I’m using my blog time to promote, only this time it’s not my books. For those of you who don’t know, I am co-chair for the Chicago-North’s RWA Spring Fling 2010 Writers’ Conference. I like to say I’m the lackey for the wonderfully organized and efficient Pamala Knight Duffy who is the Chairperson.
Spring Fling is held every other year and regardless of where you are in your writing career, Spring Fling can benefit you. We have confirmed the fabulous Cherry Adair and Julia Quinn as our headliners/keynote speakers. In addition to these wonderful ladies we are rounding up agents and editors to take pitches, offer workshops, and just mingle with us. We don’t have the final list yet, but we will keep you posted. The conference will also feature workshops led by our headliners as well as author Jenna Petersen, Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and many others. A multi-author book signing is planned which will include yours truly and other Acme Author bloggers.
So, save the dates April 23-24, 2010 at the Hyatt, Deerfield, IL and check the Spring Fling website often for updates.
Have a great week and happy writing!!
June
www.junesproat.com
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
It's Official
Summertime has officially arrived!
Want to know how I know?
It's not the weather, it's been rainy and downright chilly here in the Midwest. It's not the calendar date, because according to that, we still have a week to go. And it's not even the fact that the kids are out of school.
So, do you know how I know it's officially summer here in Chicago-land?
Last night I had my traditional summer kick-off celebration: the Kenny Chesney concert.
The outlook didn't start off so great yesterday. The usual rain was falling in the morning, with a definite October-like chill in the air. But as the time to head off drew near, the skies cleared and the sun came out!
A couple of friends and I took the train downtown, then hiked our way over to Soldier Field for the concert. Which is actually more like a mini-fest of its own. Many people gather around the grounds before the event for some pre-concert fun. And there were four opening acts, which were outstanding.
But of course, the best part of the night was Kenny himself. That guy puts on one heck of a show. From his most poluar songs to covers of classic bands, it's a non-stop party for two hours with 20,000 of your closest friends.
The perfect beginning to summer.
And on that note, I'm off to enjoy the sunshine today.
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
coming soon from The Wild Rose Press
WILD WEDDING WEEKEND
Want to know how I know?
It's not the weather, it's been rainy and downright chilly here in the Midwest. It's not the calendar date, because according to that, we still have a week to go. And it's not even the fact that the kids are out of school.
So, do you know how I know it's officially summer here in Chicago-land?
Last night I had my traditional summer kick-off celebration: the Kenny Chesney concert.
The outlook didn't start off so great yesterday. The usual rain was falling in the morning, with a definite October-like chill in the air. But as the time to head off drew near, the skies cleared and the sun came out!
A couple of friends and I took the train downtown, then hiked our way over to Soldier Field for the concert. Which is actually more like a mini-fest of its own. Many people gather around the grounds before the event for some pre-concert fun. And there were four opening acts, which were outstanding.
But of course, the best part of the night was Kenny himself. That guy puts on one heck of a show. From his most poluar songs to covers of classic bands, it's a non-stop party for two hours with 20,000 of your closest friends.
The perfect beginning to summer.
And on that note, I'm off to enjoy the sunshine today.
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
coming soon from The Wild Rose Press
WILD WEDDING WEEKEND
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Printers Row by Margot Justes
Finally a week later, I can write legibly since my fingers have actually thawed from last Saturday. Okay, so I exaggerate-but it was cold, windy, and wet…and of course I was dressed for summer. Silly me.
Printers Row is exhausting, exhilarating and exciting. Many people stop by to say hello, browse and chat. Some even tell me they have a book in them-and I say-let it out.
Some others shy away from personal contact, but overall I found the attendees are readers, and more often than not will give a newbie a chance. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
While still others will stop by and say they don’t read-my response-really, and you’re at a literary festival?
The other comment I had heard a few times is ‘I don’t read fiction.’
