Crime Fiction's Sexiest Male Authors of 2012

Last year to much applause and a bit of todo, I posted Crime Fiction's Sexiest Male Authors and Sexiest Female Authors. Due to the great demand, I'm bringing you 2012's issue of Crime Fiction's Sexiest Authors. Today I'll share the men with you and Monday the ladies will take the spotlight. And I have to tell you, I'm thinkin' People Magazine should start taking a closer look at the authors in this genre!

If you missed last year's fun, you can see the gents here and the ladies here. And a reminder that this all started with the "You Know You're An English Major If..." post that included, "you consider authors to be sex symbols."

My first dilemma was the fact that last year's authors have not lost their sexy. I mean short of jumping on Oprah's sofa, you don't lose that in one year. So, I must take a moment to recognize them. That said, this genre is chock full of sexy writers, so this year we have some new folks who deserve to be recognized. Like last year, I requested permission to include everyone on the list. They may not know what they got themselves into, but here we go...

SEXIEST AUTHOR FROM ACROSS THE POND

Martyn is revealed as Tania Carver!

Martyn Waites hails from the UK, but we won't hold that against him. Just kidding! Martyn's talents include acting, voice work and writing. He spent time teaching drama to teenage ex-offenders. Now he opts for a slightly safer job, co-writing with his wife Linda as Tania Carver. And of course he also writes solo under his own name.

Martyn always has a smile and story; he's also a great listener and gives those around him his undivided attention. He's funny and generous and a great shopper! Martyn has my admiration as a writer and as a gentleman. He's more than earned a 2012 sexy crime writer award!

Martyn and his wife Linda write the Brennan/Esposito thrillers as Tania Carver. As Martyn Waites, his most recent series features information broker Joe Donovan. If you love a dark, exciting thriller, be sure to check out Martyn's work.

SEXIEST AUTHOR WHO HAS ALSO WRITTEN A SCREENPLAY

Another sexy qualification: Lou is open to new experiences!

Anyone who can make me laugh like Lou Berney almost gets an automatic sexiest award. Funny is most definitely sexy. What sets Lou apart from the rest, however, is his genuine kindness. He's thankful and thoughtful; recently when he shared stories with me about his wife's job, he sealed his place on this year's list. First his obvious admiration for the person he married was inspiring. The fact that he so appreciates the good she's doing was heart-warming.

Lou is also a very modest man. He will gladly tell you about his admiration for other writers, but he will not tell you that he is an incredible writer. His intelligent wit and creative mind turn out stories that are an extra-special treat to all a reader's senses. And it gives me great pleasure to tell you what he will not. Lou has written two wonderfully fun capers to date (and I'm anxiously awaiting the next): GUTSHOT STRAIGHT and WHIPLASH RIVER.

I am thrilled and excited to include Lou Berney as one of 2012's Sexiest Crime Fiction Authors.

Sometimes new experiences have unexpected results, though.

SEXIEST AUTHOR WHO ISN'T AFRAID TO GET HIS HANDS DIRTY

Maybe this is a little of my personal bias (o.k. this whole post is my personal bias), but I think a do-it-yourself kinda guy is certainly sexy. Craig Johnson has a complete "do-it-yourself" mentality. He built his home, cuts his firewood, and yes, he writes his own books! He writes an incredible series of books. The range of emotions one experiences reading a Walt Longmire tale sets the expectation bar high for others in this genre. They are intellectually stimulating, funny bone tickling, and time stealing gems.

Plus, there's something to be said for an author who includes on his event schedule "Closed Event - Playtime with the Granddaughter."

And of course, there's always the hat--who can resist the hat (the horses can't, either)?

 SEXIEST AUTHOR WHO WROTE UNDER A PEN NAME

Gar and his lovely Mrs. Gar

I started reading Gar Anthony Haywood's work fairly recently. After I finished the first book, I wanted to know why this genre was keeping the man such a secret! He blew my socks off. But many people knew what I was just discovering. Gar is an extremely talented and versatile writer. He can do dark, dark crime novels as brilliantly as he does comic crime novels.

