In Murderous Company
I spend a lot of time thinking about murder. Who should die? Why this person and why now? How to commit a gruesome crime and get away with it?
I’m not alone, of course. There are scores of perfectly ordinary people who do the same thing. We’re called mystery writers. The people who share our lives become accustomed to our delight in newspaper articles about bizarre murders, gruesome accidents, and strange events. We join groups like the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. We attend conventions where we learn about the poisons in our back yard, crime scene investigations, and the difference between a .375 magnum and a Glock 9.
And we write. True crime, police procedurals, thrillers, traditional mysteries, and variations on each type. We enter contests for the challenge and discipline of making a deadline, and to hear what the judges loved and hated about our work. We join critique groups to have the comments of peers who understand what we’re trying to achieve.
And we blog. Boy, do we blog. Singly and in groups. Published, soon-to-be published and still-looking-for-an-agent authors grab for a bit of the blogosphere. We write about what it’s like, we share the highs and lows. What I find delightful is the range of tone and attitude in these blogs. Some try to be helpful, others go for humor, and some few are blatant promotion. Of course we’re all promoting ourselves and our work; I simply prefer a lighter hand.
I’ll do individual blogs another day, but here are my picks among the current crop of mystery writer group blogs:
Murderati – Mysteries, Murder and Marketing: http://www.murderati.typepad.com/
The Good Girls Kill For Money Club: http://www.good-girls-kill.com/
Naked Authors – The naked truth about literature and life: http://www.nakedauthors.com/
The Lipstick Chronicles – Where the Book Tarts talk love, laughter, laundry and the mysteries of the writing life: http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com/
The Outfit – A Collective of Chicago Crime Writers (brand new this week with some heavy hitters): http://www.theoutfitcollective.com/
The Little Blog of Murder – Confessions of Five Ohio Mystery Authors:
http://www.thelittleblogofmurder.com/
The Lady Killers – Five female writers of mystery fiction share their wit and wisdom, writing tips and travel experiences: http://www.theladykillers.typepad.com/
Let’s see how many of them still rate a “Favorite Blogs” bookmark six months from now, shall we?
I’m not alone, of course. There are scores of perfectly ordinary people who do the same thing. We’re called mystery writers. The people who share our lives become accustomed to our delight in newspaper articles about bizarre murders, gruesome accidents, and strange events. We join groups like the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. We attend conventions where we learn about the poisons in our back yard, crime scene investigations, and the difference between a .375 magnum and a Glock 9.
And we write. True crime, police procedurals, thrillers, traditional mysteries, and variations on each type. We enter contests for the challenge and discipline of making a deadline, and to hear what the judges loved and hated about our work. We join critique groups to have the comments of peers who understand what we’re trying to achieve.
And we blog. Boy, do we blog. Singly and in groups. Published, soon-to-be published and still-looking-for-an-agent authors grab for a bit of the blogosphere. We write about what it’s like, we share the highs and lows. What I find delightful is the range of tone and attitude in these blogs. Some try to be helpful, others go for humor, and some few are blatant promotion. Of course we’re all promoting ourselves and our work; I simply prefer a lighter hand.
I’ll do individual blogs another day, but here are my picks among the current crop of mystery writer group blogs:
Murderati – Mysteries, Murder and Marketing: http://www.murderati.typepad.com/
The Good Girls Kill For Money Club: http://www.good-girls-kill.com/
Naked Authors – The naked truth about literature and life: http://www.nakedauthors.com/
The Lipstick Chronicles – Where the Book Tarts talk love, laughter, laundry and the mysteries of the writing life: http://thelipstickchronicles.typepad.com/
The Outfit – A Collective of Chicago Crime Writers (brand new this week with some heavy hitters): http://www.theoutfitcollective.com/
The Little Blog of Murder – Confessions of Five Ohio Mystery Authors:
http://www.thelittleblogofmurder.com/
The Lady Killers – Five female writers of mystery fiction share their wit and wisdom, writing tips and travel experiences: http://www.theladykillers.typepad.com/
Let’s see how many of them still rate a “Favorite Blogs” bookmark six months from now, shall we?
posted by Peg Silloway at
5:30 PM
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1 Comments:
Shara,
Thanks for the thought, but you put a comment about jewelry on an article about mystery writers - which is a bit mysterious. And the link you gave brings up commercial jewelry, not hand crafted, which is what a later article was about. I'm certainly confused but glad to know you are reading.
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Peg Silloway, at 3:01 PM
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