Category Archives: Writing

“The Hardboiled Notary” (by Kevin Mims)

Posted on June 4, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

In the following post Kevin Mims talks mostly about some of his occupations other than writing, so it’s worth mentioning a few specifics of his literary career. Kevin’s personal essays have appeared in the Modern Love column of the New … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest, Noir, Private Eye, Story, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

“Legal Mysteries: You Can’t Handle the Truth” (by Ted Hertel)

Posted on April 30, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Milwaukee attorney Ted Hertel is also a fiction writer whose first published story, “My Bonnie Lies” (from The Mammoth Book of Legal Thrillers), won the Robert L. Fish award for best first short story by an American author. He has … Continue reading →

Posted in Courtroom Mysteries, Editing, Fiction, Guest, Setting, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

“The Mystery Gene” (by Miriam Grace Monfredo)

Posted on April 23, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Former librarian Miriam Grace Monfredo is an award-winning writer of historical crime fiction. Her first novel, Seneca Falls Inheritance, was set against the backdrop of the first women’s rights convention. Since then she has written eight more novels that focus … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Genre, Guest, Historicals, History, Readers, Story, Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“How I Do What I Do, and Why” (by Percy Spurlark Parker)

Posted on April 2, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Percy Spurlark Parker’s fiction debut was a story for EQMM’s Department of First Stories in 1972. Since then he’s authored two published novels and dozens of short stories, which have appeared not only in EQMM but in AHMM, Mike Shayne … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Characters, Editing, Ellery Queen, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Publishing, Setting, Story, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

LET’S LEAVE THESE THINGS TO THE FICTION WRITERS

Posted on March 26, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Conspiracy theories seem tailor-made for fiction. They contain all the elements a great adventure story calls for: a David and Goliath-like contest (between members of the powerful cabal and the unempowered men or women who oppose them); life-or-death scenarios (as … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing, Fiction, History, Politics, Story, Thrillers, Writers, Writing | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

“It Don’t Come Easy” (by Greg Herren)

Posted on March 19, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Greg Herren is not the first award-winning novelist who’s told EQMM that he finds the short story a more difficult literary form than the novel. Yet he has managed to add some short stories to a publication list that includes … Continue reading →

Posted in Editing, Fiction, Guest, Novels, Story, Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tag, You’re It (by Chris Muessig)

Posted on February 12, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Chris Muessig debuted in EQMM’s Department of First Stories in July of 2009 with a tale entitled “Bias.” The story was subsequently selected for that year’s volume of Best American Mystery Stories—one of very few first published works to find … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Editing, Fiction, Guest, Story, Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Inspired to Travel!” (by Joan Richter)

Posted on January 29, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

Not many mystery writers can claim to have had Ellery Queen as their writing instructor, but Joan Richter was not only a student but a star pupil of Frederic Dannay (half the Ellery Queen team). He liked her work so … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Books, Ellery Queen, Fiction, Guest, History, International, Setting, Writers, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

WHAT’S IN A WORD?

Posted on January 22, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

This is my first post since the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, and that day always seems to bring to mind for me some of the ways that words, both in literature and ordinary life, can impact social change. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Business, Editing, Fiction, History, Magazine, Politics, Writers, Writing | 6 Comments

“The Writer Cop” (by O’Neil De Noux)

Posted on January 15, 2014 by somethingisgoingtohappen

O’Neil De Noux has been a regular contributor to EQMM for more than twenty years. He’s written both historical mysteries and contemporary police procedurals for us, and his wider work includes science fiction and mainstream historicals. His superb sense of … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Editing, Fiction, Genre, Guest, Police Procedurals, Setting, Story, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments