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Aug 12, 2019

Author Interview Series: D. A. Bartley


This week we chatted with mystery author D. A. Bartley about her new book, her latest projects and even got some tips on how to develop characters.

CritiqueMatch: What motivated you to choose mystery as your genre?

D. A. Barley: I don’t think I chose it as much as it chose me. The classic murder mystery is my happy place; it always has been. My grandmother gave me my first Agatha Christie when I was about ten, and I’ve been reading murder mysteries ever since.

CritiqueMatch: The second book in the Abish Taylor series, Death in the Covenant, will be released on August 13, 2019. What should we know about your exciting new mystery novel?

Aug 9, 2019

Boosting Authenticity Through Real-World Setting


By Alicia McLachlan.

Establishing a strong sense of place can be a valuable secret weapon when immersing readers into a story. I’ve even seen this particular craft listed as a major draw on some agents’ wish lists.

It’s why fantasy writers spend so much time world-building, often including maps and extensive prologues to help readers orient themselves in their vast imaginary universes. It can be just as effective in a real-world setting as well.


Aug 6, 2019

Trust Point Of View To Deepen the Reader Experience


By Max Vonne.

Point of view is something to take seriously as a writer.  It’s one of the primary decisions we make when writing a scene or chapter.  Whose point of view are we viewing the action from?

The answer can be a black hole.  The point of view (POV) of no one is actually an option.  That is called omniscient POV.  A detached, all-seeing eye informs us of what we need to know.  We don’t know where it comes from or how it feels about anything.  And because of that, omniscient POV is a thinly disguised data dump.  

Readers hate data dumps.  Information in itself is not interesting; it’s just a bunch of facts.  For example: