Books for 2011

One of my resolutions for 2011 was to read more, so here’s a list of the books I hope to read next year.

Books I have and intend to read first

  • The Advocate’s Betrayal …by Theresa Burell (good friend, good writer)
  • The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy …by Michael Orenduff (I won this!)
  • Case Histories …by Kate Atkinson (I started this and want to finish it.) Read more

Cheers to 2011

FireworksI always love the fresh start of the New Year, but this one is special. Next year will be the first time I live my life as a full-time novelist. I’m finally making enough from book sales to turn down freelance work. At this point, the most cost-effective way to spend my time is to write another Detective Jackson novel. I’ve been working toward this goal since August 7, 1989. Read more

Trading Places…with Maryann Miller

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

NaNo, Goals, and Motivation

nanowrimo_participant_06_100x100I  participated in National Novel Writing Month for the second time. Last year, I had the first half of a book written and I used NaNo as a motivation to quickly finish the second half. I was successful in doing that. This year, I had an outline and a first chapter of the next Jackson story, but I’d been out of new-story writing mode for a long time, so I signed up for NaNo as a motivation to write a good chunk of the book. Read more

Peroozal, aka Book Recommendations

Readers say their #1 reason for trying a book is the recommendation of someone they know or a writer they like. A new website, Peroozal, is based on that idea and features dozens of authors recommending their favorite books. I’m still in the process of uploading my recommendations, but here’s what I said about some of my favorite books this year.

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell: A compelling story about a hit man Read more

6 Ways to Read an E-Book

LJ with KindleSeveral readers have e-mailed me and said, “I’d really like to read your e-books, but I don’t how… Which inspired me to put together this list:

1. Buy an e-reader: Kindle is the most popular, but there’s also the Nook (Barnes & Noble), Kobo (Borders), Sony Pocket Reader, Pandigital Novel, and many more. When you make your choice, think about more than the device and price. Read more

Book Giveaway: Passions of Dead

The fourth book in my Detective Jackson series was the most challenging to write so far. I used parallel structures to tell overlapping stories. In the main story, Jackson investigates the deaths of a slain family. The parallel plot starts six weeks before the murders and tells the family’s story, with each victim narrating a POV section, leading up to the murders. Thus the name, Passions of the Dead.

The family’s story takes readers right through the final murder scene— Read more

Why I Love E-Books

I’ve recently joined the e-book revolution both as a novelist and a reader. As a novelist, e-books are allowing me to make a living. As a reader, I’m trying new authors because Kindle lets me download a sample before I buy. The easy access, low prices, and lack of space constraints make downloading e-books a daily temptation. It will be easy to accumulate far more books that I can ever read. But when you can buy a great book for less than $2, who cares? Read more

4th Jackson Story Out; The Sex Club .99

TheSexClubTo celebrate the launch of my fourth Jackson story, Passions of the Dead, the first book in the series, The Sex Club is now only $.99 as an e-book. For those who have never tried the series, here’s the short blurb for the first book:
The Sex Club: A dead girl, a ticking bomb, a Bible study that’s not what it appears to be, and a detective who won’t give up. Read more