Where do you start?

Some time ago, I mentioned in a varied group of people that I am a writer. Some met this news with glee and wanted to know all about what I wrote and where they could find it. Others nodded and said they wanted to write a book but didn't know where to start.

Well, start at the beginning, I suggested to them. I am suggesting that to you as well. But if you truly do not know where the beginning of your story is, then you might do well to check out below the list of authors I have compiled and how they jump-start a story.

John Irving: starts his story with the last line then works backwards until he has the whole story.
Ian McEwan: keeps a rigid schedule with morning for writing and evening for reading. He believes in getting at least 500-800 words in the morning and that reading helps him write.
Elmore Leonard begins with a character. You have to delve into who, what, where, when, but beginning with character is a great place to start.
Diana Gabaldon begins with description. She explained how she started out describing an antique goblet then went to the hand that held it and then the hand that pushed the decanter closer, and before long she had a whole scene.
Karen White often begins with place. Her books are so filled with the essence of place that the setting often is like a special character in her book.

Okay, that's it, Murderers. Get busy. There will be a test.

Happy Thanksgiving, America!

I have thought all month long (on FB) of things I am thankful for. We call it the 30 Days of Thanksgiving or #30DOT for those following on Twitter. There are a lot of things to be thankful for! Some days I have found it difficult to post a "thankful for" post.

Now I want to post about what I am MOST thankful for. This is a toughie, and should be something special. But you, dear Murderers, know me. You know I am a simple woman. I write simple books, I am not complicated in any way.

So, what am I most thankful for?

Family.

Yes, it is so simple, but so true. I have been blessed with a great group of people to walk this earth with. My parents were not perfect. No parent is. But they did their best to raise four kids. I wasn't denied much.

My siblings have taught me life's greatest lessons. How to love. How to give thanks. Yes, my siblings!

My life has been graced with two husbands. One gave me my children, the other gave me my adult life. They taught me how to really appreciate things.

My kids are the greatest people on earth. They work hard, they love harder, and they are making a definite difference in the world. Without these two people, my life would be far different and much less rich.

I hope you will take time out today to tell those who are in your family how much you love them. Tell them today, Murderers. We are not guaranteed tomorrows.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!!!

The Banker Spy by William G. Byrnes

Please tell us about your current release.

The Banker Spy weaves history into a contemporary thriller about ex-lovers who become entangled in a web of international intrigue. Investment banker Peter Armstrong believes he’s left his past in the States. He has an exciting new job in London and is managing the largest equity offering in European history. Behind him are an incident at his old employer and a broken engagement. He thinks his only problem is his client—an automobile company desperate for cash. Then he receives a phone call from his ex-fiancée, Dayna Caymus, a beautiful and unpredictable CIA agent.

When Peter discovers that his client is secretly working for the German government the two ex-lovers enter into an uneasy alliance, which their past sometimes helps and sometimes hurts, all the while sorting through their feelings for each other. Dayna puts her mission first, leading Peter into a labyrinth of deception and conspiracy. Peter loses his client, his job, and almost his life as they race to learn Germany’s secrets—secrets that could start a nuclear war.

Set against the backdrop of a national election, action takes place in and around Munich, and in Berlin, Washington and London.

Can you tell us about the journey that led you to write your book?

I always wanted to write and for years would sketch out ideas, but they lacked the critical mass to develop into a book. My wife and I were flying to Germany for a vacation a few years ago. Whenever we’d go to Europe I’d buy a book that had something to do with the country we were visiting. I’d read a lot about the World War II area, an interest of mine, and wanted something different. So I picked up a book on post-War Germany and read it on the flight over. The story of The Banker Spy literally came to me by the time I’d finished reading the book. Over dinner the next night, I outlined the plot to my wife. With some modifications and embellishments, it’s the story you’ll read in The Banker Spy.

Can you tell us about the story behind your book cover?

It’s pretty straightforward. I wanted a cover, and a title, that conveyed a sense of the book to the reader. On the cover is a man in a suit, carrying a briefcase, and a woman holding binoculars, standing next to each other. This suggests (I hope!) the two principal characters are a man and a woman, and they have a relationship. The suit and briefcase conveys the banker and the binoculars, the spy. They’re looking at landmark buildings, which gives the reader the idea where the book takes place.

What approaches have you taken to marketing your book?

I’m just beginning marketing and I’m very excited about my blog tour. I’m also asking friends and professional reviewers to post reviews about The Banker Spy. I believe that creating a buzz through word-of-mouth and posted reviews is the most effective way for an indie author, particularly one who’s published an eBook, to generate interest.

What book on the market does yours compare to? How is your book different?

I really like Daniel Silva’s work. I’m not comparing myself to him or his books. Silva’s obviously an extremely successful author. I like that his books are set in Europe and he conveys a feel for the locale, particularly Italy. His principal characters are in a relationship and both are spies, although neither want to be. In The Banker Spy, the banker is dragged into espionage, just like Silva’s characters get called back into service. My principal characters have a more complicated, at times adversarial, relationship than Silva’s and it’s not resolved at the end of The Banker Spy.

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

I’m not sure if this is a quirk but I like delving into history as part of the story, perhaps in greater detail then most thriller writers. The Banker Spy draws on historical events and places. The past is carried forward and guides the plot. Even my characters are deeply influenced by their pasts. Oftentimes, I got lost in my research because I found the information so interesting. This isn’t a historical novel, it takes place today and is very contemporary, but it has a strong historical basis and my characters experience the influences of history.

Open your book to a random page and tell us what’s happening.

Since you can’t flip open an eBook, I swept my stylus quickly along the bottom of my iPad’s screen and wound up at the last page in chapter 21. Dayna, Peter’s ex-fiancée and CIA agent, is talking to the CIA station chief in Berlin about the chancellor of Germany. Germany is in the midst of a national election and the chancellor is running for his second, and final, term. The race is close. Unknown to the German voters, the chancellor has a secret program to make Germany a nuclear power and reclaim the territory it lost after World War II. Dayna is tasked with stopping the chancellor. If she can come up with something bad from his past, he will lose the election and the German threat will end.

