"The Last Page Sells Your Next Book"

That's part of a quote from Mickey Spillane. Here's the full thing: “Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it’s a letdown, they won’t buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.”

At Maine Crime Writers today I talk about last pages and last lines. Nailing the ending is one of the hardest parts of writing a novel. As I write in the blog, The Poacher's Son didn't originally end where it now does. And it took me a number of drafts to find the right note on which to conclude Trespasser. I knew the last line of Bad Little Falls early on. 

I guess the test will be if it helps sell my next book, right?

My 12 Favorite Maine Stories of 2012

Happy New Year! At Maine Crime Writers today I look back at the last year at Down East Magazine and pick my twelve favorite articles. It's a real grab bag of stories covering everything from famous paintings to gutter politics to spicy hot sauces.

One of the great things about being Editor in Chief is that it gives me the freedom to pursue some offbeat interests. As perks go, it's a pretty cool one.

How to Survive Falling Through the Ice

When I was a teenager, a friend and I decided to cross the frozen Scarborough Marsh one winter's day. It had been very cold, and everything was covered in snow. The Spurwink River is backish and tidal so you could see where the rising and falling water had caused ridges to form and collapse—but the ice looked safe enough.

It wasn't. My friend went through about fifteen feet from me. We knew a neighbor family whose young son had died falling through the ice. This looked to be a very bad situation.

And then, suddenly, my friend stood up. Half of his body was submerged, but his feet were on compacted mud. We were lucky it was low tide.

Not everyone who falls through the ice is so fortunate, as I discuss at Maine Crime Writers today.

Surfacing

I've been quiet on the blogging front because I've been working hard on my fourth Mike Bowditch novel, Massacre Pond. Now that I am nearing the end, it feels like I am rising from the depths after having been submerged a long time. I describe the unreality of this experience at Maine Crime Writers today.

In other news, Edgar winner and Associated Press book critic Bruce DeSilva very kindly named Bad Little Falls to his list of the Best Crime Novels of 2012. To say that I am honored and grateful doesn't really do justice to the emotions I am feeling to be included with such great books.