To my way of thinking, it’s an incredible loss. Ideas, situations, plots, twists and turns, resolutions, the imagination necessary to create a work of fiction is never appreciated. A slant, a perspective on our ever changing society is never seen through the eyes of make believe for the non-fiction reader. The inspired descriptive process, the power of the creative word of fiction is completely obliterated.
In my humble opinion that is a tremendous loss, and very, very sad. Open the mind to exciting possibilities the world of fiction has to offer, a person might actually learn something.
Till next time,
Margot Justes
http://margotsmuse.blogspot.com
www.mjustes.com
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
available on amazon.com
Printers Row is exhausting, exhilarating and exciting. Many people stop by to say hello, browse and chat. Some even tell me they have a book in them-and I say-let it out.
Some others shy away from personal contact, but overall I found the attendees are readers, and more often than not will give a newbie a chance. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
While still others will stop by and say they don’t read-my response-really, and you’re at a literary festival?
The other comment I had heard a few times is ‘I don’t read fiction.’
To my way of thinking, it’s an incredible loss. Ideas, situations, plots, twists and turns, resolutions, the imagination necessary to create a work of fiction is never appreciated. A slant, a perspective on our ever changing society is never seen through the eyes of make believe for the non-fiction reader. The inspired descriptive process, the power of the creative word of fiction is completely obliterated.
In my humble opinion that is a tremendous loss, and very, very sad. Open the mind to exciting possibilities the world of fiction has to offer, a person might actually learn something.
Till next time,
Margot Justes
http://margotsmuse.blogspot.com
www.mjustes.com
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
available on amazon.com
Friday, June 12, 2009
Challenging Writing -- Challenge Your Initial Assumptions, Then Write! -- by Robert W. Walker
We hear all sorts of advice about a writer should do this and should do that with regard to point of view. Have you heard that you should keep to a point of view that is “close” to precisely who you are? That is the ultimate in saying “Write about what you know” since you know your point of view. It says if you are male, write from a male POV, if female then a female POV. If black, if white, if green…if Christian, if Muslim, if your faith is Heavy Metal…etc., then you should stick like glue to what you are; that your narrative voice and the tense you choose, and the choice of vocabulary and whether to use first, second, or third person--all of it ought to reflect who you are and keep safely to your world view and psychology and nature. All very comfy advice.
However, serious writing involves and demands you get OUT of your comfort zones. Did Mark Twain remain of one voice in all his writings? Steinbeck? Great authors challenge themselves and sometimes go down in flames, but out of the challenge comes some fantastic work.
Let’s slow this down and back up a moment:
Present Tense first person is not the same as present tense third person, no more so than past tense first person is the same as third person past tense. Nor is second person present tense the same as second past tense. Tense refers to the time clock (verb tense is verb time). In short, the action and sometimes the first person speech is happening NOW or THEN. Present is now, first person is use of “I-me-my-mine” as your narrator. Past is then, third person is use of a third party as your narrator. Often the story dictates which is best to take on for THIS story. Often a chapter in, you have some idea which dictate is stronger, and often it has to do with your comfort zone.
When I began writing police procedurals and crime novels, I decided early on that a cop-like VOICE would narrate my medical examiner serial killer chase books, and the voice would have an edge to it yes, but it would also be intelligent. This meant a good vocabulary and not a “gumshoe voice” but rather one in keeping with a medical examiner for instance who would of necessity be highly educated. A voice that reflected the complexity of the character and life itself; a voice with a literary flare in fact.
