Posts

Taking Criticism

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E-book available on Amazon. Print soon Writers have to learn to accept criticism. It starts with your editor, who takes out some of your favorite passages because they don't advance the plot. "But it's a commentary on society!" you whine. "You're not a philosopher. You're a mystery writer," is the reply. Then you get the beta reader who wants the story to end differently. "Why didn't she hook up with the sheriff?" "I preferred to suggest that she might and let the reader imagine it. I didn't want to start another whole thread in the last few pages." (Pouty face) "I think you should say it." Later come the readers, who go on Amazon and say things like, "The author speaks of a 'dollar' but there were no dollars in Tudor England." Actually, the word was slang for a coin called a crown in the 1500s. But don't let my months of research top your assumption you know what you're talkin

All Kinds of Mysteries

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http://www.amazon.com/Macdeath-Ivy-Meadows-Mys…/…/B00OQJG9NI I love reading, and I especially love mysteries. That doesn't mean all of them, of course. I don't like the ones that are too silly. I can't stand the amateur who should stay out of the way and let the police investigate. I don't like the best friend who gets the protagonist into trouble with her antics. I want some sense of reality in the world an author creates. That's why I like MACDEATH. The main character is real, funny but not silly. http://www.amazon.com/PLAN-Rory-Tate-Thrillers…/…/B00D68H8PI I also shy away from thrillers that have over-the-top heroes (unless they have a sense of humor). I don't want anyone tortured, even the bad guys. I don't care to read three full pages of gun description. That's why I like PLAN X. The hero has things to deal with. The action moves quickly. Nobody gets waterboarded. http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Days-Evil-N-West-eb…/…/B007P