This is a breaking news bulletin for all crime writers in the audience. Blackmail, once the preferred crime of pulp fiction villains, has now been outsourced to computer programs.
Today the BBC reports on computer viruses that automatically blackmail users online. The most nefarious virus actually targets users surfing sites for explicit Hentai anime online.
Here’s how the scam works: “It then takes screengrabs of the user’s web history and publishes it online in their name, before sending an e-mail or pop-up screen demanding a credit card payment of 1500 yen (£10) to ‘settle your violation of copyright law’ and remove the webpage.” (Via Gawker)
If you are looking for more noir guidance, today we interviewed Jonathan Woods (pictured above) about Bad Juju & Other Tales of Madness and Mayhem–a short story collection he wrote after taking a few Mediabistro screenwriting courses.
Woods gave a number of pointers for aspiring writers, including: how he found a publisher for his collection of crime fiction, how he made a book trailer on a shoestring budget, and how his screenwriting classes helped him craft better prose.
Press play below to listen.