Debbie: Reese Hirsch just invited me to be his friend and I found you. Thanks for your tip for www.meetup.com. Also, you might check out www.mysteryreaders.org which lists other reading groups around the country. (100's) Send them a book and see what happens. I too, am a lawyer with over 30 years in courtrooms. This writing business is a lot more fun than lawyering!

Add me as a friend and I'll PM you my address if that offer is still good.

Hi Debbi, I want to introduce you to my debut novel "A Circle of souls" which is a murder, mystery, psychological thriller and a tale of justice and hope. Do visit www.acircleofsouls.com to read more about the book. Make sure you sign up to win an autographed copy of the book. You can also read more reviews by clicking on the More Reviews button at the website. Thanks for your time in advance.

Best regards

Preetham Grandhi

Early Endorsements for “A Circle of Souls”

Linda Fairstein, NYT Bestselling Author: "A fascinating debut - this novel takes the reader to the darkest places in the human soul, from a writer with the authenticity to lead us there. A stunning thriller and an important read."

Judge Judy Sheindlin, star of the Judge Judy Show: "The seminal work of this fine author kept me glued to my chair until the adventure was over and the mystery solved. A great read!"

Book Synopsis:

The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town s top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury s hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya s parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope.

The situations confronting Leia and Peter converge when Naya begins drawing chilling images of murder after being bombarded by the disturbing images in her dreams. Amazingly, her sketches are the only clues to the crime that has panicked Newbury residents. Against her better judgment, Leia explores the clues in Naya s crude drawings, only to set off an alarming chain of events.
In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.

Looks like Monterey to me.

Hi Debbi - thanks for the invite and thank you so much for your lovely comment! I'm really glad you enjoyed it. Makes me happy to hear :o)

cheers debbi, i'll have to take a look at his stuff. i hear he's really good. we just had 3 days over 40 degrees, so some of that cold would be nice as long as there was rain involved with it!

I couldn't agree more. I still have my first "practice novel." Haven't gotten it published yet, but maybe someday. . .

Know where you are now, that is, what you have and don't. Act accordingly. When I first got into this business, a best-selling friend of our family advised, "Save everything you write. You never can tell." Now I'm advising you to do the same. If you save stories, eventually you'll have enough for a collection. And never lose heart. Fourteen years after it was first written, and deemed inadequate for submission, a novel of mine was picked up for production as a film. This wasn't planned. I wasn't chasing anything. It just happened that someone with a need chatted with someone who knew me and voila.

Earlier you mentioned that you had submitted to an anthology linked to Sisters in Crime's Baltimore group. Each year they do a short story collection with all stories set in the Chesapeake Bay area. If you're still doing this kind of story, or have some oldies you want to dust off and submit, you should know that Cornell Maritime Press is doing regional fiction of the Chesapeake. Contact info is: Managing Editor, Cornell Maritime Press, PO Box 456, Centreville, MD 21617. Phone: (410) 758-1075, website: www.cmptop.com The call for MS came on firstwriter.com. Suggestion: call first and find the editor's name, so you can personalize your query. Hope this helps.

Hi Margot,

I feel your pain. There are SO many great authors who go unnoticed because, for whatever reason, their books aren't (or weren't--some have died before their time) promoted enough or they don't know the right people or they aren't in the right place at the right time. Just hang in there, keep at it, don't give up.

Hi Debbi,
I just re-read your comment from January- were you ever right. The newbie that I am, it is tough getting your name out there. I always thought-it's a great story, well done, surely it will sell. Not so, need that name recognition, so-a lot of promoting...
Margot Justes

I enjoyed The Searchers for the creative genius of John Ford, but it was depressing as hell and, the older I get, the less I enjoy the depressing ones. Sons of Katie Elder and the goofy Rio Bravo are probably two of my favorites...along with True Grit.

Thanks, Doug! Unfortunately, being one of the Quiet Storm authors who cut and run when the s--- hit the fan, the book is out of print. :( But you can still get used copies on Amazon or bn.com.

Like the website and your book looks interesting. On my list of summer reads!

Script writing is a blast. It's so bare bones, yet so powerful. And comedy is such a treat for me. (My crime novels are rather intense.) But you can only accumulate so many unsold scripts, and then it's time to get back to work.

Just stopping by to say Hi and good luck with the search for an agent/publisher. It does seem to be an endless process, doesn't it?

Love John Dunning -- very good stuff. Great main character. I JUST read Fractal Murders (and posted a review on Amazon). Some excellent parts, some that were just too long and go nowhere. Interesting premise, that's for sure, and some dogged sleuthing. Cheers, Mark

Debbi,

Thanks. I'd love to know what's on your brother's list & I'll put Cloud Atlas on the "serious fiction" (what's the diff?) TBR list. Cheers, Mark

Great list of books. Love seeing Eugenides' Middlesex listed. You can love 'serious' fiction and crime fiction; I switch back and forth all the time. I've heard great things about Cloud Atlas too. Don't know if you enjoy outdoor sorts of mystery / thrillers, but thought I would pass along the suggestion of Antler Dust. Great reviews and it's fairly reasonable now (used) on Amazon.

Just looking for readers!

Cheers, Mark
Also: www.writermarkstevens.com