Do you plan any subsequent books?

I put a lot of thought into developing my principal characters, Peter and Dayna. I think there’s good tension and a complicated chemistry between them (of course, I’m biased!) and I’d like to see how their relationship plays out. I planted the seeds for their next adventure in The Banker Spy when Peter, an investment banker, gets the assignment to sell the German automobile company that figures prominently in the story. I’m thinking about sending them to Mexico or South America, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Tell us what you’re reading at the moment and what you think of it.

I like reading a mixture of non-fiction (principally history and business) and fiction. I just finished Killing Lincoln, by O’Reilly and Dugard. The book conveyed a real sense of time and place. The authors communicated a great deal of information about Lincoln, the civil war and Washington, D.C. As O’Reilly said, it reads like a thriller. In fiction, my latest read was Daniel Silva’s Fallen Angel. Just like his principal character, Silva paints wonderful pictures of his characters and locations. Just before that I read David Baldacci’s (another favorite author of mine) The Innocent. Like Silva, Baldacci creates unique characters. Baldacci’s books are fast moving and I like that much of the action takes place around Washington, DC, where I’ve lived most of my life.

From the pen of William G. Byrnes...

The real-life inspiration for my Dayna character once said to me that a good book both entertains and imparts knowledge. I had no desire to write a literary novel. I wanted to write a page turner! And, I took to heart the adage “write what you know.” I know something about investment banking, having been one for seventeen years. The obvious skill is transaction management, such as the equity offering in the book. The more subtle skill is client management, which my banker character puts to the test with an egotistical CEO and deceptive CFO. I wrote about my passions—European travel, history, wines, and automobiles. I hope I brought these alive and The Banker Spy provides escape and entertainment for you.

I wanted The Banker Spy to be both vivid and factually accurate. In the course of writing the book my wife and I made two trips to Germany. We visited every locale described in the book, except one. (For that, I enlisted the aid of Google Earth.) So when I say, for example, the characters turn left, head down the Ebertstrasse past the American embassy and the Holocaust Memorial, the reader could retrace the characters steps in Berlin. I took some liberties with the World War II manufacturing sites. In one case I was blocked from getting close by a chain link fence topped with concertina wire, so I had to use my imagination. In another, I combined two sites into one. I saw pictures of the L-shaped protrusions along route 2 outside of Augsburg described in my book, but I don’t know if they still exist or what purpose they serve. It’s on my bucket list to go back and find out.

The more ambitious part of writing The Banker Spy was following the real Dayna’s dictum to impart knowledge. When I began I was under the, perhaps naïve, assumption that the physical reminders, such as buildings, of Nazi Germany has been obliterated. That is not the case. Trappings such as Nazi eagles and swastikas have been removed but the buildings remain. In Munich, Hitler’s apartment, the beer garden where he narrowly escaped assassination, and the plaza where he gave many speeches are essentially unchanged. Goering’s Luftwaffe headquarters in Berlin is now the Ministry of Finance. Many of the underground manufacturing facilities, where slave labor produced V1 and V2 rockets, remain. Some are open for tours.

Although I had some knowledge of post-war Europe, I had no idea about the shifting of German, Polish and Russians borders, the mass deportations that followed or the_______ brutal winters that added to the suffering and death. At times, The Banker Spy seemed to write itself. Russia occupying Silesia, giving it to Poland, and deporting all ethnic Germans became the basis for politically powerful expellee groups in Germany and Germany’s desire to reclaim its lost territory. All figure prominently in my story. A writer learns from writing.

____________________________________________

More info about this author, his PR company, Tribute Books, and the book:

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

The Banker Spy blog tour site:
http://thebankerspy.blogspot.com

William G. Byrnes's Bio:

Bill Byrnes was an investment banker with Alex. Brown & Sons for 17 years. After that he was a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Finance and, subsequently, member of the Board of Regents at Georgetown University. He's founded three companies and has served on the boards of six public companies. He holds degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Michigan. His interests include European and Mesoamerican history, wine collecting, and automobiles. He's happiest around the water and on the tennis court. Bill, his wife, and their two poodles divide their time between Washington, DC and West Palm Beach, FL.

Format/Price: $2.99 ebook
Publisher: Publish Green
ISBN: 9781938296345
Release: August 27, 2012

Kindle buy link ($2.99):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00936UHRI?tag=tributebooks-20

The Narrow Path by Brandt Dodson

copyright 2012, Brandt Dodson

I was only six years old, but I can still remember the scene. I was in art class, sitting behind my desk, painting feverishly and enjoying every minute of it. That is, until my teacher walked past.

She snatched my paper and told the other kids to set their brushes down. Holding my work high overhead she asked "Is this any good?"

A unified "no" emanated from my colleagues, and she set the painting on my desk before walking away. I can remember tossing my brush onto the paper, resigned that my artistic career was finished.

Fast forward to the fifth grade: We were given a story to write, based on a black and white photograph of two teenagers playing handball in an inner city alley. Inspired, I wrote a tale about a ball that contained a bomb that would detonate and level the city if the players ceased playing. I'm not sure how I got those kids out of their predicament, but I do remember the teacher reading my story to the class as an example of the type of writing she was seeking. My desire to write was set.

A few years later, while in high school, I had a creative writing teacher who despised her students even more than they despised her - if that were possible. Her desire to be somewhere else - anywhere else - was apparent from the start. Yet I enjoyed the class. Writing allowed me the freedom to create,and this teacher, tired as she was, noticed my efforts. She asked me to stay after class one day.

"If you don't write, if you don't do this, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

***

When Chicago detectives Frank Campello and Andy Polanski are assigned to investigate the murder of Trina Martinez it seems like an ordinary homicide. An unfortunate young girl in the wrong place at the wrong time has been brutally murdered. But their investigation is halted by a wall of silence, a wall erected by powerful interests that will render their inquiry a lost cause.

