Working It Out Online

Julia Spencer-Fleming, author of the new Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne novel I Shall Not Want, is this week’s guest poster at Moments in Crime, St. Martin’s Minotaur’s blog. “No biggie there,” Spencer-Fleming tells us in an e-note, “BUT I am doing something of a high-wire act. Never actually finished a short story in my life. They keep turning into novellas. Of which I have several; trust me. So THIS week, Monday-Friday, I’m attempting to write a serial short story on-line, WHILE blogging. Mission Impossible or Possible Mission? You be the judge ...”

Installment two appears today. You can keep up with her short-story-penning effort here.

Meanwhile, Irish wordsmith Declan Burke--author of the January Magazine-favored The Big O (soon to make its debut in the States)--is blogging the entirety of a novel he “wrote about five years ago and [has] started messing around with” again. As he remarks at Crime Always Pays:

Why am I posting it on a blog? Well, because I can. And because I’m interested to see what kind of reaction this kind of post might generate, as well as the more specific kind of feedback that may or may not come via the comment box or email. Any and all bouquets, brickbats, thoughts and impressions welcome.

The plan is to post a new section once a week. With a fair wind and enough interest, I should have the entire novel posted up on the blog within three months.

Burke’s work is called (at least so far) A Gonzo Noir, and he has already posted a couple of chapters, which you can read here.

Good luck to both authors. They’ll need it.