Can’t Leave Rachel Out!

Posted on by Michael Kahn
As you might infer, the main character in my Rachel Gold mystery series is named Rachel Gold. But back in the beginning, back many years ago, on the eve of publication of my first novel, Grave Designs, there was no Rachel Gold mystery series. Just a mystery novel featuring as the protagonist a savvy young…
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Relaxing With Some Tense Thoughts

Posted on by Michael Kahn
My epiphany occurred as I read an interview of John Updike from nearly a half century ago. Ah, I said to myself, nodding my head, so that’s why I did it. The “it” was doing something I’d never before done in all of my prior novels and short stories. Each of those prior works, like the…
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What’s in a Name? (The Sequel)

Posted on by Michael Kahn
A few weeks ago I wrote a post on all those novels–including three of my own–that started off with a title other than the one that ended up on the dust jacket in the bookstore. You can read that post–“What’s in a Name? More than you imagine!”–here. But it was only later that I realized…
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Pre-Publication Reviews of PLAYED!

Posted on by Michael Kahn
Here are some excerpts: “. . . brisk, sprightly entertainment.” Kirkus Review “Kahn is the author of the popular Rachel Gold series, and this stand-alone (for now) has the same sharp dialogue, wit, and clever plotting her fans have come to expect.” Booklist ” . . . this neat little yarn from Kahn (The Dead Hand and nine…
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What’s in a name? More than you imagine!

Posted on by Michael Kahn
“Mike, I have a better idea for your book title.” I’ve heard that from my editor three times over the years. All three times she was right. But first, some background: While you can’t tell a book by its cover, you might consider reading a book by its title. Nevertheless, the history of literature reveals…
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A Mystery for the Ages

Posted on by Michael Kahn
The folks at Goodreads.com asked me to answer the following question: What mystery in your own life could be a plot for a book? I mulled that over for awhile. After all, the life of a trial lawyer is a life of dealing with small and big mysteries in every case. Indeed, like any good detective…
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Bringing Up the Rear: The Literary Mic Drop

Posted on by Michael Kahn
Many years ago, my agent offered me the following advice: “The most important sentence of your novel is the first one. The second most important sentence is the last one.” There certainly have been vivid, memorable first lines, many of which we can quote by heart–from “Call me Ishmael” in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick to “It was a bright…
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Bromance: My Favorite Fictional Couple

Posted on by Michael Kahn
I recently received a question on the Goodreads website asking who was my favorite fictional couple, and why. My first reaction was to flip through all of the literary lovers I’d encountered over the years–a list that includes: Romeo & Juliet; Elizabeth Bennett & Mr. Darcy; Lancelot & Guinevere; Odysseus & Penelope; Scarlett O’Hara &…
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