As a mystery author, I’m convinced that the greater the variety of facts you know, the more intrigue it’s possible to insert into a story. My books take place all around the world, from Florida to Michigan to Rome. You’d be surprised what kind of details come into play sometimes when I’m researching and writing […]
Archive | Beyond The Covers RSS feed for this section
Do We Have A Liar On Our Hands?
Americans pride themselves on freedom of speech. But of course, freedom to speak doesn’t mean freedom from consequences. There are limits. Certain words are banned from certain television stations, you can’t make statements that are likely to incite violent actions (like shouting “fire!” in a public theater), and libel and slander are punishable under the […]
Man Finds $3.7 Million… Where?!
True Story: Major Surprise Comes with Man’s Inherited House In my book Blood Trails, I write about how complicated it can get when there is a fortune to be inherited. In the case of Blood Trails, a fictitious wealthy Texan named Sebastian Shaw hires Flint to find the woman who owns the mineral rights to […]
7 Lessons on Success from Oil Tycoon Pickens
Based on everything I’ve read, T. Boone Pickens is a complicated man. He pursues wealth and then he gives it away — with great generosity. He’s a Republican unafraid to critique members of his own party. He’s an oil driller who fights for environmental causes. And he has a knack for turning losses into gains. He’s […]
The Man Who Disappeared From A Plane: New Clue
Do you remember the D.B. Cooper case? It’s one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the past century. We learned about a new clue this month, that’s actually pretty fascinating and has the potential to solve the case. I’ll tell you what the new clue is in a moment, but first, a quick review of […]
Famous Motown Spots in Michigan
You know Motown is a portmanteau, right? I only know the word because I’m from Michigan, and draw on the state’s history in the books I write. A portmanteau in this case is when you blend two words to make a new word. Like ‘spork’, or ‘liger.’ In this case, ‘motor’ and ‘town’ join to form Motown, […]
3 Ways DNA Is More Powerful Than Computers
As a crime writer, of course, DNA comes up all the time in my research and in my writing. It’s invaluable for solving cases, though it’s not infallible. In Jack and Joe of my Hunt for Jack Reacher Series especially, DNA is a subject that comes up over and over, since the book is about […]
A Wine Lover’s Guide to Michigan
According to Wine Enthusiast magazine, Michigan is one of the most notable regions in the world where wine is on the rise. This thrills me, not only as a wine lover, but also as a Michigan native and as a snowbird who spends my summers in Traverse City. And it’s extra exciting since my Judge […]
Is Illegal Gold More Valuable Than Drugs?
What’s happening with gold in Latin America right now is really interesting to me because it overlaps with the plots of both of my two most recent books — Blood Trails and Deep Cover Jack. So, in Deep Cover Jack, a Hunt for Jack Reacher thriller, one of the questions that comes up is: Why […]
Lasers vs. Drones: Who Wins?
In a fight between lasers and drones, who do you think would win? You remember the power of lasers in Goldfinger. James Bond gives us a scare as we watch a powerful laser inch closer to his body. I follow surveillance technology news because it comes up often in my books. In my Hunt for […]
Follow Diane