Then they enlist the support of reporter Christy Lee – and come under immediate fire. Polanski is arrested. Campello threatened. Christy is attacked.

It’s the case that every cop gets. The one that changes his life. The one where justice is elusive and the hunter becomes the hunted.

Frank Campello and Andy Polanski are The Sons of Jude.

***

Brandt Dodson was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana, which he would later choose as the setting for his Colton Parker Mystery series. Although he discovered in grade school that he wanted to be a writer, it would be another twenty-one years before he would put pen to paper.“I knew in fifth grade that I wanted to be a writer. Our teacher had given each of us a photograph which we were to use as inspiration for a short story. The particular photo I was given was of several young men playing handball in New York City. I don’t remember all of the particulars of the story now, but I do remember the thrill that writing it gave me.”

Later, while in college, one of Brandt’s professors would echo that teacher’s comment.

“But life intervened and I found myself working at a variety of jobs. I worked in the toy department of a local department store and fried chicken for a local fast food outlet. Over the course of the next several years I finished my college degree and worked for the Indianapolis office of the FBI, and served for eight years as a Naval Officer in the United States Naval Reserve. I also obtained my doctorate in Podiatric Medicine, and after completion of my surgical residency, opened my own practice. But I never forgot my first love. I wanted to write.”

During his early years in practice, Brandt began reading the work of Dean Koontz.

“I discovered Dean’s book, The Bad Place, and was completely blown away by his craftsmanship. I read something like 13 or 14 of his back list over the following two weeks. It wasn’t long after that I began to write and submit in earnest.”

Still, it would be another twelve years before Brandt was able to secure the publishing contract he so desperately desired.

“I began by writing the type of fiction that I enjoyed; I wrote edgy crime thrillers that were laced with liberal amounts of suspense. Over the years, I’ve begun to write increasingly more complex work by using broader canvases and themes.

Since securing his first contract, Brandt has continued to pen the type of stories that inspired him to write when he was a boy, and that have entertained his legions of readers.

“I love to write, and as long as others love to read, I plan on being around for a long time to come.”

Brandt Dodson’s latest book is the crime thriller The Sons of Jude.
Visit Brandt Dodson’s website at www.brandtdodson.com.

Visit Brandt Dodson at Twitter: http://twitter.com/BrandtDodson

Like Brandt Dodson on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/brandt.dodson

Become a friend with Brandt Dodson at Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2597.Brandt_Dodson
Pick up your copy of The Sons of Jude at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Sons-Jude-Series/dp/0857212052
Please copy and paste a book excerpt here.http://www.amazon.com/The-Sons-Jude-Series/dp/0857212052#reader_0857212052

Rafflecopter Code for Kindle Fire HD Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Under the Eye of God by Jerome Charyn

When Tribute Books contacted me to do a review for Jerome Charyn's Under the Eye of God, the title intrigued me so much I jumped on the chance. That, and the fact that I was out of something decent to read at the moment. As has been the trend, TB hasn't steered me wrong with books to read before. They have all been dynamite reads.

No exception here.

I liked this book, Under the Eye of God, I really liked it. Because I have never read an Isaac Sidel book before, and as he is driving this bus, (I should have uncovered him in a prior work-really, where HAVE I BEEN?) I came to appreciate him in ways others who have not been so remiss might not. He is a bigger than life character, and complex, and vivid.

Charyn writes with a knowledge of New York like nobody's business. There is no questioning he knows the city. And his efforts to inject that knowledge into this novel shows so that you are mentally right there. Charyn's mastery of plot structure and characterizations were excellent as well. I liked his references to incidents in historical places and events of the past, some I've even lived through (i.e. Vietnam). The story move to Texas was an easy transition, necessary for the political aspect of the story, (and some other plot lines that I cannot tell you about or spoil it~!!)

An enjoyable story. A readable story.

The story didn't move as fast as most of today's crime thrillers, with their high stakes and high action, but it was a change that interested me. I still cared about Isaac Sidel. I felt like he was truly in danger when the action ramped up. The treatment of the Ansonia was (to this ole Southern gal) done well, so well, I was there! A good thing, too, as the setting in that old building colored everything that happened from that point onward. (it reminded me of the Peabody here in my little burg).

The friendships forged at the Ansonia fizzled, then rekindled, then took a downward turn keeping the reader guessing about their strange alliances. I wanted them to be friends, but frenemies they became and as always, with a cool ending in mind. Isaac Sidel's delight in the woman, Inez/Trudy, was truly a love-gone-wrong. She was used as bait, and reminded me of the old days of movies where Humphrey Bogart peered into the camera with a cigarette dangling from his lips, sadness in his eyes. (Inez/Trudy was the most likable character in the book, in my opinion. A bombshell straight out of pulp fiction-which may be Mr. Charyn's finest writing talent).

As this was my first of Charyn's books, I felt a little out of my element, and for that I apologize. My first travels into the world of the man they called Mr. President came late to the game, but I had no trouble catching up. Although it is a part of a series it is a good stand-alone also.

I would recommend this book to those who love crime fiction/thrillers, Isaac Sidel fans, and people who love books that show that -how shall we say- seedier side of life?

Until next time...xoxo Murderers.

__________________________________

Jerome Charyn's web site:
http://www.jeromecharyn.com/

Jerome Charyn's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/jerome.charyn

Jerome Charyn's Twitter:
http://twitter.com/jeromecharyn

Isaac Sidel's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/IsaacSidel

Isaac Sidel's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/IsaacSidel

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

Under the Eye of God blog tour site:
http://undertheeyeofgod.blogspot.com/

Hard Apple YouTube animated video trailer embed code:


Under the Eye of God Book Summary

After decades of madness in the Bronx, Isaac Sidel visits the craziest state in the country.

