Carolyn Mulford

Near the lake that cools the Summer Palace in Beijing, a tall man with a wet mop wrote something in large Chinese characters. This mystery writer’s first thought: “What a clever way to write a message that would disappear before authorities could gather evidence.” I scrambled to take out my camera and get a shot. My second thought: “Can’t be anything subversive. Too risky in such a public place.” I asked our tour guide what the man had written. She glanced at the characters and said, “Something about tourists and peace.” I could tell she was lying, but since I … Continue reading →

Submit a perfect manuscript, advised a panel of agents and editors at Killer Nashville, a mystery writers’ conference held August 25-28, 2011. The turmoil in the publishing world has made it even harder to persuade anyone to represent or publish your book. Agents and editors who find imperfections on the first page often dismiss the whole manuscript. What makes them stop reading? Lots of things, according to agents Jill Marr of Sandra Dijkstra and Jeff Kleinman of Folio and editors Deni Dietz of Five Star and Martin Shepard of Permanent Press. A volunteer read aloud eight first pages submitted by … Continue reading →