Hi Bret,
I haven't seen you before today on Crime Space, but from the number of friends you have here, I guess I'm a bit late with a welcome, but welcome to Crime Space anyway. I'm a retired Forensic Crime Scene Investigator and have written and had published a crime fiction book about some of the cases I have investigated but with a special twist or two. Do you think you might have time to read the E-Book form of my book and render your opinion of it? The E-Book form of the book is only 135 pages long. I'm guessing you're a bus man, but if you could, I'd love it if you would give it a read. My regular email is: retiredlee@yahoo.com
Thanks for your time and again a belated welcome to Crime Space.
Lee
Hi Bret, 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.
Bret - great to see another Hiassen fan. My personal fav is SKINTIGHT - saw him at a local radio show ... and he autographed my Skintight books with the phrase "Chemo Lives." Had to share with another fan.
No, not really. Since the excerpts are down, I've drifted away from it. I was glued to it for several weeks, though. Now . . . eh. Penguin doesn't want what I write, so I have to concentrate on finding a publisher that does. I've started sending out queries to agents again. I got a very nice rejection from Hard Case Crime today -- the book's too long for them at 86k words (they like 50-60k, and it appears to be a little too cheeky for them.) But now I can add this to my query letters: manuscript reviewed by Publishers Weekly, an independent organization "Nate Jepson (a.k.a. "Nasty") is a solid entry into the P.I. hall of fame. . . ."
That ought to be worth at least some requests for pages.
I do check in over at the ABNA site, but I'm not posting much.
Oh! And I had Valya pegged to take it all the way, too! I was completely floored when she didn't even make the top 100.
I was surprised NASTY didn't make the final cut. I thought you and Valya were a dead cert. Didn't think Billie Nikkel was quite ready - the PW reviewer "damned with faint priase" although I liked it when he/she said the unlovely characters wouldn't be out of place in a vintage Ross McDonald. Seeing my entry, it was obvious it needed another edit - too wordy (and this for a former newspaper writer).
Funny isn't it, Beth doesn't make the cut on ABNA, but is in the running for an Agatha. This business can drive you nuts. Go Beth :)
Sooooo . . . I guess Penguin wasn't looking for first person, hardboiled, tongue-in-cheek PI stories. I got knocked out of the semi-finals on the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA). So be it, I guess. Disappointing, but not entirely surprising. Back to the drawing board for me, as far as queries and whatnot. It was rewarding, fun, and I got a lot of great feedback . . . and an incredible Publisher's Weekly review that will definitely make it to the blurbs on the published novel, once the Nasty makes it to that happy state.
Congrats to Beth Groundwater, another ABNA alumnus who got passed over in the last cut. She's getting an Agatha!!!! Way to go, Beth!
At 12:08am on February 4, 2008, Mark Stevens said…
Bret,
Yes, I posted a review of Beth's too. I thought her start was fantastic. Just loved it. By the way, Book Sleuth in Old Colorado City has a few copies of AD. Liman loved it and I was down there a few weeks ago for a signing. Thanks for the support and, of course, I'd love your thoughts as well. I hope to see Beth today in Aurora.
Welcome.
Saw you liked Life of Brian.
In the UK it was shown recently with a documentary about the furore it created at the time which was quite ridiculous. Apparently it was banned from lots of cinemas!!!
HB x
Hi Earl and Fleur! Yeah, I'm white-knuckling it for about a month or so . . . I'm hoping it'll be longer than a month or so, though. Sick pups, writers.
Thanks for the invite, Bret. I see great things happening for you in the Amazon/Penquin contest. I'm off to download the excerpt. I know I won't be disappointed. Good luck in the finals.
Bret Wright's Comments
Comment Wall (19 comments)
You need to be a member of CrimeSpace to add comments!
I haven't seen you before today on Crime Space, but from the number of friends you have here, I guess I'm a bit late with a welcome, but welcome to Crime Space anyway. I'm a retired Forensic Crime Scene Investigator and have written and had published a crime fiction book about some of the cases I have investigated but with a special twist or two. Do you think you might have time to read the E-Book form of my book and render your opinion of it? The E-Book form of the book is only 135 pages long. I'm guessing you're a bus man, but if you could, I'd love it if you would give it a read. My regular email is: retiredlee@yahoo.com
Thanks for your time and again a belated welcome to Crime Space.
Lee
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.
Should I move there?
Hang in there with your writing. It sounds like you have talent. Have you tried Capital Crime Press?
That ought to be worth at least some requests for pages.
I do check in over at the ABNA site, but I'm not posting much.
Oh! And I had Valya pegged to take it all the way, too! I was completely floored when she didn't even make the top 100.
Funny isn't it, Beth doesn't make the cut on ABNA, but is in the running for an Agatha. This business can drive you nuts. Go Beth :)
Congrats to Beth Groundwater, another ABNA alumnus who got passed over in the last cut. She's getting an Agatha!!!! Way to go, Beth!
Yes, I posted a review of Beth's too. I thought her start was fantastic. Just loved it. By the way, Book Sleuth in Old Colorado City has a few copies of AD. Liman loved it and I was down there a few weeks ago for a signing. Thanks for the support and, of course, I'd love your thoughts as well. I hope to see Beth today in Aurora.
Great to see Tom Robbins on the author list.
Antler Dust features a female guide in the Flat Tops Wilderness of western Colorado and a tangle between hunters and animal rights protesters.
Great reviews from The Denver Post, Aspen Times, Great Falls (Montana) Tribune and five stars on Amazon.
Just thought I'd pass that along...
Cheers,
Mark
Cheers,
Mark
Saw you liked Life of Brian.
In the UK it was shown recently with a documentary about the furore it created at the time which was quite ridiculous. Apparently it was banned from lots of cinemas!!!
HB x
Welcome to
CrimeSpace
Sign In
CrimeSpace Google Search