Tag Archives: crime fiction
Book Shots with Author Bruce Robert Coffin
Enjoy the Book Shots session with Bruce robot Coffin and his new series, the first of which is Crimson Thaw.
Prison Lingo — Revisited (reposted w/o the pesky paywall)
Prison is a strange world unto itself. It comes with its own set of rules–the convict code– and a unique language. So, if you ever find yourself behind bars, listen up. Your survival may depend on it. There are a few common expressions used in the big house that might sound a little foreign to […]
Book Shots with Author Nancy Cole Silverman
Enjoy the Book Shots session with Nancy Cole Silverman and her latest Kat Lawson mystery, A Spy in Saigon.
The Highs and Lows of a Book Launch
Getting a new book out in the world is a stressful time when everything has to come together at a single moment, but there’s always something that slips through. No matter how much you plan, and how adept you are at keeping the plates spinning, one of those plates will fly off and threaten to […]
A Conversation with Author James L’Etoile – I Read What You Write!
IR– What inspired the idea for your book?
James– The inspiration for Dead Drop didn’t come from a single source. I worked in the California prison system for nearly thirty years. I met up with a few colorful characters—characters who have inspired some of my crime fiction work. There were thousands of men in prison with what we called “Immigration Holds,” which meant when they were done with the prison sentence for their state crimes, they would face deportation back to their home country.
Before they committed their crimes, most of them crossed the border in search of a new life, free from the crime, drugs, and corruption they faced back home. Many of the men I encountered turned to crime out of desperation, or were extorted by criminal organizations like the Mexican Mafia or the Cartels.
I took this background and put together a story where the influences behind the border violence and corruption don’t come from the usual sources.
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 […]
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 […]
Left Coast Crime 2020
With winter starting to slowly fade away, it means one thing. It’s book convention time again! The first gathering up is Left Coast Crime (LCC), the annual mystery convention sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. LCC is held during the first quarter of the year in Western North America. Last year was in Vancouver, […]
Rerelease of Little River: The Other Side of Paradise
In 2013, my first novel, Little River was released by SALTMedia. It was a story about human trafficking in the Caribbean and the dark pervasive web of crime and corruption that follows human misery. There are 30 million people, primarily women and children, trapped in human trafficking rings–many of which come through our cities. I […]
James L'Etoile 