March 2009 Blog Posts (177)

Booklist starred review of MATING SEASON

Advanced Review – Uncorrected Proof

Issue: April 1, 2009

Mating Season.

Loomis, Jon (Author)

May 2009. 304 p. St. Martin's/Minotaur, hardcover, $24.95. (9780312367701).

When Kenji Sole is found stabbed to death in her lavish Provincetown, Massachusetts, beach home,

Detective Frank Coffin and Sergeant Lola Winters have no lack of suspects. The beautiful and wealthy

victim had a voracious appetite for sex with a rotating cast of older, married… Continue

Added by Jon Loomis on March 13, 2009 at 11:43pm — 12 Comments

Glutting the Market

I recently read an editor's comment that she wasn't accepting Tudor-based materials anymore because that era has been "more than adequately covered." Being the author of a soon-to-be-released Tudor mystery, that got my attention, and I must admit, the Tudors have been dissected and analyzed plenty lately. I can't help it if I've always been fascinated with the period. It's Shakespeare's time, for heaven's sake.

That led me, however, to wonder if the Knights Templar might not be a bit… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 13, 2009 at 10:42pm — 3 Comments

Noir interview and reunion with JA 'Joquin Phoenix' Konrath aka Jack Kilborn

JA Konrath & Jack Kilborn Cornered By Rob Walker (an interview and a reunion)

Today my Friday the 13th blog at Acme Authors Link dared welcome the indomitable JA Konrath to our humble niche of the internet. Konrath is the author of six thrillers in the Jack Daniels series, all named after drinks. He’s also got a new book coming out, a horror novel, under the pen name Jack Kilborn, called Afraid. You can visit him at http://www.jakonrath.com/.

I stalked… Continue

Added by robert walker on March 13, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Me, Myself and 'i-Pod' -- March 11, 2009

It really is remarkable what a vast array of devices we now have at our fingertips, in this enlightened year of 2009!

Why, I can remember not so very long ago (well, maybe a little long ago) growing up in Saskatchewan and getting 2 -- count 'em, 2 -- channels on the television set, and having to wrestle with an unruly set of rabbit ears to get those! And one of those 2 channels was CBC francais!! (Let's not… Continue

Added by Donna Carrick on March 13, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

A Really Bad Self-publicist

Well, as usual, Anthony nominations have crept up on me and I, a publicist by trade, have done no publicity on my own book (a shoemaker's children have no shoes type of problem...).

I would LOVE to get my publisher and artist (Severn House and Piers Tilbury) a nomination for best cover art for BEAN THERE, DONE THAT (see my photos--the coffee beans are bullets). They've done SUCH beautiful covers for me and alot of Bcons don't have a Cover Art category.

Soo...anyone going… Continue

Added by Sandra Balzo on March 13, 2009 at 2:04am — 5 Comments

March Blog Tour

Do author blog tours work, or are they a big waste of time and energy?

Follow my experiment at http://tinyurl.com/cdcc7q

Added by JA Konrath on March 13, 2009 at 12:47am — 1 Comment

Meet Me Tomorrow in MD

Friday evenings are often good for book signings, and I’ll try one this week. I’ll settle in at the big Borders in Waldorf, MD at 6 pm. If you’re in the area, find us at 3304-A Crain Highway.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on March 12, 2009 at 10:01pm — No Comments

Protags with Problems

It's become customary to give your protag a problem to deal with on top of the required crime to solve. He's accused of murder AND alcoholic. She's targeted for murder AND struggling with a cheating husband. More often than not, he or she is in physical danger AND harassed by a parent, living or dead, who screwed him or her up royally and made simple, day-to-day living difficult.

I won't comment on the American addiction to Blaming Parents for Absolutely Everything. But I notice that… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 12, 2009 at 8:45pm — 4 Comments

Chapter One, from my new novel, Dirty Little Angels (now available on Amazon.com)

Chapter One

The baby was a white fist of flesh. Mama had placed the ultrasound photo atop her dresser in a sterling silver frame. That night, when the pain bent her over in the kitchen, I imagined that same white fist punching her insides black-and-blue. When Daddy called from the hospital to tell us she’d lost the baby, my brother Cyrus said I shouldn’t worry. He said the baby didn’t feel any pain, that at nine weeks it wasn’t anything but a ball of meat squirming in Mama’s stomach.… Continue

Added by Chris Tusa on March 12, 2009 at 4:05pm — No Comments

Amazon Kindle Books Downloadable to iPod and iPhone

I'm glad to see that Amazon has made Kindle books compatible with iPod and iPhone because 7 of my books are on Kindle. This opens them up to a whole new world. On the other hand, I still like to read real books. It takes all kinds.

