When I’m writing fiction, it’s not enough just to narrate the action and the plot. A good book involves all five of the senses — and then some. So, for this week’s Saturday Special, let’s look at five highlights from the past week — one representing each of the main senses. Start with … TOUCH: I […]
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The Best Travel Apps: Not A Drill
Delta recently named 85 of the top travel improvements of the past 200 years. Among the most notable improvements listed? Travel Guide Apps. Jack Reacher doesn’t need Travel Apps because he doesn’t have a smart phone. But I do. And so do Otto & Gaspar on the Hunt for Reacher. After all, this is not […]
Who Says We Only Have 5 Senses?
You know what the traditional five senses are: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. So what sense is FBI Special Agent Carlos Gaspar using when, in Jack in the Green, we learn: “It was his sixth sense that rankled.” –Jack in the Green At the time, Gaspar is arriving at Tampa’s MacDill Air Force Base […]
Saturday Special: Our Best Traits
The news of this week had me thinking about character traits in leaders, and that tops this week’s Saturday Special: 1. FEMALE LEADERS like Governor Helen Sullivan in Fatal Distraction are effective because they are shown to be better than men at several important leadership qualities: taking initiative, driving for results, integrity and honesty. But […]
Loaded Rifle in Terminal Four
With air travel rules changing all the time, I needed to update my research when writing Flight 12: A Jess Kimball Thriller. The question? What are the rules for loaded guns on airplanes these days? The topic is fascinating. For example – Did you hear about the doctor who was arrested with a loaded gun […]
Why You Want A Female Governor
When I’m creating new characters, I usually do quite a bit of research to find precisely the sort of attributes I want the character to have. In the case of Helen Sullivan, the fictitious governor of Florida who partners with Jess Kimball in Fatal Distraction, the research was fascinating to me, so I thought you […]
What Are The Dog Days of Summer?
These are the dog days of summer, am I right? (At least, if you live in the Northern Hemisphere.) Do you know where that expression came from? From the Romans, of course! The Romans associated the hottest days with the star Sirius. They believed the star… which is the brightest in the Canis Major (Large Dog) […]
What Makes A Place Home?
Jess Kimball begins her most recent investigation in Winter Park, the city President Chester Arthur once declared “the prettiest place I have seen in Florida!” Winter Park is a suburb of Orlando, originally a resort town. Its developers required all buildings to look a certain way. They planted orange trees and worked hard to promote their […]
3 Terrifying Kidnapping-For-Ransom Cases
We thriller authors engage in fascinating research before creating our exciting plots. Our research helps us craft stories we hope you’ll find thrilling when you read them. For example, while writing my most recent book, significant research time focused on the terrifying practice of kidnapping for ransom. (Want to know why? Check out my contribution to the […]
Saturday Special: Time To Rest and Read
Are you doing any reading this weekend? I ask because Monday was Digital Book Day, where digitalbookday.com offered 407 books on its site … for free! Anyone could download the e-book versions of an unlimited number of books. How cool is that?! I offered Florida Is Murder for free – my double feature set which […]
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