Fall into writing — two Montana conferences

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Leslie Budewitz

Montana writers have two chances to attend great little conferences this fall:

The Montana Romance Writers sponsors its inaugural conference September 28-30 at Fairmont Hot Springs, with two bestselling writers from Montana, Kat Martin and BJ Daniels.

The Authors of the Flathead sponsors the Flathead River Writers Conference October 6-7 in at Flathead Valley Community College in Kalispell. I’ll be speaking, along with keynoter Mark Coker of Smashwords, writers John DeDakis and Kathy Dunnehoff, online marketing expert Roxanne McHenry, and agents Jeff Herman and Regina Brooks.

a mystery story for you

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Leslie Budewitz

In lieu of this week’s post on a legal topic, I have a small gift for you. Kings River Life reprinted my short story, The End of the Line, originally published in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine in Dec 2006.

My husband and I were traveling in Greece, exploring the stone towers of Vathia, on the tip of the Mani Peninsula, when I spotted a spent shotgun shell on the dirt path, and wondered how it got there … .

Think of it in honor of Father’s Day, if you like. Enjoy!

What’s a kidney worth?

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Leslie Budewitz

A reader, Jen Rhee, sent me this graphic illustrating the worth of various body parts, and it’s intriguing, although I have no direct knowledge of its accuracy.

Life and disability insurers calculate the worth of certain recurrent injuries. In the olden days, work comp funds published guidelines. Here’s one chart and a CNBC slide show. “Key man” insurance on actors, singers, and dancers may feature in your story — Betty Grable’s legs were insured for $1 million. Time Magazine reports on “Top 10 Oddly Insured Body Parts.”

$600,000 for Dolly Parton’s breasts and $6 million for Bruce Springsteen’s voice?

Ok, I get that.

But a few others will raise your eyebrows–no matter how much you’ve insured them for.

(Graphic: Jen Rhee.)