December 2009 Blog Posts (152)

Almost there!

Hard to believe that it's only a couple of months until CITY OF DRAGONS is released. It's been a fast-moving year!

To celebrate, I'm running a contest in December and January for a scarce ARC--combined with a basket of themed gifts from San Francisco's Chinatown.

Just go to my website at http://www.kellistanley.com/newsletter.html and sign up for my newsletter. It's spam-free and not very frequent.… Continue

Added by Kelli Stanley on December 8, 2009 at 9:57am — No Comments

Seven Kinds of Stupid

My spouse is gone away for a week, so I'm doing a lot of channel surfing, reveling in the fact that I can. What I notice is that the commercials for whatever TV shows you watch reveal what kind of stupid the MADmen think you are. For example:

1.Sports-Apparently everyone who watches sports can only think of two things: Will my team win?" and "Can I get a bigger, meaner-looking truck than my neighbor?"

2.Game shows-Obviously a favorite of the idle and the aged, if you pay… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on December 7, 2009 at 10:10pm — No Comments

Review - Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait, K A Bedford

Book Title: TIME MACHINES REPAIRED WHILE-U-WAIT

Author: K A Bedford

Publisher: Fremantle Arts Press

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 9-781921-361739

No of Pages: 476

Book Synopsis:

It's 2027, suburban Malaga, Western Australia. Ex-cop Aloysius 'Spider' Webb is working as a time-machine repairman - and people are crazy about time travel. Spider is getting on okay (if you put to one side his failed marriage and dead-end career) until he discovers the mutilated… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on December 7, 2009 at 3:57pm — No Comments

KMN Books

Check out my new interview over at KMN Books on Monday 12/7, and leave a comment. One reader will be randomly picked to win a download of WICKED DESIRE.

Tootles!

Added by Tory Richards on December 7, 2009 at 10:45am — No Comments

SOME MORE REVIEWS

Woody Haut (NEON NOIR, HEARTBREAK AND VINE) reviews TOROS & TORSOS. Novelist Charlie Stella reviews PRINT THE LEGEND. Naomi Johnson also weighs in on… Continue

Added by Craig McDonald on December 7, 2009 at 12:37am — No Comments

The Publishers Weeky Review

Here is the Publishers Weekly review for my novel, Let It Ride (which is published as Swap in Canada):

Let It Ride, John McFetridge. Minotaur, $24.99 (304p) ISBN 978-0-312-59948-5

Too many characters and points of view throw off the rhythm of this sprawling homage to caper-master Elmore Leonard from Canadian author McFetridge (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere). Venard “Get” McGetty, a vet who served in Afghanistan, crosses the border from Detroit to Toronto… Continue

Added by John McFetridge on December 6, 2009 at 6:52am — 6 Comments

The countdown is on

With only a few days to go, it seems the basic premise for the first chapter of Coming Home has been decided. Thanks to everyone who’s voted so far!

What sparks Sophie to investigate her brother’s murder? Thirty percent of voters went for: After 28 years with no abductions or murders similar to John’s a young boy is abducted (or found dead) in very similar circumstances.

The two options coming in equal second are only at 18%, so I can’t imagine they’ll topple option A.… Continue

Added by Phillipa Martin (PD Martin) on December 5, 2009 at 3:41pm — No Comments

Have you hugged an editor lately?

It takes talent, patience and a skilled editor to make a good book great. This is a friendly reminder in an age of POD and the “you can’t get it out there fast enough” attitude. Don’t let the enthusiasm to see your name in print allow you to sidestep these three elements. Getting it out there fast might satisfy your ego, but the last time I checked, egos don’t buy books.

Here you are, two years of your life spent compiling the pages of your first novel. Think about all the research… Continue

Added by R. Michael Phillips on December 5, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

Best Mystery Books of Year

The Samaritan's Secret, the third of my Palestinian crime novels, was named one of the Best Mystery Books of the Year for 2009 by Deadly Pleasures, the crime fiction magazine with the best read on websites and what fans like. The cover you see here is from… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on December 5, 2009 at 12:22am — 3 Comments

If You'd Read This One First, Then What?

