I. J. Parker's Posts - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T22:55:00ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingparkhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/60986476?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=Ingpark&xn_auth=noJapan Before "Shogun"tag:crimespace.ning.com,2013-11-22:537324:BlogPost:3824942013-11-22T14:18:41.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>Folks, I have a blog up on Suzanne Adair's site (<a href="http://www.suzanneadair.net/2013/11/21/japan-before-shogun/">http://www.suzanneadair.net/2013/11/21/japan-before-shogun/</a>) where I talk about writing the Akitada series. You'll find a nice discussion there, and a book giveaway, and the announcement that DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER will be free for Kindle November 23-26.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I.J.Parker</p>
<p> <a href="http://www.ijparker.com/">www.ijparker.com</a></p>
<p>Folks, I have a blog up on Suzanne Adair's site (<a href="http://www.suzanneadair.net/2013/11/21/japan-before-shogun/">http://www.suzanneadair.net/2013/11/21/japan-before-shogun/</a>) where I talk about writing the Akitada series. You'll find a nice discussion there, and a book giveaway, and the announcement that DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER will be free for Kindle November 23-26.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I.J.Parker</p>
<p> <a href="http://www.ijparker.com/">www.ijparker.com</a></p>And here is another new Novel annoucement:tag:crimespace.ning.com,2013-06-02:537324:BlogPost:3728892013-06-02T20:45:37.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70762951?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70762951?profile=original" width="750"></img></a></p>
<p align="center"><b>An Eighteenth Century Thriller Anyone?</b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p><b>If you are not exclusively interested in Japanese history, here’s a book that has something for everyone: duels, romance, murder, intrigue, battles, irritating relatives, and eccentric elderly gentlemen.</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b>On Kindle: THE LEFT-HANDED…</b></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70762951?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70762951?profile=original" width="750"/></a></p>
<p align="center"><b>An Eighteenth Century Thriller Anyone?</b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p><b>If you are not exclusively interested in Japanese history, here’s a book that has something for everyone: duels, romance, murder, intrigue, battles, irritating relatives, and eccentric elderly gentlemen.</b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b>On Kindle: THE LEFT-HANDED GOD</b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Freiberg 1763: the allied armies of Empress Maria Theresa meet the Prussian advance. During the first skirmish, a young officer falls. The dying man begs a young ensign to deliver a letter to his father, but Ensign Franz von Langsdorff, subsequently severely wounded himself, returns home a cripple, unable to honor this promise or support his impoverished family. In her disappointment, his widowed mother inflicts her ill temper on his sister Augusta, who struggles to hold the household together.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eventually, the kind-hearted elderly lawyer Stiebel helps the wounded Franz to heal from his physical and psychological wounds, but by then someone is trying to kill for the letter. Together, Franz and Stiebel decide the letter must be delivered quickly at all cost.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Franz and his mentor travel to Mannheim (pursued by Franz’s mother and sister) where the killer waits. The letter holds a dangerous secret concerning a plot against the monarch. Before Franz can hand it over, the plotters interfere, and the assassin sets a trap for Franz and his sister.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This coming-of-age novel contains real historical characters and events and portrays eighteenth century life as a dark comedy of manners where a young man confronts his deepest fears and a young woman finds unexpected love.</p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>A New Akitada Novel just up on Kindletag:crimespace.ning.com,2013-05-26:537324:BlogPost:3725912013-05-26T21:14:24.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p align="center"><b>AKITADA # 11 IS HERE</b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p align="center"><b>DEATH OF A DOLL MAKER</b></p>
<p align="center"><b>Now on Kindle</b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p align="center"></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b>An unexpected and dubious promotion sends Akitada to Kyushu, an outpost where illegal trade with China breeds treason and murder. Leaving behind his family, he faces obstruction and hostility at his new post and…</b></p>
<p align="center"><b>AKITADA # 11 IS HERE</b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p align="center"><b>DEATH OF A DOLL MAKER</b></p>
<p align="center"><b>Now on Kindle</b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p align="center"><b> </b></p>
<p align="center"></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b>An unexpected and dubious promotion sends Akitada to Kyushu, an outpost where illegal trade with China breeds treason and murder. Leaving behind his family, he faces obstruction and hostility at his new post and learns his predecessor, a man of expensive tastes, has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. As Tora and Saburo delve into the underworld of Hakata, Akitada tracks a ruthless traitor. The brutal murder of the Chinese wife of a doll maker sets into motion events that leave a trail of bodies. Worse, as the number of unexplained deaths mounts, Tora also disappears. Untangling the skeins of intrigue, Akitada follows leads from the seductive attention of a beautiful courtesan to the secretive business world of Chinatown and discovers that doing his duty has an even higher price than expected.</b></p>
<p><b>Happy Reading<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70763010?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70763010?profile=original" width="750"/></a></b></p>PWA AWARD WINNER!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-12-21:537324:BlogPost:3626922012-12-21T12:20:05.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>Much to my surprise, my web site has won an award. Thanks to the kind people at PWA, we can now claim another success. "We" refers to my webmaster, Bob Stein, and myself, because the site is a co-production. He handles the technical stuff and I supply the images and text.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The site has worked well from me. It has an e-mail address where readers can reach me, and I answer all my e-mail. Apart from losses after a computer crash several years ago, I've kept their addresses…</p>
