Dave Dentel

Posted on August 28, 2026 by ddentel66

4 Kinds of Gothic Heroines. Which One Will You Write?

I Cheated and Blended 2 into 1

by Dave Dentel

The first rule of writing is to know your audience, which in fiction means conforming to the tropes readers have come to expect in the genres they favor.

For romantic suspense authors, plotting a novel to please today’s consumer entails building on the legacy of gothics—especially the titles cranked out by publishers in the 1960s to 1980s.

Considering that at the time these potboilers outsold every other type of fiction on the market, I thought it would be worthwhile to research the elements that typified a good gothic romance. After all, I am working on a sequel to my own romantic suspense novel released earlier this year—Suffer A Sea Change.

Posted on July 22, 2026 by ddentel66

Romantic Suspense and the Book that Started It All. (Don’t Bother to Read It.)

by Dave Dentel

It’s no secret that one of the most popular genres of film and fiction these days is romantic suspense. (My cable lineup has at least two channels dedicated to it.)

And I’ve already confessed in an earlier post how I enjoy watching Hallmark-style mysteries with my wife. It’s true as well that I’m a fan of the once hugely successful (and now sadly passé) paperback line known as gothic romances.

Posted on July 13, 2026 by ddentel66

Novelist’s Dilemma: Does Too Much Spice Ruin the Recipe?

For aspiring writers looking to break into fiction, one thing that can be challenging to navigate (aside from making sense of all the genres and sub-genres) is determining to what extent your prose will include what I will refer to as spice.

Posted on July 3, 2026 by ddentel66

America 250: Celebrate the Freedom to Write What You Want (Even if No One Likes It)

This July 4, as we mark the 250^th anniversary of the document that declared the United States a sovereign nation, it makes sense to celebrate one of the liberties the Declaration of Independence affirmed—the freedom to write.

Posted on January 31, 2026January 31, 2026 by ddentel66

Writing Tip No. 2—Armadillos, Authors, and other Creatures Unsuitable for Making Sausage

Of all mammals, the armadillo arguably possesses the best protection against punctures and jabs. Once it curls into a defensive sphere, the animal’s outer armor makes it all but impervious to the hazards it typically encounters, from coyote teeth to bobcat claws. If you believe the internet, the dillo’s hide is so tough that bullets sometimes bounce off it.

Contrast this with what is almost certainly the thinnest-skinned creature in nature—the prose writer.

Posted on December 26, 2025 by ddentel66

Hey Writers—Check Out These Holiday Marketing Tips from the 7th Century

As a writer I’m always looking for insight into how to better use language to inform and persuade. On Christmas Eve I found just that in an unlikely place.

I was rummaging through my music collection in search of something other than the dozen or so seasonal standards that this time of year keep cycling on the radio (and in big-box stores, dentist offices, etc.). At the bottom of a stack of vinyl albums I uncovered something I’d forgotten I owned—a record purporting to contain Gregorian chants for Christmas.

Posted on December 16, 2025 by ddentel66 · 1 Comment

In Praise of Hallmark-Style Happy Endings, Even at Christmas

Any more you can’t get through the holidays without being made painfully aware of the parade of Christmas-themed Hallmark movies (and Hallmark knockoffs) airing on multiple cable channels and streaming online.

This outpouring of cinematic treacle begins well before Halloween and may even last until after New Year’s. I couldn’t say for sure when it ends because by January 1st I’ve usually sworn off confection of all kinds.

Posted on October 3, 2025December 16, 2025 by ddentel66

Writing Tip No. 1: The Naked Truth about Choosing the Right Words

Naturalist: noun, meaning "a student of natural history."

Naturist: noun, meaning "a nudist"

In thirty years of earning my bread as a writer and editor I’ve identified a few principles of fundamental importance.

The one I wish to address at present I could have learned by heeding the repeated asides of the Spanish swordsman in The Princess Bride. Namely, that failing to ascertain the proper meaning of a word is one of the quickest ways to lose credibility as an auteur.