Tag Archives: crime
Is Sacramento A Serial Killer Friendly Place?
Location, location, location… I’m often asked why I chose to set my crime fiction in Sacramento, California, instead of one of the more well known west coast crime magnets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, or Fresno. Michael Connelly and Robert Crais have L.A. locked down with their Harry Bosch and Joe Pike series. But, Sacramento is an […]
Is Life Really Life?
Life in prison. The judge hands down the sentence and most people think that’s the end of it. The convicted man (or woman) will spend the balance of their natural life behind bars. Life sentences are reserved for the worst crimes–kidnapping, murder and habitual criminals. well…maybe. I recall, early in my career, going into a […]
Why I Don’t Post About Politics
There are a few topics I try to avoid on social media. Religion, Sex and Politics–the holy trifecta of hot button issues. They are intertwined so deeply that you can’t tug on one, without pulling a thread on the other. But recent events in the political arena (arena as in circus) left me scratching my […]
The Prison You Don’t See
I’m writing a new story and part of the new piece involves prison — specifically mental health treatment in prison. It’s a strange thing to witness a prison mental health crisis first hand and after working around correctional mental health units and activating one in a maximum security prison, it occurred to me that most readers don’t […]
50 Shades of Grey Matter
Have you been around that person, the one with the brain that operates on an entirely different level than the rest of us? This guy (or gal) is the one doing their sudoku puzzles in ink along with their morning herbal tea. They are the ones who do math equations for the fun of it and […]
Life or Death
Hot button issues… They are everywhere, it seems. You can’t swing a cat without knocking over someone’s hot button issue. And, nine times out of ten it involves, religion, economics, race or politics. I tend to avoid conversations about any of these social land mines because they are so deep in the fabric who we are, […]
Prison and Plotting
Prison changes a man. I actually heard a hardened prison gang member say that once. The man was feared in gang circles and ran one of the biggest gang, weapons and drug rackets in Folsom Prison in the 1980’s. New inmates, “fish” as they were called, had to check in with his underlings and pay […]
The After Life
I have this new story idea bouncing around in my head. It refuses to leave me alone. The damned thing left a ransom note in a dusty corner of my brain, threatening to hold my attention hostage until I do something. So, here goes…the background. During the years I worked inside maximum security prisons, I […]
Hello Darkness, My Old Friend
Darkness. The word evokes emotion. From an early age, we are taught to fear the dark. “Be home before dark,” “Nothing good happens after dark,” Things that go bump in the night and, don’t forget the children’s prayer which includes, “If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord, my soul to take.” Darkness, […]
Readers Know Best
You release your hand-fed, carefully crafted book out into the wilds and you’re bound to get feedback. Reviews, critiques and comments from readers come in different flavors – Loved it, Hated it, or the worst feedback of all, the sound of crickets. By the time your book hits the streets, at least a dozen sets […]
James L'Etoile 