I just read an article in The New York Times about a new —and potentially game changing— use of DNA in criminal investigations. As a mystery writer (reader & fan) I try to keep up with changes in criminal investigative techniques. Right now, DNA is a linchpin in many prosecutions, but for it to play a significant role in an investigation, the police must have a suspect. It’s the comparison of DNA left at the crime scene with likely perpetrators (people with a motive and access) that links a suspect to a crime. Imagine if the DNA left behind enabled
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Monster on Hold
After spending the better part of a day waiting to talk to and then having conversations that rocketed between infuriating and perplexing with the customer service departments of three different businesses, my temper was…well, let’s just say I was frayed. I won’t say that all the people I spoke with were MONSTERS (one was even cheerful, helpful & patient), but the day was a recipe for lost tempers on both sides of the phone lines. There was a moment when I wish I could have said — “Don’t upset the Hulk I’m about to change.” But, realistically, all I could
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Food Glorious Food
The tune from the classic musical “Oliver” floated into my head when I posted a strange, and very informal, survey on Facebook. I asked my regular Facebook friends (a fun mix of longtime connections, Tango dancers from all over the world and extended family) to reply to the following query. I asked the cooks to list the 10 ingredients they always keep in their kitchens. And I asked the non-cooks what 5 ingredients they keep on hand to assemble meals & snacks. I received some very intriguing and revealing answers. What am I looking for? Character tells. People in real
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False Memories & Lies
Picking up on my last post, the saga of the news anchor’s fabulist memories continues. Will it end his career? Will every report he ever made be branded a lie? Will consumers of American news suddenly become conscious of all the discrepancies in the “first draft of history” that is broadcast constantly on cable and on the Internet? Answers: (1) Maybe. (2) By some —most likely his colleagues from more conservative news outlets, who prefer critiquing him to self-examination… And, (3) unlikely as memories are very short and ideas about politics are deeply entrenched. But the story will not die
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Liars & Fabulists
We all embellish personal stories. Sometimes we do it to be funny. I know that when I tell the story of my final “protest” at P.S. (NYC Public School) 94, in Queens (vomiting on my teacher’s shoes because I couldn’t speak my mind) I play it for laughs. But back when I was five, it was a cry for freedom and justice against a rigid, fascist regime (the crazy school). Other people embellish with heroic additions transforming themselves from the guy who phoned the fire fighters to the one that went back into the burning building to save a mother
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This is Your Brain on Magic —What’s Real and What’s Really Real?
This is Your Brain on Magic “She would have made a marvelous widow. Now that was a role she was meant to play! Don’t laugh. I mean it.” Grandpa chuckled before he continued. “Up every morning for mass. I’ll bet she was confessing to, let’s say, ambivalent feelings about me coming home that night. Still I outlived her. Always wondered about her dying words — was it ‘Shit, Mike screwed me out of a good time again!’ or something worse?” “Grandpa,” Fred tried to speak, but the word got lost somewhere between his brain and his mouth. “Grandpa…” He
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Ripped from the Headlines!
Four magic words that start a story rolling… Lately it seems like the news is overstocked with horror beyond my imagination and with characters larger, stranger, bolder and sicker than I could possibly create for fiction. Some are so oversized and evil that they push at the edges of the credibility envelop, while still being ripped from the, relatively, reliable headlines. Just when I think I’ve created something truly outlandish, I discover that something worse has happened. Setting aside the really big, cruel, angry, hateful actors on the international political stage, I find inspiration in “smaller” criminal behaviors. I love
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Research, Yes. Outline, Maybe?
Question: What has Vietnam, “The Feminine Mystique,” Vermeer, art looted by the Nazi’s, circus performers, vegetarian lasagna and two rare neurological diseases? Answer: The partial list of things I need to research for my new novel idea. Research —on the Internet, in the library, visiting locations and interviewing people— helps me ground my completely fictional stories in the realm of the real. I’m often scrambling while I write to verify historical facts, identify places or nail down the tenor of a particular time & place. This time, I’m experimenting and front loading my research phase. I’ve created a list
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WRITE NOW!
Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with an incredible idea or roll over after a dream and say to yourself — that’s a keeper; it’ll make a great story? When that happens do you jot it down immediately or assume that it’ll come back to you in the morning? For years I’ve kept a pad and pen by my bed and, on occasion, I’ve scribbled a sweet line, unexpected plot twist or a snippet of dialog before going back to dreamland. I’ve also scribbled a few extraordinary words only to discover in the morning that
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