I leave Thursday morning for the Writer’s Police Academy. I’m more than a little excited … I’ve been wanting to attend for the last few years, really since it began, but couldn’t make it fit into my schedule. This time they asked me to speak and I blocked off the week so I wouldn’t schedule anything. I’ll be missing my Anniversary, but it won’t be the first time … I’ll make it up to Dan when I get home. Two years ago I missed it because I was speaking to the New Zealand Romance Writers … and yeah, no way… Read More

I’m thrilled to introduce romantic suspense author Lena Diaz to Murder She Writes! I’ve known Lena through the Kiss of Death chapter for … years. 🙂 … I love how close the writer community is, especially our romantic suspense chapter. Lena herself was a Navy Brat, moving around the country following her father. Now, she resides in Florida with her husband of more than 20 years. Wow! Please welcome Lena … Readers often ask, “Where do you get your ideas?” Do they come from all those research books sitting on my shelf (see picture above)? Do they come from dreams?… Read More

I’m thrilled to introduce romantic suspense author Lena Diaz to Murder She Writes! I’ve known Lena through the Kiss of Death chapter for … years. 🙂 … I love how close the writer community is, especially our romantic suspense chapter. Lena herself was a Navy Brat, moving around the country following her father. Now, she resides in Florida with her husband of more than 20 years. Wow! Please welcome Lena … Readers often ask, “Where do you get your ideas?” Do they come from all those research books sitting on my shelf (see picture above)? Do they come from dreams?… Read More

I’m thrilled to welcome Boyd Morrison to Murder She Writes! He writes fabulous action-adventures that take place all over the world with impeccable research and larger-than-life characters you can root for. I particularly love his hero Tyler Locke. Because I really enjoyed THE LOCH NESS LEGACY, I’m gifting a digital copy to one lucky commenter — just say ‘hi” to Boyd! (And I think you’ll agree, after you read the following, that Boyd is the hero of his own romance novel!) ~ Allison Partners in Crime By Boyd Morrison Writing can be a lonely job, just you and the computer… Read More

I love my job. I can work in my pajamas. I can take a break in the middle of the day to go for a walk, or take the kids on a field trip, or go to a ball game. I love writing, and my job is 90% writing. It doesn’t get much better than that … Well, sometimes it does. Like the annual Regional SWAT Training put on by Sacramento FBI.

I love my job. I can work in my pajamas. I can take a break in the middle of the day to go for a walk, or take the kids on a field trip, or go to a ball game. I love writing, and my job is 90% writing. It doesn’t get much better than that … Well, sometimes it does. Like the annual Regional SWAT Training put on by Sacramento FBI.

Our own Karin Tabke gave me wonderful advice several years ago regarding research. Less is more. I’m not a cop. I’m not a doctor. I’m not a teacher or a nurse or a bartender or a scientist or a killer. I rely on reading, interviews, and “field trips” for my information. Reading comes first: I have more than four dozen forensic and crime research books. I’ve been reading true crime novels since reading IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote when I was 13. On my desk now is BOOK OF POISONS, a Writer’s Digest tome that I’ve used many times,… Read More

On Tuesday, I got an email that many writer’s dread. The copy department wants a synopsis. This is particularly dire when you, the author, DID actually send in a (very) brief synopsis weeks ago. They want more. This doesn’t surprise me because I only sent them one long paragraph that I wrote as if it were back cover copy, with a few more details. I know there are formulas that people use, and I can write a log line, and I can put together the premise and backstory very easily, but I have no idea until I’m in my character’s… 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

On Tuesday, I spent the day with several SWAT teams as they went through medic training with the FBI. 🙂 SWAT–Special Weapons and Tactics- operatives specialize in hostage situations, high-risk warrant service operations, search-and-rescue operations, covert and undercover tactical operations and crowd control. Team members must complete advanced training and, while it is different from department to department, it’s rigorous and they must re-qualify continually. In the FBI, SWAT members must qualify monthly at the gun range, for example. But it’s not only firearms training–the physical training is just as demanding. SWAT teams know how to be cops–they can take… Read More