A Trip Down Memory Lane

I recently bought a photo scanner to start the process of importing my old photos into the digital world. There are several reasons to do this, but none are interesting enough to share.

PersonalColin ConwayAugust 13, 2022photos, scanning

Poetry #1

Over the years, I’ve dabbled with writing poetry. In full disclosure, I don’t pretend to be a poet, and I’m not too fond of 99.9% of the poetry out there. While in college, the only poetry that ever “spoke” to me were some of the war poems written by soldiers.

ArtworkColin ConwayAugust 6, 2022poetry, poems

509 Cover Relaunch!

My flagship series, the 509 Crime Stories, recently had its covers upgraded. For some, that was a change to the title font. For others, that was a complete redo.

BooksColin ConwayJuly 30, 2022The 509, 509 Crime Stories, book covers

Public Safety Writing

The Public Safety Writers Association held its annual conference in Las Vegas this past weekend (July 14-17, 2022). According to the PSWA website, the association was formed in 1997 as the Police Writers Club and “exists to support people involved in writing about public safety.”

WritingColin ConwayJuly 23, 2022Public Safety Writing, crime fiction

Watch it Burn - The Mars Hotel and Fairmont Apartments Fire

The call came about 6 A.M. on the morning of Friday, July 16th, 1999. It was from my boss, Rick.

“Have you seen the news?” he asked. “There’s a fire at the Fairmont. Get down here as soon as you can.”

SpokaneColin ConwayJuly 16, 2022books, Spokane

How to Write a Fight Scene That Delivers a Knockout Punch!

Are you writing a crucial fight scene for your novel that feels uninspiring?

Or perhaps you’ve never been in a donnybrook before, and you’re worried that the mechanics of a pivotal conflict won’t sound ‘right’ in your narrative.

WritingColin ConwayJuly 9, 2022writing, writer, crime fiction

Author Update - 2nd Quarter 2022!

There’s a saying that the days are long, but the years are short. Well, that means the months are pretty darn quick themselves. It’s amazing how fast three of them just went by. I feel that a couple of things cause this.

WritingColin ConwayJuly 2, 2022writing, author, update

Backing Up to Go Forward

In August 2021, I released a double collection of short stories—Murder by Any Other Name and Black and Blue in the Lilac City. I dubbed both “509 Crime Short Stories” and created a series separate from the 509 Crime Stories.

BooksColin ConwayJune 25, 2022short story, short stoires, books, 509, The 509

To Swear or Not to Swear? That's the Effin' Question

In An Unfinished Story, I shared a letter from my dad written twenty years ago. He mentioned that it was “nice to see something without a lot of swear words and cussing.”

WritingColin ConwayJune 18, 2022swearing, writing, writer

Rose the Office Dog

It’s been a minute (as the cool kids say) since I wrote The House of Dog, my recap of the first year with a vizsla. Since then, things have calmed down with Rose, but there are still plenty of stories to share.

DogsColin ConwayJune 11, 2022vizsla, dogs

How I Keep Characters, Locations, and Genres Straight

I’ve been wondering how you keep your series separate in your head. Do you find yourself writing and then saying, “Oops, wrong character/genre/storyline!” - Coleen

Thank you for the question, Coleen. It’s a great one!

WritingColin ConwayJune 4, 2022locations, character, genre, writing a series, writing, series

Why I Wrote... The Bumbling Millionaire

I read several personal finance and real estate blogs daily during this time. I also listened to podcasts related to those fields. The one thing that always left me feeling underwhelmed was that no one ever talked about how personal finance could link to commercial real estate (an area I worked in).

PersonalColin ConwayMay 28, 2022personal finance, real estate, money, wealth

7 Verbs Authors Use Sloppily

I’ve written several crime fiction novels which means I’ve had my works critiqued by some smart folks. One of those people was an author of national success. He once corrected my use of a certain phrase as it related to body motion.

WritingColin ConwayMay 21, 2022verbs, action words, authors, readers, crime fiction

What Should We Call Spokane?

I imagine most every city has an official nickname, and it’s something horribly drab that was likely coined by an equally drab civic group. Yet those cities also developed more organically cool nicknames, too. And those are the terms that the residents hold dearer to their hearts.

Eastern WashingtonColin ConwayMay 14, 2022Spokane, nickname, portland, seattle

5 Fun Community Events to Attend in Eastern Washington

I love Eastern Washington (aka the 509). My signature series is set here as are most of my other books (John Cutler/Flip-Flop Detective/Charlie-316).

I’ve lived here for close to four decades now and enjoy telling people about this region.

Eastern WashingtonColin ConwayMay 11, 2022skyfest, omak, stampede, sprint boat, st. john, lind, combine derby, hydroplane

I Got Around

By the time I graduated high school, I had attended six schools in three different states (California, Ohio, and Washington). My family frequently moved for my dad’s work. That’s how a young boy ended up with an appreciation for the San Diego Padres, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Seattle Mariners but undying love for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

PersonalColin ConwayMay 7, 2022new york times, moving, relocation, dialect test

The Game Guys

I thought it would be fun to do a game-review channel. Our family tends to play many board games, so it seemed a natural fit. It’s not the only idea for a YouTube channel that I’ve had. I’m sure there are others like me. We get a wild idea, play with it, and then put it away.

ArtworkColin ConwayApril 30, 2022game reviews, board games

Roy and the Dead Beats

I thought I would do something different this week and share one of my favorite scenes. This comes from my short story, “The Legend of Roy Utt,” which appears in the 509 Crime Anthology, A Bag of Dick’s.

BooksColin ConwayApril 23, 2022509 crime anthologies