Austin S. Camacho's Blog (997)

Meet me at Waldenbooks!

The malls should be packed with people with time on their hands on the 4th of July this year. Midweek holidays don't allow for leaving town and no one wants to start that barbecue too early. That's why I expect to meet lots of new readers at the Waldenbooks in Landmark Mall that day. I'll start signing my books at 11am and for the first time, a bookstore will have my new thriller, The Orion Assignment, available. Landmark Mall is at 5801 Duke St in Alexandria, VA, and you should… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on July 3, 2007 at 10:43pm — No Comments

Selling out

Yesterday, for the first time, I left a bookstore signing early. No, I wasn't angry at the folks at Borders in Manassas. Quite the contrary, they had done a wonderful job of talking up my signing and sharing my brochures with their customers. No, I left 45 minutes ahead of schedule because I had already signed the two dozen books they had ordered. It is a wonderful feeling to sell out at a bookstore, and there are few ego-boosting experiences to match watching two mystery fans deliberating over… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on July 1, 2007 at 11:29pm — No Comments

Meet me in Manassas

After that big success in Springfield last weekend, I'm very much looking forward to TOMORROW'S book signing at Borders in Manassas, VA. This will be my first time signing in Manassas, but it is the home of the Mystery Lovers Corner - www.mysteryloverscorner.com - so I know that Webmaster Dawn and my other friends there will turn out for me. The Manassas Borders is at 11270 Bulloch Drive, easy to find and fun to visit. And it's one of the big stores, so you can even pick up a… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 29, 2007 at 10:25pm — No Comments

Other authors on the web

Hey, have you visited Authors on the Web.com yet? What a cool site. First, it lists all the upcoming books from your favorite writers. Then there are links to lots of author newsletters, most of which have contests going. Click through and sign up, and you could win a book or some other prize. There is also lots of author news listed, but I must warn you that unlike many of my favorites, this web site focuses mostly on writers who are with big-name publishers. But it's a good way to keep…

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Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 26, 2007 at 10:40pm — No Comments

Idle observation

I was talking to a fellow author about the flaws in the publishing business. I was wondering why publishers don't spend more money promoting the authors who work hard to promote their books, and why famous people with no writing credentials get huge advances for their books. My friend wisely replied, "This situation exists because most of the money in the publishing industry is tainted."

"Taint yours, and 'taint mine."

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 25, 2007 at 11:24pm — No Comments

Great Support from Borders!

The folks at Borders in Springfield did everything right for my signing yesterday. They put me at a table right up front near the door, near a display of new mysteries. Every time someone picked one up it gave me the opportunity to mention that I had a locally set mystery they might want to look at. They also had lots of signage, flyers, and my brochures set up in a nice display. They even brought me coffee. No wonder I signed so many books. And a couple of familiar faces did stop by,…

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Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 25, 2007 at 1:38am — No Comments

Private Eyes and Talking Pigs

Tomorrow's book signing is at Borders in my town, Springfield, VA. My Springfield neighbors are always good to me at bookstores, and I expect this week to be no exception. I'm looking forward to wowing them, even though I'll have some competition.

Before my signing, at 11 am, Kate DiCamillo will be reading and signing from her popular children's books about a pig named Mercy…

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Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 22, 2007 at 11:43pm — No Comments

Book Reports you'll like

Have you ever craved a good book and just not been inspired by anything you see? Or felt annoyed that you bought a book that was merely so-so? Or finished a great book and just wanted to talk about it? Well, there's a web site set up to solve all those problems. It's called Book Reporter.com - www.bookreporter.com . The site features author talks, outstanding reviews, summer reading contests and, if you go right away, a list of the best books for… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 19, 2007 at 11:29pm — No Comments

If they bring the books, I'll bring the sales

Waldenbooks in Landmark Mall provided a most interesting signing experience yesterday. Somehow the manager had forgotten to order more books for the signing, so I was left with only 14 copies of my books, spread over 5 titles. When all but one sold during the signing they promised to order more for a return visit on the 4th of July.

Meanwhile, if you haven't been to my web site lately you might not realize that Hannibal has blogged on a political issue and the latest podcast features… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 18, 2007 at 11:23pm — No Comments

Killer Hobbies and those who love them

Ever wonder what mystery writers do when they're not plotting someone's death? If so there's a place to find out, even if you're curious about writers who are too far away to meet at a book signing. My good friend and fellow crime author Sunny Frasier pointed me to a great web site called Killer Hobbies - http://killerhobbies.blogspot.com/ - where six regulars and several other mystery authors go to discuss their off-hours activities. Sunny…

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Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 14, 2007 at 12:09am — No Comments

Pod People

I wasn't sure what belonged in a podcast, but I got hooked on writing flash fiction about my detective, Hannibal Jones, so I decided to voice them as an introduction to both my writing and the character. Now that we have audio on Crimespace, and since Hannibal doesn't have a theme song yet, I've posted a podcast. Take 10 minutes to listen in, and let me know if you think it's cool or crummy, neat or nuts.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 6, 2007 at 11:32pm — No Comments

Strawberry Shortcake and Book Signing in Maryland!

