What’s the difference between writing a screenplay for a movie and writing a
novel? Many of my friends and writers think if you can do one, the other is easy. Not true. Here are some differences:
1. Length. A novel can be anywhere from 180 pages to 400. Most popular novels today are about 300 pages long. (This …
In many years as a defense lawyer, I’ve seen some stupid mistakes made by criminals. Like all of us they screw up. Unlike most of us, 
they also commit crimes. Here are some of them from real life:
1. A burglar named Bob broke into a suburban house through the sliding door on the patio. Dressed in black, …
There was a fascinating commentary in the New York Times this week called, “To Stop Crime, Hand Over Cash,” by Devone Boggan. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/05/opinion/sunday/to-stop-crime-hand-over-cash.html?ref=opinion&_r=0 The author thinks we should pay criminals to stop murder.
I’ve worked in the criminal justice system for over thirty years. Crime prevention has taken many turns—usually in two ways:
1. More police, more enforcement…
Myself and a prosecutor (I’m a criminal defense lawyer working in a public defender office in Minnesota) spoke to a group of mystery writers last night. The prosecutor was actually the featured speaker although as we got into issues of criminal justice, the questions flew at both of us. Here are some of them:
1. We should just …
Here’s a new book I finished that I think you’ll like. The Sixth Extinction–An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=elizabeth+kolbert In an effort to read more science related books, I read hers. She’s a journalist who traveled all over the world interviewing scientists about this issue—so she writes in an interesting and informative way. I can understand it!…
Here’s a great editorial from the New York Times from law professor, Adam Benforado. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/opinion/flawed-humans-flawed-justice.html?ref=opinion He argues that our present system is old and based on inaccurate ways we assume people act. In order to reform the criminal justice system, he argues, we should apply the results of new scientific research about human behavior. What are the faulty …
I’m so excited with the release of my 5th novel, Up Like Thunder. Here’s what it’s about from the back cover:
Myanmar, ruled by a corrupt military junta since 1962, and embroiled in one of the longest-running civil wars in history, finally opens its borders for limited business and tourism in 2011. The US Export/Import Bank, anxious to …
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