Gar has an enormous personality and it's a joy to simply be in the same room with him. To hear him tell stories and make jokes...there's an obvious love and appreciation of life that emanates from Gar. It's contagious and that is certainly sexy. I look forward to every opportunity I have to see Gar.  And in the interims, I enjoy his books.

Gar's P.I. Aaron Gunner recently had a rebirth. All six of the books in the series were made available as ebooks through Mysterious Press. His most recent new book is called ASSUME NOTHING. And that's great advice starting that thriller!

SEXIEST AUTHOR WHOSE HEART BELONGS TO TWO COUNTRIES

He's just practicing in this photo!

We won't ask Sean which country he likes best. Sean Chercover is a dual citizen in the U.S. and Canada. Despite ugly rumors to the contrary, he is alive and doing well...with some bumps and bruises.

Anyone who has met Sean knows exactly why he belongs on this list. He's charming and witty, generous and kind, smart and creative. When you see him, you are overwhelmed with the feeling that he's been anxiously waiting just to see you.

Sean made a great splash into the crime fiction world with the publication of his first novel, BIG CITY BAD BLOOD, and he's only gotten better with each subsequent book. His most recent, THE TRINITY GAME is one that will leave you thinking for days and maybe weeks after you've finished. Now come on, you all know THAT is sexy!

And of course, Sean is married to Agent 99. Agent 99 wouldn't settle for less than sexy!

A face I always look forward to seeing!

And a drum roll, please, for this year's

SEXIEST MALE AUTHOR

A devout University of Kentucky basketball fan!

When I read DOMINANCE, I was so fascinated by the mind that could come up with such a story. It should not have surprised me that the man turning words into magic was a former poet, but Will Lavender is full of surprises, much like his stories.

Since reading DOMINANCE (which was one of my favorite reads of 2011), I've had the chance to meet Will at both the St. Louis and Cleveland Bouchercons. I've interacted with him sporadically online. And, he's generously agreed to participate in some of my hair-brained blog projects. He's always such a wonderful sport and his great sense of humor livens up whatever setting he's in.

Much like Gregg Hurwitz, who held this spot last year, Will's interaction with his family is what I found to be the sexy tipping point. He introduced me to his wife and children this year at Bouchercon and I think it was the highlight of my convention. When you witness the pride an individual has in his (or her) family, I think that tells you a lot about the person. My admiration for Will Lavender multiplied.

And of course, I have to mention the Southern drawl. I'm a sucker for a drawl! In the process of putting this together, I learned Will is an avid Frisbee golfer. I'm not exactly sure what this is, but it sounds rather challenging. I can't imaging having to fit a Frisbee in those small holes. :-)

To show you how great a sport Will is, I asked each of the authors to send a fun photo of themselves they wouldn't mind me including in the post. This one is small that Will sent, but the story is magnificent. He said, "I'm a recluse and I never have photos taken of me unless they're of my ass, which I wish I could say I'm proud of but I honestly eat a ton of sugar and exercise minimally." If that doesn't secure Will as this year's Sexiest Crime Fiction Author, then I don't know what will!

There you have it, my choices for 2012's Sexiest Crime Fiction (Male) Authors. Don't forget, the ladies get their turn on Monday, so check back. And feel free to share in the comments who YOUR choices would be!

Five on Friday: Will Lavender

It's Friday! And not just any ordinary Friday, it's the Friday before Bouchercon! Those of you who are attending, I hope you'll plan to attend one (or both) of the panels I'm moderating. The first is on Friday at 9:00am. Yes, I know that's kind of early, but it'll be worth it. This one is the Old Friends, New Friends panel. I'll be interrogating...I mean talking with Chris Grabenstein, Jeff Cohen, Parnell Hall, Mary Jane Maffini and Libby Fischer Hellmann. This panel will be in the Gold Room.

The second panel is also at 9:00am. This time on Saturday and it's called Mystery Made in the Midwest. This panel includes Michael Harvey, Sharon Fiffer, Linda Rohrbough, Carla Buckley and John Rector. And this one is in the Whitehall Room.

And while I'm pluggin' the panels, I also want to plug the xuni.com panel...that's not actually what it's called, but it's moderated by Maddee James (Ms. xuni.com herself) and includes xuni authors: Jan Burke, Marcia Clark, Julia Heaberlin, Carter Wilson and Jim Conway. It will be at 11:30 on Friday in the Gold Room.

