Crime Cafe

My guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is crime writer Deven Greene. Check out our discussion about her medical and scientific thrillers. You can download a copy of the interview transcript here. Debbi (00:53): Hi everyone. My guest today writes fiction in the suspense and thriller genres. Most of her works involve science or medicine. She has a PhD in biochemistry and an MD, and she practiced pathology for more than 20 years. Her books include the Erica Rosen Trilogy, Ties That Kill, and her latest novel, The Organ Broker. She's also published several short stories. It's my pleasure to introduce my guest, Deven Greene. Hi, Deven. How are you doing today? Deven (01:29): I'm doing great. How about yourself? Debbi (01:31): Great, thank you. And I'm glad you're here today, so very glad that you're on the show. You live in Northern California? Yes? Deven (01:39): That's correct. Yeah. Debbi (01:40): What part? Because I used to live in Petaluma. Deven (01:43): Oh, okay. Well, I live, you may have

My guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is crime writer Ed Zuckerman. Check out his wealth of experience a freelance journalist, as well as his work as a debut crime writer! You can download a copy of the transcript here! Debbi (00:52): Hi everyone. My guest today has what most people would consider to be a pretty interesting resume. He began his career as a journalist writing about zombies, killer bees, talking apes and other subjects for Rolling Stone, Spy, the New Yorker, Harpers, Esquire, and many other magazines. He has written two nonfiction books, The Day After World War III and Small Fortunes then moved into writing for television drama, including more than 50 episodes of the original Law and Order, Blue Bloods, and Law and Order SVU. I have that right, don't I? SVU? Ed (01:35): That's correct. Debbi (01:36): Alright. It's my pleasure to introduce my guest, Ed Zuckerman. Hi, Ed. Good to see you here. Ed (01:43): I'm happy to be here. Thanks for having me. Debbi (01:45): Well, it's my pl

My guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is crime writer Brenda Chapman. Brenda discusses her journey from writing for her daughters to becoming a published author, her inspiration for various protagonists, and her writing process. She also shares insights into her latest series, the Hunter and Tate Mysteries, set in Ottawa. Brenda emphasizes the importance of setting in her novels and offers advice for aspiring writers. Check out the interview for more about Brenda's career and her approach to crafting compelling crime fiction. You can download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi (00:52): Hi everyone. My guest today is a Canadian crime fiction author with 25 published novels as well as standalones and short stories. She writes various police procedurals and mystery series for adults as well as mysteries for middle grade readers, which I think is really cool. (01:19): She is currently working on her new mystery series in Ottawa, set in Ottawa called the Hunter and Tate Mysteries. The third boo

My guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is crime writer Carter Wilson. Don't miss our discussion of his process for writing thrillers without outlining. You can download the transcript here. Debbi (00:53): Hi everyone. My guest today is not only the Publisher's Weekly and USA Today bestselling author of 10 award-winning psychological thrillers, but his work has been optioned for television and film, and his latest release, Tell Me What You Did, was a Barnes and Noble National Monthly pick. Awesome. He also hosts a podcast Making It Up, and is founder of the Unbound Writer Company, which provides coaching services, writing retreats, and online courses. So he is a busy man. He has also contributed short fiction to various publications and was featured in RL Stein's young adult anthology Scream and Scream Again. I'm pleased to have with me today Carter Wilson. Hi Carter. Thanks for being here! Carter (01:46): For having me here. Debbi great. Great to talk to you. Debbi (01:49): Oh, it's great to

My guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is crime writer Priscilla Paton. Check out our discussion of her Twin Cities mysteries and the inspiration behind her dual detectives Eric Jansson and Deb Metzger. Download a copy of the interview in PDF. Debbi (00:51): Hi everyone. My guest today is originally from Maine, but now hails from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, which invariably evokes images of Mary Tyler Moore tossing her hat in the air for me. If you're a person of a certain age, you'll understand. Anyway. Some of you may understand that reference. And in any case, she is a college professor from that area and she's now an author of the Twin Cities Mystery series. It's my pleasure to have with me today, Priscilla Paton. Hey, Priscilla, how you doing? Priscilla (01:29): Well, I'm doing really great. I'm actually in Arizona right now escaping some of those famous Midwest winters. Just for a very brief time though, I'll be getting back to the greater Twin Cities experience very quickly. I'm now

My guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is educator and crime writer Michael Kaufman. Check out our discussion of his Jen Lu series, featuring a brain implant character named Chandler. What would Philip Marlowe make of that? :) The one question I forgot to ask! You can download the transcript here. Debbi (00:52): Hi everyone. Today I have a somewhat unusual guest in that he's better known for his work in gender studies and his nonfiction books than for his crime fiction. However, along with his work as a lecturer and advisor, he co-founded The White Ribbon Campaign, a worldwide effort by men to end violence against women. And somewhere along the line, he decided to write crime fiction, mysteries. So it's my pleasure to introduce my guest today, Michael Kaufman. Hi Michael. How you doing? Michael (01:27): Great to be here with you today. Debbi (01:29): Fantastic. Good to have you on. Great to have you on. Tell us about how you went from lecturing non-governmental organizations and other huge bo

My guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is internationally bestselling crime writer Gregg Hurwitz. Check out our discussion of his Orphan X series and his other projects. Download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. It's my pleasure to have with me today. The New York Times number one internationally best-selling author of 24 thrillers, including the Orphan X Series. His novels have won numerous literary awards and been published in 33 languages. He's also written screenplays, television scripts, comics, and poetry. He is actively working against polarization in politics and culture, which I think is wonderful, by writing op-eds for the Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and other publications. My guest today is Gregg Hurwitz. Hi, Gregg. So happy to see you here. Gregg: Hi. Good to see you too. Thank you for having me on. Debbi: It's my pleasure, believe me. So, tell us about the Orphan X series and your tenth book in particular, Nemesis. What inspired you to write this series? G

My guest for this episode of the Crime Cafe podcast is award-winning author of crime fiction and work in other genres, Melissa Yi. Check out our discussion about her plans for the Hope Sze medical thriller series, as well as her young adult, romance, and fantasy writing, along with her experiences with Kickstarter. And get to know a bit more about Cthulhu. You can download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone, this is the Crime Cafe, your podcasting source of great crime, suspense, and thriller writing. I'm your host, Debbi Mack. My guest today is an author who follows the maxim, write what you know. She's an emergency doctor who writes a medical crime series. She also has been nominated for the Arthur Ellis and Derringer awards for her work. She's also written in a wide variety of genres, including young adult, romance, science fiction, and fantasy. It's my great pleasure to have with me today, Melissa Yi. Hi Melissa, how are you doing today? Melissa: I’m so good, Debbi. I just want to tell

Join crime writer Matt Cost and me, as we discuss how Matt manages to write and publish three books a year, in various series. You can download a copy of the transcript here. Debbi (00:00:52): Hi, everyone. Happy New Year. Today is the third of the month, so it's still a pretty new year. Anyhow, my guest for this episode is the former owner of a video store, a mystery bookstore, and a gym. I assume that he formerly owned these. He's also taught history and coached just about every sport imaginable, in his words. So I'm trying to imagine some sports he might not have coached. Coming to us from Brunswick, Maine, it is my pleasure to introduce my guest, Matt Cost. (00:01:31): Hi, Matt. How are you doing today? Matt (00:01:33): I'm fantastic, Debbi. Thank you much for having me on. Debbi (00:01:37): Oh, it's my pleasure. Believe me. I always enjoy talking to people about their books and stuff. (00:01:43): So I read your guest post. My goodness, your life sounds exhausting. It sounds like you're constantly on th

The Crime Cafe once again is pleased to bring another episode from the annals of radio! Yes, a radio program. With one of my favorite protagonists--Philip Marlowe! Bogie as Sam Spade! He was also great as Philip Marlowe! See what I mean? :) Also, check out these show notes from out of the past. :) Get it? Ha! And for your holiday viewing pleasure, one of my other favorite Philip Marlowes! Powers Boothe was awesome! I even did a tribute post when he died. So, I just had to include him in this, didn't I? :)  Happy Noir New Year! :) Image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay

This week’s Crime Cafe interview features journalist, attorney, podcaster, and true crime writer Kerrie Droban. We talk about psychopaths and writing about them. And other stuff. You can download a copy of the interview here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is an award-winning true crime author, podcaster, attorney, and television journalist. She writes about violent subcultures such as outlaw motorcycle gangs and about criminal pathology. She has appeared on numerous television documentaries and shows. Her books have been adapted to create the show Gangland Undercover and have been optioned for film. It's my pleasure to have Kerrie Droban with me today. Hey, Kerrie. How are you doing? Kerrie: Good. Thank you so much for having me. Debbi: I'm so glad you're here with us today. I was just checking your website and I was fascinated to see that you grew up in a "spy family". What was that like? Kerrie: I did. I know. Everybody asks me that. It was actually the perfect backdrop for true crime and really so

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe features another story from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. I'll gladly provide transcripts when I can afford it Enjoy my expensive hobby the show! :)  

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with lawyer and crime writer Dan Flanigan. Dan started off writing poetry. Check out the story of how his writing journey began. To download a copy of the transcript, just click here. Debbi: Hi, everyone. My guest today is a lawyer, author, playwright, and poet, who among other things, has taught legal history and jurisprudence and practiced civil rights law, as well as worked in financial services, so he has an impressive resume. His written work includes the Peter O'Keefe hardboiled crime series, which has earned praise and awards. He has also written stage plays and short stories. His novella Dewdrops was adapted from a play. It's my pleasure to have with me a lawyer and acclaimed author, Dan Flanigan. Hi, Dan. How are you doing today? Dan: Good enough, thank you. As I said, better than I deserve I'm doing. Debbi: Oh, dear me. Oh, I'd hate to think that. You always wanted to write a novel but ended up going to law school. How did that

