The other day I picked up a used book from the bookshelf in the little library at the 55+ community in which I live. The novel is one of the over 100 Bill Crider published during his lifetime. Bill was the head of the English Dept. at Alvin Community College, which is a few miles […]
My new novel, The Underground Murders, was released yesterday, July 1, 2024. Do you write (or read) political novels? Or novels that contain even a bit of a political message? Or novels that address societal concerns? Or novels that are pure entertainment? I chose the subject of my latest novel with the intent of speaking […]
Echo words anyone? (And other hiccups) Every time I reach what I hope is the last version of my manuscript before I publish it, I read it aloud to find anything that I’ve missed that needs correction. The little devil on one shoulder says, “Don’t waste time reading it aloud. It’s fine. It’s a pretty […]
HERE IS MY RAMBLE OF THE MONTH: What is this thing about not looking back? Does anyone really not do that? How do we know where we’re going if we don’t know where we’ve been? I was thinking about that a lot lately because, I guess you could say, I experienced a bad spell where […]
BOOK COVERS–WHAT A NIGHTMARE! When I first started out, back in the dark ages (1980s) before the Internet—heck—before home computers, I was as naïve as a newborn baby. I joined Mystery Writers of America, the chapter that met in Houston, and met some lovely, well-published authors. I didn’t know squat (except what I’d read […]
For over 35 years, I’ve been writing, attending conferences and workshops, and making appearances. Like other authors, I’ve often been asked, “Where do you get your ideas?” (Even this morning at a coffee!) With my background as a probation officer, attorney, politician, and judge (plus having worked s**t jobs over the 9 ½ years it […]
Great to be a new member of the Stiletto Gang, the most talented writers I’ve come across in a group, probably ever. As an introduction, I’ll lay out the highlights of my literary journey below. In 1962, my mother registered me for a writing class that was offered in summer school after the eighth […]