O.k. that's my last plea for attendees. Those who aren't coming to Cleveland for Bouchercon, I'll have plenty of pictures (and hopefully video) and recap to share. I'll try to do some posts during Bouchercon, but it'll all depend on how crazy things are. I'll definitely work to at least post some pics to the Facebook page! I'm also going to work on securing some exclusive loot for contest prizes both here and on the FB page, so watch for that.

Attendees, also note that the Bouchercon coordinators added a list of places to dine and places that will give Bcon attendees discounts. That's here, so be sure to take a look at that.

I announced on the Facebook page earlier this week about my other completely amazing news. I was keeping mum on it until it was officially announced. I'm still even a little superstitious talking about it, but....Murder and Mayhem in Muskego has announced it, so, I will be interviewing Robert Crais at this year's conference! That is, of course, if I'm not hyperventilating. ;-) I'm just kidding. I'm super excited and hope that if you can come out, you will. My friend Larry, who reads the blog regularly, will be there to support me--and keep a paper bag handy. Looking forward to seeing you Larry!

I also wanted to point out that if you scroll down all the way to the bottom of the blog where my little Shelf Awareness widget dohickey is, the present contest is to win a five pack of mysteries. Don't ask me what they are, I have no idea, I just noticed that my widget had changed and that's what it changed to. So go forth, enter to win!

I think that's all the yakkin' I have to do this week. Please, please, please, if you're going to be at Bouchercon, jump in front of my face and say "hi" at some time during the weekend. I truly love to see the faces on the other end who read the blog. It makes my heart swell.

Now on to the important stuff! Will Lavender! I discovered Will when his most recent book, DOMINANCE, came out last summer--wow did he knock my socks off. So, I jumped in front of HIS face at Bouchercon last year to meet him. I stole my friend Lesa's saying, "authors are my rock stars." And that's STILL the way I feel when I meet them. Will's very nice--and smart--and funny (as you'll soon see), so if you have the chance to meet him be sure to say "hi."

I am thrilled to be featuring him today and to share a little about him with you. I'll let him take it away!

1. The TV show I absolutely can’t miss is: Right now I’m into Breaking Bad. I like the interplay between characters and the way every character is steeped in this shadowy, not-quite-evil/not-quite-good grayness. It reminds me a lot of David Simon’s The Wire, but I actually enjoy BB more simply because it’s a little more stylized, a little more fever dream-ish.

2. If I could sit next to anyone (not related to me) on a cross-country flight, it would be: If I’m allowed to rip open the space-time continuum, I’d love to sit next to the philosopher Rene Descartes. One reason is that my new novel features him, and I think he could help me with some plot points. But another reason is that Descartes was an interesting dude: mathematician, father of the enlightenment, writer of a secret journal, and quite possibly a Satanist. I’m pretty sure he would get the best of me on an intellectual level, but I’d blow his mind when we got to the airport and I introduced him to Panera Bread.

3. Happiness is: They say everybody’s happy when Mama’s happy, and this is the case in the Lavender house. I love it when my wife is happy, when I’m making her happy, when everything seems to be in its proper order and we’re relaxed enough to actually enjoy our kids. The world moves way too fast (at this moment we have a son in football, a daughter in Girl Scouts, and a dad who loves to watch football and eat Girl Scout cookies), and sometimes a person yearns for the still, the boring, the just-sitting-here-doing-nothing. I’m most happy when I can enjoy those moments with my wife.

4. The fictional character that most reflects my personality is: I’ve always loved Bunk from The Wire. A lot of people dig Omar, some people are crazy about McNulty, but I was a Bunk man. Bunk had an easygoing, almost detached personality—and then he didn’t. I was always entertained by his moments of furious intensity, but I especially loved it when he was just being Bunk, shrugging at the world, easing his partner McNulty back from another ledge. Let it be said that Bunk is one of the greatest TV characters ever written; I only wish the show would’ve featured him more.

And for his bucket list...

