22nd August 2013
The importance of varying your pace when you are writing cannot be stressed too much. To some extent this will happen naturally through your plot, but you should also use your language to control the...
19th August 2013
Three months ago the Crime Writers’ Association asked its members to answer three simple questions as part of the celebrations surrounding the Association’s 60th Anniversary. (It was found...
16th August 2013
We’re a quietish bunch in the UK, us Mystery Writers. There’s me and a few others, some of whom cross into historical crime. But we are largely ignored by the media, rarely reviewed (except on Amazon)...
11th August 2013
We are delighted to announce our August giveway – a complimentary weekend pass to CrimeFest 2014. CrimeFest was recently listed by the Guardian as one of the best crime writing festivals in the...
2nd August 2013
Writer: Felix Francis Area: North Oxfordshire Day job: Ex-physics teacher but now full time writer, and dog-minder Refusal (Dick Francis Novel) is by Felix Francis. Here, we take a look at both w...
27th July 2013
Book sales and maternity wards bloomed with the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey. As a bit of fun, I had a look at the CWA’s Diamond Dagger award winners over the years, and wondered how some of t...
25th July 2013
Crime fiction is plot driven. Yet however clever and intriguing the storyline, no novel succeeds without strong characters. They need to be credible so readers can believe in them. It is also importan...
22nd July 2013
Although we have finished Crime Writing Month we are still going to run some great competitions over the next few weeks. Starting with this one a mystery selection of 3 Cetin Ikmen hardback books by t...
20th July 2013
The Crime Writer’s Association is 60 this year and so am I. I passed that dubious landmark just a few weeks ago. There, that is my confession, out in the open. And while I am getting things off my ch...
19th July 2013
Belinda Bauer wins the CWA Dagger in the Library Sponsor: Dead Good, The Random House Group Belinda Bauer has won the 2013 CWA Dagger in the Library. Mobeena Khan, who chaired this year’s judges, made...
13th July 2013
11:00 It’s a busy day at work today and probably the first time in a few hours that I haven’t checked my e-mails. I have been working with a wonderful editor from Harlequin who I call ‘the lovely Anna...
10th July 2013
As you will have seen the Crime Writers’ Association, the sister organisation of the CRA, is gearing up for our annual Dagger Awards ceremony on Monday 15th July. It is a very exciting time of t...
8th July 2013
As this is the last full week of Crime Writing Month 2013 we are so pleased to offer this fabulous giveaway. September sees the eagerly anticipated opening of Dark Road the first play written by Ian R...
6th July 2013
Author Mary Bale reflects on 60 minutes that helped realise a life long ambition. At 8 am on 4 January 2012 a storm blew up. It hadn’t been forecast to hit this area. Weeks of rain had loosened roots...
4th July 2013
So, you like reading crime? You want to know what thrills and spills are coming your way – the books that will make your pulse pick up, even though you’re sitting down. Books inhabited by the type of...
2nd July 2013
Writer: Chris Collett Workspace: I work in our office (ie. box room) overlooking a leafy street on the Bournville Village Trust. While working, I am closely monitored for productivity by our ageing Yo...
1st July 2013
Friday the thirteenth begins badly for DI Andy Horton when he wakes to find his Harley has been vandalized and his boss, DCI Lorraine Bliss, has returned early from her secondment to HQ. Then, convict...
29th June 2013
Crime writing is not without its occupational hazards. A number of rather serious disorders have been known to affect writers of mystery. As a crime writer and hence long-time sufferer of these ailmen...
28th June 2013
Writer: Richard Godwin Area: London Day job: Full time writer One Lost Summer is by Richard Godwin. Here, we take a look at both writer and his forthcoming work. So, why should we read it? It is a...
26th June 2013
How does it feel to have a new novel published, when you’ve published plenty of books before?” An interesting question, I think. Of course, the appearance of one’s very first novel is a unique a...