Tag Archives: crime writer
Pulled in Different Directions? Just make a damn decision.
We all get that occasional pull to do something different. Stop a project, a job, or a contract, in midstream and toy with something different–something new. I’m never sure if it’s boredom, or the thrill of the hunt for something new. But that urge for something fresh seemed to hit me this week and it […]
Goodreads Giveaway for BURY THE PAST
Crooked Lane Books is sponsoring a book giveaway over on Goodreads. You can enter the giveaway for your chance at an early copy of the second book in the Detective Penley series. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/254896-bury-the-past Enter to win 1 of 3 galley copies of BURY THE PAST, the second Detective Penley mystery by James L’Etoile. Sacramento Police […]
Betrayed–A Crime Fiction Anthology
On October 1, 2017, the publishing arm of the Authors on the Air, Global Radio Network, releases their very first anthology of short crime fiction. BETRAYED features stories from twenty, critically acclaimed, best selling authors, and I’m thrilled they let me come and play with them. If you’re a crime fiction junkie, like I am, […]
Drafting Small Town Life
The setting of a new novel I’m drafting is a small town. Small town life–sounds quaint and idyllic doesn’t it? In a larger city, the darkness has more places to hide. The unseemly and profane have a place–usually on the other side of the tracks. That negative space seems somewhat isolated and contained among the […]
Password Paranoia
Are you the Keymaker? I forgot a password this week. I needed to get to work writing on a new project and “advanced technology” got in the way. It wasn’t pretty. I had a Matrix flashback and felt as though I was on a search for the Keymaker to unlock a password for one of […]
Have They Lost Their Minds?
I usually don’t get off on a political rant, and I’m not sure this is really political, or if I’m just sensitive to stupid. No, this has nothing to do with North Korea, missing deleted e-mails, a Russian conspiracy, or where Puxataney Phil spends his time when he’s not forecasting the weather. This episode of […]
Pot Crimes
My home state of California recently adopted a new state herb–Marijuana. Reactions to the new pot legalization laws were mixed, from joyous, bud-loving hippies to fearful, the end-of-days are upon us, evangelicals. Me–for the most part, I don’t care. The medicinal marijuana crowd touts the benefits of the stuff as a cure all for whatever […]
Travel Roulette
With a few open days on the calendar before the upcoming book launch, I took my son up on an offer for a quick trip to Las Vegas. You can’t beat the people watching in this town. The spectacle begins when you step off the airplane into 115 degree heat. That ant under the magnifying […]
Getting Your Hands Dirty–Prison Reform
You hear the expression all the time–“Getting your hands dirty.” A yuppie call to get in the trenches and act like you’re doing the work, just like the common folk. It’s a trite little phrase used frequently by the likes of Martha Stewart, political figures, and CEO’s who haven’t looked at an assembly line since […]
The Corner Office
I’ve been pretty fortunate over the years to not only maintain gainful employment, but also to do that work in some pretty glamorous settings. As I sit at my desk and figure out which project is going to get my attention today, I think back to other desks, and other times, where I did have […]
James L'Etoile 