I'm reading a book by an author I like very much...today. Since I like her current work, I went back to find her earlier books and, well, the one I bought just isn't as good.

Of course there's a learning curve, and some authors climb to better writing over time while others plummet downward, racing to keep a book a year in the hands of readers. And not every book can be a gem. But this book, unfocused, too cute in places, and unsure of what tone it wants to strike, got me thinking… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on December 4, 2009 at 10:22pm — 7 Comments

Moving Right Along...

For NaNoWriMo I worked on a spy novel in the James Bond vein and not only failed to reach the 50,000 word goal, I also failed to even get close to the longer length I wanted. Now the rewriting process begins, and new material is suggesting itself, and I'm enjoying the process, but this isn't the crime novel I've dreamed of writing. I have decided to put my name on it, but I hope the market and publishers will let me dabble in both action thrillers and crime novels--heck, it works for Dan… Continue

Added by Brian Drake on December 4, 2009 at 4:22pm — No Comments

Darden North interviewed on "Mystery Lovers Corner"

http://www.sleuthedit.com/DardenNorthMD/DardenNorthMD.html" target="_blank">

Check out my latest interview on "Mystery Lovers Corner" and register for a chance to win a copy of my third novel FRESH FROZEN.

http://www.sleuthedit.com/DardenNorthMD/DardenNorthMD.html…

Continue

Added by Darden North, MD on December 4, 2009 at 1:13pm — No Comments

PRINT THE LEGEND REVIEW

Corey Wilde pens an amazing, in-depth review of my February 2010 novel, PRINT THE LEGEND, at the Drowning Machine.

Added by Craig McDonald on December 4, 2009 at 12:11am — 2 Comments

Ass-backwards on Gays

When it comes to homosexuals, Palestinians have it all ass-backwards.

That led me to introduce homosexuality as a theme of THE SAMARITAN’S SECRET, my most recent Palestinian crime novel. I wanted to show how negative attitudes toward homosexuals function in the Muslim world, demonstrating the bloody… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on December 3, 2009 at 11:58pm — 3 Comments

Creative Marketing (R)

Since my new book releases next month, I've been thinking (a lot) about marketing. It seems to me that we must be just as creative in this phase as we were when plotting the novel, just as bold in approaching various venues as we were when seeking an agent. It's a bit daunting.

Here's what I've learned, or at least what I think I've learned.

No book will fit every venue every time. You have to choose where you'll expend your energies and forget trying to sell to every… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on December 3, 2009 at 10:07pm — No Comments

Off-topic - but it does involve free books!

COMPETITION - WIN A COPY OF THE 2010 QI ANNUAL

Amongst the many strange jobs I do, I am one of the researchers (or “Elves”) on the BBC TV panel game QI (www.qi.com/tv/).

As you may know, every year we produce a QI Annual (www.qi.com/shop/g_annual.php), full of all the fascinating and comical stuff you find on the TV show, along with illustrations by many of Britain’s leading… Continue

Added by Mat Coward on December 3, 2009 at 7:28pm — No Comments

'Beano' is up on Darkest Before the Dawn

I'm playing around with another character in a couple of short stories. Maybe a book later on. Benjamin 'Beano' Benvenutti--a sort of' Mr. Fixit kind of P.I. A cross between a Sam Spade and a Jason Bourne.

It's up and running on Darkest Before the Dawn web site.

The first short story is entitled, simply enough, 'Beano.' Find it here:

http://darkestbeforedawn.net/

Added by B.R.Stateham on December 3, 2009 at 2:30pm — 1 Comment

Found this article in Publisher's Weekly which suggests a nightmare for publishers. A possibility which is, quite frankly, likely to happen. And the idea is like Pandora's Box---once the idea gets out into the open it will be impossible to dismiss it as foolishness.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-petrocelli/no-one-warned-the-dinosau_b_374796.html

Added by B.R.Stateham on December 3, 2009 at 2:00am — 8 Comments