About Colin Conway
I believe crime fiction should grab us by the imagination, shake us about, and not let us go.
We’ve all read books where every word felt flat. Where the story’s pacing seemed all wrong, plodding along when it should race. When I was younger, I forced myself to finish boring books. Over the years, I’ve realized my time was precious, just like yours. None of us have time to waste on tedious novels.
A book doesn’t have to hook a reader with the first sentence, but it better do so by the end of the first page.
The author should create a freeway of thought with the story. Every word, sentence, and paragraph must keep the story flowing. Unfortunately, too many authors waste letters on unnecessary filler. I sense the padding when I read their stories. You probably can, too.
Fluffy words or excessive discourse might help a word count when submitting to a publisher, but it doesn’t make the story any better.
What does? A protagonist with something to lose, an antagonist with equally large stakes, and pacing. Mix them together and we get a fun story to read.
Many therapists recommend people write in a journal to deal with their feelings. When I went through a divorce, I started writing short stories.
It was safer to hide my emotions behind made-up characters.
Over several years, I wrote a hundred short stories. Maybe more. They weren’t any good, but they were practice. Lots and lots of practice.
When I joined the police department, my short stories were no longer a way to process my feelings. They were a way to live out alternate realities to the one I saw on the street.
I wanted my stories to feel like someone was in the patrol car with me.
I left the department many years ago, but the love for the job remained. Every morning, I get to create moments like I experienced when my fingers settle on the keyboard.
The priority is to keep the story on the freeway until it reaches the final destination.
If you read my books, I hope you'll let me know. I get excited whenever a reader says a story moved them to laughter, tears, or panic.
It's an honor to have you spend your time with my words.
Without you, my stories are static - simply words on a page. You're the one who makes them come to life. For that, I'm eternally grateful.
- Colin