February 2009 Blog Posts (186)

Crime Squad's Top Ten Books for 2008

I'm in it, just - at number 10!

Here's the full list:

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson

Quercus £7.99

2. Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith

Pocket Books £7.99

3. Blood From Stone - Frances Fyfield

Sphere £12.99

4. A Simple Act of Violence -… Continue

Added by Roger (R.N.) Morris on February 28, 2009 at 10:15pm — No Comments

OUR SOUTH magazine editor Joanna Holbert interviews author Darden North

Link to article follows or refer to text below:

Our%20South%20Magazine%20Winter%2009%20-%20Darden%20North%20article.pdf

OUR SOUTH Midwinter 2009

THE DOCTOR"S WRITINGS by Joanna Holbert, editor of Our South magazine

When nurse Taylor Richards is found dead in

her bathtub, it’s a loss for the hospital staff,

but no one seems… Continue

Added by Darden North, MD on February 28, 2009 at 2:57pm — No Comments

My Babies

Added by Tory Richards on February 28, 2009 at 8:15am — 3 Comments

When I write "pissed"...

I mean "pissed off," that is, "annoyed." Imagine my surprise to read that my British copy editor assumed that my character was "tipsy."

Two people, separated by a common language! (Still working through Shades of Grey copy edits.)

Added by Clea Simon on February 28, 2009 at 2:23am — 9 Comments

Blatant Self Promotion

I have a flash fiction story collection featured on Six Sentences.
I'd love for you guys to check it out. sixsentences.blogspot.com

Thanks! ~Pamila

Added by ms.pamila on February 28, 2009 at 2:01am — No Comments

Malice Domestic from St. Martin's Press

Hey all you mystery writers, have you heard of the Malice Domestic contest from from St. Martin's Press?

This contest provides a previously unpublished writer an opportunity to launch his or her career with a major mystery imprint, St. Martin's Minotaur. The winner will receive a one-book, $10,000 contract.

Here is a list of previous… Continue

Added by The Poisoned Pen Bookstore on February 28, 2009 at 1:30am — 3 Comments

Rumor: Larger, Touchscreen Kindle 3 may be released later this year

http://i.gizmodo.com/5161405/a-larger-touchscreen-kindle-3-coming-this-year

Full text of the article:

"While we first saw the Kindle 2 months ago in a leak, there's been another nagging rumor, one of a Kindle with a full 8.5"x11" display. And according to DigiTimes, that Kindle still exists.

Sneakily tacked on a post about Amazon's e-ink display manufacturer Prime View… Continue

Added by John Dishon on February 28, 2009 at 1:14am — 1 Comment

Cell phone stories writing new chapter in print publishing

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/25/japan.mobilenovels/

From the article:

"A struggling Japanese publishing industry was quick to take notice of the growing popularity of keitai shosetsu, especially early works like Yoshi's "Deep Love." Many of the popular cell phone novels have since been turned into paperbacks, and bookstores across Japan now have entire sections devoted to the digital-age literary… Continue

Added by John Dishon on February 28, 2009 at 12:08am — 4 Comments

Back in Action

. . . and in Asia. I'm here to write the fourth Poke Rafferty Bangkok thriller, THE ROCKS. And the third, BREATHING WATER, is due to come out this August/September from HarperCollins. I don't usually weigh in on the quality (or lack thereof) of my books, but I have to say that I think BREATHING WATER is the best yet.

And the people at Morrow agree, to the extent that they made up special bound manuscripts and sent them out in advance of the ARCs in the hope of developing quotes from… Continue

Added by Timothy Hallinan on February 27, 2009 at 11:30pm — 3 Comments

The Last Question...for a While

At the beginning of February I announced that I'd dedicate the month to questions, since I'm traveling and they're short and fairly easy. It's hard to believe this is the last one, but Monday is March.

So the last question to reflect on is if you were forced to return to an earlier age (let's say at least 100 years ago), what would you choose?

