World’s Greatest Hamburger My brother will be surprised to know this post is about him — especially since it’s not a tribute to his death. How did this come about, you ask? I was reading a book and, about halfway through, the author described yet another character with superlatives. I thought about it and realized…
Living In The Shadows — The Fate of Secondary Characters I was watching a movie the other night that looked like it had promise. The first ten minutes got me interested and the main character was intriguing. And then I met the rest of the cast. With only one exception, they were dull, flat, cliched,…
Decisions About Independent Publishing The best part about being an independent author is you get to make all the decisions yourself. Nobody tells you what to do. You decide on the story, the characters, pick your own book cover, hire your own editor, choose fonts, all of it. It’s a great, wonderful feeling. But there’s…
The Fear of Writing Real Characters Writing strong, interesting characters is not easy. Many writers use real people, or combinations of real people, as the basis for their characters. Because they are, in essence, real people, readers relate to them. It’s no surprise then, that quite a few authors base their protagonists or at least…
Clarifying What We Mean—When is Midnight? I was doing a book promotion this week and communicating by email—always a dangerous thing. The people running the ad sent me this message: Hi Giacomo, I will be posting your book, Murder Has Consequences, as a bargain book on Wednesday, 7/17. Please leave you book on sale until…
My wife was reading a book the other night and the female lead was having a difficult time with her relationship. At one point the character said to her friend, “Nothing’s left. It’s all downhill from here.” Confused, my wife came to me and asked about the saying. “I thought ‘it’s all downhill from here’…
Mistakes Show Up in Many Ways Imagine buying a new computer only to discover that the percentage key doesn’t work, or that five pixels on your screen aren’t working. Or how about a new refrigerator, and the first time you have guests over you discover the ice maker taps out after half an hour. (I’ve…
Thumbs Up I was reading a book the other night, and when I finished I went to write a review for it. I wondered, does this get a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down?” Since it was a damn good book I gave it a thumbs up. But did I do right? Whenever I see…
I’ve been on a kick lately to get to the bottom of sayings. After last week’s column I thought I’d tackle a couple of tougher ones. Let’s start with one close to my heart: See Naples and Die. Vedi Napoli e poi Muori “See Naples and die.“ It was a phrase coined during the reign…
A huge THANKS! is in order for all you wonderful readers. You have made March my best sales month ever. And even more gratitude to the magnificent readers who spent precious time leaving reviews. My books have some of the highest ratings based on customer reviews. The “hard boiled mystery” category has @ 5,000 books…