Some Reminders

Sorry for the little silence there folks. I'm slipping behind a little and am trying to do a little catch-up this weekend. I've been spending some time working on the scrapbook to go with the 6-word memoir project. I'm very excited about this book, it's off to a good start but there's still a lot more to do before Indy in October!

This summer has been an exquisite one for reading. I can't get over all the fabulous books I've had the pleasure of reading the past few months. And I have a rather daunting stack still waiting for me. I've got a few reviews to catch up on as well; some books I'm very excited to tell you all about. In addition we have some fun guest posts coming up, some fun interviews, more backlist titles and of course more 6-word memoirs! Speaking of which, the memoirs will be posted on Tuesday this week, don't forget. We have another great batch of writers hangin' out with us sharing memoirs this week.

In other reminder news. This Tuesday is a big day for releases. I wanted to remind you about three of them. A BAD DAY FOR SORRY by Sophie Littlefield comes out this Tuesday. I'm so excited about this book. Sophie is just a magnificent, fun writer. Also up is THE SIEGE by Stephen White who, of course, was one of our memoirists last week. Looking forward to another great work from him. And finally, THE SILENT HOUR, Michael Koryta's fourth Lincoln Perry novel will be available this Tuesday.

And to continue with the Koryta reminders, those of you who live near me here in Northeast Ohio, we have the luxury of THREE stops on Michael's book tour. August 11th he will be at Fairview Park Public Library. You can register for that event here. On August 12th he will be at the Rocky River City Hall Umerley Center. There is no registration required for that one. And finally on August 13th he will be at the Bay Village Public Library, and you can register for that event here. If you're in the Columbus area, hop to it! Michael is at Foul Play Bookstore on Wednesday...yes, THIS Wednesday! The three events here in NE Ohio are at 7:00 p.m. and the Columbus event is at 6:00 p.m.

Another Ohio event to announce...mark your calendars, I'm so excited! Tim Hallinan is going to be at Foul Play Bookstore on September 23rd! He has an exciting presentation about Bangkok, the setting of his Poke Rafferty novels. And of course, he'll be talking about BREATHING WATER, the third Poke Rafferty thriller. If you can make it, I hope you'll be there. I certainly will!

And my final reminder is simply to remind you to vote for your favorite book bloggers. You have until August 15th to get your votes in for the 2009 Book Blogger Appreciation Award nominations. And if you're a book blogger and you have registered yet, what ARE you waiting for? So, registration here...nomination voting here. EVERYONE and ANYONE can put in their nominations. You need not be a blogger.

That's all she wrote for today. "She" will be back tomorrow with a new backlist title. In the meantime...happy reading!

Bouchercon countdown: 74 days!

You Have the Right to Six Words - WEEK 10!

Can you believe this is week 10 of the "You Have the Right to Six Words" series? Wow! And I was just looking over the schedule I mapped out and I have to tell you that I'm very excited about ever post for this month in this series. It just isn't letting up at all! I do want to give you a heads up that next week's post will be on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. I'll remind everyone, but you can mark your calendars! ;)

Let's get started on this week's memoirists. First our recap from an interview is the author of the Frank Johnson P.I. series, Ed Lynskey. Ed's Johnson series includes THE DIRT BROWN DERBY, THE BLUE CHEER, and PELHAM FELL HERE. TROGLODYTES will be number four in the series and is due out later this year. Ed lives with his wife in the Washington DC area and enjoys walking and gardening. He's also a Nationals fan and a Redskins fan. Ed has been on both sides of writing coin. He's worked as both the author and as the reviewer, and in all aspects of his career he says:

I did the best I could.

First up for our new memoirists is one of my favorite folks on Facebook. What a sense of humor this guy has. However, it isn't as noticeable in his crime fiction writing. Jonathan Hayes is the author of PRECIOUS BLOOD, a thriller about a New York City Medical Examiner who left his career after the traumas of 9/11 only to be pulled back into the fray when he's asked to work as a private consultant. The case he's asked to handle turns out to be dark beyond your wildest dreams. Jonathan himself is a forensic pathologist and he always looks forward to the person in his audience who asks, "what's the most disgusting thing you've ever seen?" And in his other life, Jonathan writes about food and travel. He's even a contributing editor to Martha Stewart living. Up next for Jonathan and his crime fiction writing? A sequel to PRECIOUS BLOOD titled A HARD DEATH that will be on bookstore shelves in the U.S. in early 2010 (UK folks, look for A HARD DEATH in November this year). Is there anything Jonathan won't try his hand at?

Said yes to everything. Regretted nothing.

Sophie Littlefield is preparing for the release of her debut novel, A BAD DAY FOR SORRY. Her novel about a woman fighting back against "problem husbands" is heralding raves from everyone. Sorry breaks the mold of many female protagonists in crime fiction, she's a middle-aged woman who owns a sewing machine shop.

Sophie has seen much of the geography of the United States having grown up in central Missouri, spent 10 years in Chicago and then moved to Northern California. She shares her writing genes with her brother, Mike Wiecek, but she's honed her own distinct voice in the crime fiction genre. Sophie will also be publishing a young adult novel, BANISHED, next year.

One of the reasons I'm so looking forward to A BAD DAY FOR SORRY is the fact that Sophie is one of the bloggers at the 7 Criminal Minds virtual panel blog. Every Wednesday I look forward to Sophie's posts. Folks, this lady can write! And she's gonna write how she wants to write because she

Ain't gonna be who I'm not.

So how's that for spunk? See why I'm looking forward to her book?

Our final author this week is also releasing a book next Tuesday. Stephen White is the New York Times best-selling author of the Alan Gregory psychological thriller series. Stephen builds on his fifteen plus years of experience as a clinical psychologist to bring authenticity to his books. While a practicing psychologist, Stephen spent time in the field of pediatric oncology. At the time only a handful of psychologists around the country worked in pediatric oncology. One of those colleagues was Jonathan Kellerman. While still working as a psychologist, Stephen began writing his first novel, PRIVILEGED INFORMATION. Here he would give birth to Alan Gregory and a whole new career.

In Stephen's newest novel, THE SIEGE, focus changes from Alan Gregory to another series character, Alan's buddy, police detective Sam Purdy. Sam is called on to investigate the mysterious disappearance of several high profile Yale students. Could it be kidnapping? Could it be terrorism? There is no telling. But the disappearances are high profile enough to merit the involvement of the CIA and the FBI. THE SIEGE is Stephen White's seventeenth novel in a career spanning over 20 years. And in those 20 years he's learned to

Live, read. Love, read. Write, rewrite.

Best wishes go out to both of our authors this week who are looking forward to their August 4th book releases. Sophie and Stephen, I'm so glad you could take time out to play with us today before all the big festivities begin; may they exceed your wildest expectations. Thanks also to Ed and Jonathan. They aren't releasing this week but both have books on the horizon and we're looking forward to celebrating those in the near future as well.

Remember next week, we're meeting here on Tuesday to continue the fun. So I'll see you then! Happy Reading!





Bouchercon countdown: 79 days