I had a discussion with an editor a few weeks ago and she told me about the hundreds of submissions she looks at every year. She glanced at me and said, “I can’t tell you how many of them start
Opening Scenes
Building Our Brand…One Book at a Time
I parked cars at the North Carolina Seafood Festival in Morehead City yesterday. My Rotary Club does it to raise money for local non-profit organization projects as well as college scholarships for deserving local students. It was difficult to sneak
Why We Do This
My newest book, Graveyard Bay, launched on September 10th. In the past week, I’ve done several book signings, one book talk (with dinner), and was a featured author at the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance show in South Carolina. Next weekend,
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
When we were children, my sister and I lived off and on with our grandparents. They resided in a cottage in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York on one of the smaller lakes. During the summer time, the
Writing From the POV of a Female Reporter
Geneva Chase is a hot mess Both Random Road and Darkness Lane are written from the first-person viewpoint of Geneva Chase…a woman. I’m male, I have both an X and a Y chromosome. “Really, you write as a woman?” I’m
Tom’s Halloween Blog
The month of October marks the beginning of autumn. The leaves are turning color, the days are getting shorter, the air is crisp, and Starbucks is serving their pumpkin-spice lattes. It’s also the month for Halloween…and when I particularly enjoy
Finished Manuscript for Graveyard Bay; and Hurricane Florence
On Sunday, October 7, at a little after noon, I hit the button and sent the manuscript for Graveyard Bay to my editor, Annette Rogers, at Poisoned Pen Press. I did it with trepidation and relief. Trepidation because when you’ve
Schedule of Events For End of 2018 and Early 2019
Schedule of Events 2018: September 2-3 Poisoned Pen Mystery Conference—Phoenix, AZ Mon. September 3, 9:15-10 a.m. Sleuths and the Media—Panel Discussion Mon. September 3, 11:15-12 p.m. Unconventional Women—Panel Discussion September 6-9 Bouchercon Mystery Conference—St. Petersburg, FL Thurs. September 6, 11
Writers Workshop: Good Guys, Bad Guys, and Plot Twists: Developing a Mystery with Thomas Kies
Pamlico Writer’s Group How do you develop memorable characters, from your hero to your bad guys (who are people too!)? How do you make them leap off the page and land in a life or death struggle? How do you
Second in Geneva Chase series scheduled for launch
DARKNESS LANE, the second in the Geneva Chase mystery series, is tentatively scheduled for release in June 2018. This mystery features a missing teenager, murder, adultery, sex trafficking, Russian mobsters, movie stars and Broadway theater. Can Geneva get the story