Blog

October 14th, 2021

This past Monday was the Boston marathon. I’ve only run one marathon in my life and, because of an arthritic knee, that number will likely not get any bigger. The marathon is extremely humbling. It’s about 25% training. You put in the time and the miles but on the day itself, it’s 75% mental. It’s going to beat you up and you are going to want to quit more than once. What do you do when the question gets asked? Pack it in or push on?

Writing is a lot like the marathon in many ways. Talent can take you so far but then you need to push through the resistance and keep going. Trust the training. Trust the process.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• The NYTs checks in with astronaut and now thriller author Chris Hadfield on writing, editors cutting a lot of words, Apollo missions, and retirement.
  
  
• The Guardian reviews the Penny/Clinton team up and finds a lot of thinly veiled score settling, insider research, and an efficient political thriller.
  
  
• I’m excited this series is back and according to USAT better than ever. USAT finds the return of the Best American Mystery series reinvigorated under Steph Cha and provides a good snapshot of the state of the genre.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Louise Penny:

• “Myrna could spend happy hours browsing bookcases. She felt if she could just get a good look at a person’s bookcase and their grocery cart, she’d pretty much know who they were.”
  
• “No good ever comes from putting up walls. What people mistake for safety is in fact captivity. And few things thrive in captivity.”

1 QUESTION

• What is your favorite mystery or thriller written by a ‘celebrity?’

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

October 7th, 2021

In any job or career, it’s easy to get caught up in comparisons and lose sigh of what matters or what you enjoy. Pay attention to what you are chasing because, in the end, you just might get it. And the cost of that success might come at the expense of the things that really matter.

“Never risk what you have and need,” wrote Warren Buffett, “for what we don’t have and don’t need.” In pursuit of our goals, we inevitably give up things that matter. We sleep less. We spend less time with our friends. We eat unhealthily. We skip workouts. We cancel dates. We miss dinner with the family.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• Reviews of the Netflix adaptation of THE CHESTNUT MAN find an on the nose thriller, “the kind of propulsive, twisty crime novel straight from an airport bookstore’s bestseller shelf.” I’ll let you decide if that’s a compliment or not.
  
  
• BookBub highlights 14 mystery and thriller to look forward to this fall including a short story collection from Jo Nesbo (not really known for being concise!) that was news to me.
  
  
• At CrimeReads you can read Lee Child’s intro to the latest edition of The Best American Mystery Stories.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Nordic noir master Jo Nesbo:

• “Losing your life is not the worst thing that can happen. The worst thing is to lose your reason for living.”
  
• “Doubt is faith’s shadow.”

1 QUESTION

• What is your favorite foreign mystery or thriller show of the past 5 years? Money Heist? Sherlock?

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

September 30th, 2021

In the writing world, there are two main camps. Plotting and pants-ing. I’ve turned more into a plotter over time. I’ve wasted too many words and ideas on scenes that ultimately didn’t lead anywhere.

But that doesn’t mean I adhere to a strict outline either. In life and writing, I think it’s important to leave room for the unexpected.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• Whether you’re an author or a devoted reader, you’ll find yourself nodding along to most of this article and then wondering why you’re reading it, and then wondering why there isn’t something better than GoodReads after all this time.
  
  
• The Bulwark looks beyond Westlake’s Stark & Dortmudner characters to his late standalones like THE HOOK and THE AX.
  
  
• The InsideHook looks at Hiaasen and Lippman as models for why former reporters write some of the best crime fiction.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Donald Westlake this week:

• “Whenever things sound easy, it turns out there’s one part you didn’t hear.”
  
• “In order to hold your faith intact be sure it’s kept unsullied by fact.”

1 QUESTION

• Do you prefer the hard noir of Westlake’s Stark books or the softer comedy of Dortmunder?

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

September 23rd, 2021

I sometimes worry that I am not working hard enough. I create writing goals each year and those, in turn, put expectations (and pressure) on me to produce. In some ways this accountability is good but it can also create stress and stagnation when those expectations become too heavy.

If I have too many goals or competing projects, it just divides up the effort and makes producing something really good, hard enough in its own right, even more difficult.

Progress, not perfection on a single project, each day, can still mean you are being productive. And that more natural productivity can lead to compounding returns that you might not expect.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• The Guardian looks at the pending UK publication of THE INVISIBLE HOST, the suspected inspiration for Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.
  
