The second year of my master’s program started a few weeks ago, and I’m buried in Global History until mid-December. Exciting stuff on the Cold War that my fellow history nerds might be interested in. Hit me up if you'd like some recommended nonfiction reads! We just got pics from our Colorado family that the leaves… Continue reading BIG NEWS & CHANGING SEASONS!
Ironic situations are one of the most gripping parts of any detective story. One of these occurred in real life in December 1926, when popular mystery writer, Agatha Christie, disappeared under suspicious circumstances. The author wrote a note stating that she was going on vacation and drove away from her home in Berkshire, England. Shortly… Continue reading Agatha Christie – An Author’s Mysterious Disappearance
One of the most popular sub-genres of detective fiction, the locked room mystery, takes place in a situation where it would seem to be impossible for somebody to commit the crime. The most popular example being a dead body found in a room, locked from the inside. Several possibilities about how the victim was killed… Continue reading The Locked Room Mystery – Committing the Impossible Crime
Cynical detectives, overwhelming emotions and a corrupt legal system are the foundations of most of the novels written in the hardboiled genre. The longer you boil an egg the harder it will become and, as the name of the genre suggests, this was the nature of the detectives. As a result of the tough world… Continue reading Philip Marlowe – Typical Hardboiled Detective
The detective must always be memorable. Whether he (or she) is funny, misguided, inept or super intelligent, these traits have to endear the detective to the audience. Fictional detectives are expected to be slightly out of the ordinary. They must have some small habit, mannerism, eccentricity, interest or talent – something that sets them apart… Continue reading 12 Rules for writing a Detective Novel
Edgar Allan Poe is a name that most heard at school due to his classic literature fiction. His books are famous all around the world and is well known for his detective short stories. One of the characters Poe wrote about was C. Auguste Dupin; a gentleman living in Paris and by profession a detective… Continue reading C. Auguste Dupin
The hardboiled sub-genre emerged during the Golden Age of detective fiction, the 1920s. Authors such as Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain and Dashiell Hammett can be called its founding fathers, as they were almost exclusively responsible for the increase in the sub-genre’s popularity. The private investigators in these stories, were normally highly intuitive and not… Continue reading Classic American Private Investigators
I’ve long enjoyed reading novels written in first-person, especially the noir tales of complex, atypical moral codes. Telling readers your story from the main character’s perspective, from inside their head, is an immensely powerful weapon that draws the audience in for the long haul. I may toy with writing the first-person point of view someday,… Continue reading The Power of First Person
“I’m old enough to know what I like, and that isn’t gonna be it.” I’ve devoted much of my writing time this fall into a few other endeavors, one of which recently forced a re-introduction to a classic novel I haven’t read in decades. Even then, I only read it because a high school teacher… Continue reading What I like
I'm delighted to tell you all that The Absolver Prequel is now available to download. If you already subscribe to my mailing list you'll get a copy sent out to you today FREE OF CHARGE. The only difference between revenge and justice is the number of lives at stake. Michael Thomas is neck-deep in personal… Continue reading The Absolver Prequel – OUT NOW
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