I love certain eras for reading about, but that doesn't mean I'd be comfortable living there. I guess I'd look for something fairly… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on February 27, 2009 at 11:20pm — 6 Comments

Meet Me in South Carolina This Weekend

I'll spend this weekend at the South Carolina Book Festival. This free event in the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center features award-winning authors discussing their work and lots of book autographing. The festival presents a diversified group of authors, poets, and scholars. The Festival offers panel discussions and presentations on a variety of popular genres and literary topics, from the latest trends in new fiction to regional favorites to… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on February 27, 2009 at 10:55pm — No Comments

Five Years of Crimespree

It's finally getting a little warmer in Milwaukee as we get ready to ship issue #29 of Crimespree next week. We have CJ Box on the cover and an interview to go with it, plus a bunch of other interviews including Barry Eisler, Victor Gischler, Andrew Grant and Linda Fairstein. In addition to the other articles and book and DVD reviews we are also running contests for 19 different book titles.

We are giving away 19 different titles in… Continue

Added by Jon Jordan on February 27, 2009 at 5:31pm — No Comments

ARE YOU KINDLING YET?

We've all heard about the Kindle readers, but I don't hear authors discussing the unique opportunity to put their own work up on Kindle. I uploaded 7 flash fiction stories called "Over In a Flash," created it with a vision of how I wanted it presented, priced it and sent it out to the world.

Now my publisher, Billie Johnson of Oak Tree Press, is putting my novels on Kindle. We discussed it over the phone and she's agreed to offer a service for others who do not want to mess with the… Continue

Added by Sunny Frazier on February 27, 2009 at 1:03pm — No Comments

This Review for Silent Scream has just been Posted By Blog Talk Radio Host Lesa Trapp

Silent Scream

Paperback: 428 pages

Publisher: Lulu.com (September 28, 2008) Language: English

ISBN-10: 0557013895

ISBN-13: 978-0557013890

Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches

Paper Back

True Crime Documentary

By: Yvonne Mason

Yvonne Mason brings the evil mind of Gerard Schaefer to your finger tips. He is one of the most evil and cunning serial killers in Florida during… Continue

Added by Yvonne Mason on February 27, 2009 at 11:02am — No Comments

Why the animosity toward POD authors?

Recently I thought about sending a novel to a well-known but small publisher. But I forgot to read the entire submissions demands. Much to my surprise I was informed in no uncertain times I could not submit if I had ever been published by a POD publisher.

So the question is this: Why this vehement animosity toward POD authors?

Added by B.R.Stateham on February 27, 2009 at 3:45am — 21 Comments

Authors´ Guild vs. reality: Kindles and read-aloud

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/25/authors-guild-vs-rea.html

From the article:

"I think there's plenty not to like about the Kindle -- the DRM, the proprietary file format, both imposed on authors and publishers even if they don't want it -- and about Amazon's real audiobook section, Audible (the DRM -- again, imposed on authors and publishers even if they'd prefer not to use it). But if… Continue

Added by John Dishon on February 27, 2009 at 3:44am — 13 Comments

Don't Want to Blow Up Dana's Brain...

So we'll make it an easy one today. What's the last "great" historical novel you read?
Mine is MISTRESS OF THE ART OF DEATH by Ariana Franklin.

Added by Peg Herring on February 26, 2009 at 11:03pm — 7 Comments

Finding the numbers in book sales.

I have two books out. Out since September. So, being the typical impatient Alpha-male that I am, I want to know how well they are selling. I found two sites, TitleZ.com and Rankforest.com, which track book sales. Neither have numbers for me.

So I was wondering, anyone else know of a site that might be tracking books? A site that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to be in?

Added by B.R.Stateham on February 26, 2009 at 3:25am — 3 Comments

Planting clues in a Mystery

Today I am over at THE BOOK STACKS chatting about planting
clues in a mystery if anyone would be interested. FYI, if you leave a
comment you will be eligible for a drawing to win a $50 gift
certificate if you are an unpublished author, and a free virtual book tour if you are published.

Added by Kim Smith on February 26, 2009 at 1:50am — No Comments

A Study in Red - The Latest Review

I was delighted to see the latest five star review of 'A Study in Red' to appear on the Amazon.com website and would like to share it with everyone. the review can be seen in full at http://www.amazon.com/Study-Red-Secret-Journal-Ripper/review/product/1554045274/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R28BGBH6YBW5HJ

A Study in… Continue

Added by Brian L Porter on February 26, 2009 at 12:34am — No Comments