Brash Blog

Big Ideas and Big Names in suspense from Brash Books

Get the big ideas from the biggest names in suspense on the Brash Books blog. Here, you'll find posts by some of your favorite mystery authors sharing their views on crime fiction - along with inside stories about everything from how they wrote their bestselling thrillers to what inspires them.

You'll also hear from experts in the mystery and suspense genre, along with fans, publishing insiders, and of course, Brash Books. Posts will range from informative to controversial - but you can bet every one will be a compelling read. This is your destination to explore great crime fiction writing - past, present and future - from the authors, readers, and publishers who keep it alive.

Margaret Moseley: How I Wrote “BONITA FAYE”

Written by

Bonita Faye is one of the most unusual, charming, creative, and funny books we've ever ready. It defies categorization. We like to say if Elmore Leonard ever wrote a cozy, it would be Bonita Faye. It's no surprise that this book was an Edgar Award Finalist. We've asked author Margaret Moseley how she came up with this unusual story. Warning...there's a very small spoiler here, so you may want to read this blog after you've read the first chapter or two of her wonderful book. Sometime in the 80's I found myself working as a business communicator for one of the nation's largest long-term care companies, in other words, nursing homes.  I was an advocate (buzz word was Ombudsman) for both... more

Read More of Margaret Moseley: How I Wrote “BONITA FAYE”

Geoffrey Miller: How I Wrote “THE BLACK GLOVE”

Written by

Brash Books is honored to be republishing Geoffrey Miller's The Black Glove, which was a sensation when it was first published and snagged a Edgar Award nomination for Best First Novel. Now it's back in new and revised ebook and trade paperback editions. We invited Geoff to talk a bit about how the book came about and the changes he's made to it since it was first published. When I was at the UCLA Film School in the middle to late 60s I saw for the first time The Maltese Falcon, Murder, My Sweet and The Big Sleep (in 1974 I would see Chinatown).  For reasons that even today I cannot explain, I became extremely enthusiastic about the hardboiled detective story, especially Dashiell... more

Read More of Geoffrey Miller: How I Wrote “THE BLACK GLOVE”

Bill Crider on “The Black Glove”

Written by

When we launched Brash Books, one of the smartest things we did was reach out to Bill Crider, award-winning author and one of the most knowledgeable people around about crime novels, for his "wish list" of out-of-print books we absolutely had to republish to live up to our motto ("we publish the best crime novelist in existence"). Geoffrey Miller's Edgar Award finalist The Black Glove was one of books on that list (as are many of our past and future titles). Now Bill shares why he believes The Black Glove a must-read for noir fans. Terry Traven is an L. A. private-eye, a man who chose his profession because of his admiration for the work of Hammett and Chandler, knowing all along that... more

Read More of Bill Crider on “The Black Glove”

Book Signings Are a Whole New World

Written by

Book signings are a whole new world for me. I’ve been doing a number of them over the last few months. They ranged from interviews with my friend Lee Goldberg to readings from the books by yours truly. The first signing was for FIFTEEN MINUTES TO LIVE, published by Brash Books, at the Barnes & Noble at The Grove in Hollywood. I did it along with Craig Faustus Buck, author of GO DOWN HARD, another Brash Books publication. The evening was moderated by Mr. Goldberg. There was a pretty sizable turn-out, including many old friends from my TV days. The Grove is one of the ready-made, fake village squares that have popped up all over Southern California. The fact that it actually has a... more

Read More of Book Signings Are a Whole New World

The Mystery of A.W. Mykel and THE WINDCHIME LEGACY

Written by

In 1980, the mysterious A.W. Mykel came out of nowhere with the brilliantly inventive espionage thriller The Windchime Legacy. It became an overnight, international bestseller…astonishing readers with its daringly imaginative plot, larger-than-life characters, and outstanding action…becoming one of the most entertaining and beloved spy novels of the century. Mykel wrote two more bestsellers…The Salamandra Glass and The Luxus Conspiracy...and then disappeared as suddenly as he’d appeared. Until Now. We received this blog post as a handwritten note from Mykel's attorney... The Windchime Legacy was written between the years 1976-1978. There were no personal computers in those... more

Read More of The Mystery of A.W. Mykel and THE WINDCHIME LEGACY

What We Don’t Reveal About Ourselves in our Writing

Written by

Gar Anthony Haywood

I’ve always been reluctant to write about my own real life experiences.  The reasons I give are, a) I don’t think those experiences are all that fascinating; and b) I don’t think they’re anybody’s business but my own.  That’s a rather selfish attitude, I admit, but then, I’ve never been a subscriber to the idea that nothing great ever comes of art that doesn’t require one to open up a vein. This isn’t to say I don’t believe a writer’s best work has to involve some measure of self-reflection.  I do.  I just don’t think a reader needs to know the intimate details of a writer’s life in order to fully connect with his work.  If a writer’s done his job right,... more

Read More of What We Don’t Reveal About Ourselves in our Writing

Older Entries
 
Newer Entries