November 2009 Blog Posts (149)

Travellers Meet Me Tomorrow in DC

It’s another big Borders weekend for me. It starts Friday when I return to Ronald Reagan National Airport. If you know anybody flying to DC let them know that I will sign my novels for afternoon travelers there from 1 pm to 5 pm.

Added by Austin S. Camacho on November 5, 2009 at 9:28pm — No Comments

Looking for somewhere to kill someone: suggestions please

I’m always looking for a good spot in which to kill someone. Still, as a crime writer, I rarely have to ask about potential locations for a good murder. People are keen to suggest that the blood be spilled on their doorstep.

Most recently, it was a pastor and his wife.

To be fair, they actually said I ought to have my Palestinian detective Omar Yussef visit their church on the top of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, where I live. But when I noted admiringly that it’d be a… Continue

Added by Matt Rees on November 5, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

THE COWBOY WAY

Hey my friends, want a chance to win a download? Then head over to Romance Junkies Blog and leave a comment on my post about heroes. This Friday I randomly pick 3 readers to receive the book and will announce the lucky people here!

Good luck!

Added by Tory Richards on November 5, 2009 at 12:46pm — No Comments

Review - The Death of Bunny Munro, Nick Cave

Book Title: THE DEATH OF BUNNY MUNRO

Author: Nick Cave

Publisher: Text Publishing

Copyright: 2009

ISBN: 978-1-921520-63-1

No of Pages: 278

Book Synopsis:

Bunny Munro sells beauty products and the scent of adventure to the lonely housewives of England's south coast. Set adrift by his wife's death, he hits the road one last time - with his young son in tow.

Book Review:

Despite the title, THE DEATH OF BUNNY MUNRO is not strictly… Continue

Added by Karen from AustCrime on November 5, 2009 at 11:23am — No Comments

10 quick reasons why you might want to read Pariah

1) "Pariah is all I know of bliss and lament. Bliss at reading a superb novel and lament at knowing that Dave Zeltserman has now raised the bar so high, we're screwed." Ken Bruen

2) "It's the kind of book that is going to spoil whatever I read next, as it's going to be found wanting compared to this. This is a book that anyone with even the slightest interest in the crime or thriller genres simply must get their hands on, as it's bound to have a huge impact on you." Bookbag… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on November 5, 2009 at 4:00am — 2 Comments

Book pricings wars and the New Yorker take on it all

Look at this article from the New Yorker. An interesting take on the Wal-Mart/Amazon pricing wars.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2009/11/09/091109ta_talk_surowiecki

Added by B.R.Stateham on November 5, 2009 at 2:50am — 5 Comments

Try out my blog dedicated to the Turner/Frank novels of mine

I haven't a clue what I am doing with this blog. But, in the grand effor to push your own books and be that consummate salesman, I've decided to create a blog for the Turner Hahn/Frank Morales police-procedurals I'm writing.

Comments, guffaws, and out-right insults will be appreciated. Find it at

http://noirtaketurner-frank.blogspot.com/

Added by B.R.Stateham on November 5, 2009 at 1:00am — No Comments

Free Short Story Writing Contest TRAVEL STORIES – win cash with your story

While traveling we always have new experiences, whether they are amazing, life changing or just disillusioning. Tell us your travel story. It may deal with a travel journey to a new place, time traveling, revisiting one's past, visiting a lost love or a new one, or an inner journey. Travel reports can be as much about one's internal navigation of their emotions as a physical voyage.

There is currently running a free-to-enter short story contest on BookRix for writers and readers. The… Continue

Added by Nils on November 4, 2009 at 11:14pm — No Comments

Reviews=Sales?

Ah, that is the question. And the answer is, who knows? But as usual, I have a few words on the subject.

First, as I said yesterday, a good review gives a writer confidence. That's good in meeting people and presenting a book effectively. It's no longer just my sister who loves the book. I can say, "Library Journal says..."

Second, I've run into libraries who use reviews as a weeding tool. If a book isn't reviewed in one of the "Big 3", they won't consider it. Since Five… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on November 4, 2009 at 8:18pm — 2 Comments

Vote or Die: The Nature of Crime

Political rhetoric usually focuses around one of two themes: destroy this or defend against that. Either way, the war is never over. The War on Drugs. The War on Terror. The War for America's Soul. The War Against You.

I went to the polls today with that in mind. This time, the front was public education. On one side of the trench was a school district seeking to bolster its war chest with millions more in levy dollars. Guarding the fort opposite them were the taxpayers of my area,… Continue

Added by Benjamin Sobieck on November 4, 2009 at 1:55pm — 6 Comments

Huffingtonpost report has an interesting article about the demise of hardback books

Just found this article about the possible demise of the hardback novel. Kindle is doing a wonderful job (sarcasm, here) in killing off a dinosaur. Or . . . at least drastically changing the business model.

