The Best of L.J. Sellers

L.J. Sellers contributed to the Blood-Red Pencil in 2010, and then returned as a guest blogger a number of times between 2011 and 2016. She’s an award-winning journalist who earned the Grand Neal.

L.J. writes the bestselling Detective Jackson mystery/thriller series, the Agent Dallas series, and standalone thrillers. Her novels have been highly praised by reviewers, and she’s one of the highest-rated crime fiction authors on Amazon.

L.J. resides in Eugene, Oregon where many of her novels are set. When not plotting murders, she enjoys standup comedy, cycling, social networking, and attending mystery conferences. She’s also been known to jump out of airplanes and hurtle down zip-lines.

L.J.'s latest releases

A Detective Jackson Mystery #14. When a victim with no ID is found murdered, Detective Jackson believes it’s another hate crime. Soon after, another woman dies of what looks like a possible suicide. But, when they finally identify the first victim, Jackson realizes the cases are connected.

A Detective Jackson Mystery #13. When a woman is murdered with her own food product, Detective Jackson takes the case—even though his brother is hospitalized with a mystery illness. When a second woman with similar looks is strangled, the task force fears they’re dealing with a serial killer. The evidence reveals one obvious connection—Jackson’s brother, Derrick, who had dated both women.

Logan Wilmont dreams of freedom, but he’s trapped in a mental institution where he doesn’t belong, by a mother who wants to keep him quiet. He knows he quirky, but not insane—except for when he sees the other boy who looks just like him.

L.J.'s articles on the Blood-Red Pencil

Meet L.J. Sellers
New Rules for Writers
Three Easy Edits
How to Write a Great First Draft
Lean and Mean Writing
Internal Dialogue: First Person or Not?
Top Ten Things I Know About Editing
Great Book Discussion Questions
Don't Make These Common Mistakes
Can You Define Good Writing?
Advice From a Reader
Imperfect Editors
The 70% Option
Be My Guest: LJ Sellers
Tying It All Together with LJ Sellers
L.J. Sellers: A Character Takes Over and Paying It Forward with a Giveaway
L.J. Sellers and Ann Parker on Beta Readers

Connect with L.J. Sellers at her website

The Best of Shelley Thrasher

This year for our December break we are show-casing the posts of some of our former contributors, from the earliest days of the Blood-Red Pencil. Enjoy.

Shelley Thrasher wrote for the Blood-Red Pencil in 2008 and 2009. Shelley has a PhD in English and has been an editor since 2004. As an author, she has published three novels and a book of poetry.

Shelley has traveled extensively through Europe and the Middle East, studying German near Munich, hitchhiking to Greece, Poland, and Iraq, and studying Hebrew on a kibbutz in Israel. This native Texan has resettled in her home state with her wife Connie and their two dogs, cat, and parrot.

Shelley's books

New Orleanian suffragist Jacqueline drove an ambulance on the battlefields of Europe during the Great War. She returns home and finds herself isolated in rural East Texas, keeping house for her war-hero husband as she awaits his promised divorce and plans her escape. But then she meets Molly.

Paris, 1972. Frenchwoman Eva wants to pass her bar exams and get a job as an attorney, but she's working as a tour guide to pay off debts. American beauty Brigitte wants to find a new home in Paris and forget her past that haunts her. Though the beauty of Paris and the magic of its rich feminist culture draws them closer, a secret from Brigitte's past threatens to destroy their chance for a future together. Can their fragile love flourish in the City of Light?

Bree and Linda have sacrificed their personal lives for career and family. Now, in her late sixties, Bree is forced to return to her hometown in East Texas, where she begins to discover things about herself she has refused to acknowledge for fifty years. Will she and Linda have the courage to claim the type of life they've never allowed themselves to embrace?

Shelley's articles at the Blood-Red Pencil

Empty Fillers
Does An Editor Need An Editor?
Using Commas with Adjectives
The Spice of Variety
Far Out
Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah
What's in a Name?
Bookisms
Tired or Fresh?
Meet the Editor: Shelley Thrasher
Ask the Editor - The Dreaded Semicolon
Ask the Editor - Sex Scenes in a Romance Novel


Connect with Shelley Thrasher on Facebook