At the absolute top of the bucket list right now is...well, I’ll just put it into four words: Maine. Fall. A sailboat. I’ve been on a nautical kick recently, and I’ve had this bizarre, fetishistic urge to get out on a boat wearing a Ralph Lauren windbreaker and hugging a shaggy dog while the water splashes up on my face. The ideal place and time to do this is obviously in the northeast, when the leaves are just turning. And then after my boat expedition I’d of course retire to my lakeside cabin and write my novel. I feel like I could morph right into Stephen King if some rich benefactor would only pay for me to live in Maine for a season.

 I have to tell you, right now this is vying for my favorite Five on Friday so far. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as me. I have a feeling Will would keep Decartes in stitches during that cross country flight.

Will is going to be at Bouchercon and if you'd like to experience his intelligent wit in person, he'll be on the "Avoid the Unbelievable" panel at 1:30 on Saturday. And if you're interested in trying out his book DOMINANCE, it just came out in paperback. It was one of my favorite reads of 2011. (Not to mention the hardcover jacket is one of my favorite covers of all time - gorgeous!)

Have a super, fabulous weekend everyone, and HAPPY READING!

2011 Overall Favorite Reads

Wow! We've come to the end of yet another year. Next month I will celebrate four years of blogging. Doesn't seem possible at all. A lot of growing and changing have happened in those years. A lot of new friends and of course a lot of books! I love that we can share that common bond.

But, before I start getting too sentimental, let's concentrate on 2011. This year I read 98 books, which was four below last year's total of 102. I try to aim for 100 each year, but given all the wonderful busy-ness of this year, I'm not at all disappointed in that total.

Of the 98 books, 47 were audiobooks - so almost half.

There were 83 different authors in the 98 book mix, 51 were new-to-me authors and 14 were debut novels. 65 books were written by men, 3 were written by male/female duos and 30 were written by women.

Now for the hard part. Winnowing down my favorite 10, but here we go:

10. THE HANGING TREE (Bryan Gruley) - this book was released in Summer 2010, so I was a little late in reading it, but Gruley blows me away with each book and I'm very much looking forward to his next book in this series, SKELETON BOX, that comes out next summer. I won't be waiting long to read that one, rest assured. STARVATION LAKE was great and THE HANGING TREE was even better. Can't wait to see what awaits Gus next. (Touchstone)

9. EL GAVILAN (Craig McDonald) - Craig consistently writes great fiction and with EL GAVILAN he stretched his wings a bit. I love that this book shows both his versatility as a writer and his traditional strengths as well. I love that he drew me in with characters I couldn't decide if I loved or hated. (Tyrus Books)

8. LONG GONE (Alafair Burke) - with every book Alafair Burke grows as a story teller and in LONG GONE she veered off the path she's been so successful with to date. She blazed a new trail proving yet again that she's got writing chops, y'all! Spending time with her characters in the NYC she so expertly creates is a treat. LONG GONE is possible the sweetest treat yet. (Harper)

7. DOMINANCE (Will Lavender) - WATCH. THIS. MAN. He is flat-out amazing. And he's young and with luck we will be seeing a lot more from him. DOMINANCE is complex and puzzling and mysterious and brilliant. This book was so much fun to read. And Will Lavender is a new-to-me author this year. DOMINANCE is his second novel. (Simon & Schuster)

6. SATORI (Don Winslow) - the very first book I read in 2011 and back then I said, "this will be on my favorites list" and it is. I loved SATORI as a book by itself, having not read SHIBUMI beforehand. After I read SHIBUMI I realized further how astounding SATORI is. Winslow managed to stay true to Travanian's characters and still infuse his own style and technique. SATORI is a work of art. (Grand Central)

5. THE SURROGATE/CAGE OF BONES (Tania Carver) - I'm putting these together, not trying to cheat, but CAGE OF BONES is not yet released in the U.S. I read both books this year, THE SURROGATE being the debut novel from Tania Carver - which is the writing team of Martyn Waites and his wife, Linda. Martyn writes independently under his own name as well, so it's not really his debut, but semantics. Like Bryan Gruley, I see the Tania Carver books as starting out great and only getting better. For those of you who like dark suspense, this is an absolute DO NOT MISS series. I'm hooked. I have to jump back and read THE CREEPER (due out in the US in 2012) - the middle book in the series - but once I'm all caught up this is definitely a series I'll be waiting impatiently for each new installment. Martyn's just thankful that he's across the pond so I can't camp outside his house waiting for the next book! ;-) (Pegasus)

