June 2008 Blog Posts (161)

Editing the translation

Again, sorry for the absence. I've been swamped with work for two months and haven't really had the time to do any side stuff.

I'm editing the Finnish translation (my own) of Duane Swierczynski's The Wheelman. The translation will be out in October and will start a new paperback line I'll be editing - handpicking the best of the new hardboiled and noir. Al Guthrie's Kiss Her Goodbye will be the next novel in the series. Arrangements have been made for another three… Continue

Added by Juri Nummelin on June 23, 2008 at 9:14pm — 14 Comments

Weekly Blog - 23rd June

I'm on vacation at present - the blog will return next week.

Cheers,
Steve

Added by Steven Hague on June 23, 2008 at 10:00am — No Comments

YA draft is done

I'm kinda jazzed. The draft for my first Young Adult novel is done (only took a month to write). It's 20,000 words, but I'm not too worried. A lot of my drafts are underwritten. The first rewrite is where I start fleshing shit out, doing more showing and less telling.

I'll probably wind up trying to sell this novel, since I have no idea how to reach the YA audience. Though, I may put out a limited hardcover version on my small press. We'll… Continue

Added by Johnny Ostentatious on June 23, 2008 at 5:34am — No Comments

An Award Nomination, Please may I have your vote?

I'm really thrilled that my forthcoming novel 'Purple Death' (Still Waves Publishing) has been nominated for The Authors Lounge Best Cover Illustration award for the month of June. With artwork by the brilliant Graeme S Houston this represents my second nomination for one of the Authors Lounge monthly awards, with my novel 'A Study in Red' having previously picked up the May award. i've reproduced the cover above, with a short intro to the story… Continue

Added by Brian L Porter on June 22, 2008 at 7:58pm — No Comments

MR. MONK IN OUTER SPACE by Lee Goldberg

Recently out in paperback, Goldberg's fifth Monk tie-in novel has the obsessive-compulsive detective investigating the murder of Conrad Stipe, creator of the '70s science fiction series Beyond Earth, committed by someone dressed as Mr. Snork, security chief aboard the starship Discovery.

This backdrop allows Goldberg ample opportunity to riff and nod to science fiction fandom and show business in the same raucously enjoyable way Galaxy Quest does (also starring… Continue

Added by Gerald So on June 22, 2008 at 6:42am — No Comments

BIRTHDAY!!!

Another birthday today, the actual day. I often feel deeply cynical, cranky and much older than I really am, but I still feel like a happy little kid every year on my birthday. In a world where you have to be jaded and above it all in order to be cool, I refuse to play that shit. Today I want key lime pie for breakfast. I want to jump on the bed with my dogs. I want to dance around and sing along with Harvey Sid Fisher.

Happy Birthday to… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on June 22, 2008 at 5:00am — 1 Comment

Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Patti Abbott's Meme

http://socialistjazz.blogspot.com/2008/06/fridays-forgotten-books-patti-abbotts.html

Friday's "Forgotten" Books: Patti Abbott's Meme

We're off to an early start with Friday's "Forgotten" Books, being caretaken by me this week while Patti Abbott, the instigator and usual host, is attempting a vacation.

The idea: is there a book, or for many participants one of a number of… Continue

Added by Todd Mason on June 21, 2008 at 3:56am — No Comments

Out-of-the-blue Publicity

Yesterday a newspaper reporter called and asked if she could interview me for a feature article. Let me think about thatYES!

Marketing campaigns are tough, competition for print/radio/TV is fierce, and beginning authors aren't big news. So how did I score a feature article? Friendship. You see, a woman in the church choir I direct has a daughter in a slightly larger town who was my friend in school, way back when. The woman bought my book, read it, and then handed it off to her… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 20, 2008 at 10:28pm — No Comments

Dating, cougar-style

Let’s talk about dating and “cougars”—also known as women over fifty.
Click here to read more.

Added by Kathryn Lilley on June 20, 2008 at 10:11pm — No Comments

Winner - win a copy of Redback by Lindy Cameron

Firstly, thank you to everybody who took the time to enter our competition. The response was fantastic and we've really been encouraged to go again, so another great local book will be offered in July - stand by for an announcement on that.

