Coming Author Events

On November 12, 2012   /   author promotion, calendar, new releases   /   1 Comment

“We’re Dying Out Here”
That was the subject line of a recent email sent from a reader who’s dying for my next Jackson mystery and was speaking for everyone who’s been waiting all year. It made me feel warm and fuzzy to be wanted, but I also feel guilty about the long wait. This is a one-time delay because my new publisher is producing all new versions and the covers take time.

But Rules of Crime is scheduled for release on Feb. 26, and I believe you can pre-order it from Amazon now. Advance review copies are going out soon, including ebooks to lots of faithful early readers (who write reviews ☺).

In other news: I’ll be telling a funny Holiday story at Planned Parenthood Fundraiser, Friday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. at Cozmic Pizza, downtown. The event is $15, and other funny ladies and writers will tell stories as well. In addition, I’m selling print copies of The Sex Club (featuring a PP nurse) for $5 each and all proceeds go to the fundraiser.

Local readers can also see me at the Holiday Market again this year. It’s held Saturday, December 8th, from 10 a.m. to 6 pm. in the atrium at the Fairgrounds in Eugene. If you haven’t seen me since the last holiday market, I’ll have copies of Liars, Cheaters, & Thieves, which came out after the event last year. I may have a few advance copies of Rules of Crime, but I’m not holding my breath. If I get them for sure, I’ll let you know. Lots of other authors and artists will be there too, so come on it and do some holiday shopping.

The next day, December 9th, I’m driving to Portland with Carola Dunn to attend a holiday party at Murder by the Book in Portland (3210 SE Hawthorne Blvd.) I’ll bring whatever books I have left from the market with me. We’ll be in the bookstore from 12:30 to 3, so if you’re in the Portland area and would like to meet me, please stop in and say hello.

Beyond that, I’m signed up for Left Coast Crime in March in Colorado Springs, so put it on your calendar too. It’s a great convention. And I’m working up the nerve to attend Crimefest in Bristol next year!

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The New Jackson Story Is Here

On December 14, 2011   /   Detective Jackson, e-book, military service, new releases, the writer's life   /   8 Comments
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As you may have heard, the new Jackson story, Liars, Cheaters & Thieves, is now available. With each of these novels, I try to feature different crimes, different types of victims, and different story structures. In this one, the victims are male military veterans, a subject I’ve wanted to write about for a while.

But I didn’t want to immerse the plot in the military culture, so like my other Jackson stories, it’s set in Eugene. Liars, Cheaters, & Thieves also includes some features unique to Eugene that I’ve been wanting to work into a story, so you’ll get to know my hometown a little better.

Here’s the back cover copy:
Thursday night, a young veteran’s throat is slashed in a parking lot. Friday morning, an older women dies of a heart attack when she realizes her bank account has been cleaned out. The homicide-scene evidence points to the man’s cheating wife, but when Detective Jackson finds bizarre materials in their home and a link to a phony charity, the case gets complicated. When another man is killed, Jackson and his team decide to follow the money—but can they find the trail before anyone else is murdered?

I’m giving away a free ebook to anyone who comments or subscribes to my blog or newsletter today. In addition to commenting, email me and let me know if you want a mobi (Kindle) or epub file.

I’ve already got an idea for my next Jackson story, but I’d love to hear suggestions for subjects or social issues that interest you.

Thanks for stopping at my blog and supporting my work.

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Trading Places…with Maryann Miller

On December 7, 2010   /   editors, Five Star, new releases, the writer's life   /   16 Comments
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Maryann Miller 3Today, you will find L.J. over at my blog doing a guest post. We thought it would be fun to trade places for a day. I’ve never met L.J. in person, but I know her from The Blood Red Pencil blog. I’ve also read her book, Secrets to Die For, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and she was kind enough to read and blurb my new mystery, Open Season. (Which Dani Greer won in this giveaway!)

Read more →

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Email List Etiquette

On July 31, 2009   /   marketing, new releases, promoting a novel, promotion, Uncategorized   /   10 Comments
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keyboard-smallCrime writers and readers have been discussing the proper etiquette for collecting e-mail addresses for a newsletter or new-release announcement. Some readers are quick to say that any unsolicited communication is spam and will turn them away from a writer forever. Ouch! Read more →

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Defining the Blog Tour

On March 14, 2009   /   author blogs, blog book tours, blog tours, blogging, JA Konrath, Mark Phillips, new releases   /   9 Comments

This month I’m hosting two authors who are on blog book tours to promote their new releases. Mark Phillips, author of THE RESQUETH REVOLUTION (a book I’m proud to have edited) will be here on Tuesday the 17th to talk about writing action scenes. And JA Konrath, aka Jack Kilborn, will be here on the 27th to discuss his new release, AFRAID. JA also wrote an interesting post on blogging in general.

So blog touring has been on my mind, and I’m starting to plan my tour for this September when SECRETS TO DIE FOR is released.

The strategy for most tours seems to be: find blogs that relate to your novel and line up guest appearances every day for a month. (See the guru for more on this.) It seems straight forward, but hugely overwhelming to write all those Q&As and/or guest blogs in such a short timeframe and interact with guests every single day. Especially for authors who have day jobs. What I’m wondering is: How important is it to guest blog every day during a single month? Wouldn’t it be just as effective to guest blog every other day for two months? Or be on tour three times a week for three months?

I’m also wondering how many people actually follow an author on his or her tour, reading each blog stop on the way. And if you do follow tours, at what point do you buy the novel? Or do you already have the novel and are following just for fun? The real point of a tour is to reach new readers at every stop. In a traditional book tour, the author is on the road stopping at different bookstores every day because of the nature and convenience of travel. But from the comfort of your own home, couldn’t a book tour be more leisurely? Or does the everyday blogging in new locations actually build more momentum?

Tell me what you think. Are there other strategies I’ve missed?

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