Official Site of Award-Winning Author Gretchen Altabef
Nobody gets it! In Victorian etiquette, an unintroduced gentleman could almost never speak to a lady in public, as it was considered rude and improper..." At least nobody as far as I can tell, who put Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty" on film or tape. We look at the story through twenty-first… Continue reading Miss Annie Harrison’s ROSE SOLILOQUY
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed". Hemingway. A bit harsh, but there are days in a writer’s life when this is absolutely how it feels. Hemingway knew. “Writers are forged in injustice as a sword is forged.” This also rings true for the Sherlock Holmes… Continue reading Don’t Stop Because It’s Hard
“Logic will take you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” Albert Einstein Recently, a friend who I hadn’t seen in a long while asked how I became an author and how I learned to read my writing dramatically. By trusting my Muse. I learned that imagination expands exponentially when used daily. Championed… Continue reading Trust The Muse
“…don’t get annoyed when your characters misbehave. Pat yourself on the back for creating such thoroughly believable fictional beings. Let them take the lead and see where they take you.” From Geri Shear's blogpost: "When Your Fictional Characters Ignore You." Geri Shear has a lovely author blog, filled with writers wisdom. Her posts always inspire… Continue reading Hooray For Our Wonderfully Mischievous Characters!
'If you examine it carefully you will see that both the pen and the ink have given the writer trouble. The Hound of the Baskervilles I write mysteries for Sherlock Holmes to solve. I am presently writing my fourth historical mystery novel. Each one evolved in it’s own way. If there is truth in the saying… Continue reading Never give up
The itchiness of the ever-present Muse, his constant pervasion of one’s dreams, waking thoughts, imagination, always there prodding the writer onward. As a Sherlock Holmes author, I know how lucky I am to have this inventive Muse in my life and to share a similar awe to Dr. Watson’s. Proof for the all-out characteristic of… Continue reading The Writing Life
“. . . when the facts slowly evolve before your own eyes and the mystery clears gradually away as each new discovery furnishes a step which leads on to the complete truth.” ENGI. In writing a new Sherlock Holmes novel such as These Scattered Houses, it is essential to look to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s… Continue reading Doyle’s School for Writers
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