The Beat on the Street

A well known literary agent recently pontificated about 10 things writers must do HERE, which in turn ended up the subject of a great post, and lot's of reader feedback over at  Joe Konrath's blog HERE

-Now,  if you are looking for some advice  / tips that might actually help you, Allan Guthrie has 10 excellent points over at Criminal- E HERE

- Over at Do Some Damage, guest blogger Brian Lindenmuth has some excellent observations on the e-book cover HERE

- Patti Abbott is looking for your take on the best TV cast ensemble HERE

- If you think stock traders have your best interests at heart, might want to check out the post over at Paul Waters' site HERE

- Lot's of new stories have been posted over at A Twist of Noir HERE and Thrillers Killers-n-Chillers HERE

- Big time congrats to FFO head honcho Dave Barber, and William Dylan Powell. Both got some well deserved recognition for their recent short stories. Details HERE

- Jeanette Cheezum is Paul Brazill's guest for his Short Sharp Interview feature HERE

The Beat On The Street

It was a weekend full of my kids sports activities, but I did manage to finish / submit a story I was working on, and submit another one.  Lot's going on in the world of web, so for anyone who did not catch some, or all of the below news, here you go.

- Peter Rozovsky has hit the 5 year mark of his excellent Detectives Beyond Borders blog. I found out about DBB, from Adrian McKinty's blog, and glad I did. Congrats Peter! You can read about Peter's recap of his 5 years in the biz HERE

- The Nerd of Noir friggin' kills me. Every time I read a review by this dude ( or, er, dudette? who knows?) I not only get the straight dope on the subject matter, but also laugh my ass off.  Check out The Nerds take on the movie "Drive" HERE and George Pelacanos' "The Cut"  HERE. This Pelacanos cat has got me all kinds of excited and I'm diving in, full throttle, starting tonight.

- Paul Brazill is doing the Chinwag over at Richard Godwin's place HERE

-Dave Barber is over at Nigel Birds, being grilled by his Two Blokes characters.  Check out the insanity HERE

- Speaking of Mr. Barber, he's also the editor of the Flash Fiction Offensive and there are two great reads I found there. "Robert the Arab Girl" by Stuart Matthew David HERE and "Lunch Break" by Trey R Barker HERE

- Chris Rhatigan really impressed me with what he was able to do with a 50 word limit over at the 50 to 1 site. Check out "Guy With the Barbed Wire Tattoo" HERE

- Over at Ashedit, there are some great pics from Bouchercon 2011 ( including, ahem, Christa Faust, be still my heart) Check them out HERE

- Found a new blog that I look forward to following. The host is Cath Bore, Liverpool writer. Enjoyed the posts so far. Stop in and check out Cath's place HERE

Tiddies & Guns & Bankok..Oh My!

If you don't know this already, there is a Hell of a lot of great short story writing over at the Flash Fiction Offensive. Big prop's to editor Dave Barber, who somehow juggles work, family, and his own writing, to find the time time for FFO. Today, I read 4 in a row. Each one is a good read, unique in style, and take place in different countries or geographic locations. Can't ask for much more than that.

Paul Brazil starts things started, delivering the goods as the FFO's monthly Guest Writer spot. He makes the most of the extended word count with SNAPSHOTS.

Paul Salvette did an excellent job taking me to the sleazy streets of Bankok with his tale RAID ON SOI 5

Nathaniel Tower gets my vote for most original theme with BREAST AND PICKUPS

Ryan Jackson cranks up the action in the inner city project's with 12 GAUGE RAGE

The Beat On The Street and Win A Copy of Mindjacker

Going to be giving away a free print copy of Mindjacker, and will ship to wherever the winner calls home. All you need to do is check my blog on Friday March 18th, at 12:00 PM EST. All the characters in the novel were inspired by some famous person or another. So, I'll post a short excerpt, provide a clue, and the first person to guess the real life  person wins a copy, or at least something to stoke the fireplace with.

In other, far more interesting news...

-Chris Allinotte's Madness in March has been a real treat so far. R.S Bohn, Richard Godwin, and Angel Zapata have been featured so far. As the Nerd of Noir might say...Dig this shit HERE

-Speaking of Ms. Bohn, she's this weeks judge for Lili Childs Friday Prediction. Enter your best hundred words HERE

- Any time someone can expose "reality" tv for the mindless scourge that it is, I'm interested. Benjamin Sobieck is doing just that at the Flash Fiction Offensive HERE

- Col Bury is giving a rave review to Andy Rivers novel Maxwells Silver Hammer. I am so all over this, if I can get it from amazon UK. Details HERE

-If you've authored a novel or collection and are looking for some exposure by way of an interview at a pretty cool, up and coming site, stop on over to this thread on the Absolute Write site. Complete details HERE. I took them up on the offer and the first round of questions hey sent me are really impressive.