The Maine Crime Writers
Category Archives: Al’s Posts
Sometimes S#&T Just Happens or When I Knew I Would Become A Writer
Al Lamanda here. Sometimes in life, s#&t just happens all by itself and seemingly for no good reason. Trust me; there is a reason, and a cause and an outcome. Most of the time, we’re too busy leading our lives to recognize … Continue reading
Patience and Hard Work Beat a Punch to the Head
By Al Lamanda Before I became old and wise, I was an impatient and brash young man. (Yes, it’s true, I was once young, and no, Teddy Roosevelt wasn’t in The White House at the time.) I was fresh out … Continue reading
Posted in Al's Posts
3 Comments
The Dreaded Synopsis
It has been my recent pleasure to speak with young writers who all want to be the next somebody, and who all seem to be plagued with the same common problem; How to write a good @*^%*#@ SYNOPSIS. Wanting to … Continue reading
Less Is Sometimes A Whole Lot More by Al Lamanda
Thanksgiving is upon us, and to be honest, I’m pretty sick and tired of hearing about it. Not because I’m not grateful for the many blessings bestowed upon me, my family and our great country, but because I’m not looking … Continue reading
A Cliché In Time Is Worth Two In The Bush by Al Lamanda
I live in a really peaceful cove on a medium-sized lake in the country. This quiet setting is ideal for inspiration and writing. Most of the time. My closest neighbor is an eighty-five-year old man who looks and acts … Continue reading
Posted in Al's Posts
3 Comments
A Rose by Any Other Name
Al Lamanda here. When I was a kid in school in New York, in The Bronx, especially grades six through eight, every kid in my class had a really cool nickname except one. Me. My friends were called Ack-Ack, Muskie, … Continue reading
Posted in Al's Posts
Tagged Al Lamanda, Allamanda, Boo-Boo, Day of Dialogue, Florida Keys, Mr. Magoo, screen writing, The Bronx, the Edgars
1 Comment
It’s a Brave New World
Al Lamanda here, with an observation: I see potential plots to murder mysteries everywhere I go and in nearly everything that I come in contact with in everyday life. If you write mystery/thrillers for a living you probably do the same … Continue reading
Posted in Al's Posts
4 Comments
Trials and Tribulations of an Old Dog
If I was a dog, I would be a nice old one. I know this to be true because as a person, I am a nice old one. As is the case many times, it is very difficult for an … Continue reading
How I Quit Being a Crybaby and Learned to LOVE Editing
Al Lamanda: Okay, maybe not love editing, but at the very least develop a healthy respect for it. After all, who doesn’t want to see their work made as perfect as possible before unveiling it to the masses. Or an agent. … Continue reading
Posted in Al's Posts
1 Comment
Rambling Musings on the Mistakes I’ve Made Along the Way to Being Published.
Al Lamanda: You’ve sweated, stressed over, lost sleep because of, skipped meals, stood up friends and family, wrote, rewrote, gave up on, went back to, drank a bathtub amount of coffee over, and finally finished the book you started out to … Continue reading
Posted in Al's Posts
Tagged agents, Al Lamanda, Dunston Falls, query letter, road to publication, Running Homeless, Sunrise, Sunset, Walking Homeless
4 Comments
Kait Carson
Charlene D’Avanzo 
