28.August.2006.Mon
I had two appearances this past weekend.
The first was Friday evening, the 25th, at a private book club. The turn out wasn’t as large as anticipated, but the hostess explained that this is simply the nature of the beast. Sometimes it is two people, sometimes twelve or more. Those that did show up were intelligent folks who asked some fun questions. And the chow was good.
Interestingly enough, one of the attendees sponsors exchange students and brought her four Japanese students along with her. All were girs and around 19 or 20. Very pretty and very polite. They seemed unduly impressed that I had written a book. Near the end of the night, I did my part for international harmony by giving each of them an autographed copy of Under A Raging Moon. They were returning to Japan the next day, so I thought it would be a nice momento. I am not certain how well each of them reads English, but perhaps they’ll get through the book. And who knows? Maybe I’ll get some rhythm from Japan and River City will become popular in Nippon. Either way, I felt like a shorter version of David Hasslehoff when they all clamored for a picture before they left.
My second appearance was Saturday, the 26th, at the Hastings bookstore in Coeur d'Alene. The staff there treated me very well–Kathy, Simone and Ann, thank you!–and the patrons were very laid back and friendly. The book sold well, as well as a few copies of Seven By Seven. I had a flyer for the anthology that will be released in October, The EX-Factor, on my table as well. That drew some interest and more than a few smiles.
The greatest part of both appearancs wasn’t the sales (which are heartening) or signing the books (which is a thrill), but rather connecting with the readers. So many people are enthusiastic about reading, and about crime fiction in particular, that it becomes an invigorating, encouraging time for me...time well spent.
The first was Friday evening, the 25th, at a private book club. The turn out wasn’t as large as anticipated, but the hostess explained that this is simply the nature of the beast. Sometimes it is two people, sometimes twelve or more. Those that did show up were intelligent folks who asked some fun questions. And the chow was good.
Interestingly enough, one of the attendees sponsors exchange students and brought her four Japanese students along with her. All were girs and around 19 or 20. Very pretty and very polite. They seemed unduly impressed that I had written a book. Near the end of the night, I did my part for international harmony by giving each of them an autographed copy of Under A Raging Moon. They were returning to Japan the next day, so I thought it would be a nice momento. I am not certain how well each of them reads English, but perhaps they’ll get through the book. And who knows? Maybe I’ll get some rhythm from Japan and River City will become popular in Nippon. Either way, I felt like a shorter version of David Hasslehoff when they all clamored for a picture before they left.
My second appearance was Saturday, the 26th, at the Hastings bookstore in Coeur d'Alene. The staff there treated me very well–Kathy, Simone and Ann, thank you!–and the patrons were very laid back and friendly. The book sold well, as well as a few copies of Seven By Seven. I had a flyer for the anthology that will be released in October, The EX-Factor, on my table as well. That drew some interest and more than a few smiles.
The greatest part of both appearancs wasn’t the sales (which are heartening) or signing the books (which is a thrill), but rather connecting with the readers. So many people are enthusiastic about reading, and about crime fiction in particular, that it becomes an invigorating, encouraging time for me...time well spent.
25.August.2006.Fri
I am happy to report that Under A Raging Moon is now part of the city library system here in River City...er, I mean Spokane, Washington.
Only two copies, but here’s the good news–when I checked today, both copies were CHECKED OUT.
Not languishing on the shelf, but CHECKED OUT.
How cool is that?
Only two copies, but here’s the good news–when I checked today, both copies were CHECKED OUT.
Not languishing on the shelf, but CHECKED OUT.
How cool is that?
19.August.2006.Sat
It’s a veritable shower.
Crimson Highway, an eZine of dark romantic fiction will publish “In Your Warm and Darkened Grave.” This story is about a man who serves a lady vampire, but yearns to join her as her vampire mate. Some things you shouldn’t want. It will appear in their special October preview issue here.
Next I heard back from Tony Burton, my publisher for Under A Raging Moon. He is publishing a Christmas charity anthology to benefit the USMC’s Toys for Tots program. It’s called By the Chimney with Care and my story, “Three Days of Christmas” will be in it. It’s about a burglar who steals presents and the River City officers and detectives who investigate. It will be available here.
Thirdly, I received a response from BJ Bourg, editor of a new paying eZine called “Mouthfull of Bullets.” He is going to publish my story, “The Short Till,” in his premiere issue in September. “The Short Till” is about an ex-con who has always thought he was smarter than he is. When he’s interviewed about scams at his job at the video store, he decides he can out-wit the investigator. After all, he’s a smart guy, isn’t he? This will be right here.
After a bit of dry spell, it is nice to have some stories find good homes.
Crimson Highway, an eZine of dark romantic fiction will publish “In Your Warm and Darkened Grave.” This story is about a man who serves a lady vampire, but yearns to join her as her vampire mate. Some things you shouldn’t want. It will appear in their special October preview issue here.
