Chris GoffIt is with great pleasure I get to introduce our next guest blogger, John Gilstrap. He's one of my all time favorite writers, and I've read every one of his books. He's a New York Times bestselling author, funny, smart and a rare Type-A among a colleagues more often labeled...
The Summer Muse
Roses in my gardenThis month's topic here at Rogue Women Writers is how vacations or the lazy days of summer feed our muse. Summer plays havoc with a thriller writer, or at least it does for me. Gone are the dark, cold days that lend themselves to equally dark, exciting thrillers. Now the days are...
Is your character a mirror image?
...by Karna Small BodmanThis week some of us Rogue writers are discussing our "relationship" with the characters in our novels...is the heroine a mirror image of ourselves? Or could she be a composite of our wish list perhaps? And what about the hero, if we create one? Is he based on someone...
THE TIMELESS APPEAL OF SERIAL KILLERS
by K.J. HoweAs writers, we're observers of human nature. We chronicle the lives of characters who resonate with us, or infuriate us--and the most interesting stories are usually those that involve flawed people. And the draw of serial killers is fascinating and timeless. Although...
STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS
S. Lee Manning: What’s the difference between having an imaginary friend and creating a protagonist?Kolya, sitting in the chair next to my desk, shrugs, hands up and to the side in the universal sign of dunno. “Your age, probably.” He’s watching me try to write a post on my relationship with my...
LEE CHILD GOES ROGUE – OR, THE SECRET LIFEOF JACK REACHER’S CREATOR
Gayle LyndsLee ChildWhere does one begin with the iconic Lee Child? Well, he’s tall and debonair, with a terrific Brit accent (born to), and a witty sense of humor. He writes to-die-for thrillers about Jack Reacher, the testosterone-loaded Good Samaritan who solves problems with his...
FOR NOVELISTS, WHAT’S IN A NAME?
by Gayle LyndsIn my espionage novel The Book of Spies, Eva Blake’s name was originally Ann Blake. This may seem like a small change for an author to make, but for me, it made all the difference. In the story, Ann was a pretty woman with red hair and a sunny disposition who was a top...
THE BUCKET LIST
by Chris GoffI am lucky. I've been to a lot of places. My folks were responsible for my visiting forty-nine of the states, Canada, Mexico and thirteen European countries – either by taking me there or helping finance the journeys. Since then my family and friends have helped me add Israel,...
WHAT MAKES YOUR DREAM VACATION?
by Sonja StoneLOCATION, COMPANION, OR ATTITUDE?The Four Seasons, Bora BoraI’ve written before about my favorite vacations—a week at Miraval Resort, a full-service spa tucked in the foothills of the Catalina Mountains in Tucson, Arizona. Survival courses conducted by sandal-wearing field guides in...
WHEN THE PAST IS YOUR DESTINATION: HOW TO WRITE THROUGH TIME
By Francine MathewsAs a young girl, I read constantly and to the exclusion of the real world. This was somewhat unconscious--I could no more resist the siren call of stories than I could refuse to eat--but it was also somewhat calculated. I liked to escape. For numerous reasons too tedious to...