Dave Zeltserman's Blog (63)

Small Crimes reviewed in the Boston Globe

"A Jim Thompson mentality on a Norman Rockwell setting... 'Small Crimes' is a strong piece of work, lean and spare, but muscular where a noir novel should be, with a strong central character whom we alternately admire and despise." Boston Globe

Read the whole review here.

Small Crimes has gotten some great reviews so far from places like NPR, The Washington Post,… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on December 27, 2008 at 4:09am — No Comments

Want to win a free signed copy of Small Crimes?

Want to win a free signed copy of Small Crimes? A book that NPR named one of the 5 best crime and mystery novels of 2008, and the Washington Post also naming it one of the best books of 2008? BookSpotCentral.com is giving away 3 free signed copies, and all you have to do to enter is go to…

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Added by Dave Zeltserman on December 12, 2008 at 11:20am — No Comments

NPR names Small Crimes one of the five best crime and mystery novels of 2008

A little over a week ago Small Crimes was mostly flying under the radar, and now all of a sudden a lot of good stuff has been happening . First it makes IMBA's bestseller's list for October, then last Sunday the Washington Post publishes a rave review for it, and now this. All very surreal. There's so much luck involved in our business, so many great books and authors that never get the attention they deserve, so much… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on November 22, 2008 at 2:00pm — 2 Comments

Washington Post on Small Crimes: "a piece of crime noir genius"

"The plot of Small Crimes is a thing of beauty: spare but ingeniously twisted and imbued with a glossy coating of black humor. Zeltserman takes up all the familiar tropes of the formula -- femmes fatales, frighteningly dysfunctional families, self-destructive drives and the death grip of the past -- and shows how infinite are the combinations that can still be played on them. " Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

read the whole review… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on November 17, 2008 at 11:20am — No Comments

21 reasons to indulge in some Small Crimes

There are so many great crime novels out there that I think newer authors need to make a case why readers should give their books a try. I was fooling around yesterday (or more accurately, goofing off from writing), and came up with my case for Small Crimes, so here's my 21 reasons why you might want to indulge in some Small Crimes:

1) From Publisher’s Weekly’s starred review: "Zeltserman's breakthrough third crime novel deserves comparison with the best of James… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on October 31, 2008 at 2:37am — No Comments

Small Crimes book launch party

The US book launch party for Small Crimes is going to be held Oct. 21st at Redbones in Somerville, MA from 5:30-7. For anyone unfamiliar with Redbones it has probably the best barbecued food in the Boston area, and free appetizers will be on hand. I hope people in the area will be able to make it, and I'll look forward to seeing you all there.

More information about Redbones and the event can be found by clicking here.

--… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on October 15, 2008 at 3:16am — 2 Comments

Some good stuff being said about Small Crimes

Small Crimes is still several weeks away from being officially released in the US, although it's been showing up early in some bookstores, as well as being available now at online bookstores like amazon.com and bn.com, and some good stuff is showing up about it on the web. Thuglit recently added it to their Degenerates Book Club. Patrick Milliken over at Poisoned Pen Bookstore jumped the gun on it and made it one of his August hardboiled picks.… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on September 12, 2008 at 4:29am — 1 Comment

Seven, a crime fiction sampler

In anticipation of the US release of my first Serpent's Tail novel, Small Crimes, I'm making available free a new anthology of my crime fiction. Seven contains stories that originally appeared in Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen, Hot Blood, Bullet and Futures, as well as one new original story. These are stories populated by con men, mobsters, and monsters, human or otherwise. To read more about Seven and to download the PDF file for it, click… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on September 3, 2008 at 12:27am — No Comments

Some early Small Crimes

While Small Crimes is scheduled for an October 1st release, copies are now in stock and available for purchase at both amazon.com and bn.com.

