Author Archives: mcbruce56

When I first came back to San Bernardino in 2018 after a disastrous job in Placer, I returned to the church where I had played for the 4 p.m. Saturday Mass. No, the singer said. I don’t need more guitar players. Check the 8 o’clock mass. They need musicians. I showed up at 8 theContinue reading “Moving On”

I went to the Greater L.A. Writer’s Conference this weekend. I went so that I could have a one-on-one conference with a real agent. The gig was that I would send the first 20 pages of my book, “Minerva James and the Trial of Mars.” He or she would look it over and tell meContinue reading “A Happy Moment”

There’s a song from the 90s whose lyric goes: And I miss you Like the Deserts miss the rain… Writers know what that means to the nth power. I have before talked about how the stretches between writing feels like an eternity, even if it’s only a few weeks. When one is a writer, oneContinue reading “Like the Deserts Miss the Rain”

I sometimes ask myself, am I a lawyer who wants to be a writer, or a writer who has to be a lawyer. It’s a bit like the Chinese philosopher who had a dream about butterflies, then woke wondering if he was a philosopher dreaming he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he wasContinue reading “The Day Gig”

Back when I was a callow youth of 35, I was invited to speak at a meeting of Sisters In Crime. This is an organization of women mystery writers, a national group with various local chapters. I spoke on legal procedure. The title was, “What you’re doing wrong in your courtroom scenes.” (Which will makeContinue reading “My Date with Gidget”

Every night when my grandfather came home from his job at Continental Can Company in East L.A., he’d lay his lunchpail on the kitchen table. “Hello, Lloyd,” Grandma would say. “Hello, battleaxe,” he’d reply. They were married until death, more than 30 years. When I was in the Air Force and temporarily stationed at Chicksands,Continue reading “Love, Sideways”

Mystery publishers hate sex. That’s what I’ve been told, at least. I once wrote a funny little mystery novel, “Naked Lies,” in which a stripper causes trouble for the main character’s client. Hilarious hijinks ensue. At one point it is very important for the stripper and the main character to have sex. It is equallyContinue reading “Sex and the Single Publisher”

Main character likes to tell Hitler jokes. Buddy of main character is gourmet cockroach chef. Too many porcupines, not enough armadillos. Your protagonist gets lazy and lets Siri solve the mystery for him. Protagonist’s catch phrase is, “Don’t that put a bunch in your panties?” Detailed explanations of Spider Solitaire games provide all the action.Continue reading “Ten Mistakes You’re Making in Your Novel”

Just found out that Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine is taking their third Minerva story, Minerva James and the River God. It’s been sitting with them for a year. I went on the website today to check, and it says “accepted.” I hope it’s not a typo. This will make the tenth Minerva James story publishedContinue reading “Hooray”

Saturday I attended a funeral. Being an anti-social creature these days, I rarely attend such community events, but I had to go to say goodbye. The deceased was a friend of mine from the San Bernardino Public Defender’s Office. He was a genial and funny fellow, a good lawyer, a caring PD. He was tenContinue reading “Funeral for a Friend”