Songster and Wordsmith

Todays' blog post is about how I used forensic science in my murder mystery novel. I loved doing the research for the cause of death in THE WIDOW CATCHER . What I learned is that they call it Forensic Science for a reason, because the rules of death are grounded in absolutes. If too much blood is lost, a person dies. If too many internal organs are damaged, a person dies. If there is no oxygen, a person dies.  In thrillers and mysteries, unless there is a supernatural element, we rarely have scope for miraculous recoveries. People may survive gunshot wounds, but they cannot dodge bullets. People may survive being held underwater for a period of time, but they cannot breathe underwater. I typically write fantasy and science fiction, so writing THE WIDOW CATCHER made for some interesting writing when I searched for ways in which the protagonist would kill his victim while abiding by the rules of death in the natural world. I turned to my trusty ‘Encyclopedia of Forensic Science’ w

The songwriting muse has been hitting me over the head. I've been writing a song a week and these are the best songs I've written in my life. The music and melodies are better. The lyrics are my finest.  For those who don't know, I used to be a singer/songwriter/musician in my late-teen through to my mid-twenties. I gave it up to write novels.  So why are my songs better now? It's because novel writing has taught me to dig deep, to build a character, to connect with an audience, to find the truth and uncover it, and not be afraid to uncover it.  Authors develop characters in their novels. One way to do this is called 'the ghost of the lie', where the author might do a character interview to find out what is motivating them to act a certain way. For example, a single man never goes beyond the third date with any woman. When pushed by his friends why he won't settle down, he says it's because he is almost finished with his boat and he's going to sail a

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For those of you who have perused my website to check out my books, you'll already know that I write standalone novels and serialized books. When I started, I never wanted to write a series. They take a long time. I have so many story ideas that I felt I might be trapped in one world. But when I began writing sci-fi, it wasn't a choice anymore. Sometimes it is the world or the story or the character that can drive an author to write a series. So what are a few ways for an author to write a series?  1) The trilogy, or quadrilogy depending on the number of books, such as The Hunger Games, the Expanse, Lord of the Rings. These books need to be read in order because there is often a different focus per book with an overarching story. 2) The character-themed series where each book can be read as a standalone, such Jack Reacher, Alex Cross. These books can usually be read in any order because they are one situation with a resolution, but there is still backstory that readers would be

The Sexy Nerd "Revue" : #BookTour...Earth Quarantined #Book 2...#SciFi #Dy... : Earth Arrested Earth Quarantined Book 2 by D.L. Richardson Genre: SciFi Dystopian Thriller A new threat is coming. Earth Arrest...

Sapphyria's Books: Book Feature & #Giveaway ~ Earth Arrested (Earth Q... :   Earth Arrested Earth Quarantined Book 2 by D.L. Richardson Genre: SciFi Dystopian Thriller A new threat is coming. Earth Arrested follows ...