The good, bad and ugly, I love reviews. Here's the early take on NIGHT BLIND, the first novel in the Blake Sanders thriller series, out in October, 2012.

 

“Sherer’s NIGHT BLIND is the type of story I crave—a deep mystery wrapped in an impossible to put down thriller. This is a novel that will keep you up late, and force you out of bed early to start reading again. Loved every page of it.”

—Brett Battles, author of SICK and the Jonathan Quinn…

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Used to be, in the publishing industry, writers could find mentors. Older writers who'd been there, done that. Editors who took writers under their wing and nurtured their careers. Friends who served as early readers and kind critics. Are there such people anymore?



Now, editors are green kids out of college who couldn't edit their way out of a grocery bag with a typo, writers don't know where their next contract is coming from, and friends don't have time.



Anyone who has… Continue

We all know how fiercely competitive the publishing world, especially the mystery field, has become. Legions of readers are trying their hand at writing to varying degrees of success. Anyone who’s tried to get a novel published also knows that talent is only one part of the equation, and a small one at that. There’s a lot of luck involved.



Someone once said “I’d rather be lucky than talented,” and I often think the same thing. But luck is harder to change than talent, so I constantly… Continue

At LCC in Denver recently, I had the wonderful fortune of moderating a panel on the creative process titled “Where Ideas Come From.” Imagining the four delightful, witty, smart women on the panel (Donna Anderson, Jane Cleland, Alex Sokoloff and Penny Warner) might have an even greater affinity for the analogy than I, I suggested writing books, mysteries, is a little like being pregnant. The germ of an idea gets planted in a writer’s mind and gestates.



Within six weeks of the… Continue

Hey, everybody, please check out my new book video. Like many here, I'm essentially computer-illiterate, and therefore justifiably proud that I actually produced and posted this video trailer without help from my technically savvy kids.

Let me know what you think. Thanks.

Mike

Wow! Just saw the artwork of the cover of my latest book (out in March, 2008). Not only did my publisher take my suggestions and use the artwork I suggested; they made it better.

Check it out on my page. Tell me what you think.

Thanks, Mike

A sad fact of publishing is that books go out of print. These days that happens rather quickly unless you’re She-Who-Is-Named-All-Too-Often or Stephen King or—well, you know. And when books go out of print, publishers first try to sell the inventory they have on hand at cut-rate prices. Copies they can’t sell, of course, are…

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The hardest part of our job as writers is to become known, to connect with our readers or potential readers. No matter how big or small your publisher, your marketing budget has finite limits. With small publishers, though, it’s particularly difficult—not only doesn’t the publisher pay for much in the way of publicity or promotion, but advances are so small that it’s difficult to decide where to spend that hard-earned…

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Okay, so here's what I really want to know. Daniel created this great place to meet, blog, swap stories, etc. I've recently been the benefactor of other generous acts. A fellow Five Star author has recently created pages on MySpace and HabitualReader for us. I even have my own page on MySpace as well as a web site for my mysteries.



What I want to know is if it's so easy for us authors to find each other on these sites, how do we get readers to find us as well? When I look at all the… Continue

One of the most difficult things we endure as writers is waiting. I can deal with rejection. Take it, with or without salt, and let it go. But the waiting game is a sort of Purgatory, a nebulous limbo that feels as hellish as being a polar bear in Aruba.…

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No, I'm not talking about psychosexual hangups. I'm talking about getting hung up in the details. Anybody else have this problem?

I'm starting a new series, which means I have to come up with new worlds, new characters, from scratch. Every time I start to write, I get a little ways, then am stumped and stopped in my tracks by a question. Like, "What's the favorite late-night cop hangout on Capitol Hill?" That, of course, leads to other questions: What size is a cop's beat on…

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Went to an MWA chapter meeting last night, my first in a long time. The usual suspects: several wannabes, a few very modestly successful authors, some spouses/partners dragged along for the ride, a decent speaker from the Seattle PD explaining the differences between a real CSI department and the fakery seen on television. In other words, bad food, decent company, entertaining speaker.

What struck me most, though, was the fact that so little has changed from the time I went to…

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