4. THE TWO DEATHS OF DANIEL HAYES (Marcus Sakey) - The fact that I get to be a high-powered, kick-ass lawyer in this book has nothing to do with it's appearance on this list. And you should not hold Marcus' questionable choice in character names against him. This is the most amazing of his books. It's smart, fast-paced, brilliant plot twists. It keeps you on your toes and while the momentum of the book drives you to turn pages faster and faster, you don't want it to end. It's just too much fun. And that's what reading should be. (Dutton)

3. HELL IS EMPTY (Craig Johnson) - Yes indeed, I am an evangelist for this series. I do indeed have a crush on Walt Longmire. And if I didn't adore Vic so much, I'd want to kick her butt! O.k., don't worry, I do realize these are fictional characters, but when you're caught up in the books, they're friends. Breaking open a new Walt Longmire is like taking a vacation to my favorite destination. Prior to HELL IS EMPTY, KINDNESS GOES UNPUNISHED stayed my favorite, stayed my favorite, stayed my favorite and then HELL IS EMPTY rocked my reading world. There are so many wonderful layers to this book and you can enjoy one, some or all. (Viking)

2. YOU'RE NEXT (Gregg Hurwitz) - This book is always the hardest one for me to articulate why I love. Not because it's for bad reasons but rather because it affected me so deeply. This is a book that still resonates with me months after finishing it. The relationships that Hurwitz created between his characters are pulchritudinous (yes, I did learn that word just for this book...nothing else seemed to embrace the magnitude of what I was trying to say). I don't know how Gregg can tops this one, and how the heck can I top pulchritudinous if he does? (St. Martins)

1. THE RIDGE (Michael Koryta) - I, of course, revealed this last week in the year end meme. Michael's approach to both his human and feline characters is stunning. The world he created is dark and haunting, but I so wanted to be there. THE RIDGE gets the top spot this year because Koryta did what few are ever able to with me - he enticed me to let go of the reality I cling to and willingly follow into his. With any luck, Koryta will never want to be a cult leader. I think I'm a goner if he does. (Little, Brown)

In year's past, I've had debut authors in my top favorite 10. This year I didn't, but not because there weren't excellent debut authors, those danged veterans were just showing their experience! Anyway, I wanted to recognize a few debut authors as my favorites for 2011:

Sara Henry released LEARNING TO SWIM this year. I look forward to watching her grow as a writer and experiencing her work.

James Barney released THE GENESIS KEY which I felt did a wonderful job blending science, religion and crime! (Harper)

And Daniel Palmer released DELIRIOUS and I was glued to it. I've actually had the chance to read his follow-up to DELIRIOUS which is still a thriller, but quite different in content, so I can already see his versatility as writer in this genre. Problem with getting to read those ahead is you have to wait longer for the next one to come. I'm sure I can keep busy in the interim, though! (Kensington)

I feel very blessed that I learned to love reading and can appreciate the wonder and magnificence. While it's a challenge to narrow down a list to 10 favorites, it's also a tremendous gift to have experienced all of these worlds and characters - friends. My heartfelt thanks go out to all the authors who have shared their talents.

And many, many thanks to everyone who has entrusted me with books this year. I wish I was able to read every last one. And there are so many that I still intend to read. As things continue to change in my world, I hope that it offers me more opportunity to read and share and enjoy books with you all.

Thanks for hanging out with me this year! Let's do it again in 2012, o.k?

The Last....I Promise...Bouchercon Post

I apologize for taking so ridiculously long to get this final Bouchercon post finished. But here we go, my final recap for this wonderfully amazing convention.

Saturday in St. Louis was the big day for me, and I started it off by attending my good friend Erin Mitchell's panel. She was moderating a Bouchercon panel for the first time this year, and actually she moderated two panels. This panel included one of my heroes, Gregg Hurwitz, the exceptionally talented Lisa Unger and a relatively new-to-me author, Linwood Barclay.

Erin was well prepared and did a wonderful job leading the panel. All of the panelists were humorous and generous. And one of the links among the panelists is their tendency to create ordinary characters and put them in extraordinary circumstances.