Added by Alan Cook on March 12, 2009 at 8:16am — No Comments

New story

Hey all. New story up at Pulp Pusher. Hope you like it. It's my first female protagonist. More info and a trailer for the new tv show I'm editing is on my website.
Enjoy.
Eric

Added by Eric Beetner on March 12, 2009 at 4:02am — 1 Comment

More on Names

Okay, I know I'm being a little picky, but in the book I started yesterday, the author uses his protag's name at least twice in each paragraph. It makes me wonder how many people read for him, because somebody should have said, "Do a word search and eliminate about two-thirds of those instances. That's what pronouns are for."

I think this is a great example of what reading aloud does for an author. If he'd heard even a page or two, all those "Jill" repetitions would have become… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 11, 2009 at 9:26pm — 3 Comments

Dear Pastor Rehwinkel

"Dear Pastor Rehwinkel: I am very sorry to add this additional burden to your work."

That's how John List started his confession in a letter to his pastor in 1971. List went through numerous reasons - or excuses - as to why he had murdered his own mother, wife and three children.

John List was an accountant and a devout Lutheran who had severe financial problems such as a mortgage he couldn't pay and he was also quite concerned about… Continue

Added by Gitte on March 11, 2009 at 6:19pm — 1 Comment

Published (sort of)

No, it's not a publishing contract. It got me pretty excited, though. The AV Club did my "Taste Test."

If you are not familiar with the AV Club (avclub.com), you will probably be scratching your head. The AV Club is an off-shoot of the popular satirical magazine, "The Onion." The AV Club differs, however, because it is based on actual events. Think the A&E section of your newspaper twisted into a sardonic tornado.

Back in November 2008, I stumbled upon a bag of… Continue

Added by Benjamin Sobieck on March 11, 2009 at 1:00pm — 4 Comments

This Is Where I will be on April 27

This forum is quite an honor. All of the people on the panel were involved in some way with Gerard Schaefer - This forum in in conjunction with National Victim's Week.

Added by Yvonne Mason on March 11, 2009 at 4:37am — No Comments

How to write a thriller: Great beginnings

As I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, I've been working on a new thriller. Read post.

Added by Kathryn Lilley on March 11, 2009 at 2:49am — No Comments

When the Plot Fizzles

I recently read two books, both well-written for the most part. However, one provided a surprise at the end that satisfied me as a reader while the other sort of backed out of the story with little attention paid to the killer's motives, in fact, with some doubt as to who actually did what. I want more than that.

I most admire writers who are able to focus everything in the story toward the climax. Characters who at the end do what they do because we know them and expect just that.… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 10, 2009 at 9:30pm — 4 Comments

Publisher's Weekly reviews MATING SEASON

Mating Season Jon Loomis. Minotaur, $24.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-312-36770-1

Det. Frank Coffin and his partner, Sgt. Lola Winters, look into the stabbing death of notoriously promiscuous dominatrix Kenji Sole, who had a gift for bringing out a man's “inner jerk,” in Loomis's riotous second mystery to feature the Provincetown, Mass., cop (after 2007's High Season). The investigators rattle nearly every skeleton in the official closets of the ultraliberal community as well as a few cages in… Continue

Added by Jon Loomis on March 10, 2009 at 4:22am — 10 Comments

Another Cool Review

I've received a lot of comments on my books lately, so I try to share a different one here each week. Today I'd like to mention Diane Leslie.

Diane has become a pal since we met last fall at a holiday craft event. She has read her way, one at a time, through the Hannibal Jones series and has sent me a flattering note after each book. Most recently she sent a simple e-mail that said, “I finished The Troubleshooter today - another excellent book. Riveting up the end. Once again, I wish… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on March 10, 2009 at 1:30am — No Comments

Naming Names

It appears that there are names that work in fiction and names that don't. I once had a manuscript rejected because the reader didn't like the first name I'd chosen for my protagonist. I guess it wasn't normal enough. Readers need a name they can identify with...and pronounce. We're all aware that in romance the men tend to have names like "Stone" and "Hardin," almost laughably symbolic. I've mentioned here the contention by certain writers at a conference that success in thrillers comes from… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on March 9, 2009 at 9:17pm — 6 Comments