Tag Archives: writing

Writing Advice From The Author Of “Cliff Walk.”

Posted on August 6, 2012 by

Check out my advice to writers on the Gotham Writers’ Workshop site. I discuss writers’ block, writing prompts, and the most valuable advice I got as a young writer.  Here’s the link. It’s an honor to be included there with … Continue reading →

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Why Journalism Helped Me Become a Novelist — the TV Interview

Posted on May 21, 2012 by

Reporters who interview me about my crime novels often ask me how my long journalism career prepared me to write them. Here’s the answer in an interview I did for Channel 10 News in Providence, R.I. You can watch it … Continue reading →

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Writing a Hard-Boild Crime Novel, an 80-Year-Old Form, and Making It Fresh and Contemporary

Posted on July 12, 2011 by

Ever since I read a paperback copy of Raymond Chandler’s The Long Goodbye about fifty years ago, I have loved hard-boiled crime novels; but when I finally sat down to write my first one, I confronted a problem: How could … Continue reading →

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Who’s Reading “Rogue Island” Now? The Great Jack Hart!

Posted on May 12, 2011 by

Look who’s reading my Edgar Award-winning crime novel, Rogue Island, now! It’s legendary writing coach Jack Hart, whose new book, “Story Craft,” will be published July 15. Rogue Island, now available in hardcover and Kindle editions, will be published in … Continue reading →

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Gregory McDonald, Creator of Fletch, Still Has Much to Teach Us About Reading and Writing

Posted on April 4, 2011 by

Gregory McDonald, author of the Fletch mystery novels, interviewed by Edgar Award-nominated author Bruce DeSilva Continue reading →

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Keepers of the Second Throat

Posted on April 4, 2011 by

This speech, originally delivered to a national conference of English teachers, is one of the most inspiring things I have ever read. I’d say that even if it weren’t my wife, Patricia Smith, who wrote it. Please give it a look … Continue reading →

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How Do You Write a Great Hardboiled Novel? The Late, Great Robert B. Parker Gave Me an Earful of Advice

Posted on March 3, 2011 by

Twenty-six years ago, long before I’d written my first crime novel, I had a long conversation with the great Robert B. Parker and got an earful about how it’s done. I thought a lot about that conversation last night after … Continue reading →

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An Interview With Me on Murderati

Posted on February 6, 2011 by

Murderati, the fine crime fiction website, published an interview with me this week. It ranges from the writing of my Edgar-Award nominated novel, Rogue Island, to the future of the newspaper business.  Please take a look by clicking here.”

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Former Mayor Buddy Cianci Interviews Me About My Novel, “Rogue Island.”

Posted on November 16, 2010 by

Former Providence Mayor Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci Jr., now a talk show host in Rhode Island, interviewed me Thursday about my new Providence-based crime novel, Rogue Island. You can hear the interview by clicking on the link below. It was interesting … Continue reading →

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Giving Each Character In A Novel A Unique Voice

Posted on November 14, 2010 by

Real people don’t sound alike when they speak, and neither should the characters in a novel. If they do, I stop reading and look for another book. A mobbed-up bookie, an aged ex-fireman, a by-the-book police chief, and a 39-year-old … Continue reading →

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