Isaac Sidel is too popular to be America’s vice president. Once the New York Police Department commissioner, he became the most beloved mayor in the city’s history—famous for his refusal to surrender his Glock, and for his habit of disappearing for months at a time to fight crime at street level. So when baseball czar J. Michael Storm asks Sidel to join him on the election’s Democratic ticket, the two wild men romp to an unprecedented landslide. But as the president-elect’s mandate goes off the rails—threatened by corruption, sex, and God knows what else—he tires of being overshadowed by Sidel, and dispatches him to a place from which tough politicians seldom return: Texas.

In the Lone Star state, Sidel confronts rogue astrologers, accusations of pedophilia, and a dimwitted assassin who doesn’t know when to take an easy shot. If this Bronx bomber doesn’t watch his step, he risks making vice-presidential history by getting killed on the job.

Jerome Charyn's Bio:
Jerome Charyn (b. 1937) is the critically acclaimed author of nearly fifty books. Born in the Bronx, he attended Columbia College, where he fell in love with the works of William Faulkner and James Joyce. After graduating, he took a job as a playground director and wrote in his spare time, producing his first novel, a Lower East Side fairytale called Once Upon a Droshky, in 1964.

In 1974 Charyn published Blue Eyes, his first Isaac Sidel mystery. Begun as a distraction while trying to finish a different book, this first in a series of Sidel novels introduced the eccentric, near-mythic detective and his bizarre cast of sidekicks. Charyn followed the character through Citizen Sidel (1999), which ends with his antihero making a run at the White House. Charyn, who divides his time between New York and Paris, is also accomplished at table tennis, and once ranked amongst France’s top Amazon10 percent of ping-pong players.

Paperback
Price: $14.99
Release: October 30, 2012

Amazon buy link
http://www.amazon.com/dp/145327099X?tag=tributebooks-20

Barnes and Noble buy link
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/under-the-eye-of-god-jerome-charyn/1112412821?ean=9781453270998

Self-editing

About this time in 2009, I wrote about my little dog, Tinkerbell, and how we had to get her fixed. I used that as an analogy for "fixing" our writing.

It cannot be stated enough. You must do some self-editing of your work before submission. I have heard a lot of nonsense from writers who say, well, that is what they (meaning book publishers/others) have editors for.

No. Just--NO.

Here are a few things to ponder about how to do this self-editing job.

1. If you worry that you are not good with editing your own work, try editing someone elses. I know that sounds funny to think that such activity could aid you but believe me, it does. I have edited contest entries, and other works for friends and authors who just needed a pair of eyes, and it really did help me find boo-boos in my own stuff.

2. Write a synopsis before starting edits. If you know the way the story is SUPPOSED to go before you edit it, you will recognize places where you have wandered off the path.

3. We all have tics. Those little things that make us unique. Even in our writing, we do this. Like saying LIKE all the time. And using THAT too much. Go through your work and eliminate those things.

4. Do use spell-check. It is there for a specific reason. If there is a little red underline on the manuscript, look at it closely and try to see if there is a reason.

5. And please, please, please do not overuse EXCLAMATION points.


I will consider other things you may find in the self-editing world and try to post them later. Until then, enjoy your first of November, Murderers. It's going to be a nice winter.

Essentially Yours: Finalist in EPIC 2013 Awards

I'm thrilled to report that ESSENTIALLY YOURS, book two in the Tall Pines Mysteries, is a finalist in the 2013 EPIC suspense/thriller eBook category! Woo Hoo! We will find out in the spring who wins the category. ;o)

Here's a bit about the book if you're interested in meeting Marcella and Quinn, Callie and Copper, Sky, and Beau, the big lovable Bernese Mountain Dog.

***

Marcella’s first love has been MIA for eighteen years. Callie, her best friend and Sky’s sister, flips out when a mysterious package from Sky arrives on her doorstep. Inside his old backpack are bottles of precious essential oils, a memory stick, and a bag of emeralds. Are these his final effects? Or is Sky alive?

When Marcella’s husband Quinn hears about it, his jealousy spikes. He and Marcella have been married for seven years, and he’s not about to let some punk from the past mess that up.

Drug company goons want the data on the memory stick, which links a newly discovered essential oil with a leukemia cure. They kidnap Callie, hoping to lure Sky into the open. Marcella’s not so sure how she feels, but she remembers her scalding relationship with Sky and wonders about him.

Marcella and Quinn track her to the wilderness of the Adirondack Mountains, where against all odds they fight to save Callie and preserve the proof that could change the world.

***

 

Read an excerpt, here. 

Happy Sunday to all!

Aaron

www.lazarbooks.com

Why Do We Read Mayhem and Murder? by Marcia Applegate

copyright 2012, Marcia Applegate

A while ago, after having spent much too much time looking for a particular Ruth Rendell mystery among books scattered on the living room bookshelves, I decided to organize them by category–mysteries, classics, mainstream, humor, instructional, religion and of course miscellaneous. When I finished with those bookcases (I hadn’t yet done those in my study or the ones piled on tables and the floor), I was struck by the number of mysteries.

Intrigued, I went to my Nook e-reader library. There again, and not surprisingly, the mystery category was no small part of the books stored there. Wow, I thought, I spend quite a bit of my reading time with–chuckle, chuckle–blood and gore and murder and mayhem.

Which led to the question I’ve used as the title of this essay: Why do we read mayhem and murder? The obvious answer is: “It’s life. There have been murder and mayhem since earliest times. Look in the Bible. Read a history book or today’s newspaper. Read about wars, rebellions, uprisings.”

True, certainly. World history includes brutality in everyday life in every society, horrific legal punishments,  cruelty to children and animals, all part of every culture’s history. My question, though, is really “Why do we–members of a supposedly advanced and civilized society–enjoy reading and watching TV, video and DVD about blood and gore and horror and evil doings and doers? Aside from the real stuff that goes on in our world that we can read in the daily papers. I’m talking about fiction, although true crime is a big seller, too.