A few reasons why you might want to consider getting an early copy of Small Crimes (other than it's… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on August 26, 2008 at 1:08am — No Comments

Trades start weighing in on Small Crimes

Starred review from PW: "Zeltserman's breakthrough third crime novel deserves comparison with the best of James Ellroy"

From Booklist: "Small Crimes has plenty of crime, but obsession, hubris, and evil, pure and impure, are at the heart of this vivid noir." --Thomas Gaughan

Added by Dave Zeltserman on August 13, 2008 at 2:49am — 2 Comments

about time...

I've finally put up a proper author's web-site at www.davezeltserman.com. I still have a little work to do, and right now it's sharing space with my hardluck stories site, but it's mostly in place. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, especially the size of the book images I'm using--my wife thinks they're too big.

--Dave

Added by Dave Zeltserman on August 7, 2008 at 8:23am — No Comments

The Last Hardluck

The last Hardluck is now online. The theme for this issue is 30s Pulp noir, and Ed Gorman and I co-edited it, and Jean-Pierre Jacquet provided fantastic artwork (including a cover drawing based on an old The Shadow pulp magazine, although in this version Ed, Jean-Pierre and I are all trying to kill each other). All 12 stories in this issue are strong ones, in fact, I had to turn down a number of very good stories due to the amount of work the… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on June 27, 2008 at 3:40am — 2 Comments

Sunday Express on Small Crimes

As I wait for the October release in the US for Small Crimes, I keep getting only good reviews in the UK. Here's an excerpt from David Connett's June 8th review in the Sunday Express:

"Zeltserman creates an intense atmospheric maze for readers to observe Denton's twisting and turning between his rocks and hard places.

Denton is one of the best realised characters I have read in this genre, and the powerfully noir-ish, uncompromising plot, which truly keeps one guessing… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on June 12, 2008 at 7:08am — 2 Comments

I should've used a pseudonym...

If I was thinking a little more clearly I would've used a pseudonym with my books. The most obvious reason: with a last name starting with Z, my books will be stacked on the bottom shelf of the mystery section, less obvious reason, everyone spells my name wrong--my publishers, reviewers, even friends of mine blogging about my books. I found a mostly good review for Small Crimes on the March 28th London Times review by Marcel Berlins, with my name given as "David Zeltresman" (and damn, I hate… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on June 4, 2008 at 7:49am — No Comments

Meet the cast of Small Crimes

With my noir thriller Small Crimes being released in the UK yesterday and having these great drawings left over from when Jean-Pierre Jacquet and I were pitching Small Crimes as a graphic novel to a French publisher, the last week I've been posting on my Small Crime Novel Blog Jean-Pierre's drawings along with short snippets from the book. I'd like to get peoples' thoughts on this--does it make the book look interesting, or are the short… Continue

Added by Dave Zeltserman on March 9, 2008 at 1:19am — No Comments

passed my black belt test

A couple of months ago I took my black belt test at the Kung Fu school I've been attending. It was tough for an old geezer like me, but I survived it, and after five years of pretty intense training, earned my black belt. Anyway, that's the reason for replacing my author's photo.

Added by Dave Zeltserman on March 2, 2008 at 4:48am — 5 Comments

win a copy of Small Crimes

I've announced on my blog (http://smallcrimes-novel.blogspot.com) a contest to win a signed copy of Small Crimes.

Added by Dave Zeltserman on February 28, 2008 at 4:20am — No Comments

Small Crimes--first chapter

My publisher, Serpent's Tail, has the first chapter of my upcoming crime noir novel, Small Crimes, up on their web-site.

Added by Dave Zeltserman on February 16, 2008 at 3:40am — 2 Comments

Bad Thoughts one of the best books of 2007....

At least according to the Dover NH Library (and no, I'm not from Dover, NH, or NH for that matter). Here's their eclectic list, which I am honored to be included in:

A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson

Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

False Impression by Jeffrey Archer

Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

Boleyn Inheritance by…

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Added by Dave Zeltserman on December 30, 2007 at 1:38am — 2 Comments