It’s a seductive quicksand, research. One little foray to look up which Peachtree Street intersects I-75, and suddenly I’m immersed in the intricacies of a Krav Maga takedown. Or a sniper rifle that can shoot around corners. Or the Siege of Savannah. But no scholarly side road is as dangerously distracting to me as neuroscience.
Blog at Poisoned Pen Press
Psst! Want a hot deal on a book with bad words in it?
by Sandra Parshall You know those sidewalk peddlers who try to make you believe they’re selling you a real Rolex for twenty bucks? Sometimes I think a writer selling books is the literary equivalent. Sure, you’re offering people something in exchange for their money, and you think it’s something valuable, but you have to persuade [...] Read More →
Money, Part One
Yesterday, I met with my tax preparer, which led me to think about money. In Citizen Kane, a reporter remarks to Bernstein, tycoon Kane’s one-time pal and associate, “He made a lot of money.” Bernstein replies, “Well, it’s no trick to make a lot of money… if what you want to do is make a [...] Read More →
My Favorite Hatchet Woman
We Kansans brag about our fanatics. One of the treasured images is that of Carry Nation, the notorious temperance advocate, who went around smashing saloons. Carry is right next to John Brown for notoriety. Carry was large–almost 6 feet tall, and weighed 175 pounds. She described herself as “a bulldog running along at the feet [...] Read More →
The Electro-Therapeutist
In 1903, if you were suffering from any number of medical conditions, you had the option of visiting an Electro-Therapeutist. There you could enjoy the pricking tingle of a static machine, the buzzing jolt of a faradic device, or the glow of violet rays. Various hand-held electrodes could deliver current to specific external–and internal–parts of [...] Read More →
Spouting Platitudes
I can be cynical and sarcastic. (No, don’t be surprised, you know it’s true.) So I’ve spent plenty of time scoffing at the politically correct, public-friendly, bland marketing words people trot out when they’re asked about their journey or their emotions.
Nothing to say!
It’s my day, and I have nothing to say. Wrack my brains as I might I have no insiteful commentary on the state of the publishing industry, no breathtaking wisdom to share about writing. All I can do is present you with a picture from my recent visit to Turks and Caicos. It’s a fabulous little group [...] Read More →
The writing life
With my second Cincinnati Casebook, Powers of Arrest, completed and coming out in May, this should be a slow time. A time to recharge. Only it’s not. When you’re a professional writer, especially with earnings and opportunities crimped by the abundance of “free” content, it’s never slow.
Operation Babushka by Bill Fitzhugh
OPERATION BABUSHKA or One of My Adventures in the Screen Trade by Bill Fitzhugh I moved to Los Angeles in 1988 to write sitcoms. When that didn’t work out, I turned to writing screenplays. When that didn’t work out, I became a novelist. Following is a story from along the way. One day in the [...] Read More →
How I Broke into the Writing Profession with a Sale to One of America’s Most Popular Magazines
It was 1969 when I decided to become a professional writer instead of an anthropologist.