I tried to find the number of mystery books in all genres that were published in a given time span, maybe a year or two. No luck, though. Mysteries are generally lumped into the mainstream category, so I have no statistics to share.  I guess I’m a good example, though. There are 34 individual mystery writers on my shelves and those are only a tiny fraction of the total number of writers writing mysteries. Almost all of the 34 writers have more than one book on my shelves, some have many, and there are also plenty of mystery anthologies.

Certainly the attraction of people to crime and evil is a complex issue. A psychologist would have some answers. Students of the history of crime might have others, different ones. A cop would indeed have theories,  likely with a touch of cynicism. All of these individuals probably have substantial expertise on which to base an opinion.

But I, as a devoted reader of mystery fiction, am taking the liberty to declare myself an expert in my own reading, and therefore have an opinion to share with you. Note that I am not going for depth in my reasoning; what follows is what occurred to me after an afternoon of dusting and rearranging shelves of books. A good time for self-analysis.

My first reaction was to chuckle at the whole idea. I read genre fiction for escape, for relaxation. I’m escaping from the real world, where I live my life, where the news of the day is filled with awful stuff, at home and abroad, wars and rumors of wars–to get biblical.

My thinking goes like this: In past centuries, crime, evil, murder and mayhem were a normal part of everyday life for the average person. They didn’t need to read the paper, assuming they were literate. Today, even though we know perfectly well it’s not true, most of us live orderly lives, where evil and crime seem distant, apart from our own lives. We believe, we know–all evidence to the contrary–that crime won’t touch us or those close to us. How many times have we heard someone say, when their neighbor turns out to be a serial killer, “This is a safe neighborhood. He (or she) was so quiet, who’d ever suspect?”

So we feel safe, relatively. The kinds of excitements our ancestors experienced through the brutality of daily life is not part of ours. It’s safe for us to imagine evil, since we don’t expect it to confront us personally. We can be spies, murderers, robbers, jewel thieves, kidnappers, child abusers, dirty cops, any kind  of miscreant we choose, because it’s not real. Or we can solve crimes, wreak vengeance, dispense justice, be the good cop, lawyer or judge; it’s just in our imaginations.

All these can be enticing intellectual exercises, challenges to our wits and senses. We can get lost in a convoluted and scary plot by an inventive writer because it’s fun to be scared that way, when it’s not real. The scare goes away when we finish reading and we’re left with the enjoyment of a well-written story that took us out of our daily lives for a while. It gave us a peek at another way of life, one we wouldn’t dare try for real. A world we’re glad not to live in.

So. You most likely wouldn’t be reading this blog if you weren’t a mystery reader. Stop for a moment and think why you enjoy a good mystery, among all the other kinds of reading you do. Then use the comment space to share your thoughts.

I’d love to hear from you, find out what you think about the reasons so many millions of us, of different ages and places in life, with different backgrounds and different hopes for the future, why we have in common a love of reading, and in this case, of reading about murder and mayhem. 

***

Marcia Applegate blogs as http://mkamysterylady.com/  and tweets as http://twitter.com/#!/meladolce

She is a retired communications/media consultant and columnist. For fun, she enjoys reading (and writing) mysteries and studying Italian. She also loves music, her husband and family, her two cats, eBooks, blogging, and her brand-new IPad! Visit her blogs at http://mkamysterylady.com/music-silence-mystery/ and http://what-mka-thinks.com.

Happy Halloween!

So...I have been missing. No, the Great Pumpkin didn't get me. My hubby had major surgery and was in ICU for a week. He is doing a lot better, now recovering at home. But these life things have a way of wreaking havoc on our writing lives and blogging/online presence.

I, on the other hand, am doing very well.

So in honor of Halloween coming fast at us, I am posting a little about the writing life for us pertaining to paying fees. Yes, there are still THOSE places. Don't be a jack-o-lantern -- pay attention!

If you are a newer author, and don't know what to look out for, here is a short list.




Fee paying agents -- don't do this. Just don't. There is no reason to ever pay anyone to consider your work. Especially with the rise of places to publish yourself for free.

For pay writing contests -- Pay $5, or $10, or $50 for a chance to win $500 they say. Well, why? Do the math. The writing contest people are making a small fortune! If 100 people entered the contest and paid $10 each, they made $1000 - paid the winner $500 and kept the rest. Imagine if the fee was $50 and the entrants ran into the thousands. No nO NO!

Vanity presses -- this is where you pay them to publish you. Again, why would you do this? There are some very legitimate places now that will publish your work for free and YOU get the income. Definitely no.

In other words, if it seems too good to be true, AND THEY ASK FOR $$ from you, run. Run fast.

Have a scary Halloween, Murderers. And don't eat candy. It will make you a fat cat.

Warren Adler's Contest - I won!

I wrote this little entry to Warren Adler's contest on the plane back from Germany last week.

The challenge was to write 300 words about "what reading fiction (or writing) means to me." Here was my submission:

What Reading Fiction Means to Me, Aaron Paul Lazar

I’ve inhaled books with gusto since childhood. In addition to stimulating my imagination, reading fiction has always lifted me from times of trauma and provided solace. Whether I joined hands with John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee, or Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas, or was whisked to alluring Italy via Warren Adler’s The David Embrace, the act of living and breathing in someone else’s skin provided comfort and separation from the sting of life’s misadventures.

I didn’t have to fully test this process, however, until my family and friends started dropping like proverbial flies. Sanity nearly eluded me. I needed solace, and books provided a lifeline.

It was when my father died, however—the eighth loss in five years—that I learned reading wasn’t enough. Aching with grief, I began to talk long walks in the woods, hearing my father’s voice rustle in the leaves, believing the whistling wind was my father telling me he was okay.

I returned home and wrote lush, God-awful poetry about my walks. It felt good. It felt right. Each time I put pen to paper, the pain lessened a little.

Writing was great therapy. I decided to dedicate a mystery series to my father, something I originally planned to do when I retired and the kids were gone. But it couldn’t wait.

