Elements of Style: rules of good grammar and better writing

Several readers have asked me why there are no commas in my books. Some even thought that the translators made a mistake. Ditto for my use of ellipses (...) in dialogue.

Commas are superfluous. They’re a waste. I never use them. Neither does the great literary genius of Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy. He's written masterpieces that include: Border Trilogy; Blood Meridian; No Country For Old Men; The Road.

Ellipses reflect how people really talk. The great detective and psychological novelist Georges Simenon always used ellipses for character dialogue. People don’t usually talk in perfect sentences. For example: "That’s why I use ellipses . . . in character dialogue. Natural and realistic speech means that people pause . . . they think . . . they lie . . . they get distracted . . . they take a breath . . . they drink or smoke or stare or look away."

Why the Kyron Horman investigation failed

My publisher finally got my website [www.deadlybooks.com] up & running.

SOHLBERG AND THE MISSING SCHOOLBOY describes the how and why of a child's kidnapping and murder. The book was inspired by the stunning Kyron Horman case.

The book also shows exactly why the Kyron Horman investigation failed.

The failure began with incompetent interviewing/interrogation techniques of the sheriff’s deputies (Det. Keith Krafve) AND with Sheriff Staton’s unethical and illegal obsession of using Kyron Horman’s disappearance to ask for taxpayer funds.

Few people know that the investigation was botched by Deputy Sheriff and homicide Detective Keith Krafve. His track record includes getting fooled into arresting and convicting an innocent man by the felon and known drug dealer who had murdered TWO people. See, Willamette Week "Swimming with Sharks" (17 December 2003) for details on his incompetence and how the Multnomah County DA office won't prosecute cases he's involved in.

Kyron Horman vanishes

Here's a Google map and picture of the elementary school where Kyron Horman vanished in broad daylight

Lommemannen, The Pocket Man

Lommemannen, or The Pocket Man, got off with a "slap on the wrist", a mild prison sentence, thanks to Norway's ridiculously lenient system.

The pervert molested hundreds of children and he got the name Pocket Man because he cut out his pant pockets so as to more easily shove children's hands into his groin area for quick arousal.