<p>Much to my surprise, my web site has won an award. Thanks to the kind people at PWA, we can now claim another success. "We" refers to my webmaster, Bob Stein, and myself, because the site is a co-production. He handles the technical stuff and I supply the images and text.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The site has worked well from me. It has an e-mail address where readers can reach me, and I answer all my e-mail. Apart from losses after a computer crash several years ago, I've kept their addresses so I can contact them about new releases. They write back occasionally, and I've made some long-distance friends that way.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Mind you, it's a lot of work making the periodic changes and updates. One of the drawbacks of having a webmaster is that you have to spend considerable time typing out instructions to him, while checking back and forth between the site and the files. Images, like book covers, have to be scanned and e-mailed. I could learn to make some changes myself and have a program for it, but I'm too busy with other stuff to learn to use it. Meanwhile, Bob is forever patient and accommodating. Without him, the site would not exist.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Check it out: <a href="http://www.ijparker.com/">www.ijparker.com</a></p>The NEW AKITADA NOVEL (# 10) is here!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-11-02:537324:BlogPost:3597752012-11-02T14:32:54.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70761785?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70761785?profile=original" width="188"></img></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have just uploaded it to Kindle. It will stay there for 90 days so that I can do a small amount of promotion. Later I'll also put it on Nook for a while. Nook hasn't performed well for me, but some of my fans own Nooks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cover is my own, and the formatting was done by Guido Henkel at G3 Studios. He is reasonable, good,…</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70761785?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70761785?profile=original" width="188"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have just uploaded it to Kindle. It will stay there for 90 days so that I can do a small amount of promotion. Later I'll also put it on Nook for a while. Nook hasn't performed well for me, but some of my fans own Nooks.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cover is my own, and the formatting was done by Guido Henkel at G3 Studios. He is reasonable, good, and fast.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The book description:</p>
<p>She was intended to be the emperor’s concubine, but she died at the bottom of a cliff near Prince Atsuhira’s private villa. The palace covered up the scandal. Months later, Akitada is drawn into the case when his best friend is accused of plotting against the emperor. Atsuhira, his alleged co-conspirator, refuses to defend himself. The mystery of the lady’s death unravels slowly, bringing danger to Akitada, whose household is already threatened by an ill-fated relationship between Genba and a prostitute which leads to his arrest for the brothel keeper’s murder. </p>
<p>Surrounded by a cast ranging from outcasts and assassins to noblewomen serving in the inner apartments of the imperial palace, Akitada not only delves into murky palace secrets, but his efforts to solve two murders require him to examine the many roles played by women in his society.</p>My 99 Cent Experimenttag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-07-07:537324:BlogPost:3487102012-07-07T17:51:23.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>I've just changed the original price (6.99) for THE SWORD MASTER to 99 cents on Kindle and Nook. I'll leave it there through Monday, July 9.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The purpose is to see if I can get more of a response on my latest, a swash-buckling, violent, sexy story of a twelfth century shwordfighter, than I have so far.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's all experimentation. When this trial is over, I'll take the book down on B&N and do a Kindle exclusive with Prime.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I hope to learn…</p>
<p>I've just changed the original price (6.99) for THE SWORD MASTER to 99 cents on Kindle and Nook. I'll leave it there through Monday, July 9.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The purpose is to see if I can get more of a response on my latest, a swash-buckling, violent, sexy story of a twelfth century shwordfighter, than I have so far.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's all experimentation. When this trial is over, I'll take the book down on B&N and do a Kindle exclusive with Prime.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I hope to learn from the results.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>See: <a href="http://amzn.to/M4pphX">http://amzn.to/M4pphX</a> for details.</p>The New One! Just Released!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-06-08:537324:BlogPost:3449362012-06-08T15:10:28.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70760811?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70760811?profile=original" width="529"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70760811?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70760811?profile=original" width="529"/></a></p>Weekend Freebiestag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-03-24:537324:BlogPost:3348992012-03-24T14:18:58.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>If you've wanted to sample the Akitada series, here's your chance:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Today, Saturday, THE FIRES OF THE GODS is free on Kindle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tomorrow, Sunday, RASHOMON GATE is free.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Happy reading.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I.J.Parker</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ijparker.com/">www.ijparker.com</a></p>
<p>If you've wanted to sample the Akitada series, here's your chance:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Today, Saturday, THE FIRES OF THE GODS is free on Kindle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tomorrow, Sunday, RASHOMON GATE is free.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Happy reading.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I.J.Parker</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ijparker.com/">www.ijparker.com</a></p>JAPAN TIMES review of the latest Akitada novel.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-03-23:537324:BlogPost:3348822012-03-23T14:38:50.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left"><b>Mystery, history and excitement in old Japan</b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left"> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">By <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/JTsearch5.cgi?term1=MARK%20SCHREIBER"><b>MARK…</b></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left"><b>Mystery, history and excitement in old Japan</b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left"> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">By <a href="http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/JTsearch5.cgi?term1=MARK%20SCHREIBER"><b>MARK SCHREIBER</b></a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left"><b><i>Death on an Autumn River, by I.J. Parker. Kindle edition, Amazon Digital Services, 2012, $7.99</i></b></p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">"Death on an Autumn River" is I.J. Parker's ninth full-length novel in the ongoing saga of Heian Era (794-1185) Ministry of Justice official Sugawara Akitada. Accompanied by Sadenari, a junior clerk, Akitada travels by boat from Kyoto to Osaka port to investigate suspected customs violations that may point to piracy.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">The story draws out the sharp contrasts between the capital, Kyoto, and rough-and-tumble commercial town of Osaka, where Akitada's investigation is stymied from the get-go. Are the recalcitrant local authorities lazy, incompetent or in collusion with the troublemakers?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">The story also contains a parallel investigation into the suspicious death by drowning of a young female who appeared to have been working as a prostitute on an island in the Yodo River, an angle that gives the author an opportunity to introduce the Koreans who immigrated to the Kansai area, where they served as transmitters of culture from mainland Asia.