It was all so addictive! The power of words, whether the birthing of a complex character, or churning out a pithy dialog, the pure joy of having absolute and total control over plot, the ability to cure the ill or punish the villains…mesmerized me. I was hooked.

Fifteen years later, I still thank God for the ability to transcend my own wonderful—albeit challenging—life through books. With stories absorbed through books or borne of my own imagination, life is not just tolerable, but utterly fulfilling.

 ***

Did anyone else enter the contest? The prize is lunch with Mr. Adler himself at a famous literary cafe. Oh, I can't wait!

Take care my friends and remember to write like the wind!

- Aaron Paul Lazar

www.lazarbooks.com

What I've Learned So Far by Jack Brody

copyright Jack Brody, 2012

Note from author: I had originally posted this on my blog for about a day, when my brother, who is a PR and social media specialist and who has been helping me market THE MORONI DECEPTION, quickly emailed to tell me that I "was better than that," and that he thought it sounded like a whiny, angry rant to him. Actually, I wrote him back, I had assumed a few writers might have stumbled across my blog, and that my post was really for them, to pass on some tips and advice before they went down the same path, or so they at least might know what they were getting themselves into. So here, in most of it's unedited glory, is the post that was up for less than a day this past week, relaying my experiences with BookBaby, and the advertising programs set up by Goodreads and BookDaily. 
 

Well, The Moroni Deception is finally out and I've learned a lot of things in a relatively short amount of time. I've learned that when dealing with a service like Bookbaby (the company that converted the book into an ePub file, but then more importantly, distributed it), it's mostly (although not completely) like any other company, despite all their feel good rhetoric about helping out writers. At one point, they lost my file, found it, then turned around and tried to blame it on me for not letting them know that I had sent them the file, despite the fact that I got a confirmation back from them that they'd received it. I know--a bit Kafkaesque.

They then also stretched out what should have been a 5-10 second conversion (press a key and wait for the program to convert it) into 3 weeks (1 week the first time, 2 weeks the second) before they sent it out. However, I was pleased with their conversion and their distribution, which is what I paid them $249 for, and am now just waiting for that 70% from Amazon (and the several other distributors with their various percentages) to come back through BookBaby into my bank account (which reminds me, I still need to set that up).

So in the end, I guess I could use the analogy and describe BookBaby as a pretty good doctor, with not the greatest bedside manner--they'll get the job done, just don't expect them to hold your hand (and they may even slap you).

Next, BookDaily sounded like it was going to be a great investment. For a very reasonable monthly fee of $49, they'll send out your first chapter to their 23,000 reader members who are supposedly looking for the first chapters of new books to decide whether or not they want to read the rest.

Fine in theory (and in their advertising), but what I've found early on was a company and a service that appeared to mainly just be going through the motions (although I was recently told they will modify their delivery method for the better after a suggestion I made). My first experience with BookDaily involved my book's chapters being sent out to about 700 members under their heading of "Literary Collections," which my novel is most definitely not -- so that was basically a wasted effort that got almost zero response (they have a very good tracking system of who actually opens the email, and then who goes on to read your chapter).

When I went to see what their Thriller/Mystery offering was for that same day (which mine really should have gone out under), the lead-off book was a non-fiction sociological study having to do with crime in the hood (which was what the description read after I clicked on for further details). So not real close attention to detail appeared to be paid by whoever hit the "Send" button that day, and in both cases readers received genres they didn't sign up for. They then supposedly sent out my chapters to almost 17,000 members with their next emailing about a week later --17,000 who were supposedly interested in reading Thriller/Mysteries. Of those 17,000, I think only something like 800 of those recipients eventually opened the email, and of those 800, only about 50 supposedly then read my chapters.

So 50 out of 17,000 -- I'm no mathematician, but I'm pretty sure those are not real good odds. I think this largely, or at least in part, had to do with the fact that nobody would have had any idea what my book was remotely about when all they got in the email was the chance to blindly leap right into Chapter 1 (that is, if they decided to give it read if and when they got through the first offering -- mine, also unfortunately, was the second offering -- I'd like to see the statistics on that, as to which gets read more, the first or the second one).

As I pointed out to an executive at BookDaily, you don't usually just walk into a bookstore, walk over to the mystery section, and then grab the first book off the shelf you see and start reading Chapter 1.

Nobody I know does that. You may grab the book if the cover catches your eye (that is, if you are not already looking for your favorite author), and you'll then read the back jacket, and if it's a hardback, you would likely read the longer inside jacket synopsis. Then maybe, after all that, if it still holds your interest, you might start reading that first chapter.

So until BookDaily starts including just a brief synopsis with their emails preceding the chapter (and their reader members learn that they'll be doing this), I would maybe not advise using them until that time they make the changes -- you can still list if for free on BookDaily until then. After they make these changes, though, if their readers are seriously interested in the varying genres they've signed up for, I think it could be a pretty good return on your minimal investment once they make it closer to a "bookstore experience."

As for Goodreads and their "self-help" per/click ads, the verdict is still out, but so far I've seen a fairly slim return. I saw the statistics at one point that there had been something like 27,000 views of my ad, but only 15 clicks or something ridiculously tiny (the most recent statistics just showed 282 clicks out of 223,000 "views"), and I was like, where are these ads even posted? And then I finally noticed where, most often in the very far right lower corner -- usually the last place anybody would get to by reading left to right and top to bottom.

There they were in a rather unobtrusive gray box with several tiny book cover images, which by its size, location, and design, appeared almost as an afterthought. So these ads had been there all along and I didn't even know it. I had, in fact, been part of that earlier 27,000, but until I searched these per/click ads out, I had no idea they were even there.

Now this one, I have to say, is definitely partially on me -- I really should have checked out where and how these ads would appear before shelling out $300. In Goodread's defense, however, they have the added advantage of potential "viral" marketing, so that when one of their readers adds the book to his or her shelf, this is then shown to their Goodread's (as well as their Facebook) friends if it's been set up that way, which could then potentially lead to their friends checking the book out as well, and then so on, and so on. So I'll also probably check out Shelfari and Librarything as well for that very reason.

