August 2009 Blog Posts (179)

Agent: Exclusives with an Agent are a Bad Thing

According to Janet Reid, an agent with FinePrint Literary Management, "Exclusives aren't a good business practice." Click here to read why on her blog.

What do you think?

Added by Benjamin Sobieck on August 3, 2009 at 2:00pm — 4 Comments

Greetings fellow writers

Just wanted to let those interested know that while I will be on the site for discussions and what have you, I most likely will only rarely update this blog. I have a blog via wordpress (http://thewriter.wordpress.com) which I now utilize exclusively for all my blogging. So, please check it out if you want to read any musings or what have you. Thanks!

Added by Shannon Chenoweth on August 3, 2009 at 12:50pm — No Comments

For Writers

I just posted a blog at my main blog site on how to work the internet. Check it out!

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 3, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

Written in Stone

I recently spent some time in a small country cemetery staring at graves with my name on them. Until I saw it written in stone, I held fast to the assumption that ours was a rare and unique clan. Turns out we’re as common as table salt, if you know where to look.

In a small churchyard, in the bluff country above Winona, Minnesota sit smooth red granite monoliths side-by-side with ancient white obelisks and rough-cut black marble markers. Each as unique as the person buried below, but… Continue

Added by Karyn J. Powers on August 3, 2009 at 8:55am — 2 Comments

Yesterday's Book Signing Fun

August started nicely with the book signing for Russian Roulette at Borders in Woodbridge VA. It was a short event for me, but for the right reason. In the time it took me to enjoy one large cup of white chocolate mocha coffee we sold out of books!

Added by Austin S. Camacho on August 3, 2009 at 4:52am — No Comments

The Snow Queen of Crime: Monica Kristensen’s Writing Life

On a recent trip to Oslo, I lunched with my publisher there Hakan Haket and an astonishingly fascinating local crime writer named Monica Kristensen. Extraordinarily charismatic, she has a trove of stories unlike anything one tends to come across in typical… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 3, 2009 at 1:36am — No Comments

Where Tom Piccirilli sweats the truth out of me regarding Pariah (out this October!)

Thriller/horror writer Tom Piccirilli interrogates me over at The Big Adios.

And while you're there check out some of Tom's other interrogations with top crime writers like Ed Gorman, Charlie Huston, Megan Abbott, Lawrence Block, and many others.

And while Pariah isn't out in the US until October, you can find an… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on August 3, 2009 at 1:30am — No Comments

Review - The Labyrinth of Drowning, Alex Palmer

Book Title: THE LABYRINTH OF DROWNING

Author: Alex Palmer

Publisher: Harper Collins

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 978-0-7322-8574-6

Book Synopsis:

Two years have passed since top cop Paul Harrigan walked away from the New South Wales Police Force to be his own man. Since then his life has been a gift, and his home with his partner Agent Grace Riordan and their daughter a sanctuary.

When a trafficked sex worker is found brutally murdered in Sydney… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on August 2, 2009 at 9:43pm — No Comments

Just Released (July 2009) Pelican Point: a Webb Sawyer Mystery by Douglas Quinn

Life is good for Webb Sawyer. Until he gets hit over the head in the Nags Head Pier parking lot. Until a mercenary from Columbia, and three of the Columbian’s friends try to kill him and burn down his house at Blue Heron Marsh. Until his son goes missing while trying to track down the killer of a university professor, a murder for which his son Preston is under suspicion.

When Webb and Preston’s girlfriend, Sunshine Bledsoe, work… Continue

Added by Douglas Quinn on August 2, 2009 at 11:54am — No Comments

A plethora of five-star reviews for Switch

My debut thriller Switch has been available in the UK for a few weeks now, entered its second printing with a playful switch to a new blue cover to replace the previous red cover, and garnered a fantastic response from readers. There are now 14 five-star reviews on Amazon.co.uk, 3 five-star reviews on… Continue

Added by Grant McKenzie on August 2, 2009 at 8:56am — 4 Comments

Lost Hours on B&N website

Hey Everyone,

I just discovered that Barnes & Noble is selling the electronic version of my mystery novel, Lost Hours. If you're interested in obtaining a copy for the small price of $5.99, go to: Barnes & Noble

Blurb of Lost Hours:

On Father's Day 1982, a twelve year old was blamed for the multiple stabbing… Continue

Added by D K Gaston on August 2, 2009 at 5:35am — No Comments

Good Reads for July

(Also posted in One Bite at a Time.)

Swag, Elmore Leonard - John McFetridge cites this book almost as often as Toronto is colder than Miami. Since John is mistaken about such things even less frequently than that, I finally got around to reading it, and he's right again. Classic Leonard, with two criminals who aren't as smart as they think they are. The dialog is spot on, and the story is a little more tightly plotted… Continue

Added by Dana King on August 2, 2009 at 4:47am — No Comments

New Audio Book ( and business books)

Today sees the official publication of the unabridged audio book version of The Suffocating Sea, the third in the Inspector Horton Marine Mystery series of crime novels set in the Solent area of the UK. It is also the publication date of three new marketing and sales books written by me.

The Suffocating Sea has been published by Isis Publishing as an Unabridged… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on August 2, 2009 at 1:45am — No Comments

The Chase

The Chase.doc
Here is another story for you to read.

Added by Sally Wolf on August 1, 2009 at 6:42pm — No Comments

ROGUE MALES: SUBJECT #11, LEE CHILD

(Author’s note: Rogue Males: Conversations & Confrontations About the Writing Life, is a collection of author interviews. It includes Elmore Leonard, Stephen J. Cannell, Pete Dexter, James Ellroy, Daniel Woodrell, Craig Holden and James Crumley. Rogue Males also features an account of a trip to the desert to interview crime fiction greats Ken Bruen and James… Continue

Added by Craig McDonald on August 1, 2009 at 10:37am — No Comments

Rejection Letter Blues & A Request For Some Advice...

Got another rejection letter today, but at least this agent appears to have actually read the materials that were sent, which says something. That makes about five out of the dozen that I've applied to over the last few weeks, the rest haven't answered yet, and most of them probably won't if they feel the same lack of enthusiasm as the last agent had.

It does raise a question. Should I mention that the novel was recommended twice by editors at a major genre publishing company only to… Continue

Added by D.R. MacMaster on August 1, 2009 at 8:33am — 8 Comments

Amazon sued over Kindle deletion of Orwell books

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090731/ap_on_en_ot/us_tec_amazon_kindle_lawsuit

Added by John Dishon on August 1, 2009 at 6:00am — No Comments

Amazon Vine

For those who don't know: this is a program run by Amazon that provides reader reviews of new books by a group of people who have established a certain track record as reviewers. They receive ARCs of new books and respond with their take on the novel.

I discovered the Amazon Vine project recently and thought it an excellent way to jump-start preorders on Amazon. My publisher provided the Arcs, and in the month before release, these good folks read and commented.

For me the… Continue

Added by I. J. Parker on August 1, 2009 at 4:55am — No Comments

Just like the (good?) old days

With US diplomats roaming the streets of Jerusalem, it's like the intifada never happened.

By Matt Beynon Rees - GlobalPost

JERUSALEM — It’s like the intifada never happened.

American diplomats mobbed the streets of Jerusalem this week. Even Iran point man Dennis Ross, whose sad-sack demeanor was a frequent feature of the Oslo peace… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on August 1, 2009 at 1:28am — No Comments