Columns

Craig Clevenger Asks Crime Fiction Instructor, David Corbett, Three Questions!

January 13th, 2012

On January 23rd we're unveiling our largest class to date; an 8-week super-intensive crime writing master class with award-winning crime novelist David Corbett. In anticipation of this class, friend and fellow author Craig Clevenger sat down with Corbett and fired three very good questions his way on the subject of crime fiction. Sign Up For The Class

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ATTACKED! One Writer's Response to Criticism

January 13th, 2012

It’s not all fan mail and beer, my dear. There’s a foul fraction of writers – I among them - who read what other writers sweat blood to create and by some miracle manage to publish, and not only react as if we’ve been poisoned by bad crab meat, but then insist on farting our responses into print.  We are a nasty crew - part junkie, part cannibal. The objects of our essentially erotic wrath are those whose work we despise and those who are simply assholes who deserve to be publicly disgraced. I’ve done it, I feel no shame, and I’ll do it again.

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Book Brawl: To Kill A Mockingbird vs. In Cold Blood

January 13th, 2012

Each month I throw two books, related in some way, into the Book Brawl ring to fight it out for the coveted title of literary champion. Two books enter; one book leaves. This month the pugilistic tomes are by childhood besties Truman Capote (In Cold Blood, 1965) and Harper Lee (To Kill A Mockingbird, 1960). How could we be so cruel as to turn lifelong friends against each other? Well, Book Brawl is a vicious beast, dear readers.

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The Path To Publication Part 1: Delusions of Grandeur

January 12th, 2012

Photo courtesy of author You know those people who show up to audition for American Idol that are utterly convinced they are great singers, but sound like a raccoon getting stomped on with golf shoes?  The thing that's sad isn't their lack of talent. It's that they're so oblivious to their lack of talent.  That's a very real fear I have: That I'm not really that good of a writer, and eventually someone's going to call me on it.

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“Scuse me while I kiss this guy.”: Malaprops, Puns, Spoonerisms, Eggcorns, and other hilarity-inducing word mix-ups

January 12th, 2012

Image: 'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy by Gavin Edwards, art by Chris Kale About a million years ago, I was in the bookstore with my dad (a favorite haunt for us both) when I came upon a book titled ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy: And Other Misheard Lyrics.  I was 14 at the time, I had no idea to what song the author was referring to, but my dad sure thought it was funny.

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Required Reading: The Pros and Cons

January 11th, 2012

I didn’t know how to read until I was seven years old. This is a fact that sticks out no matter how far removed I am, and one that I’ve carried with me into adulthood. I can distinctly remember being in kindergarten, around 5 or 6, and feeling the miserable isolation that comes with not being able to read Hop On Pop out loud.  I can’t distinctly remember if there was mockery or teasing involved, but it seems likely.

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Planning the Literary Event

January 11th, 2012

Organizing a literary event can be a trial by fire for a new author, because- let’s face it- writers tend to be hermits rather than socialites.  Plus, your major in college probably wasn’t party planning.  So we’re going to work under the assumption that you have next to no idea how to set one of these things up, and that’s perfectly okay.  That’s why we write these types of columns.

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Five Big Fat Literary Fakes

January 10th, 2012

Write what you know. Four words that have the ring of absolute rightness about them. Like motherhood or apple pie, no one wants to disagree with the notion that for writing to be any good, it has to spring from real experience.

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Book Vs. Film Vs. Film: The Girls With The Dragon Tattoos

January 9th, 2012

WARNING: May contain wall-to-wall spoilers

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Avengers vs X-Men: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Event Books

January 9th, 2012

Each year Marvel has what are known as events - miniseries that feature an epic, universe spanning dilemma that often affects multiple books. The problem with event books is that they rarely feel that special, and are nothing more than a way to charge extra for a book and to make you pick-up a number of tie-in titles that you wouldn't otherwise care for.

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