While I'm signing books Saturday I will also be indulging my sweet tooth, but in a fairly healthy way. You can too, and support a good cause, by joining me at the Strawberry Festival put on by the Catonsville Presbyterian Church from 10 am to 2 pm. Sure, they will have a variety of food, live music, kid's games and crafts, but the reason to be there is for some of the best strawberry shortcake you ever tasted.

Of course, this is a fine opportunity to fill out your… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 1, 2007 at 11:20pm — No Comments

A Site to see... and be on!

So you spot a book that looks good, but you're not sure. You'd like to get someone else's opinion of the story before you invest the time reading those first 50 pages and it turns out to be a dud. Let me introduce you to the literary salon known as The Complete Review - http://www.complete-review.com/main/main.html. They offer a selectively comprehensive, objectively opinionated survey of books old and new, trying to meet all your book… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on May 29, 2007 at 10:50pm — No Comments

New Friends at Karibu Books

Participating in the "Write NOW" program at Karibu Books in Iverson Mall was a unique experience. I was one of five authors who started out self-published. Our panel fielded questions from the audience, and we each had a chance to read from our books and speak from the podium. Audience questions were mostly about how to get published, and we tried to clue them in about the joy and pain of doing it yourself.

The authors on the panel represented quite a range of work, from a children's… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on May 28, 2007 at 10:45pm — No Comments

Pointless writing?

A fellow author was bemoaning his sales. He had what seemed to him an important point to make, but his publisher told him it was pointless to write things that were not commercially viable. I assured him there is a place in the market for books that are not bestsellers but present an important message. In my view, the only writing that is pointless is writing done with a broken pencil.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on May 28, 2007 at 6:58am — No Comments

Summer Mystery Reading Challenge!

Everybody here should want to know that the Review By Liz web site - http://reviewedbyliz.com/ - has issued a Summer Mystery Reading Challenge! Site visitors are prompted to read six mysteries by authors whose works you haven't read before between June 1st and August 31st . This website provides a place to discuss them with other mystery readers. This is a great incentive to sample the works of new authors - and a great way for those of us who aren't on… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on May 25, 2007 at 10:32pm — No Comments

Future writers of Maryland!

If you're interested in writing a book and/or getting published you'll want to join me Saturday afternoon at Karibu Books in Iverson Mall. I'll be part of their "Write NOW" program in their Inde Pen Series. I'll be one of five authors who originally took their dream and made it a reality by independently publishing our own books! It's a chance to ask questions, hear readings, talk to the authors and find out why and how we did it! Of course you'll be able to show your support by taking home a… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on May 24, 2007 at 10:37pm — No Comments

Co-signers make it more fun!

My signing at the Barnes and Noble at Tysons Corner Center turned out to be even more fun than I expected. That's because the writers signing alongside me turned out to be a pair of witty and charming young ladies.

When I arrived I realized that I had met T.J. Perkins at a previous book signing event. Actually, I recognized her impressive Kim and Kelly mystery series about a pair of African American schoolgirls who solve the crimes the grownups can't handle. I believe… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on May 23, 2007 at 10:26pm — No Comments

Married Life

My daughter Lela is returning to Indiana with her newly-enlarged family this week. My son, Phillip has spent a lot of time with them while they visited and since he has been dating the same girl for four years, I asked him if he might have learned anything about the marital bliss he's been missing. He told me he did indeed learn something about the state of matrimony from observing his sister and brother-in-law, and expressed it this way. Marriage, he said, is apparently a… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on May 23, 2007 at 8:12am — No Comments

Mystery Lovers Corner Likes Me. :-)

One of the web sites I adopted has adopted me. I think you should have the Mystery Lovers Corner - http://www.sleuthedit.com/Spotlight.html - bookmarked, and not just because I'm a spotlight author this month. Although that is a good reason.

Other good reasons include Melanie Atkins, Maureen Robb and my good friend Jeff Markowitz. The fact is that web site creator Dawn Dawdle has a razor honed sense for finding the best new mystery writers who are… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on May 20, 2007 at 10:20pm — No Comments