Is it just me or is there a plethora of fabulous movies this holiday season? Not just over the Christmas break, but the entire Fall schedule has been pretty good. I saw the latest Bond adventure, SKYFALL, over Thanksgiving break and it was terrific — I really like Daniel Craig in the Bond role after a couple less stellar actors. I took my 16 year old daughter and 11 year old son to SKYFALL, neither of whom had seen a Bond movie before, and they both enjoyed it. Score! I also took the family to see WRECK-IT RALPH (very cute)… Read More

I’m preparing for my RWA workshop: Thrills & Chills. Writing Romantic Suspense and Thrillers. Normally, I don’t do a lot of preparation for workshops because I only give a few of them, and I’ve given them multiple times so I can practically do it in my sleep. However, T&C is new. I presented it at the Arizona Dreams RWA conference and realized I had far too much information to share in a one hour time slot. So I’m focusing on the one thing that truly separates suspense from all other genres: stakes. There are three things that work in tandem… Read More

I’m preparing for my RWA workshop: Thrills & Chills. Writing Romantic Suspense and Thrillers. Normally, I don’t do a lot of preparation for workshops because I only give a few of them, and I’ve given them multiple times so I can practically do it in my sleep. However, T&C is new. I presented it at the Arizona Dreams RWA conference and realized I had far too much information to share in a one hour time slot. So I’m focusing on the one thing that truly separates suspense from all other genres: stakes. There are three things that work in tandem… Read More

As I think many of us agree, film and television often screw up our favorite books. Often, this is because they mess with the characters. The characters we’ve grown to admire develop different traits or, worse, act out of character! The first Kathy Reichs book I read was her debut novel, DEJA DEAD, and I’ve been a fan ever since. So when the television show BONES came on, I had no desire to watch it. I was certain they were going to ruin the books. Everyone told me I should watch the show. Maybe because everyone said I should watch… Read More

Vince Lombardi said, “Perfection is not attainable. But if you chase perfection, you can catch excellence.” JUSTIFIED is back. I’m in heaven. It’s not just because I’m watching Timothy Olyphant. Though, he is nice on the eyes. Talented actors; brilliant writing; pitch-perfect pacing. Justified is about excellence. I don’t say that lightly. In fact, I’m such a big fan-girl, that a year ago—after the Season Two premiere—I blogged about this show over at Murderati. You might think I’m blogging yet again about Justified so I can post pictures like this here at Murder She Writes. Not true. Not me, nope…. Read More

Vince Lombardi said, “Perfection is not attainable. But if you chase perfection, you can catch excellence.” JUSTIFIED is back. I’m in heaven. It’s not just because I’m watching Timothy Olyphant. Though, he is nice on the eyes. Talented actors; brilliant writing; pitch-perfect pacing. Justified is about excellence. I don’t say that lightly. In fact, I’m such a big fan-girl, that a year ago—after the Season Two premiere—I blogged about this show over at Murderati. You might think I’m blogging yet again about Justified so I can post pictures like this here at Murder She Writes. Not true. Not me, nope…. Read More

It’s no surprise to long-time MSW readers that I love television. I use TV as a reward. I get my work done, I can watch TV at night. (Late at night, usually after midnight.) I haven’t watched commercials outside of football or kids shows because I no longer watch television shows when they’re on. I don’t even DVR them (and even if I did, they’d be quickly erased because of all the shows my kids DVR.) I spoil myself because television is a reward. I buy the shows I like through iTunes. A series can cost anywhere from $5 to… Read More

I don’t have a smoking hot excerpt like Lori (CHASING EIGHT–wow. Just wow.) And Sylvia and Rocki took care of the conference advice. But I do have a giveaway today! I’ll be off-line until this evening because I’ve been taken hostage … in an FBI SWAT training program. It’s a tough job but someone … hell, no. It’s not a tough job. Even though it’s going to be ninety-some degrees and I’ll be in a warehouse without A/C, it’s FUN and exciting and part of my job. So don’t be surprised if sometime I write about a hostage situation …… Read More

Three times in two days I’ve been asked who would play my characters in a movie. I have a few I absolutely know–like Timothy Olyphant as Sheriff Nick Thomas in SPEAK NO EVIL. Or Timothy Olyphant as the sociopath Theodore Glenn in KILLING FEAR. Or Timothy Olyphant as Sheriff Tyler McBride in TEMPTING EVIL. Or . . . well, he can pretty much play any character he wants to 🙂 Yes, I’m a bit obsessed. Timothy Olyphant as hero: (BTW, JUSTIFIED is the best show out there today–just FYI if you haven’t seen it! It’s on F/X. Wednesdays at 10… Read More

Tonight I finished watching LIFE, a two-season television show starring Damian Lewis on NBC. It was cancelled, but somehow that seems to happen a lot with some of my favorite shows. I can tell you why it was cancelled. 1) There was little action for a police drama. 2) It was too different (for a police drama) for network audiences (I suspect if it was on the WB of FOX it wouldn’t have been cancelled.) 3) It was subtle. The premise of LIFE is simple, but don’t let the simplicity of a good log line fool you into thinking it… Read More