Emerson Ward Mysteries

It’s a requirement of fiction (if writers truly want readers to indulge them and buy their books) to suspend the reader’s disbelief. That is, to make the characters’ actions plausible. Readers don’t have to believe; in fact, in many cases we want them to doubt, to misjudge, to be misdirected. But (more…)

Interesting thing happened the other day. A fellow working on his doctorate at the University of Edinburgh sent me a message on Facebook asking if I'd be willing to answer some questions about crime writing.

Why not, I thought. It' what I do--crime writing, that is--and a topic most crime fiction authors enjoy discussing. (more…)

Show of hands: Who wants to be on “Oprah”? Who wants their book mentioned as Oprah’s selection of the month? (I do, I do!)

The benefits of being on Oprah’s show are manifestly evident to anyone who’s ever heard of Spanx. I dutifully send a press kit out to Oprah’s (more…)

Ever worry about something so much you forget to worry about the important stuff? Lose sight of the big picture? Like that old saying, "don't sweat the details; and it's all details."

And worry, it turns out--that endless negative feedback loop--gets in the way of doing what needs to be done. It gets in (more…)

Friday, 9/11—Up at the usual early hour. Showered and dressed, had a cup of coffee and checked e-mail. Worked on the book for a bit, then went out for a latte. Ran into an old acquaintance, mystery author Sam Reaves, at Panera Bread in downtown Evanston. Chatted for a while, bemoaning the current state (more…)

So, you may have guessed by now, this won't be a daily journal. That might really constitute death by boredom for some of you. Perhaps I'll skip days, even weeks.

Can't really remember what I did Tuesday anyway except play tennis with my sweetie. We've both taken up the game again after years away (more…)