I sometimes fall into the trap of thinking of children's murder mysteries as stepping stones—books that get young readers interested in the genre before they graduate to the "real" mysteries as adults. The Big Bad Wolf Murder reminded me how unfair that way of thinking is. This is simply a well-crafted mystery, regardless of the… Continue reading The Big Bad Wolf Murder
I ended up ordering the next proof of Goodnight Irene. I think it's done. I love the imagery and the colors. I might be uploading this and removing the old Irene sooner rather than later. Editing on The Opening Night Murders is going slowly. Today was productive nonetheless. I outlined a new scene and made… Continue reading Editing update: The Opening Night Murders 2.0
As these Friday adventures have continued, my strategy has become clearer. I want to hike trails in the morning and early afternoon. Then, I want to visit towns in Illinois that I've never been to...which is most of them. Yesterday, I started off with Humistan Woods. It was difficult finding the place. There were multiple… Continue reading Humiston Woods and Pontiac
I got the author's copy of the new Goodnight Irene paperback. The text is far too thin and the image far too dark, especially the back. This happens a lot. The look of a digital image is brighter than that of a physical copy. I still remember the first proof of The Opening Night Murders… Continue reading Editing Project Update 7/20/26
This Friday's adventure was truncated. Here in the midwest, we had a little over 24 hours of poor air quality due to wildfires up in Canada. I did my 12,000 steps outside on Thursday morning and it wasn't too bad except for the smell. By the afternoon, the air was thicker and probably too unpleasant… Continue reading Kankakee River State Park
James Scott Byrnside 