Opinion – M. Ruth Myers

Category Archives for Opinion

Should You Attend a Writers Conference? Part II: What to Expect – and NOT Expect

In Part I of this article, I advised authors-in-the-making to ask themselves two questions before deciding whether to pony up the price of attending a writers conference. If you have done it, I urge you to before going further. You’ll better digest what I tell you today. Q. 1) – What do you expect/want from […]

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Should You Attend a Writers Conference? Part I

It’s that time of year when many a novelist-in-the-making, whether of P.I. stories or other fare, begins to think about attending a writers conference. Should they? Should YOU? Please note I’m not talking about a fan convention or weekend workshop. When I say “conference” I mean a week-long event where participants attend two or three […]

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Don’t Dig a Grave for Private Eye Novels

Near the end of 2014 an article in the New York Times magazine carried the ominous title “The Death of the Private Eye”. With a smirk it described how and why the P.I. novel is dead.  Obsolete.  Kaput. Between you and me, I think the author had been in the sauce. For starters, he didn’t […]

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The Night Before Christmas for Authors

‘Tis the night before Christmas and on KDP, Not a new free book’s listed for browsers to see. The trolls, eschewing their favorite food, lemons, Are skulking in caves, eating unripe persimmons. And authors have turned their computers to OFF With loved ones to greet and libations to quaff. So to all of you on […]

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IF SHE’S NOT A PRIVATE EYE, DRESS HER IN CONCRETE

Recently, in hopes of finding some interesting new gal gumshoes to add to this blog — as well as my own reading pile — I spent an hour sifting through titles on Amazon. I came away with nothing to show for my efforts except frustration. My approach was, I thought, quite logical. I went to […]

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Why Do We Like P.I. Stories?

Whether the detective is a man or a woman, I love private eye stories. Like other afficionados, I like mysteries in general. Thrillers too. But my favorite, the absolute ultimate treat, is a good P.I. story. Why? I think there are three reasons. The P.I. exposes wrongdoing and delivers justice when ‘the system’ can’t. Probably […]

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