Tag: featured
Let’s talk Book Translations!
Let’s talk… in a different language… or in my case let my books talk. I have just a smattering of French, German and Russian at my disposal so that I can order a beer in those three languages and say thank you in a few more. Impressive – it is not. However, my books have […]
Why I Love Vampires
In 1994, I was twelve and somehow talked my parents into letting me watch Interview with the Vampire. I guess they figured I’d read the book; I might as well watch the movie. Plus, I had this serious little girl crush on Brad Pitt. I had a crush on Brad Pitt before I ever knew […]
Library Love
Daughter of the legendary Danish journalist Leif Blaedel and revered actress Annegrethe Nissen, Blaedel founded Denmark’s first crime publishing house in 1993 with SARA B. Subsequently her numerous talents extended to writing thrillers herself and being voted as the most popular author in Denmark four times as well as selling into 37 territories. She tells […]
My Life in Bookstores
What came first — my love of books or my love of bookstores? The two are inseparable in my mind. All I know is that bookstores are as much part of my life as any relationship with friends. And like the best of friendships, it continues to deepen and evolve with age. My most recent […]
Multilingualism and Writing
When I was eleven years old, my parents decided to up and move to another country. Quebec was not the original destination they had in mind; in fact, I didn’t know such a place even existed until my parents told me we were moving there. After that, I dug through a stack of old life […]
What a Week of Pro Tennis Taught Me About Writing
My son and I are tennis nuts. We spend days on end at the U.S. Open in New York each summer, and we travel to other major tournaments, both home and abroad, as often as we can. When a snowstorm back east a few months ago left us stranded in California – where we’d gone […]
Writing Under Multiple Pen Names
When a dream comes true, and it’s even better than your original dream, you can be forgiven for thinking you’ve reached a pinnacle in your writing journey and you’re pinching yourself to wake up. You’re floating on air. It’s all too wonderful to be true. But there it is in black and white – you’ve […]
Of Fathers and Daughters: The Thriller as Tragic Love Story
I adored my father when I was growing up. I was a natural tomboy, my father’s shadow. I was the middle of three girls, and my father called me “Sam”—short for “Samuel,” and not “Samantha”—and I was more than happy to become his only “son.” My father taught me how to hammer a nail and […]
Past, Present, Never: Writing Time In Fiction
New authors are always advised to avoid complexity, to begin with a single narrator and a straightforward plot. I ignored that advice. In my first novel, there was a story in the present which related to events in the past, told in flashbacks. In my second I had three interconnected narratives. I think perhaps I […]
How to Write the Perfect Ending
I’ve often felt that your first chapter is what sells your novel, but the ending is what sells you as an author. I’m not saying a rollicking start isn’t important—as are characters, voice, plot, and theme—but a great ending is what will leave your reader satisfied, enthusiastic, and wanting more. It’s certainly not easy. Endings […]
Recent Comments