So, all of this is just a long way to say, going about promoting your book independently is a very tough row to hoe. (Yeah, I know, I had always thought it was "road" too) I knew that going in, I just didn't know how hard.

The thing, though, is, apparently from what I'm reading, unless you're John Grisham or Steven King (or some other well known author with a promotional budget behind you), you're probably going to be mostly on your own anyway. Maybe your publisher will get you one of those larger, more expensive ads at the top of the Goodreads page (which admittedly, would definitely help at getting the word out better), but I guess it still ultimately comes down to first, the quality of your work and whether anybody would recommend your book after reading it, and then finding these kind, generous, very intelligent people one reader at a time--through Goodreads, BookDaily, Amazon reviews, Twitter, Facebook, and trying to find some interested book bloggers and reviewers (might try Mayra Calvani at mayra.calvani@skynet.be to help you with that for a very reasonable fee).

Good luck with your promotional efforts and if you have any hot inside tips or suggestions for me, please email me at Jack L. Brody@gmail.com. (Also, if you're a fan of conspiracy thrillers, check out my new novel, THE MORONI DECEPTION, at http://www.themoronideception.com/ where you can read the first 13 chapters for free. If you liked THE DA VINCI CODE and THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, I think you'll really enjoy it.)

Until next time,

Jack

BIO:

  

Jack Brody is a writer, ex-military, and an avid traveler. After his Army stint and then deciding to pass on law school, he went to film school, wrote screenplays, and held a number of jobs which ran from everything to working for a newspaper for one day, to film production, to then going into real estate (with at least five other jobs along the way). He's fascinated by history, politics, and architecture, all of which play a part in his novels (yes, he already has two more in the works).


When not writing, Brody can often be found hiking with his two faithful dogs, occasionally breaking out the old BMW bike for a ride though the mountains, or playing volleyball or bar trivia with his friends. He divides his time between his home in the Southern Appalachians and wherever his passport will take him. After reading Jon Krakauer's bestselling Under the Banner of Heaven, he was inspired to undertake a full year of research in preparation for his novel. Taking what he'd learned, along with a bit of imagination, the result was the conspiracy thriller, The Moroni Deception. Go to www.themoronideception.com for more information about the novel and to read the first chapters for free.

The Shadow Man, Mark Murphy

The blog tour's official site is:
http://the-shadow-man.blogspot.com/

On his blog tour for his book THE SHADOW MAN, Mark Murphy stopped by Mb4 to give us a great interview. (there is an excerpt at the bottom of this post also!) We are giving away a paperback copy of his book for a lucky winner with a US mailing address. If you want to be included, please leave us a comment!

Meet Mark Murphy....

I’m a gastroenterologist.  That’s my day job, and it’s a busy one.  But I have an alternative life as a writer. That alternative life is a reflection of what I see every day.  It is seen in the beautiful and ancient city that I live in, filled with ghosts and intrigue, drawing its very lifeblood from the sea to its east and the marshland that gave the city its name.  It is in the practice of medicine, a veritable parade of characters who waltz through my exam rooms every day.  It is in the love of my wife and children—the driving forces behind everything that I do in my life.  And it most certainly in my love of the written word—the subtle nuances of spoken diction, the deft use of description the place a reader in a certain contextual location—that makes me revel in what I do in my writing life.

Those are the things I derive my writing from.  I’m simply a reflection of what I have been given to describe. 

And what a wonderful gift that is.

Please tell us about your current release.

My current release is a thriller called The Shadow Man.  It is the story of a Savannah surgeon, Dr. Malcolm King, who is accused of being a serial killer.  He suspects he is being framed for these crimes by another surgeon, but does not know who that person is.  Dr. King must race to determine the identity of the killer before anyone else, including his family, can be harmed—and before the police capture Dr. King for these same crimes.

Can you tell us about the journey that led you to write your book?

I’ve always been a writer.  I edited my high school newspaper, winning several writing awards in the process, and actually enrolled in undergraduate school as a journalism major before switching to a pre-med track.  As a clinician, I wrote several book chapters and medical journal articles, but it was the death of my wife’s close friend Lisa Erickson that catalyzed a renewed interest on creative writing.  I spent a couple of summers at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, wrote a short story about Lisa’s death called The Funeral that saw publication in a short story collection in 2004, and began writing a regular column for the Savannah Morning News, my hometown newspaper, two years ago. A little over a year ago, my car was nearly struck by a dark-tinted black SUV my way home.  I thought about honking at him, but deferred this gut response.  The car just looked ominous.  And then I thought, “What if you honked at a car like that and the driver was a psychopath who then hunted you down?”  That was the initial premise for the novel—being targeted by a serial killer.  The rest just took off from there.

Can you tell us about the story behind your book cover?

The cover of the book is a black-and-white nighttime photo of the Forsyth Park fountain, an iconic structure in my hometown of Savannah, which is the setting of the novel.  It was taken by a local Savannah photographer named Tim Nealon.  I found it online and obtained permission from Mr. Nealon to use it.  It’s a creepy, shadow-draped image, with Spanish moss draping the surrounding trees and a starry night sky overhead.  You could almost see a killer lurking in the edges of the photograph, if you look hard enough. It’s also an image that is instantly recognizable as Savannah to anyone who has ever visited our city. I thought it was beautiful and provocative, and the perfect image for the cover of this novel.

What approaches have you taken to marketing your book?

Marketing will be done through traditional print media (reviews via various media outlets, etc.), web-based media (social websites, blog tours, and my personal website) and personal appearances (book launch party, book signings, etc).  

What book on the market does yours compare to? How is your book different?