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">After the troublesome young clerk Sadenari disappears, Akitada finds himself isolated and in trouble. Reinforcements arrive in the form of his deputy Tora, a rough-and-tumble former soldier, but the two are forced to elude several close brushes with death before finally putting the villains out of business.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">In this episode Seimei, the elderly retainer to Akitada's family who figures from the beginning of the series, finally dies, and by the story's conclusion the Sugawara household is on the verge of recruiting an unusual new deputy with unorthodox investigative skills.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">While set in Heian Japan, Parker's novels invite favorable comparison with the Judge Dee mysteries, set in China's Tang Era, penned by the late Dutch diplomat Robert van Gulik. Both authors are Europeans who have adopted the Asian literary model of "righteous officials" who battle corruption while showing sympathy for the downtrodden.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"></a></p>
<p align="left">Please note that Parker's book is currently being sold only in electronic form. However, Kindle reader software can be downloaded for free from <a href="http://amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon.com</a>, enabling it to be read on any Windows or Mac PC, tablet computer or smartphone. Several of Parker's previously published short stories and novelettes are now also available for purchase electronically.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B006GDO6N2/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link"><img id="prodImage" border="0" alt="Death on an Autumn River (A Sugawara Akitada Novel)" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41cFMe02OSL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-52,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" width="300" height="300" name="prodImage"/></a></p>Oh, Joy! THE SHAMUS WINNERS has arrived.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-03-17:537324:BlogPost:3343362012-03-17T18:28:58.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>I suppose it falls under BSP, as I have a story in it. It's a collection of "America's Best Private Eye Stories." Mine is in Volume II, along with Loren D. Estleman, Brendan Dubois, Jeremiah Healy, and our own O"Neil De Noux, along with a whole lot of other wonderful stories. Trust me, you'll love this book!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Made my day)</p>
<p>I suppose it falls under BSP, as I have a story in it. It's a collection of "America's Best Private Eye Stories." Mine is in Volume II, along with Loren D. Estleman, Brendan Dubois, Jeremiah Healy, and our own O"Neil De Noux, along with a whole lot of other wonderful stories. Trust me, you'll love this book!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Made my day)</p>Here's an Interesting Fan Letter:tag:crimespace.ning.com,2012-02-14:537324:BlogPost:3312122012-02-14T15:21:38.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>I found it this morning. On Valentine's Day! :)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Part of it reads:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I just wanted to tell you that I was disappointed (after the initial surprise wore off) that you were unable to find a printer for your latest mystery and short stories. Solely because of this, I’ve just purchased a Kindle and naturally, all of the e-books and stories from Amazon that I didn’t already own of yours on paper. I bet I’m not the only one who has done so out of love for your…</p>
<p>I found it this morning. On Valentine's Day! :)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Part of it reads:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>"I just wanted to tell you that I was disappointed (after the initial surprise wore off) that you were unable to find a printer for your latest mystery and short stories. Solely because of this, I’ve just purchased a Kindle and naturally, all of the e-books and stories from Amazon that I didn’t already own of yours on paper. I bet I’m not the only one who has done so out of love for your work!"</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Actually, that was the first time that my books actually promoted Kindle. I really wish they'd show some appreciation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Meanwhile, I've got that warm, fuzzy feeling that maybe all is not lost.</p>Blog Post for Kindle to Mark the Release of the Novel:tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-12-02:537324:BlogPost:3234992011-12-02T15:01:30.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<h1 class="entry-header">Guest Blogger: I.J. Parker on Pirates and Loose Women</h1>
<div class="by-line">by <a href="http://www.kindlepost.com/kindle_editors.html">Kindle Editors</a> on 12/01/2011</div>
<div class="entry-content"><div class="entry-body"><p><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Autumn-Sugawara-Akitada-ebook/dp/B006GDO6N2/ref=kin_post_os_12012011_ijparker" style="float: left;" target="_self" title="Death on an Autumn River"><img alt="Death on an Autumn River" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e54ed05fc28833015393dad338970b" src="http://nozama.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ed05fc28833015393dad338970b-800wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Death on an Autumn River"></img></a> I.J. Parker was born and educated in…</em></p>
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<h1 class="entry-header">Guest Blogger: I.J. Parker on Pirates and Loose Women</h1>
<div class="by-line">by <a href="http://www.kindlepost.com/kindle_editors.html">Kindle Editors</a> on 12/01/2011</div>
<div class="entry-content"><div class="entry-body"><p><em><a style="float: left;" title="Death on an Autumn River" href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Autumn-Sugawara-Akitada-ebook/dp/B006GDO6N2/ref=kin_post_os_12012011_ijparker" target="_self"><img style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e54ed05fc28833015393dad338970b" title="Death on an Autumn River" border="0" alt="Death on an Autumn River" src="http://nozama.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ed05fc28833015393dad338970b-800wi"/></a>I.J. Parker was born and educated in Europe and turned to mystery writing after an academic career in the U.S. She has published in</em> Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, <em>winning the short story Shamus award in 2000. The Akitada series, about an eleventh century Japanese nobleman/detective, now consists of nine titles, the last of which was just released on Nov. 29.</em> <br/> <br/>Readers complain frequently that a favorite series goes stale after a number of titles. There are no more surprises. Book after book: the same characters, the same setting, similar plots. <br/> <br/>I’ve been fortunate. After eight novels, my readers haven’t voiced that complaint yet, but I make a conscious effort to avoid it. Akitada’s personal life undergoes changes, both happy and tragic, and I use plots involving criminals and victims from all walks of life and both genders. Since Akitada is a civil servant who spends a good part of his life in the capital, I take him occasionally on assignments to other interesting places. These locations suggest their own plots and introduce new characters. In this way, Akitada has traveled to the snow-country in the north to tangle with dangerous border warlords, and disguised as a convict to a prison island to investigate the death of an imperial prince. In the ninth novel, <em><a title="Death on an Autumn River" href="http://www.amazon.com/Death-Autumn-Sugawara-Akitada-ebook/dp/B006GDO6N2/ref=kin_post_os_12012011_ijparker" target="_self">Death on an Autumn River</a></em>, Akitada and his sidekick Tora visit Naniwa (the modern Osaka) to deal with pirates on the Inland Sea and delve into the fleshpots of the Yodo River brothels because of the history of the area.