Find it at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/fauzia-burke/rip-hardcovers-long-live_b_341605.html

Added by B.R.Stateham on November 4, 2009 at 1:36am — 6 Comments

The jacket cover for the new Inspector Horton marine mystery crime novel

I've just received the jacket image for the cover of the new Inspector Horton marine mystery crime novel, Blood on the Sand, which is to be published by Severn House on 26 February 2010. I hope you like it. The design follows through from my previous crime novels using the marine theme. My crime novels are all set against the backdrop of the sea on the south… Continue

Added by Pauline Rowson on November 4, 2009 at 12:53am — 2 Comments

Another Cool Review

Erik D. Kiessling is the author of a thrilling urban fantasy called “Bury them at the Crossroads.” He promised me a review of Russian Roulette but got caught up in his own writing after reading it. On the second reading of my novel Erik decided to send a comprehensive review.

Despite an overwhelmingly positive review, Erik did have honest criticisms. He mentions my having an Algerian offer Hannibal a ham sandwich. In my mind the character had good reason for fleeing his Muslim… Continue

Added by Austin S. Camacho on November 3, 2009 at 9:44pm — No Comments

WAHHHHH-HOO!

If an author needed motivation to rev up work on the second book in a series, great reviews might do it. I'm thrilled with the reviews of HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER in PW and LJ this week, and I'm fired up to finish the sequel, which had gotten to that "Muddle in the Middle" stage where it seems like nothing is going to work, ever. Honestly, I've done this often enough to know that I just have to keep going, but nothing boosts a person's motivation like positive feedback.

So as soon… Continue

Added by Peg Herring on November 3, 2009 at 9:23pm — 2 Comments

Sadomasochistic Fun

If you’ve got time to kill, check out my story “Safe Word” posted over at A Twist of Noir. Gothy, Sadomasochistic fun. While you’re over there, peruse some of the other stories. Lots of heavy-duty hardboiled stuff. A great zine.

And speaking of great zines, my story “Little Gun” is still… Continue

Added by Mike MacLean on November 3, 2009 at 3:53pm — No Comments

Writing Without a Reader Is Like Kissing Without a Partner

One of the guest stops on my Daughter Am I blog tour is the Second Wind Publishing Blog. I talk about a fan letter (well, fan email) I received, and cite a quote by John Cheever, “I can’t write without a reader. It’s precisely like a kiss — you can’t do it alone.”

Many writers don’t consider readers -- they write solely for themselves, or at least they say they do -- but often as I am writing a… Continue

Added by Pat Bertram on November 3, 2009 at 2:42pm — No Comments

Well well, good news comes in bunches.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned to everyone in here that I signed contracts with Shadow Line Press for a novel of mine entitled Death of a Young Lieutenant.

Well, tonight I found in the mail a second contract from Shadow Line for the second Turner Hahn/Frank Morales novel entitled A Taste of Old Revenge. I've shared the on-going artwork of building the cover for this book, if you'll remember.

Now. . . I'll sign the contract and hope one--or… Continue

Added by B.R.Stateham on November 3, 2009 at 12:30pm — 7 Comments

Latest Story Published

“Pretty Rita” appears in the current issue of ALFRED HITCHCOCK MYSTERY MAGAZINE, (Jan/Feb Issue) along with other cool mysteries by Alan Gratz, Steven Gore, K. J. Egan, Janet E. Irvin, Michelle Knowlden, Mitch Alderman, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Gary Alexander, Stringfellow Forbes, John H. Dirckx and David Hagerty.

A little about “Pretty Rita” – Twenty-five days after Hurricane Katrina, as New Orleans struggles to survive, Katrina’s big sister, Hurricane Rita (Category 5 with the lowest… Continue

Added by O'Neil De Noux on November 3, 2009 at 12:12pm — No Comments

October Reads

(Also posted on One Bite at a Time.)

Recommended Reads from October, in the order I read them:

The Friends of Eddie Coyle, George V. Higgins – A seminal book. Few crime fiction writers since have been unaffected by Higgins’s work, and this is the book that got him noticed. Should be on a shelf with Chandler, Hammett, et al for crime fiction writers, and anyone else interested in how the gerne has… Continue

Added by Dana King on November 3, 2009 at 6:43am — 3 Comments

Short story of mine, 'Jimmy's Dead' up on Darkest Before the Dawn

Another one of my Turner Hahn/Frank Morales short stories entitled 'Jimmy's Dead' can be found on Darkest Before the Dawn website. It's another one of those police-procedural noir thingees of mine.

Go to www.darkestbeforedawn. net

Added by B.R.Stateham on November 3, 2009 at 5:00am — 3 Comments