Gregg emphasized the importance of relationships in the stories. One of his goals as a writer is to encourage his readers to invest in not only the characters but the relationships they have throughout the books. And he's moved away from writing villains. As he's matured as a writer, he's turned more to antagonists than villains. (I just love that statement. I think it's often what makes the difference between a good book and a great book.) In terms of his protagonists, he's also shifted. His early books dealt with characters whose jobs it was to investigate the crimes involved. But as Gregg's shifted more to common people as protagonists, the motives for what draws them into their circumstances becomes wide open.

Linwood believes that his background as a humor columnist paved the way for his career writing fiction - he always had a rather careless regard for facts, he says. Linwood likes to write about people who are ill-equipped to deal with bad people...as opposed to folks who are well-trained (i.e., P.I.s, cops, military, etc.). Part of his reason for this is that he doesn't know what it's like to be "well-equipped" to deal with bad people and he's extremely lazy; he doesn't want to have to research for months to find out what it IS like to be these people. Instead he wants to know what people like him would do if faced with those bad people; for Linwood, it heightens the suspense. He also pointed out that there's more room for transition in the character because they have to overcome a lot more in order to triumph.

For Lisa, it's always a character that she hears speaking to her or one that she's seen that pulls her into writing a novel. But while writing FRAGILE, The Hollows, her setting, started to evolve as a character and have its own personality and a "beating heart." Above all else, Lisa feels it's imperative to have an equal level of compassion for all her characters. That compassion lends itself to authenticity in the creation much more than researching "people."  Lisa also believes that writers are first and foremost observers. They are acutely conscientious to who and what goes on around them.

The panel was a most wonderful way to start the day. My only regret is that more people weren't able to experience it. One other perk of this panel was snagging Will Lavender who was in the audience and getting this picture.

If you haven't already read my raving about his book, DOMINANCE, I encourage you to do so. After having met Will in person now, I know that he's not only talented, but an extremely wonderful person as well.

Another author I caught up with on Saturday was Bill Cameron. He was signing at the Crimespree table and I stopped by so he could sign my copy of COUNTY LINE. I cherish all my pictures with the authors I meet, but I have to say, I really like this picture a lot:

O.k., so I already yapped and yapped quite a bit for this final post, and this isn't even a fraction of what happened on Saturday. Before I give you the grand finale, I have to congratulate one of the most wonderful people in crime fiction...Hilary Davidson, as you know, won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. And I have to memorialize that here at the blog. If you've ever been so happy for someone's success that it completely eradicated your own disappointment for yourself, then you know how monumentally excited I was for Hilary to win this distinction. Congratulations, my friend! No one deserved this more:

And one more thing. I promise, this is it. I GOT TO MEET AYO!! This is Ayo Onatade who is part of the Shots Blog crew, and she is just wonderful. She's funny and smart and kind and I have to figure out how she can live closer to me because I started missing her the minute I said good bye. She lurks around here at the blog from time to time, but there's nothing like spending time with her in person. Thank goodness for Bouchercons!

As promised, here is the finale...Please try to overlook my bumbling in the beginning and I apologize profusely for the person who kicked the camera toward the end of the interview and wasn't kind enough to move it back. You can still see both of us, but we're quite off-center... my interview with the spectacular, funny, intelligent, talented, and genuine, Val McDermid - 2011 Bouchercon International Guest of Honor.

DOMINANCE - Will Lavender

My review of Will Lavender's phenomenal thriller DOMINANCE appeared last week in Shelf Awareness. With their permission, I am reposting it here today. If it's not already, this one needs to be in your MUST READ pile!

First Line: "The Jasper College Faculty Board has approved a controversial night class on a vote of 5 to 4."

Alex Shipley is a professor at Harvard when she’s summoned back to her alma mater, Jasper College, for a murder investigation. Fifteen years earlier Alex and her classmates participated in a night class taught by Professor Richard Aldiss from his prison cell. Aldiss was convicted of murdering two college students, but through Alex’s investigations in the course of the class, she cleared Aldiss of murder. But now there’s another murder, could Aldiss have actually been guilty?

