Kristen Elise's Blog - Posts Tagged "mystery"
CSI and Caducei
Today I'm over at Tim Desmond's blog conducting an interview entitled "CSI and Caducei". Stop by and say hello!
http://timdesmondblog.wordpress.com/2...
http://timdesmondblog.wordpress.com/2...
Inferno, by Dan Brown - A Review
SPOILER ALERT! This reaction is full of them - so if you don't like spoilers, please don't read.
I loved Angels and Demons. Immensely. The idea of a modern-day thriller incorporating credible science and history - which just happened to take place in some of the coolest spots in the world - was the inspiration for a story that would eventually turn into The Vesuvius Isotope. I think my love of Angels and Demons was intensified by the fact that I happened to read it during the real papal conclave, and just before I was heading to Italy for the first time. What a blast.
Then I read The Da Vinci Code. I thought The Da Vinci Code was also pretty cool except for the fact that the story at its core was largely a repeat of Angels and Demons.
Then I thought Dan Brown completely jumped the shark with The Lost Symbol. Yet another repeat, only without the good parts. Whaaaaa?
So I was trepidatious about Brown's latest thriller, Inferno.
More at http://www.murderlab.com/2013/07/infe...
I loved Angels and Demons. Immensely. The idea of a modern-day thriller incorporating credible science and history - which just happened to take place in some of the coolest spots in the world - was the inspiration for a story that would eventually turn into The Vesuvius Isotope. I think my love of Angels and Demons was intensified by the fact that I happened to read it during the real papal conclave, and just before I was heading to Italy for the first time. What a blast.
Then I read The Da Vinci Code. I thought The Da Vinci Code was also pretty cool except for the fact that the story at its core was largely a repeat of Angels and Demons.
Then I thought Dan Brown completely jumped the shark with The Lost Symbol. Yet another repeat, only without the good parts. Whaaaaa?
So I was trepidatious about Brown's latest thriller, Inferno.
More at http://www.murderlab.com/2013/07/infe...
A Very, Very Bad Week
A Very, Very Bad Week
I am having a very, very bad week. Five days ago, I found out that my husband was probably cheating on me. The day before yesterday, I found him murdered. And today, I have just learned that he was also a drug addict.
I am biologist Katrina Stone, and my husband was Jeffrey Wilson – yes, the Jeffrey Wilson. Jeffrey Wilson the world-renowned, Nobel laureate chemist. I know what you’re thinking, but I did not kill him. I only hid his body.
It all started five days ago. I was clearing the dishes from the kitchen table when our home phone rang. It was Jeff’s best friend, our family physician, wondering why Jeff had skipped out on a scientific conference the previous week. I found our physician friend’s question interesting, because Jeff had, in fact, been gone from our home for the entire four days during which the conference took place. Which, of course, begged the questions: Where was he and what was he doing during that time? When I confronted Jeff, he would not tell me.
Three days later – the day before yesterday – I found him dead. In our home. Shot. With my gun. Leaving me millions of dollars and even more questions. And that was when I knew I had to hide his body.
More at http://www.jamesrcallan.com/blog/2013...
I am having a very, very bad week. Five days ago, I found out that my husband was probably cheating on me. The day before yesterday, I found him murdered. And today, I have just learned that he was also a drug addict.
I am biologist Katrina Stone, and my husband was Jeffrey Wilson – yes, the Jeffrey Wilson. Jeffrey Wilson the world-renowned, Nobel laureate chemist. I know what you’re thinking, but I did not kill him. I only hid his body.
It all started five days ago. I was clearing the dishes from the kitchen table when our home phone rang. It was Jeff’s best friend, our family physician, wondering why Jeff had skipped out on a scientific conference the previous week. I found our physician friend’s question interesting, because Jeff had, in fact, been gone from our home for the entire four days during which the conference took place. Which, of course, begged the questions: Where was he and what was he doing during that time? When I confronted Jeff, he would not tell me.
Three days later – the day before yesterday – I found him dead. In our home. Shot. With my gun. Leaving me millions of dollars and even more questions. And that was when I knew I had to hide his body.
More at http://www.jamesrcallan.com/blog/2013...
Writing Like a Man
“How do you write women so well?”
“I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.”
Jack Nicholson’s line from As Good As It Gets was met with laughter by men and cringing by women (as we concealed our inner laughter from the men in our lives so as to not publicly condone the statement.) Of course, Nicholson’s character was a romance writer. Had he been a mystery writer, the line might have gone something like this:
“I think of a man, and I take away action and add sap.”
I have been accused of “writing like a man,” a comment I took as a major compliment. Now, before readers and writers of both genders take equal offense and burn me at the stake, please allow me to explain: it’s a fact that author gender matters to some readers. Specifically, it matters more to men.
Attached are a few statistics from Bowker’s publication of “The Mystery Consumer in the Digital Age.” The stats I have are from 2010, but let’s face it, ladies, we haven’t advanced that much in the last three years.
More at http://novelspaces.blogspot.com/2013/...
“I think of a man, and I take away reason and accountability.”
