Here we go....

I think of all the readers who email me, who are waiting for my next book to come out, and of all the writers who ask for help, and I think: Wow, I should begin planting bits of advice here, drop hints on how to turn out essays and novels and better letters to Grandma.
And then I wonder why I would want to create competition. But here's the thing: I've been helping new writers for nearly thirty years. Just because I've stopped ripping around, finding, writing and selling feature articles and short stories, just because I've settled down to (gasp) write my own novels -- why change who I am?
So we begin.
You'll need to read. And read and read and read and read. I myself love to read mystery-suspense novels. Although my own books (Sweeping Up Glass, available in all bookstores now, and Playing With Matches which will be out next year) are shelved under literary fiction (think Opray-style books), they all needed and have, huge elements of mystery.
But wait -- I crave a cup of coffee. I'll be back....