Will Lavender unfolds his puzzling thriller by alternating between 1994 and the present, telling the story through the limited third person perspective of Alex Shipley. By alternating the time periods, Lavender is able to build the suspense, creating cliffhangers and then switching back to the opposite time. He provides just enough information to lead the reader to the edge of the cliff and then throws in a twist.

By using Alex Shipley’s perspective, Lavender creates a tone of uncertainty. Alex believes her professor is innocent, but so much evidence points to the contrary. Her internal conflict ramps up the plot’s intensity. All of the characters are deceptively rich, filled with secrets and hidden layers.

Alex Shipley poses the question to her classmate, “what if you could read a book and treat it as a competition between you and its author?” Lavender is challenging his readers with DOMINANCE; can you defeat the master?

DOMINANCE is available from Simon & Schuster in hardcover (ISBN: 978-1451617290). It is also available in audiobook format from Simon & Schuster Audio (ISBN: 9781442341906). I read DOMINANCE in print, so I can't speak to the narration, but it is read by Christopher Evan Welch.

Middle of the Week Fun!

I have a bunch of odds and ends to share with you and the middle of the week is usually when I need a pick-me-up, so maybe some of these goodies will be your mid-week pick-me-up.

Let's start by announcing some winners to the DOMINANCE book giveaway from Simon and Schuster. The following readers are going to receive a copy of Will Lavender's awesome new puzzle thriller:

• Carol R from Massachusettes
• Donna V from Missouri
• Joyce D from New Jersey

Congrats ladies! And thanks to everyone for participating! Joyce, could you please email me your address. It seems the Google monster ate part of my Google doc and your name and address were part of that section. Thanks!!

Those of you who would still like to try your hand at winning, check out The Drowning Machine where Naomi has been playing a fun game to win great book prizes.

If you didn't see me tweet about this yesterday, you can download a Kindle version of Reed Farrel Coleman's INNOCENT MONSTER for free right now. If you haven't read this and you have a Kindle, GO. DOWNLOAD. NOW!!

If you'd like to hear me talking about blogging, the most wonderful Nicole from Linus's Blanket invited me to be her guest on her podcast "That's How I Blog." You can listen here. You can also find  out about the Jamaican sno-cones!

If you haven't heard yet, Declan Burke is set to release a new book, ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL. I read and reviewed his THE BIG O (be gentle, it was a very early review on the blog). Since I enjoyed THE BIG O, I am looking forward to ABSOLUTE ZERO COOL. This is the description for the book:

Who in their right mind would want to blow up a hospital?

            “Close it down, blow it up – what’s the difference?”

            Billy Karlsson needs to get real. Literally. A hospital porter with a sideline in euthanasia, Billy is a character trapped in the purgatory of an abandoned novel. Deranged by logic, driven beyond sanity, Billy makes his final stand: if killing old people won’t cut the mustard, the whole hospital will have to go up in flames.

            Only his creator can stop him now, the author who abandoned Billy to his half-life limbo, in which Billy schemes to do whatever it takes to get himself published, or be damned . . .

Liberties Press is publishing the book and its launch date is August 10th at its official party at the Gutter Bookshop, Temple Bar, Dublin. Anyone out Dublin way who could cover this event for us?? There is no US release set at this time, but I'll keep you updated. In the meantime, US folks can always secure a copy from The Book Depository (free international shipping!).

Just a reminder that Bouchercon is inching closer. Actually it is now less than TWO MONTHS AWAY!! If you haven't registered yet, you better get to it. And if you have registered, make sure you've also paid for the Anthony Awards Brunch on Sunday. You won't want to miss out on that.

I've made a couple updates to the columns over there on the right side of the blog. I added the widget that you can use to sign up for Shelf Awareness for Readers if you have not already done that. Plus you're entered to win book prizes just by signing up.

I also added the xuni logo that you can use to access the xuni Facebook page. I encourage you to "like" us there as we have some fun stuff coming up in connection with the xuni authors. And we're always sharing news items to keep you as up to date on all the authors as possible. One stop shopping on xuni authors!

I think that's all I have to share today. It's all my wee brain can remember we have to share anyway. Now how about if you share with me? Let me know what you're reading right now and how it is. I'm interested to know what everyone is sticking in their beach bags...or in my case, my work tote.

Hope you're having a great week. Happy Reading!