Next I heard back from Tony Burton, my publisher for Under A Raging Moon. He is publishing a Christmas charity anthology to benefit the USMC’s Toys for Tots program. It’s called By the Chimney with Care and my story, “Three Days of Christmas” will be in it. It’s about a burglar who steals presents and the River City officers and detectives who investigate. It will be available here.
Thirdly, I received a response from BJ Bourg, editor of a new paying eZine called “Mouthfull of Bullets.” He is going to publish my story, “The Short Till,” in his premiere issue in September. “The Short Till” is about an ex-con who has always thought he was smarter than he is. When he’s interviewed about scams at his job at the video store, he decides he can out-wit the investigator. After all, he’s a smart guy, isn’t he? This will be right here.
After a bit of dry spell, it is nice to have some stories find good homes.
16.August.2006.Wed
My short story (a ‘flash,’ really) “Party Dress” will be published at flashquake in their September issue.
It is a very cool eZine. Each story is accompanied by art, which I always enjoy. It is interesting to see what images a visual artist comes up with after reading a story I’ve written.
Thanks to David Shapiro, the editor who made it his “Editor’s Pick” over a pack of maybes from his fellows. I appreciate it.
If you have have moment, hop over to flashquake and read some selections. There are some very good ones.
It is a very cool eZine. Each story is accompanied by art, which I always enjoy. It is interesting to see what images a visual artist comes up with after reading a story I’ve written.
Thanks to David Shapiro, the editor who made it his “Editor’s Pick” over a pack of maybes from his fellows. I appreciate it.
If you have have moment, hop over to flashquake and read some selections. There are some very good ones.
14.August.2006.Mon
I’ve been added to policewriters.com, a website about police officers turned authors. The entry about me is here.
I’m also mentioned on Lt. Foster’s blog, dedicated to criminal justice online courses. From what I can tell, Lt. Foster runs the policewriters.com site. The blog entry about me is here.
A double shot of light irony here. One is that I am currently working on non-fiction project, an online course job in criminal justice. The second thing is that I am the 87th officer to be added to this list. Ed McBain’s well-known series involved the 87th Precinct.
Hey, we all look for good portents where we can find them, okay?
I’m also mentioned on Lt. Foster’s blog, dedicated to criminal justice online courses. From what I can tell, Lt. Foster runs the policewriters.com site. The blog entry about me is here.
A double shot of light irony here. One is that I am currently working on non-fiction project, an online course job in criminal justice. The second thing is that I am the 87th officer to be added to this list. Ed McBain’s well-known series involved the 87th Precinct.
Hey, we all look for good portents where we can find them, okay?
13.August.2006.Sun
My appearances in Portland and Kennewick went well.
Murder By The Book is a quaint bookstore, specializing in mysteries. I mean the general mystery umbrella, including every sub-genre and related thriller genre you can imagine. Very nice staff and the other authors present were extraordinarily friendly. And ya gotta like a bookstore that not only has all the books in the Matt Scudder series, but has them on the shelf in order.
The other authors were:
Linda Kuhlman, in support of Koenig’s War,
George Wright, promoting his book Baker City 1948,
Ron Lovell, with several books, including Searching For Murder,
and Keith Raffel, whose book was Dot Dead.
At the Hastings Bookstore in Kennewick, I was treated very well by the book manager Deanna. I managed to sell a number copies of both Under A Raging Moon and Seven By Seven.
Both stores are stocking Under A Raging Moon.
Next weekend I’ll be at Field of Beans Coffee, located at 5520 N. Maple in Spokane. I’ll be there from 10 AM - 2 PM, so if you’re in the area, stop by! They make great Bloomie Smoothies!
Murder By The Book is a quaint bookstore, specializing in mysteries. I mean the general mystery umbrella, including every sub-genre and related thriller genre you can imagine. Very nice staff and the other authors present were extraordinarily friendly. And ya gotta like a bookstore that not only has all the books in the Matt Scudder series, but has them on the shelf in order.
The other authors were:
Linda Kuhlman, in support of Koenig’s War,
George Wright, promoting his book Baker City 1948,
Ron Lovell, with several books, including Searching For Murder,
and Keith Raffel, whose book was Dot Dead.
At the Hastings Bookstore in Kennewick, I was treated very well by the book manager Deanna. I managed to sell a number copies of both Under A Raging Moon and Seven By Seven.
Both stores are stocking Under A Raging Moon.
Next weekend I’ll be at Field of Beans Coffee, located at 5520 N. Maple in Spokane. I’ll be there from 10 AM - 2 PM, so if you’re in the area, stop by! They make great Bloomie Smoothies!
07.August.2006.Mon
I’ve written two new short stories recently. Both are River City shorts.
“Three Days of Christmas” (working title) takes place in December of 2005. It is about a burglar who steals Christmas presents and features Detective Katie McLeod working the case. I’ve written it for a specific Christmas anthology, but it is outside the length guidelines. I have an alternative version that is shorter called “Two Days of Christmas” that may be the version that gets used, if it is picked up by that editor.