<br/> <br/>By 1024, the Inland Sea already had a long tradition of piracy. It was the shipping route for tribute ships and taxes from the western provinces and from countries like Korea and China. Provincial noblemen engaged in piracy to finance insurrections against the throne.<br/> <br/>The heavy shipping traffic between the capital and the Inland Sea was also responsible for a thriving business in prostitution, particularly in small towns among the reed fields of the Yodo river delta. Boats filled with beautiful women, singing like sirens, would meet the ships in the main river channel, hoping to seduce merchants and sailors to spend their money in local brothels. The fame of these beauties spread near and far, and as these hotspots of the sex trade were close to the capital, courtiers soon arranged boating parties to sample them. <br/> <br/>Everything from sexual depravities to bloody action in one place!</p>
<p>--I.J. Parker</p>
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<div class="entry-footer"><p class="entry-footer-info"><span class="entry-footer-categories">Posted in <a href="http://www.kindlepost.com/books/" rel="tag">Books</a>, <a href="http://www.kindlepost.com/fiction/" rel="tag">Fiction</a>, <a href="http://www.kindlepost.com/guest-blog/" rel="tag">Guest Blog</a>, <a href="http://www.kindlepost.com/mystery-thrillers/" rel="tag">Mystery & Thrillers</a></span> <span class="entry-footer-nav"> <a class="tr-linkcount" href="http://technorati.com/search/http://www.kindlepost.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-ij-parker-on-pirates-and-loose-women.html">View blog reactions</a> | <a href="mailto:?subject=Check%20out%20Guest%20Blogger:%20I.J.%20Parker%20on%20Pirates%20and%20Loose%20Women&body=Go%20to%20http://www.kindlepost.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-ij-parker-on-pirates-and-loose-women.html">Email this post</a> | <a title="Add post to Reddit" href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.kindlepost.com/2011/12/guest-blogger-ij-parker-on-pirates-and-loose-women.html&title=Guest%20Blogger:%20I.J.%20Parker%20on%20Pirates%20and%20Loose%20Women" target="_reddit"><img style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" border="0" align="absmiddle" src="http://www.kindlepost.com/images/btn_reddit.gif" width="16" height="16"/></a> <a title="Add post to Mixx" href="http://www.mixx.com/submit?page_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kindlepost.com%2F2011%2F12%2Fguest-blogger-ij-parker-on-pirates-and-loose-women.html" target="_mixx"><img style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" border="0" align="absmiddle" src="http://www.kindlepost.com/images/btn_mixx.gif" width="16" height="16"/></a> <a title="Digg this post" href="http://www.digg.com/submit?phase=2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kindlepost.com%2F2011%2F12%2Fguest-blogger-ij-parker-on-pirates-and-loose-women.html&title=Guest%20Blogger%3A%20I.J.%20Parker%20on%20Pirates%20and%20Loose%20Women&bodytext=I.J.%20Parker%20was%20born%20and%20educated%20in%20Europe%20and%20turned%20to%20mystery%20writing%20after%20an%20academic%20career%20in%20the%20U.S.%20She%20has%20published%20in%20Alfred%20Hitchcock's%20Mystery%20Magazine%2C%20winning%20the%20short%20story%20Shamus%20award%20in%202000.%20The%20Akitada%20series%2C%20about%20an%20eleventh%20century%20Japanese%20nobleman%2Fdetective%2C%20now%20consists%20of%20nine%20titles%2C..." target="_digg"><img style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" border="0" align="absmiddle" src="http://www.kindlepost.com/images/btn_digg.gif" width="16" height="16"/></a> <a title="Add to StumbleUpon" href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kindlepost.com%2F2011%2F12%2Fguest-blogger-ij-parker-on-pirates-and-loose-women.html&title=Guest%20Blogger%3A%20I.J.%20Parker%20on%20Pirates%20and%20Loose%20Women&bodytext=I.J.%20Parker%20was%20born%20and%20educated%20in%20Europe%20and%20turned%20to%20mystery%20writing%20after%20an%20academic%20career%20in%20the%20U.S.%20She%20has%20published%20in%20Alfred%20Hitchcock's%20Mystery%20Magazine%2C%20winning%20the%20short%20story%20Shamus%20award%20in%202000.%20The%20Akitada%20series%2C%20about%20an%20eleventh%20century%20Japanese%20nobleman%2Fdetective%2C%20now%20consists%20of%20nine%20titles%2C..." target="_stumbleupon"><img style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" border="0" align="absmiddle" src="http://www.kindlepost.com/images/btn_stumbleupon.gif" width="16" height="16"/></a></span></p>
</div>AKITADA # 9 IS NOW OUT!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-12-02:537324:BlogPost:3235212011-12-02T14:55:46.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><strong>The ninth novel in the series, DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER, is now available as a Kindle exclusive.</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70759046?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70759046?profile=original" width="500"/></a></strong></p>
<p><strong>The ninth novel in the series, DEATH ON AN AUTUMN RIVER, is now available as a Kindle exclusive.</strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70759046?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70759046?profile=original" width="500"/></a></strong></p>Akitada stories now on Kindle, Nook, etc.!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-11-29:537324:BlogPost:3231982011-11-29T18:13:00.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70759092?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70759092?profile=original" width="563"></img></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The short story collection AKITADA AND THE WAY OF JUSTICE: Tales of Crime in Imperial Japan, is now available for Kindle, Nook, and all other devices.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The book contains eleven Akitada stories that have previously appeared in ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, including the Shamus Award winner “Akitada’s First Case.” They were not…</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70759092?profile=original"><img width="563" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70759092?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The short story collection AKITADA AND THE WAY OF JUSTICE: Tales of Crime in Imperial Japan, is now available for Kindle, Nook, and all other devices.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The book contains eleven Akitada stories that have previously appeared in ALFRED HITCHCOCK’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, including the Shamus Award winner “Akitada’s First Case.” They were not published in chronological order originally and have been long out of print. I’ve put them in order and linked them with brief explanations that fit them into Akitada’s career and relate the events to the novels in the series.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cover is based on a print by Kawase Hasui that depicts the temple Kiyomizu-dera, the setting for the murders in “Moon Cakes.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With any luck, I may soon also be able to tell you about # 9 in the Akitada series.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Happy reading!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I.J.Parker</p>
