Ꚃᴛᴇᴘʜᴇɴ ʀᴏss
@stephenross.net
Author of Mysteries (Edgar/Thriller/Derringer Nominee). Musician. Member: MWA (Mystery Writers of America) & NZSA (Aotearoa) Repped by High Spot Literary Substack: Cinema555.com Website: StephenRoss.net
FFS Now we have to prove our working? "... we are no longer able to authenticate how the manuscript fully evolved from origin to completion.” www.theguardian.com/books/2026/j...
$2m crime novel deal collapses amid questions over AI use
Agents withdraw Jerry Falade’s hotly anticipated debut after saying they can no longer authenticate ‘how the manuscript evolved’
theguardian.com
My favourite Sam Neill movie is Dean Spanley. Despite it's London, Edwardian setting, it's actually an NZ production. Wonderful film. There's a long dinner/drinking scene with the four actors, and every one of them brought their A game. It's a masterclass of acting and direction.
Watching UNDER THE MOUNTAIN on this chilly Matariki afternoon. There needs to be more Auckland-set horror movies.
The piano has been drinking. My band covers Tom Waits' Heartattack and Vine. #musiciansky #musicsky #music #musicianfeed #rockmusic www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsYT...
Heartattack and Vine
YouTube video by Deviation Engine - Topic
youtube.com
Interesting article. AI's use in writing fiction worries me. It's hard work to write a book -- any endeavour in the arts is meant to be. You don't perfect the craft without the graft. Will "new" writers of tomorrow just think of AI as another tool, they way I think of a word processor or spellcheck?
How AI is changing language
As allegations of LLM use rock the literary and media worlds, linguists explain what really distinguishes human and machine writing, while novelists including Jennifer Egan and Jeanette Winterson refl...
theguardian.com
I have a new article online over at SleuthSayers. In this one I talk about my latest short story and motives to kill for.
The Urge to Kill
A criminally compelling web site featuring professional crime writers and crime fighters.
sleuthsayers.org
The Mystery in the Library crew at Whangaparāoa Library. We had a great panel discussion yesterday (Sat 23rd May) on the craft of crime fiction. Big crowd turned out to join us.
I guested on MoreFM promoting the crime/mystery writers' panel discussion: CRIME BY THE COASTLINE, Mystery in the Library series (MITL), May 23rd 2026, Whangaparāoa Library.
Radio promo for Mystery in the Library (Whangaparāoa 2026)
YouTube video by Stephen Ross
youtube.com
Fantastic mystery author panel in Brokenwood (aka Warkworth) on Wednesday night (May 13th).
Do clouds ever look at people and say, "Oh, that one looks like a refridgerator"?
I'll be in Brokenwood (aka Warkworth) next Wednesday (May 13) with a fantastic set of fellow mystery authors for a lively panel discussion on the craft of murder and mayhem. Come along and join us!
I've been mostly offline for the last couple of months (real life interrupts), so I missed this when it came out. A review of 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝙍𝙄𝘿𝙀 𝙈𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝘽𝙀 𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙋𝙋𝙀𝘿! Thank you, @mkinberg.bsky.social
In The Spotlight: Stephen Ross' The Bride Must be Stopped!
YouTube video by Margot Kinberg
youtube.com
My latest short story (a wee tale of murder and mayhem in London and Edinburgh in 1949) appears in the March/April 2026 Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
I have a new short story out 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐩 (𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝). It appears today in a new Los Angeles-centric anthology of crime/mystery stories. This is a special publication: All royalties from the sales of the book will be donated to the California Community Foundation's Wildfire Recovery Fund.
LAXtras: Los Angeles-style Crime Stories
Amazon.com: LAXtras: Los Angeles-style Crime Stories eBook : Kinberg Editor , Margot , Lopez, Lelah, Eklund, Lynette: Books
amazon.com
Halloween seems an appropriate day to announce the launch of my book. 🙂 Do come along!
My band has released a new song. #musiciansky #musicsky #music #musicianfeed #rockmusic
Suzie Q
YouTube video by Deviation Engine - Topic
youtu.be
COVER REVEAL 😃 (publication is soon) 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮! 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩!
One of my favourite parts of London is Hampstead. Here's a short little piece (a time capsule, now) by John Mortimer about his home town.
1960: Life in HAMPSTEAD | Monitor | Writers and Wordsmiths | BBC Archive
YouTube video by BBC Archive
youtube.com
My story, MURDER IN F-SHARP, appears in this issue. On sale now. "𝑀𝑦 𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑇ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑃ℎ𝑖𝑝𝑝𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑀𝑟. 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑏𝑦. 𝐻𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑚𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑦 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑘..."
Everyone is worried about AI. I’m more concerned with what the other vowels are up to.
Pro tip: Don't put animals in a zoo, then you won't have to feed them pets to simulate "the wild."
Aalborg Zoo asks for unwanted pets to feed its predators
Aalborg Zoo says the unique scheme is aimed at mimicking what its predators would eat in the wild.
bbc.com
