What, there’s seven of these tropes? Just kidding. There are literally hundreds of tropes just for thrillers. It’s difficult to imagine the field of thrillers and crime fiction today without the fictional psychologists and psychiatrists who have played unforgettable roles in bringing some of literature’s most chilling villains to justice — especially after Thomas Harris’s […]
Hard or soft-boiled? What’s your preference? I’d say my detectives are only soft-boiled. They’re much too optimistic for the classic Sam Spade archetype. The soft-boiled mystery is real, relevant, and required. I hereby proclaim this as fact on behalf of all the vibrant females over 50 like me, who want to read books starring lead […]
I’ve been getting back into writing this month, and one of the things I’ve been struggling with is getting the proper book cover for the targeted readers. I’ve got a few ideas of my own, but this kind of research is quite helpful in figuring out what’s in these days. If you’re looking for escapism, […]
I always like to see how book covers evolve, especially since I like designing them. Nice to be on top of trends when reading new books. Also, I usually use an e-reader, so the colours don’t pop like they do on print versions. Notice the tones…black, or off-black, or angry red but not bright red. […]
Similar to the previous post, here are some interview questions you can pre-answer, since many radio and TV interviewers pull directly from the Proust Questionnaire. I’ve been trying for days to remember the name of this set of questions. So I’m posting it here for you fine folks. To get to know my characters better, […]
If you’re self-publishing, you’re going to need to figure out how you’re going to market your own books. If money’s no problem, hire someone to do marketing for you. However, you’ll likely have to do your own marketing, even if you have outside help doing it. One thing which you can do to get an […]
Thanks to BookBub for this handy little guide for pre-launch book promotion. There are some great insights, including why and how to get a blurb from another known author: Secure blurbs from comparable authors. Author blurbs can catch readers’ attention, especially if they’re familiar with the author providing the blurb. Our tests showed that book […]
The blank-best-blanks-to-blank-before-you-blank lists are a little silly, a little subjective, and maybe a little overdone. However, I like posting about books these days, so have at it. I’ll admit, I’ve got some reading to do. I’ve maybe read 16 of these novels, and only remember some of those, since many were read in school. That […]
You can tell a person’s age by how much the quiet threat of a nuclear war impacted their childhood. I remember so many movies, books, and television references from the early-to-mid 80s, including “The Day After,” the traumatizing made-for-TV movie which heavily influenced nuclear disarmament by showing the average American the horror of a nuclear […]
This is an interesting article for those who are looking to punch up their manuscripts, or are looking for something new to write that’s in the cultural zeitgeist. We mock tropes for being hackneyed, but if that’s what people want, you may as well find the most appropriate trope for your reader base. Whether you’re […]
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