Monthly Archives: June 2008

I was at a dead-end in my genealogy research. I knew my great-grandmother’s name, date of birth, and when she married my great-grandfather, but nothing else. Her name was so generic (the local equivalent of Jones) it was difficult to … Continue reading →

When I’m done reading a book I intend to review, I leave it on the coffee table. It’s a way of nagging myself. Sometimes the stack starts to get out of hand, as it did recently, so I devoted my … Continue reading →

I posted my review of Ken Bruen’s Cross last night. A decent book, though relentlessly bleak and hard to orient to because he doesn’t recap what’s gone before. I’m halfway through The Blue Hammer by Ross MacDonald. An intricate book … Continue reading →

I picked up The Blue Hammer by Ross MacDonald last night in its new Vantage trade paperback incarnation. Every time I read him, I want to sit right down and write noir. Nothing but noir. I can’t hold a candle … Continue reading →

I finished the new Michael Connelly novel last night. It had some decent surprises in the finale. There’s one thing to keep in mind when reading this book: Everyone lies. Connelly’s Haller repeats this over and over, and still he … Continue reading →

I wrote my first Cemetery Dance column in over a year this weekend. This one is for issue #60. My column for #59 was written after I returned from visiting the set of The Mist. The online version helps address … Continue reading →

Editors like to gang up on me. It’s a conspiracy. They send e-mails back and forth to establish the timing. And then…whammo. Four rejections in four days. The response times range from three weeks to eight months, so the colluders … Continue reading →

In fact, I know I am — because I bumped up against the words “THE END” at the bottom of the manuscript. This is with respect to the new short story I’ve been working on lately. I still have a … Continue reading →

The next episode of Doctor Who is “Midnight.” It is an interesting study in contrasts as it begins in a very leisurely style, lulling the viewer into a false sense of complacency (perhaps a little too much lulling) and then … Continue reading →

My new Storytellers Unplugged essay is up: The Suspense is Killing Me. I had last week’s episode of Fear Itself on my DVR. I skimmed the comments I encountered about it online, and gleaned the general negativity toward it, but … Continue reading →