Christopher Valen

Profile Information:

Hometown:
St. Paul, MN
About Me:
My debut police procedural, White Tombs, featuring Homicide Detective John Santana, was released in March 2008. White Tombs won the Reader Views Choice Award for Best Mystery and the Garcia Award for Best Fiction. The second book in the police procedural series entitled "The Black Minute" was released in September 2009. It also won the Reader Views Best Mystery of the Year and the Linda Goldman Award for Best Novel. The third novel in the series, "Bad Weeds Never Die," was released on September 1, 2011. It was chosen as 2011 Best Mystery/Thriller by both Reader Views and Rebecca's Reads. The fourth book in the John Santana series, Bone Shadows, will be released on October 1, 2012. For more information go to www.christophervalen.com. Also, visit his blog, Probable Cause, at http:/christophervalen.com/blog.
I Am A:
Writer
Website:
http://www.christophervalen.com
Books And Authors I Like:
Anything by James Lee Burke, Michael Connelly, Lee Child and John Connolly
Movies And TV Shows I Like:
I don't watch much TV, but I do enjoy watching Dexter on the Showtime network, Bill Maher on HBO and John Stewart and Steven Colbert on Comedy Central.

Comment Wall:

  • MysteryDawg

    Welcome aboard. WHITE TOMBS sounds interesting. Looking forward to seeing you on the boards and in the forums.
    Aldo
  • Eric Stone

    Thanks, and welcome to this place. Congratulations on the debut.

    Eric
  • Lawrence Kelter

    That's great--I hope you like. Good to know you. Hope to hear from you soon.
  • Daniel Hatadi

    Hey Christopher,

    I just saw your comment on the help page (for some reason I haven't been recieving notifications for this). The tags on your blog page are for all of the content on Crimespace wide, so there isn't any way to remove them.

    Cheers,
    Daniel
  • L.J. Sellers

    Hi Christopher
    Congratulations on your first release. Very exciting.
    I just discovered Dexter, and I'm hooked. And I no longer read serial killer stories. It's partly the actor, isn't it?
  • L.J. Sellers

    What finally hit me about serial killer stories is that, underneath the authors' creative attempts to be different, the stories and characters are all the same. They kill because they like to. They're either caught, or not. There isn't much room for twists or surprises. I was skeptical about Dexter for these reasons, but he is different.
  • shirley dicks

    no, our story wasn't done on 60 minutes but I was on some of the talk shows like geraldo, maury, sally, rolonda and a few others....although it never did any good. We never did get a good attorney for him. The BBC did a documentary on my life but it was like fifteen minutes and I don't think it was played here but over seas in england....anyway, the trailer cost me 150.00 and his name is Curtis Baker, Chief Editor
    Ghostwriter Extraordin aire, LLC If you check them out, tell them I sent you.....I'm trying to get a discount on my next one if I find they do help with sales to the book. They put it on places like facebook, myspace and others.. His email address is curtis@gwextra.com My email is sdicks@blomand.net
  • shirley dicks

    I can see it much better...guess it's age and I love black and red...perhaps a lighter red would have been better for my eyes to read but the white sticks out good.....will keep you updated on how the trailer goes.....and if it does help any
  • John McFetridge

    It's not just the White House, we have the same problem in Canada, it's all over Europe, too. What I wonder about is the lack of outrage from the people. Or maybe what I mean is, I wonder about the support our leaders get...
  • L.J. Sellers

    I'm excited that you're planning to read The Sex Club. Considering your last two blog posts here, I think/hope you'll find it interesting.
  • Luis

    Hi, thanks for accepting my request. I prefer reading police procedurals to most other kinds of crime fiction.

    My work involves investigating both crimes and the persons who commit them. I write reports and recommend federal sentences.
  • Luis

    I'd be happy to share some of the investigative techniques I know.
  • Luis

    I'll probably ask you some things about writing fiction as I continue to develop that area of my writing. If you don't mind of course!
  • carole gill

    i'm sure I will.
    I read the reviews and it sounds like the best book ever.
    can't wait to get it!
    thanks for recommending it!
  • Christopher Valen

    Boe,
    You're welcome. CrimeSpace is an excellent website that generates good discussions and feedback. I've been very busy promoting my police procedural White Tombs (just added an event post for New Mexico) and working on the next book in the series. Never seems to be enough time in the day.
  • Dennis Leppanen

    Hi Christopher,

    Thanks for the invite. Look forward to White Tomb. Have always been a John Sanford fan.
  • Tom Cooke

    Christopher,
    Thank you so much for adding me as a friend. I've enjoyed reading your comments on this site and feel privileged to be added.
    T.
  • Preetham Grandhi

    Hi Christopher, I want to introduce you to my debut novel "A Circle of souls" which is a murder, mystery, psychological thriller and a tale of justice and hope. Do visit www.acircleofsouls.com to read more about the book. Make sure you sign up to win an autographed copy of the book. You can also read more reviews by clicking on the More Reviews button at the website. Thanks for your time in advance.

    Best regards

    Preetham Grandhi

    Early Endorsements for “A Circle of Souls”

    Linda Fairstein, NYT Bestselling Author: "A fascinating debut - this novel takes the reader to the darkest places in the human soul, from a writer with the authenticity to lead us there. A stunning thriller and an important read."

    Judge Judy Sheindlin, star of the Judge Judy Show: "The seminal work of this fine author kept me glued to my chair until the adventure was over and the mystery solved. A great read!"

    Book Synopsis:

    The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town s top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children.

    Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury s hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya s parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope.

    The situations confronting Leia and Peter converge when Naya begins drawing chilling images of murder after being bombarded by the disturbing images in her dreams. Amazingly, her sketches are the only clues to the crime that has panicked Newbury residents. Against her better judgment, Leia explores the clues in Naya s crude drawings, only to set off an alarming chain of events.
    In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.
  • Daniel Hatadi

    Hi Christopher,

    You should be able to add the extra video promo code directly after the previous one. Just make sure that each of them begin with a 'less than' and end with a 'greater than' sign.

    Cheers,
    Daniel
  • Jon Loomis

    And thanks for the ad, Chris. The forum is (almost) always fun!
  • Robin Jarossi

    Thanks, Christopher. I am into procedurals and will check out Santana. Best regards, Robin