Early on I demanded of myself to write from various POVs in a multiple POV novel, that when needed I could be flexible enough to enter the mind of a Latino working on the back of a garbage truck and a black executive who worked on Wall Street. A Cuban detective in Havana, a Hawaiian newspaperman in Maui, a Hindu ship’s captain in India, a Catholic minister in London. In every case, it was a challenge. In every case, it was worth the effort to rise to the challenge. Cuba Blue is a great example -- a female Havana cop working with hands tied by her own governmental bosses in a Communist world and all she wants is to resolve a triple-murder case. Setting and character were a challenge--talk about writing to your opposite. But that is the challenge I throw at the feet of my students who claim they want to write: Write to your Opposite. You don’t always have to do so, but you very well should stretch and challenge the ultimate writer inside. Those students who come to my classes and write about their safe little worlds and their safe friends and their safe cozy zones are not challenging themselves. The student who sits down and writes a short story from the POV of a child in a Third World Country is going to have to work. A student who sits down and takes on the challenge of another time zone takes a great risk, but the results are spectacular for her personally. A student who takes on another time zone is better off than one who remains in his time zone. A student who makes the effort to predict the future and set a story in a future world is--even in the worst of writing--at least posing a challenge to himself. Telling the story from the opposite gender, another race, another culture, another world view. These are students who will go on to continue learning and writing.
A recently overheard remark at some writers get-together had a panelist telling her audience that a writer can’t do justice to his or her opposite. This is NONSENSE and pure garbage and not useful advice at all. A writer has to be flexible and capable of playing all the parts, especially in a multiple POV novel. There are single POV novels that are genius and wonderful--such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye and are a challenge in that the author must create a first person voice that a reader will wish to listen to for some 300 pages or more--same voice! What a challenge! Third person multiple POV presents its own challenges (more attention than ever needed in transitions between pov shifts, time shifts, geography shifts).
What is not challenging is writing about characters all from the same cookie-cutter corner of a single place as in the worst writing I find of young people who zero in on telling stories only of their small cosmos and handful of acquaintances. Certainly, I had a leg up on writing outside my skin just by growing up in Chicago, but Steinbeck was not a Mexican and yet he crafted wonderful Mexican characters. Twain was not all of his characters but rather drew from the incredible array of characters he found from his childhood and through the Gilded Age. Hemmingway believed in living life and writing from experiences one had. I concur, but there’s also research and learning and interviewing.
There are many ways to step out of that comfy zone and dare to challenge yourself as a writer, as a learner, as an artist. I challenge you to do so.
Cuba Blue is a Kindle book. Find it on Amazon.com This is my only collaborative effort and my co-author is a fantastic lady named Lyn Polkabla of Atlanta, Georgia where I set my next book DEAD ON due out July and on preorder now at Amazon.
Rob Walker
www.robertwalkerbooks.com
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspt.comwww.myspace.com/robertwwalkerbooks.com
However, serious writing involves and demands you get OUT of your comfort zones. Did Mark Twain remain of one voice in all his writings? Steinbeck? Great authors challenge themselves and sometimes go down in flames, but out of the challenge comes some fantastic work.
Let’s slow this down and back up a moment:
Present Tense first person is not the same as present tense third person, no more so than past tense first person is the same as third person past tense. Nor is second person present tense the same as second past tense. Tense refers to the time clock (verb tense is verb time). In short, the action and sometimes the first person speech is happening NOW or THEN. Present is now, first person is use of “I-me-my-mine” as your narrator. Past is then, third person is use of a third party as your narrator. Often the story dictates which is best to take on for THIS story. Often a chapter in, you have some idea which dictate is stronger, and often it has to do with your comfort zone.
When I began writing police procedurals and crime novels, I decided early on that a cop-like VOICE would narrate my medical examiner serial killer chase books, and the voice would have an edge to it yes, but it would also be intelligent. This meant a good vocabulary and not a “gumshoe voice” but rather one in keeping with a medical examiner for instance who would of necessity be highly educated. A voice that reflected the complexity of the character and life itself; a voice with a literary flare in fact.
