Who’s Guilty? God Knows. By Kim Rendfeld Delve into the justice system of early medieval Francia and you might find yourself grateful for what we have today, imperfect as it is. And I’m not only talking about the punishments for the guilty: slit nostrils, the slow strangulation of hanging, chopping off a hand, the witch’s death of being sealing in a barrel and thrown into a river, or the traitor’s death of being tied to stallions and torn apart, to just give a few examples. Even with recognizable elements such as oaths, the trials themselves are problematic to a modern
Read moreMonth: September 2014
Amateur Detectives – Writing a Value Read: A Guest Post by R. Franklin James
AMATEUR DETECTIVES – WRITING A VALUE READ By R. Franklin James The amateur detective as a protagonist has a lot going for her. First, any missteps or lack of expertise is chalked up to the amateur side. Second, any keen curiosity or specialty skill lends itself to supporting the detective aura. Give the hero or heroine a unique personality, put her in a compelling storyline—and you’ve got an amateur detective. When deciphering genres it is easy to see how a cozy mystery can have an amateur detective protagonist, but not all amateur detectives are written into cozies. A cozy reads
Read moreHello Denver – and a Signing at the Tattered Cover!
Denver is one of my favorite cities. I visit every September for the Rocky Mountain Colorado Gold Conference (which takes place this weekend at the Westin Westminster) and a signing at the much-loved Tattered Cover. Tonight at 7pm, I’ll be at the Tattered Cover Bookstore on Colfax (details here) for a reading and signing from the newest Shinobi Mystery, BLADE OF THE SAMURAI. If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop by and join the fun! If you’ve stopped by looking for publishing law, the Wednesday posts are on hiatus this week, but I’ll return next week with a brand-new
Read moreReef Retrospective: August 2014
August was an interesting month on my little reef. I created “algae cages” to grow red macro-algae (think “seaweed”) for my abalone, Oscar. Oscar would ordinarily eat the entire plant at once, but the cages protect the plants while allowing Oscar to nibble on the parts that grow through the mesh. I acquired a new species of sea fan: …and lost a fish. Sadly, Tai the dragonet leaped from the tank and I didn’t learn about it until too late. (Stay tuned for an update on his replacement.) Ghillie continued his habit of offering lovely poses to photograph, and Ceti continued hunting for
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