  
• Looks like Elba is getting his wish (and perhaps fan’s wishes) as he will reprise Luther (and his overcoat) in a new Netflix movie. The series as a whole is very up and down but Elba’s charisma and any scenes with Alice carry it through most of the rough patches.
  
  
• Some of these have started popping up on shelves, but Thrillist looks at the big books coming this fall across genres.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Elba’s Luther this week:

• “Don’t you ever worry that you’re on the Devil’s side without even knowing it?”
  
• “I’ve heard that one before. Lack of conscience dressed up as philosophy.”

1 QUESTION

• What returning series or new book are you most looking forward to this fall?

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

September 16th, 2021

I’ve been thinking about this quote from Arthur van Hoff as I get closer to revising:

“Over the years, I’ve learned that the first idea you have is irrelevant. It’s just a catalyst for you to get started. Then you figure out what’s wrong with it and you go through phases of denial, panic, regret. And then you finally have a better idea and the second idea is always the important one.”ether I feel like it or not. That’s how books get finished.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• Holy cow, it was Colson Whitehead week on book review blogs. A flood of, mostly overwhelmingly positive, reviews for for the peripatetic Whitehead’s take on the crime/heist genre with HARLEM SHUFFLE. In the NYTs, Maslin returns and looks at Whitehead’s “unwavering eloquence” in a rich and wild book that is much more than genre fiction. It might start slow but crackles by the end.
  
  
• Good news for EYE OF THE NEEDLE fans, Ken Follett has returned to the thriller genre. The best-selling author talks to PW about the “deep-seated anxiety” that led him back to the genre with the upcoming NEVER.
  
  
• The Hollywood Reporter finds Peacock’s LOST SYMBOL adaptation “polished” and “decently acted” that “follows the plotting of a Dan Brown novel.” It does get in a good jab about Langdon’s ‘superpower.’

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Chester Himes this week:

• “Martyrs are needed to create incidents. Incidents are needed to create revolutions. Revolutions are needed to create progress.”
  
• “American violence is public life, it’s a public way of life, it became a form, a detective story form. So I should think that any number of black writers should go into the detective story form.”

1 QUESTION

• Are there better lead detective character names in the genre than Himes Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson? What is your favorite crime fiction character name? I do like the everyman simplicity of Joe Pike or Jack Reacher but damn, hard to beat Grave Digger or Coffin Ed.

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

September 9th, 2021

I’m writing everyday. I’m putting my butt in the chair whether I feel like it or not. That’s how books get finished.

Some days are good. Some days are just okay. But I rarely regret making the time and doing the work.

As Carlos Castaneda on mindset: “The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• Publisher’s Weekly talks to Michael Connelly about needing little sleep, collaborating with law enforcement, buying back Bosch, and writing female detectives. Already chomping at the bit to get the next Ballard/Bosch book in a few months.
  
  
• The first reviews (expect a lot more) are starting to pop up for Whitehead’s HARLEM SHUFFLE. The Guardian again finds Whitehead resisting easy categorization in the best sense possible. Can’t wait to read this one.
  
  
• NPR’s All Things Considered talks to Paula Hawkins about stashing bodies, tragedy, loss, and unreliability.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Connelly’s Harry Bosch this week:

• “When one link is broken, the chain will come loose.”
  
• “Hollywood. You build a city in the desert, water it with false hopes and false idols, and eventually this is what happens.”

1 QUESTION

• What is your favorite Bosch book? I’m partial to ANGLEL’S FLIGHT.

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

August 26th, 2021

The last year has brought a tragic event of historical proportions but it bothers me when people start to claim it wasn’t fair or caused irreparable damage. It’s not fair or unfair. It’s life. And much of humanity’s wisdom and resilience is rooted in these types of transformative experiences.

Yes, much of it may have been preventable. Yes, it was certainly hard. But we’ve learned things, too. We are still standing. That says something.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• The NYT’s By the Book feature checks in with William Kent Krueger on crosswords before bed, THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD, his favorite Faulkner, and the greatness of James Lee Burke.
  
  
• NPR looks at Lippman’s DREAM GIRL and the recent (sort of curious) surge in thriller plots revolving around stolen manuscripts.
  