<p><br clear="all"/></p>Shamus Award winner "Akitada's First Case"tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-11-02:537324:BlogPost:3210622011-11-02T18:14:12.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758419?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758419?profile=original" width="500"></img></a> If you follow Joe Konrath's blog, you may have noticed increased discussion about proper pricing of e-books and e-stories. Lately, opinion has swung away from $ 0.99, because buyer reaction seems to be that the price denotes crappy writing. That makes pricing short stories difficult. I decided that I'd see what would happen if I asked $ 2.99 for this one. At 0.99, the…</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758419?profile=original"><img width="500" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758419?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a>If you follow Joe Konrath's blog, you may have noticed increased discussion about proper pricing of e-books and e-stories. Lately, opinion has swung away from $ 0.99, because buyer reaction seems to be that the price denotes crappy writing. That makes pricing short stories difficult. I decided that I'd see what would happen if I asked $ 2.99 for this one. At 0.99, the author's share is 0.35. That doesn't recoup publishing costs.</p>
<p>"Akitada's First Case" also has a bonus chapter with it, in this case the first chapter from DRAGON SCROLL which continues Akitada's career.</p>Akitada story up on Kindle & Nooktag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-11-02:537324:BlogPost:3210602011-11-02T18:05:21.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758392?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758392?profile=original" width="500"></img></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I continue to put past fiction up on Kindle and Nook from time to time. This partially because Joe Konrath advises putting material up to spark new sales interest. This story appeared years ago in ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE. I added something else: a thrilling swordfight in a snowy temple yard, entitled "Incident at Enshoji". It comes from the…</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758392?profile=original"><img width="500" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70758392?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>I continue to put past fiction up on Kindle and Nook from time to time. This partially because Joe Konrath advises putting material up to spark new sales interest. This story appeared years ago in ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE. I added something else: a thrilling swordfight in a snowy temple yard, entitled "Incident at Enshoji". It comes from the second book of the HOLLOW REED trilogy (also on Kindle).</p>
<p>Price 0.99.</p>Guest Blogger: I.J. Parker, author of The Hollow Reed Seriestag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-09-02:537324:BlogPost:3130672011-09-02T14:44:51.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>Here's a blog I wrote to announce the release of the HOLLOW REED trilogy. I'm happy to say that the books, gradually released between Aug. 1. and Sept. 1., are doing very well. I wrote HOLLOW REED as a one-volume work about five years ago, thinking to say something about history as well as about the resilience of women in times of extreme oppression. It was turned down by 5 of the six big houses and I took it back into my care. You may recall several blogs over the past year that dealt…</p>
<p>Here's a blog I wrote to announce the release of the HOLLOW REED trilogy. I'm happy to say that the books, gradually released between Aug. 1. and Sept. 1., are doing very well. I wrote HOLLOW REED as a one-volume work about five years ago, thinking to say something about history as well as about the resilience of women in times of extreme oppression. It was turned down by 5 of the six big houses and I took it back into my care. You may recall several blogs over the past year that dealt with my difficulties of getting it on Kindle and of designing my own covers. The cover for Book 2 caused my to blow my entire advance for two Akitada novels on a painting. It now graces <a target="_blank" href="http://http://www.amazon.com/Unsheathed-Swords-Hollow-Reed-ebook/dp/B005GRJ562">UNSHEATHED SWORDS</a>. I love that picture, and I'm very glad that I persisted in my efforts to self-publish the work.</p>
<p>(by Kindle Editors on 09/01/2011)</p>
<p>Ideas for books may come from anywhere. Sometimes a writer’s research for one novel can spark another, very different one. I’m really a crime fiction writer who also loves history. When I began to write, I naturally chose historical mysteries. They happened to be about a young government official who lived a thousand years ago in Japan. By now, Akitada has taken on a life of his own, gained a family and friends, and solved many crimes, but his life started because I read Lady Murasaki’s The Tale of Genji and thought that the Japan of that time deserved a series like Van Gulik’s Judge Dee books. <br/><br/>Years later I was reading the Tale of the Heike, a prose epic commemorating the horrific wars of the late twelfth century that ended imperial rule and began the age of shoguns and samurai warriors. This work dates from the thirteenth century and was at first performed orally (like the Illiad and Odyssey) by biwa hoshi,wandering entertainers who rendered portions of the epic to the accompaniment of a biwa (lute). The mood of this epic is tragic as well as heroic. Among its central characters are three fascinating historical figures: the retired emperor Go-Shirakawa, chancellorTaira Kiyomori, and Minamoto Yoritomo, the first shogun. <br/><br/>Tragedies multiply as these three men contend for the power. Heroes die miserably in battle, their wives and children are executed, brothers fight against brothers, friends betray friends, and the five-year-old emperor Antoku is drowned when his grandmother, Kiyomori’s widow, jumps into the sea with him in her arms, taking the imperial regalia with her. <br/><br/>In these tales, I found that creative spark again, only this time it was not mysteries that wanted to be told, but rather the stories of human beings caught in the terrifying events that shook a nation. And so I wrote The Hollow Reed series. As the lives of the three main characters began to play out against the historical background, the book became a trilogy with the titles Dream of a Spring Night, Unsheathed Swords, and Dust Before the Wind. <br/><br/>At its center are three people, a woman and two men. They are young to begin with, and caught in their individual dreams of the future. Toshiko, who serves as a concubine in the palace of emperor Go-Shirakawa, loves the physician Sadahira, who rejects in vain a warrior’s duty. He adopts two orphans, one of whom, Hachiro, chooses the way of the sword and dreams of fame as a fighter. But history has other plans for all of them, and human desires are, indeed, like “dreams of a spring night.” <br/><br/>--I.J. Parker</p>If you have a Kindle . . .tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-07-12:537324:BlogPost:2995362011-07-12T17:58:44.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70757447?profile=original"><img width="472" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70757447?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here is the first novel. Introductory price 2.99. Straight historical set in twelfth century Japan on the cusp of the Heike wars.</p>
<p>(My cover)</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70757447?profile=original"><img width="472" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70757447?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here is the first novel. Introductory price 2.99. Straight historical set in twelfth century Japan on the cusp of the Heike wars.</p>
<p>(My cover)</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>Interview with Three Authors on "Detectives Beyond Borders"tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-06-30:537324:BlogPost:2973002011-06-30T13:38:10.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p> </p>
