Peg Herring, Mystery Author

Now available in print, e-book, and audio                                                                                                                                                                             Killing Silence on Amazon There's been a lot of discussion on mystery readers' sites lately about books like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. Some pan them because the protagonists aren't very likeable; others claim they brilliantly reflect the realities of life. The fact that The Gold Finch won literature's highest reward indicates that reflecting reality is a big deal for the important voices in publishing and reading. I read The Girl on the Train last week, and I have to say it was well done. I was drawn into the woman's blurry world, and I guess I understand better now what it's like to be an alcoholic, promising yourself you'll do better tomorrow while you pour yourself another drink today. I never read Gone Girl , having heard th

There are things we hear discussed among readers today, and one of them is electronic versus print books for reading. People say things like, "I want a book in my hand," or "E-books are so much more convenient." I'm okay with both. I like reading on my iPad when I travel, my Kindle at bedtime, and a "real" book anytime, anywhere. The other question is "Do you listen to books?" To that one I have to say no, or at least, not yet. I'm a fast reader, and I doubt I'd be happy with the slow pace of someone reading to me. I'm also a wool-gatherer, so I'd probably zone out when something interesting caught my eye. So I haven't done the audio thing yet. However-- I have to listen to my own books in order to okay them for release on Audible.com, Amazon's audio book company. It's been an enjoyable experience, and it gave me a different perspective on the book, the story, and the protagonist. Most recent was the firs

Being a student of history, I find myself wondering about what advice was like back in the day. We live in a world where everyone wants to tell us how to eat so we can live to be 100, what to wear so we appear cool and confident, and how to survive the next attack, the next storm, or the next epidemic. Advice from our parents' day now seems quaint and often wrong. The ads that told us real men smoke Marlboros. The Singer instruction manual that advised women to put on a clean dress and makeup and style their hair so they'd be "prepared" for sewing. The general view that a woman should not work once she became pregnant and should stay in bed for two weeks after the birth. Really? So I wonder, did the Tudors get advice from their doctors about how to live to be forty? Of course they did; people have always hoped some "wise" someone could tell them how to achieve good health and avoid early death. The "frog stones" in the title were ground up a

There was an article in the Sunday paper yesterday about a young man who'd chose self-publishing. He had a cute idea for a children's book, and after being rejected by traditional publishers, he went to work and got it together himself. And ordered 1000 copies of the book. I wish I'd met him before that point in his brand-new career. Here's my understanding of the scam some "helpful" publishers use to make money off earnest, unknowing writers: They "help" you publish your book, charging you every step of the way. They encourage you to buy a bunch of copies because "When this thing takes off, you're going to want them on hand!" They often charge the author full or nearly full price per book, so he gets no profit unless he jacks up the price, making dutiful friends and relatives shell out more than they should for a book in order to be supportive. Bookstores don't want them, because people don't want to pay big bucks for a b

Mother Nature has never been good with moderation. Snow is beautiful. It's invigorating. It's the ultimate in manipulative playthings. But a little goes a long way. The same can be said for Mom N.'s other specialties: sun, wind, and rain. It could be a lesson for Humankind: moderation is good most of the time, but every once in a while, you have to ramp things up in order to get everyone's attention.

I heard a theory long ago about circles. The idea is that we each have around us imaginary circles that contain people we allow in and therefore care about. Your family is probably your innermost circle, at least some of them. Friends come in over our lifetimes; some leave, some stay. Some make it to that innermost circle; many remain in the second or third one out. The people in your circles are the ones you would defend, the ones you care about. The closer they are to your inner circle, the more you would do for them. That's great. The problem with circles is that while there's an inside, there's also an outside. Those outside your circles are less important. Their lives matter less. For example, if your child were on your left side, about to be run over by a bus, and if a child you've never seen before were on your right in the same danger, which one would you save? Nature doesn't tell us which life is more important. Only the circles you've drawn for y

I'm a member of EPIC, the Electronically Published  Internet Coalition. I've only been  to this conference once, but it was productive,  and I love San Antonio. They're a great group, so I told them I'd help with publicity. (TA-DA!)   Please join us in the lovely city of San Antonio,  Texas for EPICon 2015 *EPICon- Bringing ePublishing Partners Together* March 13-14th, 2015 The Menger Hotel, San Antonio, TX Sponsored by the Electronic Publishing Industry Coalition REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! Enjoy two days of all things ePublishing. With workshops  for any author or publishing professional, this short period will be packed  with information, news, and most importantly: education. Authors, old and new,  will have the opportunity to learn about small press ePublishing and network with publishers, editors, and experienced published authors. For 2015, we have a full schedule of educational and informative workshops for authors and publishers, with gu