Category crime fiction author
LEFT COAST CRIME — A RECAP
What a action packed weekend in Tucson for Left Coast Crime. Here’s a post I submitted to the Murder Books Blog with some of the highlights of the conference. This past weekend I was fortunate to attend the annual west coast crime fiction conference called Left Cast Crime. The venue changes every year and the […]

Big News on the Book Front
I’ve been a little bit frazzled as of late, which explains the infrequent posts here. I’m sure your inbox took short sigh of relief. But it’s all for a good reason–I swear. Recent weeks have been consumed with four special projects that I can’t talk about (seriously–with non-disclosure agreements and threats of boiling oil) and […]

Arrest in the Stockton Serial Killer Case
Stockton Police made a dramatic arrest in the case that plagued the city in recent weeks. On October 15th, Wesley Brownlee was taken into custody while authorities believe he was out hunting for another victim in the central California city. The city of Stockton is not unfamiliar with gun crime and homicide. The city of […]

A New California Serial Killer on the Prowl
We know California has been a serial killer’s paradise since the 1970’s. More serial killers hunted in the state than all the others combined. While others may have racked up higher body counts, (think Ridgway and Dahmer) we seem to have lived with more than our share. The Sacramento region attracts the most with 15% […]

Novels Alive | GUEST BLOG: An Interview With a Character in DEAD DROP by James L’Etoile Plus Giveaway!
It’s one of my favorite things. Developing a character and having them come to life on the page is a blast. But sometimes a character takes over and isn’t happy about their place in the story. Billie Carson is one of those characters. She is a major player in my upcoming novel, DEAD DROP, but […]

James L’Etoile: Dead Drop – Murder in Common
It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve had my head down and scribbling away. Turns out you can get a decent amount of writing done when you put your mind to it. As a result, the first book in a new series, Dead Drop releases in July. Dead Drop takes a look at border […]

Getting Back in the Water Again
When Left Coast Crime in San Diego was abruptly cancelled after a single day in March 2020, many of the attendees left wondering when and if we’d be able to gather again. We learned more than we ever wanted to know about Zoom, remote working, vaccines, and quarantine workarounds. When we had a dip in […]

BLACK LABEL
Book Release! Coming out of the lockdown and COVID restrictions makes me feel a little like a groundhog squirming out of its burrow. What to do with all the left over masks and hand sanitizer? Not to mention all the toilet paper some folks hoarded early on in the pandemic that’s now turning into dust. […]

Virtual Bouchercon Panels
Bouchercon is the annual gathering of the world’s mystery writers and serves as the high point of the year for many of us in the writing community. I was especially excited when the 2020 edition of Bouchercon was slated for Sacramento, California, a place I lived and worked for many years. Not to mention the […]

The Lockdown Continues : Lessons From Behind the Wall
Extended lockdowns like the six-month slog we’re going through can take a toll if you’re not prepared. As we talked about in March when the COVID lockdown orders were popping off across the country, a little prison wisdom can help ease the pain of long-term confinement. In prison, when the place comes off lockdown, it’s […]