This week’s guest on the Crime Cafe podcast is historical crime writer Stephen Eoannou. Check out our discussion about the creator of the Lone Ranger! Grab a PDF copy of the transcript here! Debbi: Hi, everyone. My guest today has published two novels with the third coming in May of next year. Along with novels, he has written at least one short screenplay. He lives and works in Buffalo, New York, which also provides the setting and inspiration for his work. It's my pleasure to have with me today, the award-winning author Stephen Eoannou. Stephen: There you go. Debbi: Did I get that right? Stephen: Yes. Debbi: Awesome. Fantastic. So thank you for being with us today. Stephen: Thank you for having me. Debbi: I'm pleased to have you on. I really enjoyed your book Rook, your debut novel. That was a very interesting story. What inspired you to write about this particular man from the FBI's Most Wanted List? Stephen: Yeah. I had finished my first book Muscle Cars, which is a short story collection, and I was p

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with paleontologist and crime writer Leonard “Kris” Krystalka. Check out his reading from The Bone Field! Grab a PDF copy of the transcript here! Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is both a professional paleontologist and a novelist. He writes the Henry Przewalski - is that correct, I hope? Przewalski? Leonard: Literally, it reads as Przewalski but it's actually a Russian-Polish name, named for the discoverer of Przewalski's horse, that small kind of dwarfish horse that lives wild on the Asian steppes. So it's pronounced in the Russian sense. Debbi: Got it. All right. I'll try to remember that. It's my pleasure to have him with me today. It's Leonard Krystalka, who goes by Kris. Like Kris Kristofferson, may he rest in peace. Leonard: May he rest in peace. A terrific person. Debbi: Indeed. Yes. Leonard: Yes. Wonderful artist. Debbi: He was, yes. I want to thank you for being here so much. It's good to have you on. Tell us about Harry Prze

This week's episode of the Crime Cafe features another story from The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. This episode comes to you ad-free. Relatively. :) The following is an unedited AI-generated transcript. Does an awesome job, huh? :) (00:00:12): Hi, everyone. (00:00:14): This is The Crime Café, your podcasting source of great crime suspense and thriller writing. (00:00:20): I'm your host, Debbi Mack. (00:00:22): Before I bring on my guest, (00:00:23): I'll just remind you that The Crime Café has two e-books for sale, (00:00:28): the nine-book box set and the short story anthology. (00:00:31): You can find the buy links for both on my website, debbiemack.com, under the Crime Café link. (00:00:38): If you'd like to (00:00:39): You can also get a free copy of either book if you become a Patreon supporter. (00:00:45): You'll get that and much more if you support the podcast on Patreon, (00:00:49): along with our eternal gratitude for doing so. (00:00:53): Unfortunately, our scheduled guest was unable

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Tom Fowler. Check out our discussion of his Baltimore-based crime fiction. Click here for a PDF copy of the transcript. Debbi (00:55): Hi everyone. My guest today is the USA Today bestselling indie author of the John Tyler thrillers and the CT Ferguson crime fiction series. Born in Baltimore, he now lives in the Maryland suburbs of DC, a place that I know well, or at least I used to know it well. It's my pleasure to have with me Tom Fowler. Hey, Tom. How are you doing today? Tom (01:21): Good, Debbi. Thanks for having me on. Debbi (01:23): Excellent. My pleasure. I was particularly intrigued by the fact that you are writing hardboiled mysteries that take place in Baltimore. You're originally from Baltimore and you've also written a whole lot of those books. How many books do you have in the CT Ferguson series? Tom (01:44): Sixteen currently. Just put up the pre-order for number 17. My hope is to have it out a little befo

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Catherine Rymsha. Check out our discussion about leadership skills and crime fiction writing. You can download a PDF of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today has a career in workplace communication and management. She teaches leadership skills and has a nonfiction book called The Leadership Decision which she published before her crime novel. Her crime novel is Stunning. It's called Stunning, and in addition, she has given a TED Talk on the importance of listening, so listen up. You might learn something. It's my great pleasure to have with me today, Catherine Rymsha. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. Catherine: You are. Thank you. Yes, you are. Debbi: Excellent. Wonderful. Catherine: So happy to be here. Debbi: I was going to ask you about that, and I'd completely forgotten, in the big hubbub of trying to get connected. Catherine: That's fine. Debbi: You wouldn't believe, people. Anyway, thank you

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features my interview with crime writer Anna Willett. Check out our discussion about thriller writing and her Cold Case Mystery series. You can download a PDF of the transcript here. Debbi: Hi everyone. My guest today is the author of several thriller novels, including five books in The Cold Case Mystery series. Her latest book is called Needles and Pins, and it's this week's giveaway, so make sure to check out the giveaway on my blog or on her Instagram. You can find it there on Instagram for sure. So it is my pleasure to introduce as my guest the author, Anna Willett. Hi Anna. How are you doing today? Anna: Hi, I'm well. How are you? Debbi: Good, thank you, although right now at the moment, I'm in Maryland where tornadoes are threatening somewhere on the horizon. Anna: Oh really? Debbi: Yes. Apparently we've been getting tornado warnings in different parts, not too far from where I live, but it's all very sketchy right now. Hopefully I won't be interrupting t

This week’s episode of the Crime Cafe podcast features The Adventures of Philip Marlowe in "The Orange Dog." And my thanks to Old Time Radio Researchers Group for the content. You're awesome!