crime fiction Archives - Page 4 of 6

02.04.15 Building the Too-Perfect Protagonist

One of the questions we writers get all the time is: “Is your protagonist you?“ I’ve heard a lot of different answers to this question, some long and some short, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone just come out and say what we all know to be true: “Of course he is!” Because really, is there ever any doubt? Why create a heroic character — especially one who triumphs in the end — if you can’t live vicariously through him? And how can you live vicariously through a character who’s totally removed from yourself? Has anyone ever read a Charlie Fox thriller and not seen Zoë Sharp herself doing all that ass-kicking? I didn’t think so. Sure,... more

02.03.15 The Inside Story: Death of the Detective by Mark Smith

Written by Mark Smith

Today is pub-day for our re-release of Mark Smith's The Death of the Detective , a National Book Award finalist and widely regarded as perhaps the best crime novel ever written. Author Ed Gorman, founder of Mystery Scene Magazine, took this opportunity to interview Mark. Here's their talk. It's got to be hard to top what many consider to be an American classic. What are you working on now? I have just finished a 168,000 word novel entitled Da Gama's Gold (a line from Robert Frost's "America Is Hard to See"), a reworking and reduction from a longer novel I spent too many years writing. It's likely my most ambitious work since The Death of the Detective, and whereas that novel took on... more

12.17.14 Shadow Counter: Kakonis Scores Again

Written by Brash Admin

Novelist James L. Thane, author of No Place to Die and Until Death, shares his fondness for Tom Kakonis' gambling thriller Shadow Counter. Shadow Counter is the third and final volume in Tom Kakonis’s excellent series featuring Timothy Waverly, a professional card player who has found nothing but trouble ever since Kakonis first introduced him in Michigan Roll. At the end of the second book, Double Down, he and his long-time partner Bennie Epstein had to race away from another dicey situation in Florida. It’s now 1993, and they’ve landed in Vegas, living in a pitiful house and trying to fly under the radar while they attempt to cobble together the stake that will put... more

10.31.14 Super Crime Combos from Brash Books

Written by Brash Admin

We've combined the first few books in some of our best series of crime novels into single, omnibus volumes...to make it much easier to sample and experience these award-winning, highly acclaimed tales...and at a big savings over buying the individual books. You don't want to miss these Super Crime Combos! Now Available for Pre-Order...and delivered on Thanksgiving Day BRAGG V1 - The first three, powerhouse novels in Jack Lynch’s Edgar Award-nominated and two-time Shamus Award-nominated Bragg series of PI thrillers...now together for the first time ever in one omnibus edition!Pre-Order the Ebook Pre-Order the Trade Paperback THE COMPLETE DEEMER - All three of Dallas... more

10.13.14 Writing Noir & Crime Fiction: It’s All In The Voice

Written by Craig Faustus Buck

I write noir. To me, noir is all about voice. A lot of noir writers go to great lengths to imitate the voices of the greats. I have neither the memory, the critical analysis skills, nor the patience to do that. So my voice is, by default, my own. I consider my work neo-noir because it adds a certain psychological and emotional realism and depth that the classics lack but today's readers have come to expect. I wrote my first novel, Go Down Hard, and am writing my novel-in-progress in first-person present tense, which gives the work a feeling of urgency. My novella and the short story that spawned it, Dead End (which was just nominated for an Anthony Award), are in third-person... more

10.10.14 Great Crime Writers Create Memorable Bad Guys

Written by Joel Goldman

Great crime writers like James Patterson, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, and even horror writers like Stephen King draw readers into their stories by creating complex villains we love to hate. In writing my crime novels, I pay just as much attention to developing the villain (or in some cases, villains) as I do when crafting the protagonist. Both characters must have strong, complex personalities and interest the reader to the point of near obsession. If a writer can do that, he or she has pulled the reader into the dark world all thriller readers want – fast, dangerous, and with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. WHAT MAKES A GREAT VILLAIN? Not too long ago, Publishers Weekly... more

Posts Tagged: crime fiction