Naomi Hirahara's Blog

Circalit Seeks Crime Stories for Agent Competition

I'm sure that many of you received this same request, but a UK-based group called Circalit contacted me to spread the word about their agent competition.

http://www.circalit.com/projects/competitions/crime

They are looking specifically for crime stories and the literary agency involved is A.P. Watt, which is apparently well-esteemed. Publishers Weekly also reported on Circalit's latest competition. I don't know…

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Added by Naomi Hirahara on February 5, 2011 at 7:31am — 1 Comment

California Crime Writers Conference a Success!

Here I am with fellow co-chairs Jane DiLucchio, left, and Susan Beery. The next one will be in 2011.

Added by Naomi Hirahara on June 29, 2009 at 1:33am — 2 Comments

e-publishing wars

Kindle-less and e-reader-less, I'm just starting to learn about electronic publishing, even though all of my novels are available as e-books.

I attended an e-publishing panel at our inaugural California Crime Writers Conference during the weekend of July 13-14 and it was fascinating. E-publisher Marci Baun, e-published pioneering author Marilyn Meredith, and Poisoned Pen acquiring editor Annette Rogers were all there to give their take on the future of digital books.

Some… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on June 26, 2009 at 1:40am — 3 Comments

Happy Holidays, Crimespacers!

May you all be safe with food to eat, a roof over your head, and lots of books by your side.

See you in the Year of the Ox.

oxox

Naomi Hirahara

Added by Naomi Hirahara on December 20, 2008 at 11:22am — 2 Comments

Amazon Review Chart

Funny! Do you think it's true?

more music charts

Added by Naomi Hirahara on September 25, 2008 at 12:50am — 2 Comments

How will high-tech trends, global economy affect book publishing?

As I watch high-tech trends and the economy, which includes consolidation and buyouts, decimate print newspapers, forcing a definite paradigm shift for journalism, I wonder about books and publishing.

I don't think books will be as threatened by the Internet in the short-run because well, books tend to be long--and people are still catching on to reading from hand-held digital devices. As e-readers get more popular, I wonder if people will be more open to download self-edited books… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on September 18, 2008 at 3:11am — No Comments

It's Raining Agents (or at least deals with agents)

All of you published writers know the drill--agonize over that book manuscript, revise, revise, revise, send it out to agents, rejection, rejection, rejection.

Well, over the past few weeks, I've heard good news from two friends who have been sending out their work--crimepacer Stephen Blackmore and Darryl James, the latter an active member of the Sisters in Crime Los Angeles chapter. You can read more about Stephen's deal on his blog,…

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Added by Naomi Hirahara on August 27, 2008 at 4:00am — No Comments

Here's the birth of the another one . . .

http://www.1001cranesbook.com

Added by Naomi Hirahara on August 15, 2008 at 12:30am — 3 Comments

Freebies (or semi-freebies) I received at the American Librarian Association convention

I went to my first American Librarian Association convention yesterday and the event was a doozy! It was much more sedate than BEA. Really enjoyed it. Now I want to be a librarian.

Here are some of the free (or semi-free) books I received while there:

1) Autographed copy of Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN and a chapter preview of his upcoming YA book, RADIOACTIVE LOVE SONG. Actually I had to pay ten bucks for the former, but it was worth it… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on July 2, 2008 at 1:22am — No Comments

THE DARKER MASK coming in August!

The Publishers Weekly review just in:

The Darker Mask: Heroes From the Shadows

Edited by Gary Phillips and Christopher Chambers. Tor, $24.95 (384p) ISBN 978-0-7653-1850-3; $14.95 paper ISBN 978-0-7653-1851-0

Themed along the grayer areas of superhero fiction, this anthology of 18 original stories nonetheless covers a wide spectrum. One standout is “Switchback,” by Ann Nocenti (Daredevil), in which teenage Mimi… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on June 20, 2008 at 12:10pm — No Comments

BEA and Who Is This Man?

So I went to my first Book Expo this weekend. Had no idea what to expect. Here are some quick impressions:

THINGS I WAS DELIGHTED/AMUSED TO SEE:

1) So many dressed-up people at the L.A. Convention Center. How can some people survive walking around all day in heels? A reminder that this weekend is all about business.

