Phillip Thompson

Well, it’s been forever since I’ve had the time and space to maintain anything close to regular blog posts, and believe it or not, over the last five weeks of being home all the time, I still don’t have that much time. But here goes nothing … Grace & Violence, Home Edition …

Notice I didn’t say “COVID” or “Quarantine” or “Lockdown” in the title. Yeah, those are rapidly becoming worn-out words. Not to mention inaccurate in some cases. I haven’t been quarantined or locked down. I telework my day job, so I’m actually still busy with work on a daily basis. I can’t go to the gym (probably my biggest gripe after the utter lack of testing in my area), but walking every day (in a socially distant fashion, of course) has its own rewards. I have plenty of food, and I’m not worried about running out of essentials. And I’m doing what I can to support my favorite restaurants by ordering pick-up deliveries.

So, all is not lost. But this isn’t a pandemic blog, so enough of that.

Crime fiction. That’s what it’s about. For me, that means finishing my next Colt Harper novel, which I did this week. Now it’s time to do the editing, beta reading, etc. And keeping up with the crime fiction world and catching up on some great stuff on the idiot box (or, these days I guess it’s the “idiot flat-screen”). Ozark remains very near the top of my list for “the best thing on TV’ right now. I’m currently watching the final season and savoring it by forcing myself to only watch one episode a week. So far, anyway. Also watching the last season of Sneaky Pete. I’ve enjoyed most of this series, brought to us from Graham Yost, et. al, creator of my all-time favorite Justified. Of course, half the Justified cast (nearly the entire Bennett family, for example) appears in some fashion in SP, so that adds to the already tasty flavor. Also, I’ve developed a real taste for crime abroad, notably the UK, Iceland and Scandinavia. More to come on the latter.

Back in October (boy, that seems like forever ago), I attended my first Bouchercon, and I will definitely be planning to return next year. I had the awesome opportunity to sit on an authors panel alongside some great crime fiction writers: Reavis Wortham, AC Frieden, Joe Lansdale, Brad Parks, and Tom Pitts. Also had the pleasure of attending a wild Noir at the Bar while hanging out with a bunch of writers I’ve long admired, but not had a chance to meet.

Links, etc.

Writers: check out Tough Crime for some short fiction, a handy list of small presses, and submission guidelines.

Today’s links:

Via Town & Country magazine, 15 mysteries for whatever mood you’re in.

A review of Jane Casey’s The Cutting Place.