June 2008 Blog Posts (161)

Oh, So You're an Author! (R)

I was pretty quiet about wanting to publish until I got my first contract. In a small town, announcing that you've written a book is an invitation to "Who does she think she is?" comments behind your back. Once I got that contract, however, it became necessary to come out of the book closet and start down the endless road of marketing and promotion.

The most surprising thing is how many phone calls I got from people who had also written a book. They wanted to know how I got published… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 18, 2008 at 10:26pm — No Comments

Crime Always Pays

This week on Crime Always Pays: Catherine O’Flynn’s WHAT WAS LOST, Declan Burke’s THE BIG O and Tana French’s THE LIKENESS reviewed; free copies of KO Dahl’s THE FOURTH MAN and THE MAN IN THE WINDOW; A GONZO NOIR gets its own blog; Andrew Taylor on the genesis of BLEEDING HEART SQUARE; KT McCaffrey on soundtracks and writing; Ed Lynskey Q&A’d; and – wait for it! – a first look at Will Hoyle’s BELLA MORTE!

Added by Declan Burke on June 18, 2008 at 9:15pm — No Comments

The Perils of Blogging

There are, in my view, two big dangers in blogging. One is that your blog is not read: you waste time, writing long, carefully-thought-out messages to no one. The other is that your blog is read and you say something dumb or hurtful or, worst of all, libelous. Ah, yes, the joys of the dilemma.

If you are read, that's good, right? People get to know your name, get to know your views, and remember you when they think of authors. But writing every day or week or whatever means you have… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 17, 2008 at 11:03pm — No Comments

Elsewhere on the Web

Mystery author Morgan Mandel started Book Place as a literary social site, networking authors, readers, publishers, editors, agents, reviewers, librarians, and any other book-loving people. At Book Place, promotion is encouraged. There's a button labeled "ALL AUTHORS" that you can get a listing of us authors who have built a page on the site. Then just click the author you'd like more info about. We writers can send in a jpeg or… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 17, 2008 at 10:25pm — No Comments

Marketing and What Readers Can Do to Help

Every Secret Crime will be released in two days.

Want to help with marketing?

There are four things you can do that are absolutely stone critical.

1: Buy Every Secret Crime and enjoy it.

2: Write a review of Every Secret Crime on Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com or any sales site where you're allowed to post one. Point of sale reviews are essential. By a large majority, readers tell me they bought my first book based on the reviews they found on the listing page. It… Continue

Added by Doug M. Cummings on June 16, 2008 at 11:23pm — No Comments

Great weekend Conference

Yesterday was a great chance to hang with some of my favorite local authors at the final Washington Independent Writers annual convention. This is the last one only because next month that organization becomes the American Independent Writers - a local professional group that, with more than 1200 members, is going national. I particularly enjoyed the fiction writers’ presentation where John Gilstrap and… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 16, 2008 at 10:37pm — No Comments

Travel Broadens My Outlook...and My Waistline

On the road, I am prey to the sin of gluttony. Something about being away from home makes me forget all the work I've done to remain healthy. At a drive-thru window, water seems unnatural, and I order a soda. In a sit-down restaurant the choices laid before me, all the pretty pictures and well-chosen words, call for meals drowned in cheese, sour cream, or guacamole. I know I'll be working for weeks to get rid of the extra pounds of a few days.

On the plus side, travel reminds us what… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 16, 2008 at 10:05pm — No Comments

Win a copy of Redback - final week

Just a quick reminder - we're drawing the competition winner on Friday the 20th - so make sure you've put your hat into the ring (so to speak)

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/node/4624

Added by Karen from AustCrime on June 16, 2008 at 11:46am — No Comments

Father's Day Greetings!

Happy Father’s Day to all the other dads out there. I hope those you helped get a start in life remembered you and sent you a little gift, or a card, or made a phone call to thank you for your selfless service through the years. Of course, the kids I raised are all way too busy moving forward with their lives to think of such things.

Well, actually one daughter, Chrystal, did call to wish me a happy day. And my son Adam has a good excuse, being in a nuclear submarine for the next few… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 16, 2008 at 11:39am — No Comments

News From Around The Interweb

Sure, I'm still firmly entrenched in hibernation mode, watching lots of episodes of The Outer Limits and drinking a responsible amount of absinthe, but that doesn't mean I don't have at least one eye to the cyber playground commonly referred to as "the internet."

