Killer Nashville Noir: Cold Blooded

RobertDugoni

A special reason that I attended this year’s Killer Nashville was the launch of its first anthology, Killer Nashville Noir: Cold-Blooded. When Robert Dugoni was approached to contribute a “southern” story, he kindly asked me to collaborate and help make the story authentic. Through his generosity, I received not only a personalized master class, but also a writing credit with a New York Times bestselling author in a collection featuring notables of the mystery, suspense, and thriller genres. Our story, “A Matter of Honor,” features a murder in the South Carolina Statehouse basement. Thanks, Clay Stafford, for this wonderful opportunity!

Clay Stafford

PGB, C. Hope Clark, Daco

Killer Nashville 2015

Michael Rubin, Robert Rotstein, Douglas Jones,PGB

At Killer Nashville, I enjoyed participating in two great panels. “Ask an Attorney: Belly up to the Bar and Ask your Questions about Legal Procedure” featured Douglas Jones, Robert Rotstein, and Michael Rubin. Our topics included courtroom procedure, copyright, defamation, and planning for your literary estate.

Linda Fisher, Rae James, PGB, Earl Fisher, Joseph Terrell

In “Double-Duty Dialogue: How to Write Dialogue That’s More Than Just Talk,” Earl G. Fisher, Linda Fisher, Rae James, Joseph Terrell, and I launched into a rousing discussion with our audience about what to include and exclude from dialogue exchanges, and how to use dialogue for multiple purposes, particularly advancing plot and developing character.

Bouchercon 2015, Part Two

Art Taylor's Anthony and books

Art Taylor

The joy of attending a writing conference is to celebrate your friends’ successes. Bouchercon certainly offered that opportunity this year. Art Taylor, whose first novel, ON THE ROAD WITH DEL AND LOUISE, was recently released (and sold out in the conference bookstore), also served as editor of the Bouchercon anthology MURDER UNDER THE OAKS (featuring stories by Robert Mangeot, Karen Salyer, and B.K. Stevens). It was delightful to see all these folks. Better still when Art Taylor’s “The Odds Are Against Us,” a Macavity finalist, won the Anthony award for best short story. And, I met Dash, Art’s Mustang-loving son!