run-up … Read more
Back in 2000, when I wrote Hair Raiser, I was interviewed about the story. I’m repeating it here so you can see some of the thoughts I had at the time. First tell us anything you want us to know about Hair Raiser. Here’s the story blurb: When hairstylist Marla Shore volunteers for a fund-raiser … Read more
HAIR RAISER A Bad Hair Day Mystery by Nancy J. Cohen Hairstylist Marla Shore volunteers for Taste of the World, a fund-raiser sponsored by Ocean Guard. It’s a decision she soon regrets. First Chef Pierre’s rum-soaked Bananas Foster goes up in flames, making her wonder if sabotage caused the incident. Her suspicions deepen as more … Read more
Somewhere in the middle of my current WIP, I froze with hesitation. It seemed as though I could finish the book within the next fifty pages, and I had one hundred pages to go. Where would I find enough material? I staved off a full-blown panic attack by realizing this same fear struck me with … Read more
News From SleuthFest 2015 February 26 – March 1, 2015, Deerfield Beach, FL James Patterson, Dave Barry, James W. Hall, & Ric Gillespie www.sleuthfest.com Lab & Lock Up Tour Special Pre-Conference Event Wednesday February 25, 2015 Palm Beach County Detention Center & Crime Lab Full tour and transportation $45 Sign up Now! Limit 25 People … Read more
Your experiences and travels provide fodder for future works and should be recorded. When I wrote travel journals years ago, little did I realize that I’d be mining those notes decades later for my Drift Lords series. I’d been to Hong Kong in 1978. Yet today, many of the sights, sounds, and sensory impressions remain … Read more