Newsworthy

I'm very excited about the enthusiasm surrounding the World's Favorite Detective tournament. Remember to come back tomorrow to find the entry form for the contest. You only have until midnight Eastern time on Monday to get your entries in, so don't dwaddle! And the first week of voting begins on MONDAY!!

Until then I have a couple of news items to share with you. The first is connected to Alafair Burke. Of course you know I'm a very big fan and love her work. Her new book 212, which I reviewed here, is going to be released on March 23rd, and the way the publishing business works, they look at pre-order numbers when determining whether or not writers will keep their publishing contracts. So, since you know I'm extremely selfish when it comes to the likes of my Ellie Hatcher books, I want Alafair to have good pre-order numbers. Well, so does she! So, she's giving away a mystery gift if you pre-order her new novel 212. So, if you were planning to get her novel, this is an opportunity for you to get a surprise, too. Here are the details on her giveaway.

That being said, I'll offer up some places you can make your orders. If you'd like a signed book, then you can contact the folks at Mystery Lovers Book Shop(Pennsylvania), The Mystery Bookstore (L.A.), or Murder by the Book (Houston) Each of these stores will be hosting Alafair, so you can call and pre-order with them, they'll hold the book until the event and get it inscribed for you. And Mystery Lovers even has free shipping!

I know that price can be a factor for some people. I don't usually advocate this and I don't buy books from them myself, but Amazon has 212 right now for almost half price on the pre-order. Since it is almost half price, you would need to either pay shipping or buy something else to qualify for their free shipping.

I think those are some really great options for a book that is solidly on my favorites list for this year. But there's even more tempting offers if you're a fan on her Facebook page. If you aren't already, check that out here.

The other newsworthy item to share with you is a contest that Macmillan is sponsoring for Duane Swierczynski’s new thriller, EXPIRATION DATE. Here's the link for the registration. You have an opportunity to win a signed book or Laurence Campbell's original art work from the book. Here are some of the samples of the illustrations that Macmillan sent me:

And lastly, I will leave you with a great article about Fred. If you don't know Fred, you'll enjoy meeting him in this article. Fred is Chris Grabenstein's dog who starred on Broadway.

Happy Reading! And I'll see you back here tomorrow to start entering the tournament contest!