Early on I demanded of myself to write from various POVs in a multiple POV novel, that when needed I could be flexible enough to enter the mind of a Latino working on the back of a garbage truck and a black executive who worked on Wall Street. A Cuban detective in Havana, a Hawaiian newspaperman in Maui, a Hindu ship’s captain in India, a Catholic minister in London. In every case, it was a challenge. In every case, it was worth the effort to rise to the challenge. Cuba Blue is a great example -- a female Havana cop working with hands tied by her own governmental bosses in a Communist world and all she wants is to resolve a triple-murder case. Setting and character were a challenge--talk about writing to your opposite. But that is the challenge I throw at the feet of my students who claim they want to write: Write to your Opposite. You don’t always have to do so, but you very well should stretch and challenge the ultimate writer inside. Those students who come to my classes and write about their safe little worlds and their safe friends and their safe cozy zones are not challenging themselves. The student who sits down and writes a short story from the POV of a child in a Third World Country is going to have to work. A student who sits down and takes on the challenge of another time zone takes a great risk, but the results are spectacular for her personally. A student who takes on another time zone is better off than one who remains in his time zone. A student who makes the effort to predict the future and set a story in a future world is--even in the worst of writing--at least posing a challenge to himself. Telling the story from the opposite gender, another race, another culture, another world view. These are students who will go on to continue learning and writing.
A recently overheard remark at some writers get-together had a panelist telling her audience that a writer can’t do justice to his or her opposite. This is NONSENSE and pure garbage and not useful advice at all. A writer has to be flexible and capable of playing all the parts, especially in a multiple POV novel. There are single POV novels that are genius and wonderful--such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye and are a challenge in that the author must create a first person voice that a reader will wish to listen to for some 300 pages or more--same voice! What a challenge! Third person multiple POV presents its own challenges (more attention than ever needed in transitions between pov shifts, time shifts, geography shifts).
What is not challenging is writing about characters all from the same cookie-cutter corner of a single place as in the worst writing I find of young people who zero in on telling stories only of their small cosmos and handful of acquaintances. Certainly, I had a leg up on writing outside my skin just by growing up in Chicago, but Steinbeck was not a Mexican and yet he crafted wonderful Mexican characters. Twain was not all of his characters but rather drew from the incredible array of characters he found from his childhood and through the Gilded Age. Hemmingway believed in living life and writing from experiences one had. I concur, but there’s also research and learning and interviewing.
There are many ways to step out of that comfy zone and dare to challenge yourself as a writer, as a learner, as an artist. I challenge you to do so.
Cuba Blue is a Kindle book. Find it on Amazon.com This is my only collaborative effort and my co-author is a fantastic lady named Lyn Polkabla of Atlanta, Georgia where I set my next book DEAD ON due out July and on preorder now at Amazon.
Rob Walker
www.robertwalkerbooks.com
http://acmeauthorslink.blogspt.comwww.myspace.com/robertwwalkerbooks.com
Thursday, June 11, 2009
A Summer Writers' Conference at Northwestern University! by DL Larson
Every year I receive in the mail an invitation to attend the Summer Writers' Confrence at Northwestern University, in Evanston IL. Every year I dream of going, sitting in small group workshops and honing my writing skills.
As a writer, I receive many such invitations, I imagine you do too. The ones I think will benefit my writing I try to attend, the others go into the recycle bin. But every year this cardstock flyer sits on my kitchen counter for weeks. Usually when the deadline has come and gone I finally throw it away. But this year, this year I promised I would attend more conferences. And this is one I really want to be a part of. They are offering a workshop and critique on children's books. I could take Mama Turtle's Hidden Treasure. I've never been a part of a children's writing group or workshop. I could learn so much.
So what's holding me back? Well, the cost is steep, I think extremely steep, twice as much as other conferences. The Historical Novel Society Conference I will be leaving for on Friday is in the $300 range for a Friday-Sunday, with banquets included. The hotel room is a special rate of $120/night. Plus I will be having a book signing! In a nutshell, it's worth every dime I'm spending.
The Northwestern Summer Writers' Conference is actually packed with more workshops in the three day sessions, but it feels more costly being in the $600+ range, plus another $125 for a 15 page critique of ones work. (optional of course) Room and board are additional in costs.
So, I'm asking if anyone has attended the Summer Conference at Northwestern and what did you gain from your experience? I'm interested in hearing about the atmosphere, is this a friendly place to learn? Are the instructors productive in the workshops or is this a platform to promote their own works?