Probably the closest similar recent work was the John Hart novel called The Last Child, which won the Edgar Award a few years back.  Hart’s work is a well-written thriller set in the south with a twist-filled plot that kept me guessing the entire time I was reading it.  I could not put that book down while I was reading it.  That’s the effect I was striving for with my book.  However, I’m a big Stephen King fan—the protagonist’s last name is a tip of the cap to him—and there are a few Stephen King touches in my story.  Also, the Savannah setting is unique. In fact, I think Savannah is an integral part of the fabric of the story—a mysterious character woven throughout every facet of the story.

What would you say is your most interesting writing quirk?

In writing a novel, I outline the entire plot before I begin the first line of the work.  I then flesh out that skeleton by writing a chapter or so every weekend until I am finished.  Since I am a practicing physician, this requires a great deal of discipline.  I’m up every Saturday and Sunday at 4 A.M. so that I can get in four or five writing hours each weekend day.

Open your book to a random page and tell us what’s happening.

Page 43:  Detective Sam Baker is interviewing Malcolm King about the murders, and—to his horror— it becomes clear to Malcolm that he is the prime suspect.  Moreover, he realizes that Detective Baker has physical evidence linking him to the case—and enough physical evidence to convict him.

 Do you plan any subsequent books?

Yes, there will likely be a sequel to The Shadow Man.  And I am currently writing a young adult sword-and-sorcery series called The Bloodsword Trilogy.

Tell us what you’re reading at the moment and what you think of it.

I’m currently reading the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin (currently on book 3 in that series, A Storm of Swords), which I really love for the complex plot structure and in-depth characterization.  I’m also reading Wiley Cash’s A Land More Kind Than Home, a well-written Southern gothic tale reminiscent of Flannery O’Connor.  I love O’Connor’s writing; she’s a Savannah native, and arguably the most talented Georgia writer of all time.  Anything that echoes her writing is an attraction to me.

Thanks for stopping by today, Mark!

Mark Murphy's Web Site:
http://www.mark-e-murphy.com/

Mark Murphy's Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/dr.markmurphy

Mark Murphy's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/Heeldawg

Mark Murphy's Blog:
http://shadowmanblog.com/

Savannah Book Festival:
http://www.savannahbookfestival.org/authors/mark-murphy/Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186

The Shadow Man blog tour site:
http://the-shadow-man.blogspot.com/The Shadow Man Book Summary:

There is a devil in the night, silent and invisible, moving in the dream realm between life and death. And he's coming for you.
Savannah surgeon Malcolm King had a perfect life—a loving wife, devoted daughter, and a thriving medical practice. But when a random airport parking lot hit-and-run links him to a dead body in a Florida hotel and an acquaintance is found dismembered and stuffed into a garbage bag, Malcolm finds himself on the run as a suspected serial killer. But he's no murderer.

Or is he?

Who is the mysterious Thin Man who lurks at the edges of his vision? Are the ravens that crowd the skies overhead a warning of impending doom - or do they exist at all?

With the help of Seminole tracker Billy Littlebear, Malcolm tries to untangle the web of clues left behind by a mysterious chameleon-like killer known as the Shadow Man. But will he be too late?

The Shadow Man is a complex, atmospheric thriller in the tradition of Stephen King. Darkly evocative and relentless in its twists and turns, it dares the reader to put it down - even for a minute.

Mark Murphy's Bio: 

A physician currently living in Savannah, Georgia, Mark Murphy is also a lifelong award-winning writer. In the midst of a busy medical career which included several academic publications, Dr. Murphy’s decision to attend the Iowa Summer Writing Festival led to the inclusion of a short story, "The Funeral," in a 2004 collection of works entitled O! Georgia! A well-received regular newspaper column in the Savannah Morning News followed. The Shadow Man is his first novel.

Formats/Prices: $14.95 paperback, $5.99 ebook
Publisher: Langdon Street Press
ISBN: 9781938296031
Pages: 348
Release: July 20, 2012

Amazon paperback buy link ($14.95):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1938296036?tag=tributebooks-20

MyBookOrders.com paperback buy link ($14.95):
https://secure.mybookorders.com/order/mark-murphy

Kindle buy link ($5.99):
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008J4VR06?tag=tributebooks-20

Nook buy link ($5.99):
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shadow-man-mark-murphy/1111759498?ean=9781938296031

MyBookOrders.com ebook buy link ($5.99):
https://secure.mybookorders.com/order/mark-murphy

Excerpts:
Chapter 3The storm hit when it was still dark outside.

Malcolm awoke at 4 AM with a full bladder and an empty stomach. He relieved himself and went downstairs to rummage through the kitchen for something—anything!—to eat. There was, of course, some leftover spaghetti in a Tupperware bowl. He also found a package of Swiss cheese, a package of sliced turkey and two jars of pickles, in addition to a vast array of dressings, condiments, and sauces.

After he found a container of sauerkraut and a still-full bottle of Thousand Island dressing, Malcolm decided to construct a turkey Reuben. A toasted turkey Reuben, in fact. 

Chapter 8The detective kept his hat on at first.

It was a black felt fedora, the kind that can be crushed and retain its shape, and he had it pulled low on his forehead so that Malcolm could not see his eyes.

That’s weird, Malcolm thought.

“Sam Baker,” the detective said, extending his hand. “I’m one of the officers assigned to this case. Thanks for coming in.” 

Chapter 15Timmy was late.

The sun was low on the horizon, and he knew what that meant. Mom was going to be furious if he got home after dark.

His front tire caught on a pine cone as he made the sharp turn at Bluff Drive. He almost slipped.

Almost.

But Timmy had great balance. That’s what Coach Fox always said in P.E.: “You’ve got some wheels, young man.” Which was Coach Fox lingo for having great balance. All the kids knew that.

Timmy lurched to the left, instinctively countering the shift in weight as the bike tried to skid out from beneath him, and the wheels of his Raleigh Record snapped back in line like he knew they would. Timmy chugged past the marina parking lot, knees churning. He did not even glance at the scores of bobbing Grady-Whites and Sea Pros tied up at the Isle of Hope Marina..