<p>Peter Rozowsky's blog is one of the most popular and most intelligent blogs on the web. As the name suggests, Peter discusses/reviews crime novels set in countries across the globe. As the numerous comments he gets show, he attracts some very smart people, as well as some authors.</p>
<p>On this occasion, Peter decided that the past is also a foreign country. Quite right, I think, and he asks me to answer some questions about writing historical crime novels. He also asked…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Peter Rozowsky's blog is one of the most popular and most intelligent blogs on the web. As the name suggests, Peter discusses/reviews crime novels set in countries across the globe. As the numerous comments he gets show, he attracts some very smart people, as well as some authors.</p>
<p>On this occasion, Peter decided that the past is also a foreign country. Quite right, I think, and he asks me to answer some questions about writing historical crime novels. He also asked Rebecca Cantrell, who has a series set in Berlin during the 30s, and Gary Corby who writes about ancient Greece. Peter's comments and questions, and my fellow authors' answers make fascinating reading.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Check it out at:</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/">http://http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/</a></p>AMAZON TO DONATE ALL PROCEEDS FROM SHORT STORY COLLECTION TO JAPAN RELIEF FUNDtag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-06-21:537324:BlogPost:2958462011-06-21T21:25:55.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><br></br>Amazon.com announced today that it will donate its percentage of the $3.99 sales price of the fund-raising Kindle e-book SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN to the 2011 Japan Relief Fund, administered by Japan America Society of Southern California. <br></br><br></br>SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN is a collection of new and original stories donated by twenty highly-regarded mystery and thriller writers who were inspired by the desire to contribute something to the recovery effort from the Great Tohuku…</p>
<p><br/>Amazon.com announced today that it will donate its percentage of the $3.99 sales price of the fund-raising Kindle e-book SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN to the 2011 Japan Relief Fund, administered by Japan America Society of Southern California. <br/><br/>SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN is a collection of new and original stories donated by twenty highly-regarded mystery and thriller writers who were inspired by the desire to contribute something to the recovery effort from the Great Tohuku Earthquake of March 11, 2011. The book went online on June 11, the three-month anniversary of the quake. <br/><br/>“We're deeply grateful to Amazon for this donation,” says Douglas Erber, president of Japan America Society of Southern California. “The immediacy of the images of devastation may have faded, but the reality of the recovery effort is as pressing as ever, and Amazon's generosity will mean so much to those still suffering in the disaster areas!” <br/><br/>According to a company spokesperson, “Amazon is pleased to be a partner in this effort.” <br/><br/>SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN was edited by Edgar-nominated thriller writer Timothy Hallinan and features original stories by a group of writers who have, among them, won every major award the genre offers. The authors are Brett Battles, Cara Black, Vicki Doudera, Dianne Emley, Dale Furutani, Stefan Hammond, Rosemary Harris, Naomi Hirahara, Wendy Hornsby, Ken Kuhlken, Debbi Mack, Adrian McKinty, I.J. Parker, Gary Phillips, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Jeffrey Siger, Kelli Stanley, C.J. West, Jeri Westerson and Hallinan. <br/><br/>Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan described the disaster as “The toughest and most difficult crisis for Japan” since the end of World War II. The quake moved Honshu, Japan's main island, eight feet to the east. The temblor and the resulting tsunami killed more than 15,000 people, with more than 7,000 still listed as missing and left more than 300,000 homeless. <br/><br/>SHAKEN: STORIES FOR JAPAN can be purchased for $3.99 here</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(I'm thrilled to pass this news along. It will mean much to the victims and it raises my appreciation of Amazon even further. The book is selling very well, but we can always use a few more sales. The stories are great.) </p>SHAKEN is here!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-06-10:537324:BlogPost:2942532011-06-10T18:47:40.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70757149?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70757149?profile=original" width="600"></img></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This collection of short stories from twenty writers (no fewer than ten are members of CrimeSpace) is the brainchild of our own Tim Hallinan. He has worked on this project for several months now, as our contribution to the Japan disaster relief. The book contains mysteries, articles, and Basho's haikus and is an altogether lovely thing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The…</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70757149?profile=original"><img width="600" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70757149?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>This collection of short stories from twenty writers (no fewer than ten are members of CrimeSpace) is the brainchild of our own Tim Hallinan. He has worked on this project for several months now, as our contribution to the Japan disaster relief. The book contains mysteries, articles, and Basho's haikus and is an altogether lovely thing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The book is available on Kindle (and as a download for your PC). It is already, in just a few days, bringing in fantastic sales. The last tiime I looked it was number 20 for Kindle books, and number 13 for short stories.</p>
<p>The price is a mere $ 3.99 and all the profits go to the Japan Relief Fund. Go and sample! And do a kind thing!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Oh, one of my stories is included)</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>The JAPAN TIMES reviews FIRES OF THE GODS.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-05-11:537324:BlogPost:2887062011-05-11T17:20:12.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
"The Fires of the Gods," the eighth installment of I.J. Parker's saga of Heian Period official Sugawara Akitada, begins as a study in the abuses of power. The protagonist is removed from his position in the justice ministry by an incompetent appointee with connections to Kiyowara Kane, a powerful minister. <br></br><br></br><br></br>Akitada, whose wife Tamako is expecting, can ill afford to lose his job. But when he goes to the official's mansion to ask that his dismissal be reconsidered, Kiyowara is found…