* Spinetingler magazine has just put out its Summer 2008 issue, which of course confuses me and my Antipodean biological clock (it's winter here, dammit!). Still, with fiction of all lengths (as long as they're short) coming… Continue

Added by Daniel Hatadi on June 16, 2008 at 11:30am — No Comments

Weekly Blog - 16th June

As expected, I spent most of last week finalising the latest draft of Blood Law (the sequel to Justice For All). The last thing I did before sending it back to my editor was to read through a printed copy of the novel. This was an interesting and useful exercise, as I hadn’t looked at Blood Law in some time (indeed, I’d already started work on the next novel in the Hunter series). Going back to something in this way enables you to approach it with a fresh perspective. Sentences that read just… Continue

Added by Steven Hague on June 16, 2008 at 10:00am — No Comments

New Look Website for 'A Study in Red'

Having secured the Authors Lounge Cover Illustration Award for May, I decided it was time that the book's website got a revamp. The result is now on view at www.freewebs.com/astudyinred, and I'd like to invite anyone who is interested to take a peek at thier leisure.

Thanks again to all who voted in support of the book in the recent poll.

Please remember that you can still vote for 'Purple Death' in this month's poll for the June award at… Continue

Added by Brian L Porter on June 15, 2008 at 11:02pm — No Comments

DEVIL MAY CARE by Sebastian Faulks

In 1967, James Bond is called back from a medically mandated holiday to investigate Dr. Julius Gorner, a known drug manufacturer of concern to the British government. Along the way, Bond meets beautiful banker Scarlett Papava, who asks his help to rescue her sister Poppy, last seen in Gorner's company.

Tabbed to celebrate the centennial of Ian Fleming's birth, Devil May Care received more than a year of hype starting with the search for its author. Perhaps lost in the hype was… Continue

Added by Gerald So on June 15, 2008 at 9:18pm — No Comments

RESOLUTION by Robert B. Parker

Graham Powell found himself at a Robert B. Parker signing and did me the great kindness of sending me a signed copy of Resolution, the sequel to his Western Appaloosa.

Former soldier and lawman Everett Hitch stops in a town called Resolution, where hotel and saloon owner Amos Wolfson hires him as a lookout. While Hitch's unflinching dealing with criminals and "softhearted" treatment of the citizenry leave him well liked by the people, he's a bit too free-thinking for… Continue

Added by Gerald So on June 15, 2008 at 9:15pm — No Comments

mailing address

Once again, I've changed my P.O. box. It's at the same post office, I just downgraded to the smallest box ya can get -- more economical to pay $72 a year than $112 for a medium box. Address is:
Johnny Ostentatious
PO Box 342
Cheltenham, PA 19012

and now back to our regular programming. . . .

Added by Johnny Ostentatious on June 15, 2008 at 4:04am — No Comments

A GONZO NOIR: An Internet Novel

The first question people tend to ask about A GONZO NOIR is, ‘Why waste a perfectly good novel publishing it to the internet?’

This presupposes that it is good, let alone perfectly good.

Actually, it doesn’t. What people really mean is, ‘Why publish a novel-length story for free when someone might pay you to publish it as a conventional novel?’

Well, there’s a lot of reasons.

The first is that I’ve always wanted to publish a novel to the web, because it’s there and because I… Continue

Added by Declan Burke on June 15, 2008 at 2:32am — No Comments

Meet Me in DC Tomorrow

Tomorrow I’ll gather with the cream of local writers at the Washington Independent Writers annual convention. For many, this year’s WIW conference, "The Writing Life: Where We Are and Where We Are Going," will be a chance to pitch their latest work to agents. For me, it will be a day to attend workshops to learn more about my craft and

meet with other writers.

Speeches and workshops begin at 9 am.… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 14, 2008 at 6:11am — No Comments

Swierczynski in LA

Duane Swierczynski will be signing his new book SEVERANCE PACKAGE at The Mystery Bookstore this Saturday the 14th at noon. I’ll be there and so should you.

Added by Christa Faust on June 14, 2008 at 5:46am — 4 Comments

Justice Survives

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling recognizing Habeas Corpus rights for Guantanamo prisoners means that justice has survived in the USA for another day - - just barely.

Most people are unaware that of the nearly 770 men held at Guantanamo since the base opened, only 19 have actually been charged. There are currently about 250 men who are being held without charges in Guantanamo. Many of them have been held for over six years.

Now just step back and think about that last… Continue

Added by Christopher Valen on June 14, 2008 at 5:15am — 1 Comment

Free Book!

I'm giving all you lucky people the chance to win a copy of my latest novel, A Darker Side. Just click on the competition page of my web site for details: http://www.shirleywells.com

Added by Shirley Wells on June 13, 2008 at 10:03pm — No Comments