Jack Nicholson’s line from As Good As It Gets was met with laughter by men and cringing by women (as we concealed our inner laughter from the men in our lives so as to not publicly condone the statement.) Of course, Nicholson’s character was a romance writer. Had he been a mystery writer, the line might have gone something like this:
“I think of a man, and I take away action and add sap.”
I have been accused of “writing like a man,” a comment I took as a major compliment. Now, before readers and writers of both genders take equal offense and burn me at the stake, please allow me to explain: it’s a fact that author gender matters to some readers. Specifically, it matters more to men.
Attached are a few statistics from Bowker’s publication of “The Mystery Consumer in the Digital Age.” The stats I have are from 2010, but let’s face it, ladies, we haven’t advanced that much in the last three years.
More at http://novelspaces.blogspot.com/2013/...
Interview with Theresa Valera
Today I'm interviewing with Theresa Valera on Latina Libations. Check it out! http://ning.it/189u8fL
Interview with Maria Ruiz
Today I'm on Maria Ruiz' author blog, discussing all things books and writing! Stop by and say hello! http://ning.it/1aCeWfo
Interview with Joyce Brown
Today I'm interviewing on Joyce Brown's Cozy Mystery site - check it out! http://ning.it/18eUyNb
Kill Google First: Keeping the Internet Out of Your Story
My protagonist was racing through Egypt faster than I could type, her quest to find her husband’s killer preceding my own quest to put her latest predicament on paper before I could forget what I had in mind. The clock was ticking. Katrina had every reason to suspect that someone was hot on her trail, and that the best-case scenario was that it was Middle Eastern law enforcement. I was in the zone.
Then my editor read the section and totally deflated my ego. “Why doesn’t she just Google herself?” she asked.
D'OH!
The Internet age has created new hurdles for the author of mysteries and thrillers. What is left to investigate, when everything you need to know is right at your fingertips? Instead of action-packed, unpredictable adventures, our heroes have smart phones. Which can make for the most un-thrilling thriller ever written.
Here I offer a collection of ideas for neutralizing the digital age, or even using it to up the stakes in your story:
More at http://deniseweeks.blogspot.com/2013/...
Then my editor read the section and totally deflated my ego. “Why doesn’t she just Google herself?” she asked.
D'OH!
The Internet age has created new hurdles for the author of mysteries and thrillers. What is left to investigate, when everything you need to know is right at your fingertips? Instead of action-packed, unpredictable adventures, our heroes have smart phones. Which can make for the most un-thrilling thriller ever written.
Here I offer a collection of ideas for neutralizing the digital age, or even using it to up the stakes in your story:
More at http://deniseweeks.blogspot.com/2013/...
See Naples and Die - an Excerpt from The Vesuvius Isotope
There was a horn and a screeching of brakes. I felt the rush of wind upon my face as a metal blur obscured my vision. I leapt back and turned my head just as a speeding car rocketed away, its driver apparently oblivious. I wondered if I had accidentally stepped into the street, but a quick look down confirmed that I was still standing on the sidewalk. And then I was almost run over again.
This time, an entire family on a moped sped by within inches of my face. A man jerked the handlebars left and right as if boxing. Behind him sat a girl of three or four, not bothering to clutch his waist. A woman straddling the rear of the bike squeezed the girl into place while curling a bag of groceries in one arm and an infant in the other like two footballs.
They scooted deftly over the sidewalk to avoid a slow-moving car, not seeming to mind that they had almost collided with a pedestrian instead. The little girl smiled at me as they passed, perfectly comfortable in her element and apparently unaware that this mode of travel could be dangerous or considered the least bit odd by anyone...
More at... http://rabbiauthor.com/2013/07/19/wel...
This time, an entire family on a moped sped by within inches of my face. A man jerked the handlebars left and right as if boxing. Behind him sat a girl of three or four, not bothering to clutch his waist. A woman straddling the rear of the bike squeezed the girl into place while curling a bag of groceries in one arm and an infant in the other like two footballs.
They scooted deftly over the sidewalk to avoid a slow-moving car, not seeming to mind that they had almost collided with a pedestrian instead. The little girl smiled at me as they passed, perfectly comfortable in her element and apparently unaware that this mode of travel could be dangerous or considered the least bit odd by anyone...
More at... http://rabbiauthor.com/2013/07/19/wel...
The Buried Books of Herculaneum: Part 7
King Big-Nose was placed back on the throne for a third time, at which time he traded some of the scrolls to Britain’s King George IV in exchange for a giraffe. The English again tried a chemical softening process to unwind them. Again, the scrolls were ruined. No more had been unearthed...
Part 6 of this series continues the story of the excavations of Herculaneum, as we seek to unravel the answer to the Novel Travelist mystery: Why was the Villa dei Papyri never fully excavated?
Here we continue this story.
More at http://www.noveltravelist.blogspot.co...
Part 6 of this series continues the story of the excavations of Herculaneum, as we seek to unravel the answer to the Novel Travelist mystery: Why was the Villa dei Papyri never fully excavated?
Here we continue this story.
More at http://www.noveltravelist.blogspot.co...