"The Fires of the Gods," the eighth installment of I.J. Parker's saga of Heian Period official Sugawara Akitada, begins as a study in the abuses of power. The protagonist is removed from his position in the justice ministry by an incompetent appointee with connections to Kiyowara Kane, a powerful minister. <br/><br/><br/>Akitada, whose wife Tamako is expecting, can ill afford to lose his job. But when he goes to the official's mansion to ask that his dismissal be reconsidered, Kiyowara is found dead and Akitada — who indeed had a motive for killing him — falls under suspicion. This defines the rest of the plot as investigator Akitada finds himself obliged to prove his own innocence, all the while under the scrutiny of those who want to put him away. <br/>This situation severely tests Akitada's heretofore cordial relationship with Kobe, the Kyoto police superintendent who had collaborated with Akitada on several previous cases. <br/>In addition to Parker's usual cast of characters, including Akitada's outspoken wife Tamako, elderly retainer Seikei, feisty deputy Tora and Gemba, a hulking ex-wrestler, "The Fires of the Gods" introduces the dark side of the Kyoto underclass, characters who would have done justice to one of the old black-and-white Kurosawa epics, who range from venal clergymen and a gang of thugs running a protection racket to ruthless merchants determined to enrich themselves by the misfortunes of others. <br/>Akitada is not so much a detective as what traditional Asian literature terms a "righteous official." Those familiar with Robert van Gulik's still-popular "Judge Dee" series set in 8th century Tang Dynasty China (published in the 1950s and '60s) will enjoy Parker's works set in 11th century Heian Japan (794-1185), both for the similarities and the contrasts.THE FIRES OF THE GODS is now also on Kindle:tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-05-08:537324:BlogPost:2881152011-05-08T18:03:07.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756530?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756530?profile=original" width="300"></img></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>We delayed a little on this to give the hardcover some time to sell, but I'm happy to say that my most recent novel (an April 2011 release) is now also available at the very modest price of $ 4.99.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The hope is, of course, that Kindle sales will bring me new readers. I have always believed that Kindle book purchases are made by a slightly…</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756530?profile=original"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756530?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>We delayed a little on this to give the hardcover some time to sell, but I'm happy to say that my most recent novel (an April 2011 release) is now also available at the very modest price of $ 4.99.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The hope is, of course, that Kindle sales will bring me new readers. I have always believed that Kindle book purchases are made by a slightly different person from the traditional book buyers. True, THE FIRES OF THE GODS is at the end of the series as it stands, but many readers start anywhere in a series and then go back for the rest. I have watched Amazon sales and found that books sell in batches. Someone will buy 3 or 4 of them together. That would happen when people suddenly get hooked on a series.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>In FoG, Akitada is accused of murdering the man who is responsible for ending his career. He is suddenly a private agent again, trying to clear himself and also to earn some money to support his family. He is about to become a father again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cover image is my own design.</p>THE MASUDA AFFAIR in Kindle:tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-04-29:537324:BlogPost:2867522011-04-29T17:31:45.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756258?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756258?profile=original" width="300"></img></a></p>
<p>Of the three novels I have just released on Kindle this one has been selling best. I have no idea why that should be. Is it the cover? Or is it the description of the book?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>MASUDA AFFAIR is the follow-up on CONVICT'S SWORD. In CONVICT'S SWORD, Akitada loses his small son, and his marriage crumbles. Fans have objected to this much tragedy. …</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756258?profile=original"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756258?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Of the three novels I have just released on Kindle this one has been selling best. I have no idea why that should be. Is it the cover? Or is it the description of the book?</p>
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<p>MASUDA AFFAIR is the follow-up on CONVICT'S SWORD. In CONVICT'S SWORD, Akitada loses his small son, and his marriage crumbles. Fans have objected to this much tragedy. Stubbornly, I went on to show Akitada himself disintegrating in the following novel. He becomes obsessed with raising a mute and abused foundling, a boy the age of his lost son, as his own, in spite of the fact that he is quickly arrested for kidnapping and accused of sexual child abuse. Of course, there are also murders (and an earthquake) but, contrary to the rules, the first body doesn't appear until much later in the novel.</p>
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<p>You may read all about it by going to Amazon.</p>RASHOMON GATE on KINDLEtag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-04-27:537324:BlogPost:2863722011-04-27T17:51:33.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756260?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756260?profile=original" width="300"></img></a></p>
<p>This is one of the novels where e-rights reverted to me and not to Penguin. To my enormous delight, I get to use them myself.</p>
<p>As with HELL SCREEN (same situation), I had to provide my own cover design. I usually scour Japanese art for something useful and time-appropriate, in this case a print by Yoshitoshi. The novel is probably the most romantic of all of…</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756260?profile=original"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756260?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>This is one of the novels where e-rights reverted to me and not to Penguin. To my enormous delight, I get to use them myself.</p>
<p>As with HELL SCREEN (same situation), I had to provide my own cover design. I usually scour Japanese art for something useful and time-appropriate, in this case a print by Yoshitoshi. The novel is probably the most romantic of all of them (which may account for the fact that it garners slightly more sales than the others) and involves wisteria blossoms. I love trying to find fitting images. Most of the professionally designed covers I have seen were done by artists who hadn't read the books.</p>
<p>The books I'm taking directly to Kindle sell for 4.99, unlike the Penguin-owned ones (12.99). I hope that will spur sales. Perhaps it may also bring me more readers.</p>
<p> </p>THE HELL SCREEN on Kindle.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-04-25:537324:BlogPost:2860322011-04-25T21:28:43.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756222?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756222?profile=original" width="113"></img></a></p>
<p>Finally, I've managed to get a few books on Kindle. These are titles where the rights have either returned to me, as in the case of HELL SCREEN, or where I have refused to sell e-rights. The latter move cost me a two book contract, so I hope this will pay out.</p>
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<p>The books were put on Kindle through my agent's office. They worked from the printed page. …</p>
<p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756222?profile=original"><img width="113" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/70756222?profile=original" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p>Finally, I've managed to get a few books on Kindle. These are titles where the rights have either returned to me, as in the case of HELL SCREEN, or where I have refused to sell e-rights. The latter move cost me a two book contract, so I hope this will pay out.</p>
