Tag Archives: writing
Writing Sacramento Crime
Sacramento Crime Sacramento as a setting for crime fiction? The sleepy state capitol town doesn’t get a great deal of attention from the hardcore crime community. Crime fiction relies on–well, crime. Naturally, the first places you think of are New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Newark, Detoit, Baltimore–You get the idea, places where crime is […]
I’m Watching You
They are everywhere Watching, waiting, anticipating. Spending most of my adult life dealing with the darker edges of society–prison, probation and jails–I’ve seen how low humanity can sink. If there is a weakness, or vulnerability present, I can count on a predator to hide in the shadows, ready to pounce. These soulless opportunists strike when […]
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 […]
Social Media For Old Guys – The Author Page
I’m a relative newcomer to the social media world. In fact, I wouldn’t have “Liked” or “Retweeted” anything if my first publisher hadn’t dragged me there and shoved my nose in this big smelly pile called Facebook. And you had to “Like” people. Fresh out of prison (so to speak – retired, not paroled) liking people […]
Speaking of Mysteries Podcast
I recently had the opportunity to do an interview podcast with Nancie Clare, the host of Speaking of Mysteries. If you haven’t gotten around to her site yet, you really should. She and podcast interview partner, Leslie Klinger have put put together over one hundred author podcasts, including some of my favorite mystery writers; Michael Connelly, […]
That Moment When You Realize 2016 Isn’t a Complete Dumpster Fire
The world, according to my social media timeline, is on the brink of The End of Days, politically, socially — hell, even the Girl Scouts announced a partnership with a cereal company to produce a thin mint flavored breakfast flakes. The Mayan’s were right, they just missed the date by a year or so. There […]
The Season of Trolling
You know that insurance commercial with the fisherman who pops up with a dollar bill on the end of his line, taunting his clients to grab it? Then he jerks the cash bait away at the last moment, saying “You’ve got to be quicker than that.” Most times, I am that person, the one who […]
In Prison — Seeing Is Believing
What happens in prison usually stays in prison. Kinda like a bad Las Vegas honeymoon. Nobody wants to know the depths of the debauchery that goes on in either place. When I worked as a department of corrections administrator, we were often burnt at the stake when a criminal decided to do a bad thing. […]
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 […]
Forgive Me Father For I Have Sinned
“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been ages since my last confession.” From behind a thin curtain, I swore I heard snoring. The dim light in my confessional made it impossible to see if the Great Confessor was dead asleep, or if there was a rumbling of a small earthquake. “Father, are […]
James L'Etoile 