Dana King's Blog (144)

And They Don't Even Offer a Reach-Around

(Also posted at One Bite at a Time.)

There’s been a lot of outrage over Harlequin’s recent announcement to launch their own self-publishing branch, Harlequin Horizons. (Here, here, and… Continue

Added by Dana King on November 21, 2009 at 6:25am — 3 Comments

Book Trailers

(Also posted at One Bite at a Time.)

This may be a sore subject, as I know a lot of folks who have produced trailers for their books, but this article in Slate got me to wondering about the key question regarding trailers:

Does anyone know if they work?

For me, personally, no. I can't imagine buying a book based on a video trailer. Part of… Continue

Added by Dana King on November 20, 2009 at 7:08am — 8 Comments

Why I Don't Watch TV Cop Shows

(Also posted at One Bite at a Time.)

I haven’t watched a TV cop show since The Wire went off the air, except for a random viewing of Numb3rs when The Sole Heir is visiting. This excerpt from James Lee Burke’s In the Moon of Red Ponies explains why better than I could.

Most television cop shows make use of the following story line: A likeable individual is raped or assaulted, or a hardworking… Continue

Added by Dana King on November 12, 2009 at 2:44am — 3 Comments

October Reads

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Recommended Reads from October, in the order I read them:

The Friends of Eddie Coyle, George V. Higgins – A seminal book. Few crime fiction writers since have been unaffected by Higgins’s work, and this is the book that got him noticed. Should be on a shelf with Chandler, Hammett, et al for crime fiction writers, and anyone else interested in how the gerne has… Continue

Added by Dana King on November 3, 2009 at 6:43am — 3 Comments

Starting Over

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I read the first chapter of the book I’m revising last night. (I have a strict and probably over-complicated regimen for edits such as this that I might describe some day, if I think it won’t make me look too geeky.) Tonight I’ll edit what I read last night.

My writing style has changed a lot. The previous book and the WIP are multi-POV stories that needed a much different voice… Continue

Added by Dana King on October 31, 2009 at 2:48am — 4 Comments

A Milestone, of Sorts

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I finished the first draft of the work-in-progress last night. Took me almost three times as long as usual. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad. There were a lot of plotting issues, including a misguided attempt to write this one by the seat of my pants. I won’t soon try that again. I have great regard for writers who can do that well, which includes most of my favorites, but I’m just not… Continue

Added by Dana King on October 29, 2009 at 5:04am — 6 Comments

Notes from Bouchercon 2009

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I finally got my Bouchercon notes together. While debriefing myself, deciphering my handwriting, adding books to my Amazon wish list and movies to my NetFlix queue, several thoughts and questions came to mind. Please comment at will.

Do readers—other than those with a local connection—really care about where a story takes place as long as it’s appropriate and done… Continue

Added by Dana King on October 24, 2009 at 12:04am — 4 Comments

Worth a Read

Over at Editorial Ass, Moonrat has posted a compilation of her blogs about publishing, editing, agents, and other items of interest. Well worth reading.

Added by Dana King on October 7, 2009 at 4:36am — 1 Comment

September's Best Reads

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

My best reads from September, in the order in which they were read:

Silent Edge, by Michael Koryta. A cold case heats up in a hurry for Cleveland PI Lincoln Perry after he’s hired by an ex-con to find the woman who rehabilitated him. Koryta is a master at treading the line between just enough and too much in plot, characterization, dialog, and whatever other aspects of… Continue

Added by Dana King on October 2, 2009 at 5:27am — No Comments

Why You Haven't Been Published Yet

Because this guy took your slot.

Added by Dana King on September 29, 2009 at 6:35am — 7 Comments

Beware the Back Cover

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I’m about halfway through Scott Phillips’s excellent novel, Cottonwood. I’ve liked everything about the book from Page 1, but for one thing: the back cover.

