Writers are, by nature, creative people. We sit around daydreaming of plots, characters, heroes and villains. But, what happens if you think up a terrific marketing idea yet don't follow through?

Too much work? Okay, it might take some effort. Afraid it won't work? Can't know unless you try. Think people will reject it? Maybe. Or, maybe you'll break new ground.

Scenario: The blog over at my publishing house was lacking. Nobody seemed to be following. I posted a…

Continue

W hen a homeless boy living at the youth shelter run by a Buddhist monastery turns up dead, the abbot recruits Father Ananda, a monk and former police officer, to find out why. He discovers that all is not well at this urban monastery in the heart of Bangkok. Together with his dogged assistant, an orphaned boy named Jak, Father Ananda uncovers a startling series of clues that…

Continue

Want radio access to talk about your novel? Information on such a site is on this week's Friday Round-Up. You'll also find links to valuable articles such as tips for goal-setting and success, basics for creating a website and making memorable settings. Read about the career path of Medieval priests and a sexy excerpt of a novel. Plus, should the book written by a member of SEAL Team 6 ever been published? Just one person's opinion.…

Continue

Continue

A golden nugget in this week's Round-Up is info of a paying market for Western short stories. There's an ode to Pennsylvania and an announcement for October's blurb fest: paranormal authors. Find more buried treasures for readers and savvy authors in the Round-Up.

Oak Tree Press—Help Us Grow!

http://otpblog.blogspot.com/

What an abundance of riches in this week's Round-Up! Marja McGraw shares photos from her grandfather, a sailor on the Yangze River in 1904. Look for Teddy Roosevelt in one shot! See where a Blurb Fest is going on this weekend and get your book blurbs in ASAP! Also, find out who were the top selling Oak Tree…

Continue

  Everything was falling into place until three savvy women uncover a clever scheme to embezzle millions from the Federal prison system. Twists, turns and laughter. Pure fiction, but inspired by actual experiences.

Please feel free to check out my blog at http://www.mjmccann.com/apps/blog/. I'd love to read your comments as I document my journey down the road of self-publishing the Donaghue and Stainer Crime Novel Series. It's a helluva trip, so come on over and check it out.

Oak Tree Press will release my first crime novel, Devil's Kitchen, this month. Could be early as May 10th.

Here's brief description:

Devil's Kitchen:

Pima County Sheriff's Detective Manuel Aguilar

investigates an apparently routine murder and

soon finds himself in the middle of a hellish conspiracy

spanning both sides of the border.



Aguilar needs help with this case and his…

Continue

I might not be the most religious or spiritual guy on the planet, and chances are, on any given Sunday you won't find me occupying a church pew. Fact is you're more likely to find me tipping a cold one in some dark juke joint with friends after my writing day is over. But every now and then I meet someone who has an almost spiritual affect on me. A spiritual affect so profound that it can alter the course of my life. Noted noir author and critic, Heath Lowrance, is one of those special…

Continue

Hi all,

In the eternal quest for publishing creds, I've sent out a few short stories over the past month or so. My story, the Seven of Swords, got picked up by Jersey Devil Press and is now live.

(…

Continue

Okay, it's not a mystery... although several crimes are committed. All This and Family, Too has been accepted for publication by Pill Hill Press.

My manuscript is currently undergoing edits and will be coming out in 2011, the sooner the better as far as I'm concerned.

Yahoo!

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

Just received news that DYING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND, the short story anthology I contributed to last fall, is one of 2008's top ten bestselling books among independent bookstores.



I will confess that I contributed without a great deal of consideration: the cause was good, Toys for Tots. The tease was fun: a mystery that involves one of the winter holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. And a short story never seems like work. It's more like a break from the harder work (for me)… Continue

June 5

I managed to pose with the lucky face of Hannibal at Mardi Gras World in New Orleans, though I am not sure which of us look most deranged. For the record, I'm not all that fond of liver.



The city experience was bizarre--from the Disneyland quality of the French Quarter to the psychotic bums on the ferry landings, it definitely was rich and ripe and crowded. I don't know how Bourbon Street looked before the hurricanes, but I felt like taking a hot shower after walking… Continue