I don't mean to sound cynical, but working at an university for eleven years, I've attended my share of workshops where learning was a by-product and not a focal point. I'm excited, edgy at the possiblity I might actually make it to this event. But I don't want to go into this blindly. Any input you have on this conference would help those of us who wonder what it's all about.
So come on, share with us please. What is the Northwestern Summer Writers' Conference all about? Is there good networking? Great instructors? Wonderful classes?
I just gotta know! I've got my checkbook out, no wait, my credit card! I'm ready to sign on the dotted line ... I'm ready to commit three days of my summer. Will it be worth it?
Tell me, please!
Til next time ~
DL Larson
As a writer, I receive many such invitations, I imagine you do too. The ones I think will benefit my writing I try to attend, the others go into the recycle bin. But every year this cardstock flyer sits on my kitchen counter for weeks. Usually when the deadline has come and gone I finally throw it away. But this year, this year I promised I would attend more conferences. And this is one I really want to be a part of. They are offering a workshop and critique on children's books. I could take Mama Turtle's Hidden Treasure. I've never been a part of a children's writing group or workshop. I could learn so much.
So what's holding me back? Well, the cost is steep, I think extremely steep, twice as much as other conferences. The Historical Novel Society Conference I will be leaving for on Friday is in the $300 range for a Friday-Sunday, with banquets included. The hotel room is a special rate of $120/night. Plus I will be having a book signing! In a nutshell, it's worth every dime I'm spending.
The Northwestern Summer Writers' Conference is actually packed with more workshops in the three day sessions, but it feels more costly being in the $600+ range, plus another $125 for a 15 page critique of ones work. (optional of course) Room and board are additional in costs.
So, I'm asking if anyone has attended the Summer Conference at Northwestern and what did you gain from your experience? I'm interested in hearing about the atmosphere, is this a friendly place to learn? Are the instructors productive in the workshops or is this a platform to promote their own works?
I don't mean to sound cynical, but working at an university for eleven years, I've attended my share of workshops where learning was a by-product and not a focal point. I'm excited, edgy at the possiblity I might actually make it to this event. But I don't want to go into this blindly. Any input you have on this conference would help those of us who wonder what it's all about.
So come on, share with us please. What is the Northwestern Summer Writers' Conference all about? Is there good networking? Great instructors? Wonderful classes?
I just gotta know! I've got my checkbook out, no wait, my credit card! I'm ready to sign on the dotted line ... I'm ready to commit three days of my summer. Will it be worth it?
Tell me, please!
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Why Blog?
I've been blogging daily since last August at my personal blogspot, http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/, but before that I blogged weekly right here at Acme Authors Link.
Blogging takes a bit of time, not only in thinking up a topic, but also in making it sound intelligent and appealing to readers. Preparing the blog isn't all there is to it. After that, there's the business of getting everyone in cyberspace to know it's available. Depending on my subject matter, I send short messages to egroups I belong to, as well as ping.fm, mybloglog.com, and pingmyblog.com. Sometimes I don't get to all of the spots due to time constraints.
Right now I'm getting Killer Career ready for publication. With a full time job, my time is really limited. After it's ready, I still have lots of marketing ahead of me. I keep thinking I'll forget something important and it will be my downfall.
I've got Book Place to maintain and am a bit behind on that score. Also, I have a Library List to get out for MWMWA. With all that going on, I still take time out to blog here, at Make Mine Mystery and my daily blog, as well as at The Blood Red Pencil.
Why? For one thing, I enjoy blogging. I like visiting and meeting new friends and commenting on their blogs, although lately I haven't been able to do that as much as I'd like to.
Blogging is a great way to maintain discipline and keep up a writing habit. I believe that any type of writing helps develop skills and keeps the brain moving, sometimes in unexpected directions. Also, blogging gives me lots of Googles and lots of web presence.