I rarely look at the back covers or jacket notes on books I’ve already decided I want to read. I don’t need any teasers or endorsements; I already know I want to read the book, either because of author recognition or… Continue

Added by Dana King on September 24, 2009 at 4:05am — 1 Comment

Are You Going to Believe Me, or Your Private Eyes?

(Also posted in One Bite at a Time.)

I’ve been lucky over the past few weeks to have read three books that reminded me why I got interested in crime fiction and writing in the first place: first person private investigator stories.

Libby Fischer Hellmann’s Easy Innocence takes the attitudes of an affluent suburb and shows consequences not often considered. Her… Continue

Added by Dana King on September 19, 2009 at 2:38am — 4 Comments

August Reads

August was a slow month for reading recommendations. Part of this was because my schedule was full and didn’t allow for as much reading time as I like. Another part was because I read several crappy books in August. Here are two worth following up on.

Crime Always Pays, by Declan Burke. Not available to the public yet, I was lucky enough to score an advance electronic copy. The sequel to last year’s acclaimed The Big O, Crime Always Pays picks up just a few hours later,… Continue

Added by Dana King on September 5, 2009 at 4:32am — No Comments

The Catfather

About ten years ago, as a writing exercise, I wrote several fairy tales on the premise, "What if [insert famous writer's name here] had written [insert fairy tale here]?" They were a lot of fun to write, and taught me a lot about voice, both as a reader and as a writer. Last May I posted my idea of how Mickey Spillane may have written "Jack and the Beanstalk." Today's humble submission is… Continue

Added by Dana King on August 22, 2009 at 5:20am — No Comments

Good Reads for July

(Also posted in One Bite at a Time.)

Swag, Elmore Leonard - John McFetridge cites this book almost as often as Toronto is colder than Miami. Since John is mistaken about such things even less frequently than that, I finally got around to reading it, and he's right again. Classic Leonard, with two criminals who aren't as smart as they think they are. The dialog is spot on, and the story is a little more tightly plotted… Continue

Added by Dana King on August 2, 2009 at 4:47am — No Comments

Book Prices

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Interesting article in Slate magazine this week by Jack Shafer, about e-book pricing. The entire article is worth reading, but something he brings up in the first paragraph interests me more than the rest.

According to Shafer, publishers routinely sell books to retail booksellers for half the cover price. This… Continue

Added by Dana King on July 18, 2009 at 1:56am — 10 Comments

Industry Salaries

(Also posted in One Bite at a Time.)

I recently discovered the Editorial Ass blog; lots of good stuff there.

This post is a few weeks old, but interesting.

Any thoughts?

Added by Dana King on July 16, 2009 at 6:55am — 7 Comments

Building Trust in the Reader (And How Not To Do It)

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

I’m not a nit-picker when I read. I don’t care if there’s not really a door that opens directly onto Penn Avenue from Heinz Hall. Minor mistakes or changes can be lived with, so long as they don’t mess with historical facts (Germany can’t win the war, unless that’s the premise of the book), the author doesn’t get too specific (if you need a gun to have a safety, don’t specify it’s a… Continue

Added by Dana King on July 3, 2009 at 5:12am — 5 Comments

Good Reads for May and June

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Late May and early June were hectic, with family visits and my daughter’s high school graduation, so my best reads from May didn’t get posted. (Yes, I know, you were all bitterly disappointed.) Below are my recommendations from the books I read in May and June.

High Season, by Jon Loomis. Loomis walks the fine line between humor and murder with the sureness of Karl… Continue

Added by Dana King on July 1, 2009 at 6:37am — No Comments

Gran Torino

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

The Beloved Spousal Equivalent and I finally got around to watching Clint Eastwood’s Gran Torino last weekend. I wish I could remember what the hell was so important that it kept me from seeing it in the theater. This is a wonderful film.

Truly a character-driven thriller, the story is about a bigoted, retired autoworker named Walt Kowalski, played by Eastwood.… Continue

Added by Dana King on June 30, 2009 at 5:49am — 3 Comments