2) A wide array of booksellers and librarians… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on June 3, 2008 at 4:11am — 1 Comment

Show and Tell

Here's a belated photo from the Edgars--beautiful Sujata Massey and I (the munchkin on the right) present the YA award to Tedd Arnold, author of RAT LIFE. Arnold said a gracious speech; it was a great night.

GASA-GASA GIRL, the No. 2 Mas Arai mystery, is now available in mass market paperback format with this spiffy new… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on May 21, 2008 at 3:51am — No Comments

100 Degrees of LA/NYC

I'm stealing the above photo from Lee Goldberg's website. That's the SoCal contingent of MWA who attended the Edgars in NYC on Thursday evening.

The past seven days have been absolutely nuts, especially to think I was just sweltering at the L.A. Festival of Books last Sunday. It's just been seven days of books, books, and more books--giving me a very unrealistic view of the world since reading and book buying are reportedly down. I… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on May 5, 2008 at 2:38am — No Comments

More Mas in Japan or Where's My Spam?

Just picked up the latest Mas Arai mystery published in Japanese from Kinokuniya Bookstore in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo. This is the cover for SNAKESKIN SHAMISEN, which won an Edgar in the category of best paperback original last year. Naysayers say awards don't mean much, but it was entirely because of the Edgar that I finally got deals in Japan and South Korea. So Mas thanks you, Mr.… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on April 12, 2008 at 9:37am — 2 Comments

BLIND SUBMISSION

If you want a breezy read and insider's look into the agenting process, check out Debra Ginsberg's BLIND SUBMISSION. It's a novel about young woman's baptism into the fire of a high-profile literary agency. I met Debra this weekend at an author's event--I didn't realize that I had actually had read about her and her book until later. Highly recommended for folks curious about what agents do all day.

Added by Naomi Hirahara on March 19, 2008 at 11:39pm — No Comments

Any College Basketball Fans Out There?

I've created a group, Mysteryballers, on Yahoo Tournament Pick'em so that mystery writers and readers can compete in selecting the winners of the NCAA college basketball tournament, which will be starting next week. If you're interested in participating, go to yahoo and click on Tournament Pick'em (it may be under Sports). Chose Mysteryballers (our group ID# is 58439 and the password is Sherlock). The brackets will not be available to be filled out until Sunday, when the teams are officially… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on March 15, 2008 at 12:00am — 5 Comments

114-Year-Old Does Good!

Vroman's, the independent bookstore in my hometown in Pasadena, has been awarded Publishers Weekly's bookseller of the year award. It's 114 years old and I believe that the store owns its real estate (thus able to survive in this cutthroat economy). We've heard so much about the demise of the independents--it's nice to celebrate the success of one for a change.

May Vroman's outlast us all! I'll be raising my glass at BEA in L.A., where the recognition will be awarded at the end of… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on March 12, 2008 at 2:48am — No Comments

Blog Leads to Arrest of Murder Suspect

When I was in Japan for a year in 1983, all people could talk about was AIDS and the "Miura Jiken," or Miura Incident. Two years earlier, a Japanese man, Kazuyoshi Miura, and his wife had been visiting L.A. when two gunman shot them in a shady part of town. Kazuyoshi only suffered a minor leg wound, while the wife had been hit in the head. She was in a coma until she finally died in Japan. "Rosu (Los Angeles) dangerous" was the general message that spread over Japan, thanks to Miura's… Continue

Added by Naomi Hirahara on March 1, 2008 at 3:00am — 3 Comments

Gasa-Gasa Girl Cover, Japanese Style

The Japanese edition of the second Mas Arai mystery goes on sale in February. Quite a change from the U.S. trade paperback and mass market books covers, but I like it.

Added by Naomi Hirahara on February 1, 2008 at 4:34am — 2 Comments

Promotion Maintenance #1 The E-Mail Address List

As I have business cards strewn on the floor of my home office to input in my Microsoft Outlook address book, I realize that I haven't been doing a good job in promotion maintenance.

Just as a reminder more for myself than anyone else, I've decided to launch this series here on the little things to remember in book promotion. So remember -- do what I say, not as I do!

The E-Mail List

I've discovered that the most important arsenal that a developing published writer can…