  
• The Guardian’s thriller roundup looks at McDermid’s 1979, the UK pub of Abbott’s THE TURNOUT and the English language translation of OF FANGS AND TALONS, plus more.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Louise Penny’s work this week:

• “The dead are never far from us. They’re in our hearts and on our minds and in the end all that separates us from them is a single breath, one final puff of air.” ― Ordinary Grace
  
  
• “I used to ask for an easy life, now I ask to be strong.” ― Iron Lake

1 QUESTION

• What is your favorite William Kent Krueger book? I’m partial to COPPER RIVER.

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

August 19th, 2021

The news hasn’t been all the pleasant recently. But the news itself is not good or bad. That is our judgement. What happens, happens. What matters is what we’re able to make of it.

My daughter had a bad music lesson this week. Okay, what are you going to do about it? I’m stuck in the middle of my latest book and feel like I’m spinning my wheels. What am I going to do about it?

We have to transform these raw materials, these experiences into opportunities and growth. This is how we become great.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• The NYTs crime column is a little lukewarm on the latest Gamache (something you rarely read these days about Penny’s venerable series), finds more pandemic plot in 56 DAYS, and gives a rare (for new columnist Weinman) unqualified rave to VELVET
  
  
• Everyone is still chasing their tales looking for the next GOT. Buzzfeed has timing and updates on the all the scifi in development. Most interested in 9th House and Station 1.
  
  
• At CrimeReads, Silvio Moreno-Garcia mines the 60’s and 70’s and finds it just as fertile ground for noir as the traditional 1950s.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Louise Penny’s work this week:

• “Light is every bit as challenging as dark. We can discover a great deal about ourselves by looking at beauty.” – A Trick of the Light
  
  
• “But they both knew that words were weapons too, and when fashioned into a story their power was almost limitless.” – The Nature of the Beast

1 QUESTION

• What is your favorite Gamache book?

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

August 12th, 2021

The news hasn’t been all the pleasant recently. Not surprising as misery sells but starting your day with the headlines and checking throughout the day is just inviting your own type of misery into your life. What do we have actually have control over? I’m doing my best to stay informed but not obsessed with the daily headlines.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• At Crime Fiction Lover, Anthony Horowitz weighs in with his crime classics, including discovering Don Winslow. Is there anything better than discovering a new-to-you author that has a big back catalog to work through?
  
  
• Sarah Weinman’s latest NYT’s crime column continues to eschew the big names to highlight (happily) more under the radar crime and mystery books such as Peace’s latest (still vastly unappreciated in the US), Hirahara, MacNeal, and Winstead.
  
  
• PW checks in with Isabel Maldonado about A DIFFERENT DAWN, THE CIPHER Netflix adaptation, and her law enforcement background.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from Don Winslow’s work this week:

• ““Truth, justice and the American way. The American way is: truth and justice maybe say hello in the hallway, send each other a Christmas card, but that’s about the extent of their relationship.” – The Force
  
  
• “Your strengths are your weaknesses. The more you try to protect something, the more vulnerable you make it.” – Savages

1 QUESTION

• What is your favorite Don Winslow book? Do you prefer the series/trilogies? Or the standalones?

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series

August 5th, 2021

So the new fitness habit has taken hold and I think that getting up and knowing I am going to work out first thing (after coffee) is the biggest help. No thinking. No scheduling. Just do it first thing.

I might need to take a similar tact with writing. I’m finding the last month that it’s more hit and miss and takes a lot of mental effort to get going. I need to set it and forget it.

Here are 3 crime fiction links, 2 quotes, and 1 question for this week:

3 LINKS

• CrimeReads digs into ultra dark noir. I do tend to like darker books but sometimes it’s too much. Personally, I’d nominate Flynn’s DARK PLACES one of the few books I couldn’t finish b/c it was so dark.
  
  
• The Guardian finds King’s BILLY SUMMERS meandering, stereotypical, and indulgent, and also his best book in years. .
  
  
• The NYTs takes the recent (or pending) ends to BOSCH, MR INBETWEEN and JACK IRISH to examine if the TV landscape has become less hospitable to hard-boiled crime dramas with middle-aged white male heroes.

2 QUOTES

Two quotes from some classic noir this week:

• “In this world you turn the other cheek and you get hit with a lug wrench.”
  
  
• “That’s life. Whichever way you turn, fate sticks out a foot to trip you.”

1 QUESTION

• What is your favorite classic noir movie?

---

Until next Thursday, happy reading,

Mike

Author the Max Strong thriller series