The downside is blogging does take away from my manuscript writing time. Because of that, sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the wrong thing by blogging so consistently. Other times I think I'm doing the right thing because I'm doing what I want to do and when it's time to finish a manuscript I'll know it.
What about you? Is blogging a good or bad thing? Why do you blog? Please share
Blogging takes a bit of time, not only in thinking up a topic, but also in making it sound intelligent and appealing to readers. Preparing the blog isn't all there is to it. After that, there's the business of getting everyone in cyberspace to know it's available. Depending on my subject matter, I send short messages to egroups I belong to, as well as ping.fm, mybloglog.com, and pingmyblog.com. Sometimes I don't get to all of the spots due to time constraints.
Right now I'm getting Killer Career ready for publication. With a full time job, my time is really limited. After it's ready, I still have lots of marketing ahead of me. I keep thinking I'll forget something important and it will be my downfall.
I've got Book Place to maintain and am a bit behind on that score. Also, I have a Library List to get out for MWMWA. With all that going on, I still take time out to blog here, at Make Mine Mystery and my daily blog, as well as at The Blood Red Pencil.
Why? For one thing, I enjoy blogging. I like visiting and meeting new friends and commenting on their blogs, although lately I haven't been able to do that as much as I'd like to.
Blogging is a great way to maintain discipline and keep up a writing habit. I believe that any type of writing helps develop skills and keeps the brain moving, sometimes in unexpected directions. Also, blogging gives me lots of Googles and lots of web presence.
The downside is blogging does take away from my manuscript writing time. Because of that, sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the wrong thing by blogging so consistently. Other times I think I'm doing the right thing because I'm doing what I want to do and when it's time to finish a manuscript I'll know it.
What about you? Is blogging a good or bad thing? Why do you blog? Please share
Monday, June 8, 2009
My new novel, Russian Roulette, finally arrives!
Friends, I am very happy and proud to announce my newest mystery thriller, Russian Roulette . It won’t be in any bookstores until June 13th, but you can already order it at Amazon.com. And if you are one of the technorati and own a Kindle, you can download now and start reading it today!
Russian Roulette is the fifth novel in my mystery series about Hannibal Jones, the African American private detective working in Washington DC. In this book, Hannibal is forced to take a case for a Russian assassin. He must investigate Gana, the wealthy Algerian who has stolen Viktoriya, the woman his new client loves. Evidence connects Gana to Russian mob money and the apparent suicide of Viktoriya’s father. More deaths follow, closing in on Viktoriya. To save the Russian beauty, Hannibal must unravel a complex tangle of clues and survive a dramatic shootout on Roosevelt Island, side-by-side with his murderous client.
That much is the plot, the storyline upon which I hang the mystery. But the heart of the book, and what drove me to it, is the reason Hannibal must take the case. You see Aleksandr, the murderous client, has killers watching Hannibal’s beloved Cindy. If Hannibal fails to do Aleksandr’s bidding, Cindy will die. I wanted to explore how my hero would react to his woman being in jeopardy. I also wanted to see how he works when he’s truly alone.
In past novels, Hannibal has relied on a team of supporters as diverse and talented as Doc Savage’s men. Plus, he has always been able to rely on Cindy’s legal acumen. In this book I purposely cut him off from the support team he’s used to, and there are some surprises. Even more, time shows us the many similarities between Hannibal Jones and Aleksandr (as an assassin assigned to eliminate disloyal and untrustworthy members of the Russian Mafiya, he too is a “troubleshooter” of sorts.)
To pull this one off I had to research the Russian community in Washington DC where Hannibal works, and I think that immersion affected my prose. Toward the end, as the story veers toward an outdoor winter shootout in the dark and confrontations between respected enemies, I think I was able to give my book the atmosphere of one of the old Russian novels. It ain’t Dostoyevsky by any means, but there is a grim, fatalistic feel in the Russian culture that drives this story deeper into noir than I’ve gone before. At least I think so.
