How to structure your crime novel
How to structure your crime novel How to write a crime novel, episode 2 If you don’t take time to figure out the structure of your crime novel, …
Crime Writing
Fiction is closer to the ‘truth’ than journalism
Writing the truth by turning to fiction, instead of journalism Journalism is fiction. Don’t believe me? Open a newsmagazine and you’ll be …
Hammett’s writing evokes emotion through reality
How Hammett’s classic ‘The Maltese Falcon’ showed me what kind of writer to be As an undergraduate I studied English literature at …
Write a thriller: How Don Winslow propels a plot around its Midpoint
The key to the pace of a thriller lies in the Midpoint The Midpoint is a plot point that lies, of course, at the halfway point of the book. What does …
Write a thriller: Find a good ‘What if’
A “What if” situation is a great way to start your plotting A “What if” question can spark your entire thriller. Try to imagine any …
Writing with Paint: Learning Oils for My Caravaggio Novel ‘A Name in Blood’
To research A Name in Blood, my novel about the mystery of Caravaggio’s death, I traveled to all the places where the great artist lived and worked. I …
Rescuing Caravaggio from a Bad Rap
He was a raging psycho, an uncontrollably lustful homosexual, and a bit of a bitch. Somehow he also managed to produce some of the most sensitive and …
Researching my Caravaggio novel: Learning to Kill
In the chapel of the Pio Monte della Misericordia, I stood before the great painting now known as Seven Works of Mercy (Caravaggio called it Our Lady …
Inspiration for Mozart
I’m interviewed on the CBS columnist Jeff Glor’s blog about my new novel Mozart’s Last Aria. Here’s how it starts: Jeff Glor: …
Mozart and Machine Guns
I have a guest post on the excellent Wonders and Marvels historical fiction blog. It introduces some of the story behind why I wrote Mozart’s …
Me, Mozart and the intifada
If there had never been a Palestinian intifada, I might never have written my novel about the death of Mozart, MOZART’S LAST ARIA, which is published …
Amadeus, Murder and the real Mozart
The long wait for a successor to Amadeus is over. In fact, my new novel MOZART’S LAST ARIA answers questions about the great composer’s death that are …