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<p>The books were put on Kindle through my agent's office. They worked from the printed page. So far I have not attempted to go from a manuscript. The copies are said to be excellent.</p>
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<p>The cover above is my own. We could not use my print publishers' covers. In retrospect, I'll probably aim at a larger image in the future, because the thumbprint size is pretty tiny. The cover looks much better for book size.</p>
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<p>We had to remember to add international markets today. Some Australian friends wrote to say they couldn't access the books. Should be available soon.</p>
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<p>Wish me luck!</p>Blogs on CrimeSpacetag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-04-08:537324:BlogPost:2827912011-04-08T17:25:57.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>Far too many of the blogs here have nothing whatsoever to do with crime writing. And of the rest, another 80% are merely used to sell books or post blogs by people who have no interest whatsoever in participating on CrimeSpace and who don't bother to answer comments.</p>
<p>This place has become a dumping ground for SPAM and that diminishes the site.</p>
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<p>I would suggest we close the Blog section to anyone who isn't an active member on this site.</p>
<p>Far too many of the blogs here have nothing whatsoever to do with crime writing. And of the rest, another 80% are merely used to sell books or post blogs by people who have no interest whatsoever in participating on CrimeSpace and who don't bother to answer comments.</p>
<p>This place has become a dumping ground for SPAM and that diminishes the site.</p>
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<p>I would suggest we close the Blog section to anyone who isn't an active member on this site.</p>I.J.Parker's "Success Story" posted on Jenny Milchman's blog:tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-03-24:537324:BlogPost:2798952011-03-24T18:59:25.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
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<p>The link below will take you there. I haven't figured out how to transfer text to this blog. There is already a bit of conversation there, or you can comment here.</p>
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<p>The "success story" bit is tongue-in-cheek, though Jenny may have faith in us. Presumably we talk about the moment when we knew that we had made it. How many authors are likely to believe they've made it these days? I've had a few of those foolish and naive moments when I thought that maybe good things…</p>
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<p>The link below will take you there. I haven't figured out how to transfer text to this blog. There is already a bit of conversation there, or you can comment here.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The "success story" bit is tongue-in-cheek, though Jenny may have faith in us. Presumably we talk about the moment when we knew that we had made it. How many authors are likely to believe they've made it these days? I've had a few of those foolish and naive moments when I thought that maybe good things would keep coming, or at least that progress would be a self-starter from then on, but there was always a rude awakening. Sometimes literally rude. Maybe we should blog about "Rude Awakenings".</p>
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<p>(Actually, I think Barry Eisler, who just turned down a $ 500,000 offer from a publisher must have had such a moment, but clearly he is in another category altogether, and the proof is that he's blogging on Konrath's site about self-publishing instead.)</p>
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<p><a target="_blank" href="http://http://www.jennymilchman.com/blog/?p=1316">http://http://www.jennymilchman.com/blog/?p=1316</a></p>Sometimes A Fan Makes It All Worthwhile!tag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-03-12:537324:BlogPost:2772882011-03-12T15:35:27.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
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<p>When you run into the sort of problems I've had with my three publishers, you begin to question your masterplan for the series. Thank God for fans who'll write to tell you that you are not to blame.</p>
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<p>Dear Ms. Parker, <br></br><br></br>I just finished reading the “News and Events” page on your web site and was shocked to read that your publisher has done such a dismal job promoting such a wonderful series. I ran into the first book accidentally a year or so ago at…</p>
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<p>When you run into the sort of problems I've had with my three publishers, you begin to question your masterplan for the series. Thank God for fans who'll write to tell you that you are not to blame.</p>
<p> </p>
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<p>Dear Ms. Parker, <br/><br/>I just finished reading the “News and Events” page on your web site and was shocked to read that your publisher has done such a dismal job promoting such a wonderful series. I ran into the first book accidentally a year or so ago at Barnes & Noble, bought two, finished them in four days and ended up buying the remaining books in the series. I was very excited when The Masuda Affair was placed on Amazon for preorder and then to have The Fires of the Gods published not long after was almost more than I could stand! <br/><br/>Since reading the first book, I’ve been an ardent fan. These are books in which I can totally lose myself. Mystery series are often formulaic and can become repetitive and even annoying (the kiss of death for me) if the characters cease to change as their stories develop from book to book. You have, however, managed to keep Akitada Sugawara, his family and his retainers interesting and true through many books. Your main characters go through changes in each of your books, they are not just one-dimensional. Those changes, for better and for worse, keep this reader’s interest peaked and wanting to know more. <br/><br/>It would truly be a shame if this series ended for want of a publisher and I sincerely hope you find one quickly for the book on which you are currently working. Given the state of publishing these days, it is not a surprise that quality is often under-promoted. You are a terrific storyteller and your stories have certainly enriched my reading life. Thanks so much,</p>More Reviews for THE FIRES OF THE GODStag:crimespace.ning.com,2011-02-24:537324:BlogPost:2742272011-02-24T15:30:59.000ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
<p>After the starred review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, I'm a bit spoiled. These aren't starred, but very nice anyway.</p>
<p><strong>Booklist and Kirkus</strong> have spoken. I'd like to share them, but the site won't let me copy and paste. You may see them on my Amazon site for THE FIRES OF THE GODS.</p>
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<p>(Blogging is beginning to be an impossibility here. Bummer!)</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>
<p>After the starred review from PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, I'm a bit spoiled. These aren't starred, but very nice anyway.</p>
<p><strong>Booklist and Kirkus</strong> have spoken. I'd like to share them, but the site won't let me copy and paste. You may see them on my Amazon site for THE FIRES OF THE GODS.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(Blogging is beginning to be an impossibility here. Bummer!)</p>
<p><strong> </strong></p>