In the meantime, we're really happy to announce that the winner of Redback is Pat Reid, from Kansas in the USA. Congratulations Pat - we hope you enjoy the book. Do please, let us know what you think.

Added by Karen from AustCrime on June 20, 2008 at 1:35pm — 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

Bridgewater Bookfest

(Cross Posted to Writing, etc.)

I am a promoter in training. One of these days I’m going to have a book of my own to promote. Until them, I’m practicing. In my darker moments, I think of these events as missed opportunities, as in “DAMN! If only I had a book out to sell!” But then my rational side reappears and I realize that the opportunities will continue to crop up. For now, I’m honing my skills.

One of these… Continue

Added by Annette Dashofy on June 20, 2008 at 6:12am — No Comments

salem's Lot

I've always enjoyed the early Stephen King novels and for some reason I'd never gotten around to "'salem's Lot." I picked up a copy in a local thrift shop, a first edition paperback with a chipped cover and an inscription from Austin, Tex. Makes me wonder how a book can travel across three decades and 1,500 miles to my fingers. It had sat there on the rack by the thrift-shop counter for a couple of months, and I didn't buy it because I have so many other books I don't have time to read. Now… Continue

Added by Scott Nicholson on June 20, 2008 at 5:48am — No Comments

Writers Need Readers

There is some concern in the publishing industry about the fact that every year there are fewer readers in this country. We all know why, and I'm not here to argue that it's wrong, wrong, wrong, even though it is.

The question is what can build interest in reading? Those factors need to be cultivated. For one thing, there's the popularity of certain books among young people. Once a kid has developed an interest in Potter or Goosebumps or Chillermania, chances are he will understand… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on June 19, 2008 at 10:37pm — No Comments

Janet McClellan in the Hot Seat this Saturday

Sat June 21st 2pm PDT

Janet McClellan, smarty pants author of fiction and expert writer of scholarly papers on lust murder and serial killings gets roasted like a chestnut over an open fire by famed attorney Don Woldman and Edgar Award winning true crime author Burl Barer - but it's all in fun and good for business -- on TRUE CRIME AND on Outlaw Radio!! Visit the show's web site to get a hint of what goes on...or just listen to all the archived… Continue

Added by Burl Barer on June 19, 2008 at 10:35pm — No Comments

Meet Me this Weekend in New Jersey

I'll spend this weekend with mystery fans and fellow authors at the Deadly Ink Mystery Conference. The conference is chaired by two of the editors at Deadly Ink Press, but they don't play favorites. This year Jane Cleland (Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series) is the Guest of Honor, with Troy Cook (The One Minute Assassin) serving as… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 19, 2008 at 10:25pm — No Comments

First draft of book 4 finished

I've finished the first draft of book 4 in the Sophie Anderson series. Hooray. The deadline was actually 22 May, but I was overseas straight after and just got back a few days ago. Hectic times!

The fourth book is called The Killing Hands. But it's still a while until publication. It will be released in Australia & New Zealand first, February 2009. Other release dates for all my books are below:

US & Canada

The Murderers' Club (paperback) November… Continue

Added by Phillipa Martin (PD Martin) on June 19, 2008 at 4:42pm — No Comments

Stuart MacBride Interview

THE BLOODY SCOTS: PART 3

Suspect: Stuart MacBride

Known Aliases: Bearded Wonderboy, Stuart MacBeard, Crime Write-ist

Occupation: Write-ist, General Naughtiness

Last Known Location: Aberdeen, Scotland

Listen in as… Continue

Added by Angie on June 19, 2008 at 1:46am — No Comments

What Was I Thinking?

I'm over at Working Stiffs today musing about the defect in my brain that allows me to say YES to projects when I should say NO. In other words, I'm writing about my new position as the coordinator of the 2009 Pennwriters Conference. Come on over and check it out.

Added by Annette Dashofy on June 18, 2008 at 11:42pm — 2 Comments

Books Better than TV

If you enjoy television mysteries then you're probably already hooked on "Bones." But if you haven't read Dr. Temperance Brennan's 10 print adventures you're missing most of the fun. And you can already order #11, Devil Bones, at Amazon even though it won't be released until August.

On television Brennan is a forensic anthropologist and… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on June 18, 2008 at 11:16pm — No Comments