News & Views
Step Inside Rita’s World:
News & Views with author Valerie Webster
Welcome to the blog of crime fiction author Valerie Webster
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Valerie Webster of Boulder, Colo. draws readers into the shadowy worlds of crime and crime fighters by using her 30+ year career in cyber and real-life security.
The result is riveting fiction based on real cases and policing applications with the main character Rita Mars—an ex-investigative reporter fighting crime around Washington D.C.’s beltway and beyond.
Webster’s debut novel Driven: A Rita Mars Thriller received critical accolades from readers.
Her second book in the crime fiction series, Objects of Desire publishes in late 2022.
Webster is a member of Mystery Writers of America and the national and Colorado chapters of Sisters in Crime.
Purchase Your Copy of Driven on Amazon Here.
DECEMBER AMAZON CARD WINNER
Diane Banti of Lake Wales, FL! Our December Quiz winner of the $25 Amazon gift card. You can be our next winner. Sign up on our site and answer this month's crime fiction quiz question. Once you sign up, you are eligible every month your name remains on the list. Get...
Donate. Be Generous. Be Grateful
Thanks to The New York Times for publishing legitimate local and national organizations collecting funds and other donations for those hard hit by the recent mid-west tornadoes. Be generous – and be grateful. Local Brother’s Brother Foundation, a...
IT’S THAT TIME – GIFT THE READERS ON YOUR LIST
Great Gifts for Readers on Your Holiday List SECRET LIVES OF GREAT AUTHORS We enjoy hearing the gossip about the rich and infamous. This book tells it all about the authors we loved – stuff we never learned in English class. FIRST LINES COFFEE MUG...
PHISHING – IT’S NOT A WATERSPORT
Let’s start with a definition of phishing. It is the practice of tricking Internet users, through the use of deceptive email messages, phone calls or websites, into revealing personal or confidential information which can then be used to perpetuate identity...
Sisters in Crime
Sisters in Crime is sponsoring NaNoWriMo this November. They will schedule write-ins and weekly Twitter sprints to help you get to 50K words. They will also make other resources and support available. The #SinC50K will offer: 2 write-ins a day 6 days a...
Dark Money: How Rita Did It
In Driven: A Rita Mars Thriller, Rita spends time wading through corporate records, social media and online sources in her quest to identify the killer of her reporter friend, Bobby Ellis. Why is this such a slavish task when we believe the Federal Election...
National Novel Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days. Chris Baty started the project in with 21 participants in the San Francisco Bay area. Each year since on November 1, thousands of people around the...
Writing Contest for Unpublished Work
Each year the Pacific Northwest Writers' Association presents a contest for best in genre for as yet unpublished work. You’ll see these “best of” mystery and thrillers soon on shelves and online! Every genre has a sponsor and this year’s Mystery/Thriller...
Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards
Finalists just announced in the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards. RMFW offers encouragement and opportunity to writers in all genres through this annual contest. Winners will be announced and celebrated at the RMFW Hybrid Gold...
2021 National Book Festival
Create a personalized experience with the Library of Congress’ National Book Festival in 2021 by engaging in author conversations online, watching the broadcast special on PBS, listening to NPR podcasts, tuning in to Washington Post Live author interviews and...
2022 St. Martin’s Minotaur Mystery Writers of America
First Crime Novel Competition MWA is the premier organization for mystery and crime writers, professionals allied to the crime-writing field, aspiring crime writers, and folks who just love to read crime fiction. The Competition is open to any writer, regardless of...
Link Analysis – How Rita Did It in DRIVEN
In my book, Driven: A Rita Mars Thriller, my protagonist, Rita Mars searches for the killer responsible for her fellow reporter, Bobby Ellis’s death. She determined there was a political target of the story that got him killed and immediately began the search through...
"A Real Page Turner!"
Read more Book Reviews on Amazon Here