While “Three Days of Christmas” is an investigative procedural, it also looks at all the emotional gray areas that exist in police work, which are only magnified around Christmas time.
“Lowest Point” is actually an excised scene from Under A Raging Moon. While I really like the scene, the truth was that it didn’t propel the main storyline or any of the major sub-plots along. So while it was, I felt, a scene that gave the civilian a close-up look at the kinds of things a patrol officer deals with (in this instance, Officer Stefan Kopriva responds to a suicide that has just occurred) and what the emotional toll of those things are, it had to be cut from the novel.
I was considering saving the “Lowest Point” scene for River City: Patrol, but truthfully, I don’t know if or when that particular book will get written or published. I think the event has enough stand-alone strength to be a short story in its own right, so there ya go.
“Lowest Point” explores the procedural aspects of a patrol response to a suicide. It also explores the emotional reactions of the suicide victim’s husband and ultimately, the responding officer. Anyone in law enforcement or the medical field can tell you that being around death, particularly of the unnatural variety is hard on the individual.
Both stories are already in submission.
“Three Days of Christmas” (working title) takes place in December of 2005. It is about a burglar who steals Christmas presents and features Detective Katie McLeod working the case. I’ve written it for a specific Christmas anthology, but it is outside the length guidelines. I have an alternative version that is shorter called “Two Days of Christmas” that may be the version that gets used, if it is picked up by that editor.
While “Three Days of Christmas” is an investigative procedural, it also looks at all the emotional gray areas that exist in police work, which are only magnified around Christmas time.
“Lowest Point” is actually an excised scene from Under A Raging Moon. While I really like the scene, the truth was that it didn’t propel the main storyline or any of the major sub-plots along. So while it was, I felt, a scene that gave the civilian a close-up look at the kinds of things a patrol officer deals with (in this instance, Officer Stefan Kopriva responds to a suicide that has just occurred) and what the emotional toll of those things are, it had to be cut from the novel.
I was considering saving the “Lowest Point” scene for River City: Patrol, but truthfully, I don’t know if or when that particular book will get written or published. I think the event has enough stand-alone strength to be a short story in its own right, so there ya go.
“Lowest Point” explores the procedural aspects of a patrol response to a suicide. It also explores the emotional reactions of the suicide victim’s husband and ultimately, the responding officer. Anyone in law enforcement or the medical field can tell you that being around death, particularly of the unnatural variety is hard on the individual.
Both stories are already in submission.
04.August.2006.Fri
I’ve added a few appearances, both in Spokane and elsewhere. The complete list is available here, but here’s what’s on tap:
August 10, 2006 6:30 PM - 8 PM
Murder By The Book @ 3210 SE Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon
August 12, 2006 12 PM - 3 PM
Kennewick Hastings @ 151 N. Ely, Highland Center, Kennewick
August 19, 2006 10 AM - 2 PM
Field of Beans @ 5520 N. Maple, Spokane
August 25, 2006 5 PM
Private Book Club (Special Guest), Spokane
August 26, 2006 3 PM - 7 PM
Coeur D'Alene Hastings @ 101 Best Avenue, Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
Sept 22, 2006 4 PM - 7 PM
Hastings Bookstore @ 601 S. Pioneer Way, Moses Lake
Sept 23, 2006 2 PM - 4 PM
Whodunit? @ 119 Fifth Avenue SE, Olympia
Sept 26, 2006 7:30 PM
Auntie’s Bookstore @ 402 W. Main, Spokane
Sept 30, 2006 12 PM
Seattle Mystery Bookshop @ 117 Cherry Street, Seattle
If you’re near any of these locations, please stop by and see me!
August 10, 2006 6:30 PM - 8 PM
Murder By The Book @ 3210 SE Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon
August 12, 2006 12 PM - 3 PM
Kennewick Hastings @ 151 N. Ely, Highland Center, Kennewick
August 19, 2006 10 AM - 2 PM
Field of Beans @ 5520 N. Maple, Spokane
August 25, 2006 5 PM
Private Book Club (Special Guest), Spokane
August 26, 2006 3 PM - 7 PM
Coeur D'Alene Hastings @ 101 Best Avenue, Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
Sept 22, 2006 4 PM - 7 PM
Hastings Bookstore @ 601 S. Pioneer Way, Moses Lake
Sept 23, 2006 2 PM - 4 PM
Whodunit? @ 119 Fifth Avenue SE, Olympia
Sept 26, 2006 7:30 PM
Auntie’s Bookstore @ 402 W. Main, Spokane
Sept 30, 2006 12 PM
Seattle Mystery Bookshop @ 117 Cherry Street, Seattle
If you’re near any of these locations, please stop by and see me!
02.August.2006.Wed
Wanna see something cool?
Go to the City of Spokane Library website and do a search on Under a Raging Moon.
Guess what?
It’s there.
[grin].
Go to the City of Spokane Library website and do a search on Under a Raging Moon.
Guess what?
It’s there.
[grin].
