Heroes & Villians Compelling Characters in Fiction

Penny WarnerLaurie R. KingCara Black

 

 

 

 

One of the sessions I attended at the San Francisco Writers Conference was called “Heroes & Villains: Building Compelling Characters for Crime Fiction.” Kate Chynoweth, who is the head of the self-publishing division at Girl Friday Productions where she is executive editor, was the moderator for the panel.  Three well-known authors on the panel included Cara Black, Laurie King, and Penny Warner.

Cara Black is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Aimee Leduc Mystery Thriller Series of 14 novels set in Paris, France. She frequently travels to Paris for research. ” On each visit she entrenches herself in a different part of the city, learning its secret history. She has posed as a journalist to sneak into closed areas, trained at a firing range with real Paris flics, gotten locked in a bathroom at the Victor Hugo museum, and—just like Aimée—gone down into the sewers with the rats (she can never pass up an opportunity to see something new, even when the timing isn’t ideal…” information from her website: http://carablack.com/bio/  Her newest book is called Murder on the Champ de Mars available March 3, 2015 on Amazon.

Laurie R. King is the New York Times bestselling author of 22 novels and other works, including the Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes stories (see my post on February 15, 2015 for more information or her website: http://www.laurierking.com/the-author

Dreaming Spies is the title of her most recent book released February 17, 2015, available on Amazon.

Penny Warner is a prolific writer of 60 published books for both adults and children. Her recent book is Her awards include

Dead Body Language

  • Winner! – Macavity Award for Best First Mystery
  • Nominated! – Agatha Award for Best First Mystery

Mystery of the Haunted Caves

  • Winner! – Agatha Award for Best Juvenile Mystery
  • Winner! – Anthony Award for Best Juvenile Mystery

The Official Nancy Drew Handbook

  • Nominated! – Agatha Award for Best Non-Fiction

Her recent books are called The Death of a Crabby Cook: A Food Festival Mystery and Death of a Chocolate Cheater: A Food Festival Mystery. Her website is: http://pennywarner.com/aboutme.html

Penny Warner is a columnist for VALLEY TIMES AND HERALD, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. Her recent post about missing Valentines Day with her husband because she was at the SF Writers Conference is an example of her humor. It’s called “GRAB A BOX OF CHOCOLATES AND GET INSPIRED” Thursday, February 19, 2015.

My next post will be a writing tip from each of the panelists that I wrote in my notes.

2 Comments

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2 Responses to Heroes & Villians Compelling Characters in Fiction

  1. Sally

    Can’t wait for your notes. I visited the Rodin Exhibit, what an inspiration for following your creativity. Great way to jump start story ideas.

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