Blogger extraordinaire Anne R. Allen recently posted a warning to authors who get lots of emails gushing over their books. All those emails are an AI-driven scam, which Anne detailed here: Authors, Those Flattering Emails Filling Your Inbox—They’re All an AI Scam I'm...
Let’s talk about mentors for a moment Especially when you are taking on a new challenge, a mentor can show the way, guide you around obstacles, or simply be a sounding board. Being a mentor is a way of both giving back and helping others rise to their fullest...
Aaaah Imagine yourself lounging on a hotel balcony in Positano, an Aperol Spritz in one hand, condensation rolling down the glass and cooling your palm. Below you, the Mediterranean is a translucent shade that’s impossible to define. One moment the water is a smooth...
It’s summer. Also known as the Season of Author Conferences and Book Festivals. This means that I’ll be introducing myself to lots of strangers. In noisy situations, dull situations, spur-of-the-moment situations. But even if you aren’t an author at a bookish event,...
I've teamed with UK author Jane Harvey-Berrick, who writes the Cornish Crime Thriller series as Berrick Ford, in a new YouTube project! Our Amato2Berrick Crime Conversations features short videos (7-10 minutes) in which we discuss what makes crime fiction so...
My CIA career has come up several times lately, during new release promo events for BARRACUDA BAY, the latest Detective Emilia Cruz mystery. House of Mystery podcast When I was chatting with House of Mystery podcast co-hosts Alan Warren and Joe Goldberg, one of them...
Goodreads is a great resource for readers. One part review platform, one part social sharing, all parts clunky and hard to navigate. Yet it is worth taking the time to navigate the platform because you'll discover great new reads and reader friends. Putting books on...
The top question I get from readers? “Is Detective Emilia Cruz based on a real person?” Yes, sort of. Emilia is a composite of three different people. All contribute in unique ways to the character, including Emilia’s analytic skills, innate suspicion of others’...
Phew! 2024 was quite a year. Here's a swift recap: 2024 in review: New releases 1 Backlist glow-up: AWAKENING MACBETH, 2nd edition 2 Audiobooks: MADE IN ACAPULCO and THE LISTMAKER OF ACAPULCO 1 Box Set: THE COMPLETE GALLIANO CLUB SERIES 4 Large Print Editions: ROAD TO...
My mother passed in October at age 95. Although she’d been declining for some time and dementia had robbed us of who she really was, the loss still hit like a hammer blow. Many of my writer friends know that I wrote the Galliano Club series during the pandemic, using...
A mystery author, a knitting pattern designer, a fiber arts store owner and a custom yarn maker all walk into a bar . . . The result is knitting, crochet and weaving kits inspired by the Galliano Club historical fiction thriller series! Choose your craft and custom...
Summer is the season for author “cons.” My hands down favorite is Killer Nashville, right in my (almost) back yard. Killer Nashville This annual author conference is a 4-day whirl of writing tradecraft seminars and networking opportunities. If you are going 22-25...
On 16 July, a tornado barreled through my hometown of Rome in upstate New York. With a population of around 32,000, Rome is near the geographical center of New York state. Summers there are known for humidity, marching bands, and Revolutionary War landmarks. Not...
I rarely discuss hot potato topics, but this week it became painfully clear that the CIA I joined in 1985 is not the CIA of today. the nonpartisan rule I entered on duty the day after Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration. At that time, it was made crystal clear to me...
You saw it here first. I'm finally writing a spy thriller. Well, part of one. Spy-sourced thriller I've been invited to contribute a chapter to a spy thriller that tackles Havana Syndrome. Different chapters will be written by former CIA officers, many of whom like me...