Linda Fairstein is one of those people who is so accomplished and so smart she could be intimidating if she were not so damn nice. Her life as a NYC prosecutor informs her novels with a kind of veritas we all wish we had. When she met with the CFA students afterwards, she divulged all sorts of details about her real life cases, her personal life and her writing, much of which is still resonating with me.
What can I say about Charlaine, except that she is the sweetest, nicest person to ever write about vampires, shape-shifters and you name it. She broke the mold when she crossed genres and became a success despite the warnings of agents and editors who told her it couldn’t be done. Listen to her tell how she did it.
Elmore Leonard was the very first Master Class writer I invited to Crime Fiction Academy and he said yes! He is every bit as sharp and funny as his novels, which you can see in this video.
Joyce Carol Oates is an icon in today’s literary world, a brilliant writer who believes that all novels contain some sort of mystery. Listen and learn from one of the great writers of our time.
I so enjoyed being interviewed by Jane, a writer of mysteries and a generous soul. To connect to Jane: www.janecleland.com
This short video was shot in my old 38th Street Manhattan studio to promote my novel, “Anatomy of Fear.” I wrote the script, did the voice over and play the artist (Hey, I was available and the price was right). My assistant, Ryan Ernst, plays the killer. I had Ryan pose for the killer’s portrait in the novel so it made sense that he’d play him in the video. He’s really a sweet guy, not the terrifying psycho he portrays here. “Anatomy of Fear” won the Nero Wolfe award for best crime novel of the year and I am very proud of that.
I had the opportunity to be a guest judge on Bravo’s Work of Art reality series. In this episode I helped the panel judge and discuss the participants assignment of creating a book cover for a famous work of literature.