Welcome to Ink + Scalpel:
A blog for writers about the craft of writing 

Write with free-flowing abandon + Edit with surgical precision 
​

I decided to launch Dwyer Street Press this summer. Why? Great question. Maybe I thought it would be easy. Maybe I thought it would be fun. Maybe I was infected by that delicious, long summer light that hangs over Southern California (where I live) and fuels me with energy. Maybe I was being totally ignorant. With that summer fun faded and the overwhelm that comes with both the holiday season and a deeply rooted Seasonal Affective Disorder, I lean toward the 'ignorant' answe

One day, you’re riding high on a wave of inspiration. Thousands of words. Pages of ideas. Multiple stories. Everyone talking at once in your head. "The Flow" I call it. Then. Crickets. The page will always be blank and all those words you wrote the other day? Garbage. Your ideas are garbage. You yourself are garbage. Why would anyone read this? Time to give up. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but for those of us who live and breathe our stories, it’s the only way to live. W

Every page pulls you deeper into a world that’s as exciting as it is unpredictable. Every word choice, laced with a dual meaning, a clue, or a foreshadowing. We lurk, we wait, and then we get yanked along for the ride. That’s the magic of a great thriller. But what exactly makes a thriller book unforgettable? Let's journey through the elements that make the best thriller novels truly stand out. Ready? Let’s dive in. The Anatomy of the Best Thriller Novels: What Hooks You From