Dana King's Blog (144)

Resist the Urge to Explain

I assume I’m going to like every book I read; why else would I have bothered with it in the first place? I can’t keep up with all the things I want to read as it is; why waste time on unnecessary risks?

Of course, some books disappoint despite my highest hopes; I fail to finish about ten percent of the books I start. (That may seem low to some, but remember: I didn’t even startl if I wasn’t pretty sure I’d like it.)

So…

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Added by Dana King on October 9, 2013 at 12:37am — 1 Comment

Where Do Ideas Come From?

I saw Robert B. Parker at a book signing many years ago. He told a story of being on one of those morning wake-up shows all television stations have, sharing a spot with Elmore Leonard. They were sitting in the Green Room, passing the time, and agreed the question they least liked answering was, “Where do you get your ideas?”

Ten minutes later, on camera, the helmet-haired blonde hostess’s first question was to Parker: “Where do you get your…

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Added by Dana King on October 3, 2013 at 1:05am — 4 Comments

Interview With Austin Camacho

The Creatures, Crime, and Creativity conference is in a few weeks. Here's my interview with author and organizer Austin Camacho.

Added by Dana King on August 21, 2013 at 12:53am — No Comments

A Small Sacrifice

I have released a PI novel for Kindle, A Small Sacrifice. From the description on Amazon:

Detective Nick Forte is not impressed when Shirley Mitchell asks him to clear her son’s name for a murder everyone is sure he committed. Persuaded to at least look around, Forte soon encounters a dead body, as well as the distinct possibility the next murder he’s involved with will be his own. Clearing Doug Mitchell’s name quickly becomes far less important…

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Added by Dana King on August 15, 2013 at 7:08am — 1 Comment

The Cold Cold Ground, by Adrian McKinty

My review of Adrian McKinty's THE COLD COLD GROUND has been posted to the New Mystery Reader web site, as well as an interview with Adrian

Added by Dana King on March 19, 2013 at 12:12am — No Comments

A Good Month For Declan Burke

To be honest, Declan Burke is having a good year. I'm having a good month because of him. Read my interview with the author of Slaughter's Houndhere

There's also a review of his new editorial collaboration with John Connolly (Books To Die For), as well as another interview with Dec at the New Mystery Reader web…

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Added by Dana King on November 4, 2012 at 7:09am — 1 Comment

Well, I'll Be Go To Hell

After—let’s see, borrow from the one—eighteen years of writing, about fifteen years of looking to get published, and countless hours and blog posts whining about the current state of publishing, today I signed an honest-to-Chandler book contract with Stark House to publish the second of my Penns River novels, Grind Joint.

The successor to Worst Enemies (currently available for …

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Added by Dana King on June 1, 2012 at 9:27am — 2 Comments

Why Re-Read

When I finally caught up with Abraham Trahearne, he was drinking beer with an alcoholic bulldog named Fireball Roberts in a ramshackle joint just outside Sonoma, California, drinking the heart right out of a fine spring afternoon.

So goes what is sometimes called the greatest opening sentence in crime fiction, the beginning of James Crumley’s masterpiece The Last Good Kiss. The book is full of lines that…

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Added by Dana King on April 28, 2012 at 9:51am — 2 Comments

Cleansing Eden, by Ben Sobieck

I don’t like serial killer stories. Read them only if there is some other compelling reason to. (Like maybe because it was written by Declan Hughes.) Serial killer stories are the lazy writer’s way to build tension, creating a villain with the conscience of a shark and a psyche that is screwed up in some inexplicable manner no one would believe, but the author gets away with because the killers actions and motivations don’t have to make sense, he’s clearly completely nuts or he wouldn’t…

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Added by Dana King on April 5, 2012 at 6:39am — No Comments

WORST ENEMIES Breaks Its Review Cherry

Computer problems have kept me from flogging Worst Enemies as relentlessly as I might have (you're welcome), but reviews are starting to come in just the same, and they are very heartening. Leighton Gage, author of the award-winning Chief Inspector Mario Silva series, has weighed in on Amazon thusly:



When you write crime novels, as I do, you tend to read them differently - and your experience often detracts from your…

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Added by Dana King on April 1, 2012 at 9:36am — No Comments

WORST ENEMIES is Now Available for Kindle and Nook

Yes, the daily onslaught on anticipatory hype is over. Worst Enemies is now available for Kindle for a measly $2.99, or its rough equivalent in various other countries.

