“A Day in the Life” with Calgary Author Jeff Buick
Originally posted on https://calgaryguardian.com/calgary-artist-jeff-buick/Written by Demian Vernieri on May 31, 2023 Meet Jeff Buick, the author behind a bunch of thrilling, action-packed crime fiction novels you just can’t put down. Jeff’s novels are filled with unexpected twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. He’s the mastermind behind a popular crime […]
I don’t like killing people
The opening scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan is horrific. Spielberg meant it to be. It shows the awful truth of war. The viewer is in a small landing craft packed with men approaching the Normandy coast on D-Day. One man leans over and vomits. All of them look serious, worried, scared. Someone yells […]
Interview with Clancy Tucker
It was an absolute thrill to be interviewed by Clancy Tucker. Find out the 43 questions he asked me about, everything from what pisses me off to the last sentence I would write. Read the full interview on his blog here: Jeff Buick – Guest Author Interview A bit about Clancy Tucker: Clancy Tucker writes […]
Why Murder?
I write three series and all of them involve murder and cops. It happened naturally enough, like osmosis, and wasn’t something I intentionally set out to do. So I sat down one day and asked myself why this was. One thing came to mind – murder. Murder is the ultimate crime. There’s nothing more valuable […]
What Thrills a Thriller Writer?
People want to know what entertains a thriller writer. One question I get asked all the time is What do you watch on TV? What sort of content feeds a creative mind? I can’t speak for all thriller and mystery writers, but what I watch is all over the map and so are my reasons. […]
What I read when I was a kid
Kidnapping, murder, tense moments, cliff hangers – it’s kind of second nature to me. I grew up with kid-size thrillers. I feasted on The Hardy Boys. The Hidden Harbor Mystery, While the Clock Ticked, A Figure in Hiding – the list was staggering. Franklin W. Dixon was a machine at cranking out mysteries. I was […]
Research, research, research
Hey, it’s fiction, what does it matter if you get the details straight? Oh, trust me, it matters. I’ve been roasted by readers over seemingly trivial things. I won’t get into the list, but suffice to say that mistakes with weapons and ammo incite the most outrage. Don’t get the caliber of the bullet wrong […]
A Cat on the Curtain
For quite a few years, I was a single dad raising kids. I was the cat on the curtain. My life was beyond hectic. I was up before 6:00 in the morning getting breakfast on the table, the kids’ clothes laid out and their backpacks in order. Then I showered, woke the monsters and led […]
Setting the Tone
Characters, narrative, dialogue, plot and setting – the key elements in a thriller. Let’s look at one of them. The edge of the clearing was shrouded in mist, the moon hiding behind thick clouds. Her foot caught on a root and she tumbled into the wet grass. She rolled over onto her back and stared […]
What does a writer owe the reader?
In a word – a lot.