Former private investigator and New York Times notable author David Corbett offers a unique and indispensable toolkit for creating characters that come vividly to life on the page and linger in memory. Corbett provides an inventive, inspiring, and vastly entertaining blueprint to all the elements of characterization-from initial inspiration to realization-with special insights into the power of secrets and contradictions, the embodiment of roles, managing the "tyranny of motive," and maste...

Poétique, romantique et brutal : un thriller exceptionnelqui explore la face cachée de la politique étrangère américaine.Jude McManus a 17 ans lorsque son père, un flic de Chicago, meurt dans des circonstances mystérieuses. Son cadavre est retrouvé dans les eaux d'un lac alors qu'il vient d'être accusé de corruption avec ses deux collègues, Bill Malvasio et Phil Stroke. Suicide pour échapper au scandale ? Noyade accidentelle ? L'affaire ne...

Just as a compass provides direction for an explorer, so does motivation provide direction for characters in fiction. The "compass" of character motivation is composed of four points: Lack, Yearning, Resistance, and Desire. In The Compass of Character you'll learn to deeply consider the key question "What does my character want?" and learn techniques to answer that question by writing realistic and empathetic characters without falling into formulaic, unsatisfying results that onl...

A country descending into civil war...A young artist forced to cross a nation in chaosto retrieve her stolen masterpiece...Her guide and guardian-whose past remains strangely obscure...Georgie O'Halloran created an artistic and literary wonder-only to have it stolen from her and published under the thief's name. Worse, it's the inspiration for a wildly pop...

The most notorious love letters in American history-supposedly destroyed a century ago-mysteriously reappear, and become the coveted prize in a fierce battle for possession that brings back to life the lawless world evoked in the letters themselves.Lisa Balamaro is an ambitious arts lawyer with a secret crush on her most intriguing client: former rodeo rider and reformed art forger, Tuck Mercer. In his newfound role as expert in Old West artifacts, Tuck gains possession of the supp...

Si el personaje es el centro de cualquier historia, El arte de crear personajes. En narrativa, cine y televisión de David Corbett, constituye la mejor herramienta para crear y desarrollar personajes brillantes y distintos. Cando se empieza a concebir un personaje, dice el autor, uno se da cuenta de hasta qué punto toda narración es un reflejo de la propia vida, un paso en la búsqueda de respuesta a las preguntas esenciales: ¿Quién soy? ¿De dónde vengo? ¿Adónde voy? ¿Qué sentido ti...

A saxophonist's murder is only the first shot fired in a citywide warAll great blues musicians chase something. Raymond "Strong" Carlisle calls it "the deep sweet"—that perfect note that always seems to sit just out of reach. For decades he has made crowds swing, made women smile, and earned the respect of some of the greats. But as long as he strained for the deep sweet, nothing he did with his baritone sax seemed to matter. Chasing that fantasy has led him here, t...

First Published in 1965 Politics and the Airlines looks into the making of airline policy in five countries, Australia, Britain, Canada, India, and the United States. It shows the part played by political parties, ministers, government departments, regulatory bodies, and the boards of management of airlines themselves. In four of the countries the major airlines are publicly owned and have been involved in the cut and thrust of political controversy between enthusiasts for public ...

An ex-con risks his freedom and his life to rekindle an old love affairThey call him Bad Dan, the Man Who Can. A talented photographer who makes his living smuggling premium Thai marijuana into the States, he meets Shel at a Las Vegas blackjack table, and falls instantly in love. After two years of whirlwind passion, they are living in California and plotting a final score. But in his haste to escape the con life, Dan makes a fatal mistake. The score goes sour, and...

An ex-con risks his freedom and his life to rekindle an old love affair.They call him Bad Dan, the Man Who Can. A talented photographer who makes his living smuggling premium Thai marijuana into the States, he meets Shel at a Las Vegas blackjack table, and falls instantly in love. After two years of whirlwind passion, they are living in California and plotting a final score. But in his haste to escape the con life, Dan makes a fatal mistake. The score goes sour, an...

Marybeth met Jamie at the Horn & Whistle, a neighborhood pub warm enough to keep out the chill on a bleak January day. Over a pint of stout, he won her heart with bad jokes and cynical Irish charm. Two years later, she loves him more than ever, but she can see that he's bracing for a fall. When everything collapses, when Jamie's job disappears and the house is foreclosed on and Marybeth feels death creeping into her bones, it's up to her to save them both - even if it means doing something...

Edgar Award Finalist: In El Salvador, a young American faces his troubled past—and a dangerous present.Jude McManus has landed on his feet. Following time in the army, he scored work as an "executive protection specialist" in El Salvador, where he safeguards a hydrologist for good money and gets to surf during his downtime. But this slice of paradise comes with post-civil-war dangers, and distance won't erase his cruel memories of Chicago. Ten years earlier, his cop...