From what would have been the dust jacket copy, had the book had a dust jacket:

Penns River rarely sees…

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Added by Dana King on March 2, 2012 at 3:37am — 3 Comments

Tumblin' Dice

Obscured so far by all the hullabaloo over the imminent release ofWorst Enemies (March 1 for Kindle and Nook, only $2.99) is the news that John McFetridge’s newest, Tumblin’ Dice, will also be available March 1, and in a more corporeal sense in that it’s an actual physicalbook, with pages and a cover and dust jacket and binding and all that stuff that keeps IKEA in business selling us shelves to put them on. I was fortunate enough to receive an…

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Added by Dana King on February 27, 2012 at 11:26pm — 1 Comment

Worst Enemies Available on March 1 - Here's a Sample Chapter

My second e-book, Worst Enemies, will be available for Kindle and Nook on March 1. An advance peek at the first chapter is in my blog.

Added by Dana King on February 27, 2012 at 7:08am — 2 Comments

Wild Bill (and Me) at New Mystery Reader

New Mystery Reader has posted a review of Wild Bill by Karen Treanor, as well as an interview Karen did with me. It was great fun, and many thanks go to Karen and Stephanie Padilla at NMR.

By the way, for…

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Added by Dana King on January 13, 2012 at 8:38am — 2 Comments

Now I Know How Lee Child Feels

The first royalty statement for wild Bill has appeared: $26.65. I’m not yet to the income level that will permit me to take over a bar for an evening at Bouchercon, but everyone who introduces themselves to me at next year’s conference will receive a stick of gum (flavor of my choice to be announced) from me personally.

Buy a few more copies, and I’m willing to raise the ante to those bite-sized Tootsie Rolls. Not that I’m begging for…

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Added by Dana King on November 6, 2011 at 11:21am — 4 Comments

I'm Interviewed by Timothy Hallinan at The Blog Cabin

In addition to being a kick-ass writer, Timothy Hallinan is a true humanitarian and gentleman scholar, as can be seen in his erudite and probing interview of Yours Truly at Tim’s blog, The Blog Cabin.

Many thanks to Tim for his support and for questions that made me think about some things I hadn’t even thought about when I was writing Wild Bill.

Added by Dana King on October 16, 2011 at 4:57am — No Comments

Timothy Hallinan on WILD BILL

Edgar and Macavity award nominated author Timothy Hallinan (THE QUEEN OF PATPONG) had this to say about WILD BILL:

Dana King's WILD BILL is a thriller that derives its thrills from the complex interactions of a group of fully-realized characters on both sides of the law -- although the boundary between one side and the other isn't always clear.  Set into motion by the death of a Chicago crime boss, the story introduces us to a gallery of gangsters -- the best and most persuasive…

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Added by Dana King on October 11, 2011 at 7:24am — 1 Comment

Interviewed by Charlie Stella

Charlie Stella was good enough to interview me over at his blog, Temporary Knucksline, discussing WILD BILL and our upcoming collaboration.

Added by Dana King on September 6, 2011 at 2:14pm — No Comments

Wild Bill Spans the Globe

Barely a week after its release, Wild Bill is an international sensation, with satisfied readers from such disparate locations as Los Angeles, California and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with others strewn about the intervening 10,062 miles. (Note: The use of the word “sensation” does not imply an ego run amuck. Sensations are not universally good, as anyone who has recently has an “itching, burning, sensation” can attest. Just saying, is all.) The current sales rank is…

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Added by Dana King on September 3, 2011 at 7:17am — No Comments

Wild Bill is Available for Kindle and Nook

Wild Bill is available now for Kindle and Nook, just in time for the hurricane-enforced reading season. Only $2.99.

Added by Dana King on August 25, 2011 at 10:03am — No Comments

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