Anyway, I got some very kind advance comments from friends and reviewers , including a couple whose names you may recognize:
That much is the plot, the storyline upon which I hang the mystery. But the heart of the book, and what drove me to it, is the reason Hannibal must take the case. You see Aleksandr, the murderous client, has killers watching Hannibal’s beloved Cindy. If Hannibal fails to do Aleksandr’s bidding, Cindy will die. I wanted to explore how my hero would react to his woman being in jeopardy. I also wanted to see how he works when he’s truly alone.
In past novels, Hannibal has relied on a team of supporters as diverse and talented as Doc Savage’s men. Plus, he has always been able to rely on Cindy’s legal acumen. In this book I purposely cut him off from the support team he’s used to, and there are some surprises. Even more, time shows us the many similarities between Hannibal Jones and Aleksandr (as an assassin assigned to eliminate disloyal and untrustworthy members of the Russian Mafiya, he too is a “troubleshooter” of sorts.)
To pull this one off I had to research the Russian community in Washington DC where Hannibal works, and I think that immersion affected my prose. Toward the end, as the story veers toward an outdoor winter shootout in the dark and confrontations between respected enemies, I think I was able to give my book the atmosphere of one of the old Russian novels. It ain’t Dostoyevsky by any means, but there is a grim, fatalistic feel in the Russian culture that drives this story deeper into noir than I’ve gone before. At least I think so.
Anyway, I got some very kind advance comments from friends and reviewers , including a couple whose names you may recognize:
“Russian Roulette delivers a whipsaw of a plot with more layers than a Vidalia onion.... Solid storytelling and compelling characters. Don't miss it!”
Libby Fischer Hellmann, Author of the Ellie Foreman mystery/suspense series
“Troubleshooter Hannibal Jones is the most engaging character to come upon the mystery scene since Patterson's Alex Cross.”
JoAnn Ross, NY Times Bestselling Author of the High Risk Series
“Hannibal Jones is no John Shaft wannabe. He stands on his own as a welcome addition to the ranks of the fictional private eye.”
Robert J. Randisi, Founder of the Private Eye Writers of America
“Russian Roulette has everything: a terrific story with great characters in vivid settings. Clear time on your calendar for this one."
John Gilstrap, author of No Mercy
“Russian Roulette starts with a revving engine and picks up speed till racing across the finish line. If I was in trouble I’d want Hannibal Jones on my speed dial.”
Jon Jordan, Editor, Crimespree Magazine
“Camacho employs his usual rich layers of plot; fascinating characters; and plenty of action to keep the reader mesmerized in his latest Hannibal Jones installment.”
Shelley Glodowski, Midwest Book Review
“Austin is one helluva writer. What Austin shows off in his novel is not just the ability to forge a sentence or a paragraph, but how to create an interesting story with a steady pace that keeps you hooked for hours at a time.”
Hugh Howey, CrimeCritics.com
“I may have to add Austin S. Camacho to my list of authors to follow and catch up on after reading his latest novel, Russian Roulette. I received the book for review before I left on vacation, and I would have been perfectly happy to have all of the Hannibal Jones series with me to read.”
Thomas Duff, an Amazon.com Top 25 Reviewer
And I hope some of you can even share my good news with me in person.
IN MARYLAND - Borders Waldorf will host a book release event for Russian Roulette on Saturday, June 13th. I’ll sign copies of my new novel starting at 1 pm in the store at 3304-A Crain Highway, Waldorf, Md. They’ll also have my previous Hannibal Jones novels - The Troubleshooter, Collateral Damage, Damaged Goods and Blood and Bone – available for me to sign.
All the details are on my web site - http://www.hannibaljonesmysteries.com/ – along with the video trailer and promo and lots of other cool stuff. But even if I can't meet you in person, thank you all for sharing my happy news! I already feel as if the Acme Author Link readership is like family to me. Of course, that goes quadruple for my fellow bloggers. I can’t wait to hear from some of you after you’ve read Russian Roulette. In the meantime if you have any questions about the book, or my characters, please post a comment or two and I’ll respond pretty quickly.
Austin
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