Belton Richard dies

Rest in peace, monsieur.

Cajun, Louisiana Creole and zydeco music

Accordionist and vocalist Belton Richardhas passed away at age 77.  Richard was a popular musician whose major local hit was the song “Un autre soir ennuyant (Another Lonely Night) [originally released as “Autre soir d’ennui (Another lonely evening)”].”  His band was known as the Musical Aces.  Richard quit active performing for a while but returned to it in the 2000s.  His songs have been covered by many Cajun musicians and are considered classics in the genre.  Swallow Records released many of his tracks as 45s, but they are found on these LPs:

Belton Richard. At his best. Swallow Records. LP 6043. 1981. 33.
Belton Richard. Good n’ Cajun. Swallow Records. LP-6021. n.d.. 33.
Belton Richard. Modern sounds of Cajun music. Swallow Records. LP-6010. n.d.. 33.
Belton Richard and the Musical Aces. Louisiana Cajun music. Swallow Records. LP-6032. 1978. 33.
Belton Richard and the Musical Aces. Modern sounds of Cajun…

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10 of the Best Classic Detective Novels Everyone Should Read

10 of the Best Classic Detective Novels Everyone Should Read

Some truly marvelous books on this list, including one of my absolute favorites, “The Daughter of Time.”

Interesting Literature

Are these the greatest ever detective novels?

It’s impossible to boil down such a rich and fertile genre as detective fiction to just ten definitive classic novels, so the following list should not be viewed as the ten best detective novels ever written so much as ten classic detective novels to act as great ‘ways in’ to this popular genre of fiction. We’ve tried to allow due coverage to the golden age of detective fiction in the early- to mid-twentieth century, but have also thrown in some earlier, formative classics as well. We’ve avoided spoilers in the summaries of the novels we’ve provided, and have instead chosen to focus on the most curious or interesting aspects of those novels.

Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone. T. S. Eliot called Wilkie Collins’s The Moonstone (1868) the first and greatest of the detective novels. It wasn’t technically the first – that honour should…

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How to “Show, Don’t Tell”

Great advice, with examples. I suspect all of us could use the reminder, no matter how many books we’ve written.

A Writer's Path

by Chrys Cymri

I’m still getting used to the life of a self-published author, particularly in this age of Amazon and customer reviews. Authors are advised that books need to have reviews, the more reviews the better, even those which are not entirely positive.

In order to obtain those reviews, I’ve been involved in various ‘review exchanges.’ I read one writer’s book and post a review, and s/he does the same with one of mine. Better yet are the non-reciprocal reviews set up by groups on Goodreads, in which people sign up for a review round and the moderator ensures that you are not reviewing the work of someone who is reading your book. This is to ensure complete honesty.

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Lessons in Storytelling From a Musical Theater Nerd

I’ve loved both performing in and attending live theatre performances for years. I hadn’t considered the great lessons that authors could take from the theatre before — but this writer is correct!

A Writer's Path

by Cristina Fernandez

I am a huge musical theater nerd. It’s something that’s been a part of my life since I was two years old and Grease was my favorite movie. However only recently have I become aware of the part of me that is absolute trash when it comes to Broadway shows.

Over the past year I’ve only seen three professional productions: Something Rotten, Fun Home, and Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical. I was in a school production of 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, saw my friends production of Assassins and after much more of this extensive… research, I’ve concluded that despite the huge differences between musicals and books as mediums, there’s a lot that authors can learn about storytelling from musical theater.

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