Great Review- and Video Trailer for Interview- and a Mystery Making Panel- and a new audiobook

Lots of news---

Wahoo!
Great review for A Sharp Medicine (#5 in the Zack Taylor series) from one of the popular reviewing bloggers!
http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2020/08/review-sharp-medicine-by-dale-t-phillips.html



And here's a wicked cool video trailer for my upcoming interview with Linda McHenry's writer's podcast:
https://youtu.be/dfGpavuB82E

Air date for the full interview is Wednesday, August 26th.
https://lindamchenry.com/the-writers-voice-podcast



We had a great time at the Wilmington Library-and Sisters in Crime- sponsored Mystery Making Panel, with fellow authors Connie Johnson Hambley, Edith Maxwell, and Lorraine Nelson.
There's a recording of that available. Contact the library for more information.

And my audio book for Deadly Encounters- 3 Zack Taylor Stories should be available this coming week.
Narrated by Daniel Fagan.

Two new stories out

Happy holidays everyone! To help you celebrate- while you decide which books to buy as gifts this season- here's a couple of new stories of mine you can read for free.

Thanks to Tell-Tale Press!

“Registry”

“The Push”

I'm Featured on a Blog, and Portland Book Signing Saturday

As a member of the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime, I love the support and encouragement given by the organization members. We have a strong, vibrant, community of mystery writers, and the Sisters group provides so many opportunities for career advancement, with workshops, speaking engagements, and fun get-togethers.

And promotion... today they feature... me!
Here's a Q&A with Kathryn Gandek-Tighe about my new book, the sixth Zack Taylor mystery, A Darkened Room, coming out later this month.

And to prime the pump for the new release, I'll be signing books at Sherman's in Portland, Maine, this Saturday, August 3rd, from 11-12. They're down on 49 Exchange Street, so come to this beautiful city, do some shopping and sightseeing, buy some books, and check out my mystery series- set in Portland!

New Interview up

Couple of things going on.

I did a recent interview at The Storyside with Vlad V.
I talk about writing, my latest book, and a few other things:


Next week I'll be with members of the Mystery Writers of America for the Mystery Writers Social at the Writer's Room of Boston, a cool place for writers to work in town.

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!

Terrific Review for A Certain Slant of Light

Few things warm a writer's heart (apart from a hefty check) like a great review. One where the reviewer knows the conventions of the genre you're writing in, knows the school of authors you pay homage to and points that out, and appreciates how it is handled. So much more than just "I liked it, and it was good."

So yesterday this awesome review for A Certain Slant of Light appeared on this website:
https://www.wingd.ca/book-review-certain-slant-light/


Just have to quote from it:

"Zack Taylor is as subtle as the horn on a Kenworth.

The hero’s persona is deliberate on the part of the author, and it works. A blurb at the back of the book says that Zack Taylor is: “…a hero in the mold of Travis McGee, Doc Ford and John Cain, a moral man at heart who finds himself faced with difficult choices in a dangerous world…”.  As you find yourself being pulled through this book by the combination of a compelling story and good strong writing, you realize that this is not an exaggeration."


And  it goes into good detail. A thoughtful review of a book that was read and appreciated.

Some days, it's worth chewing through the straps...   :-)

And the review is also up on Amazon.

So in case you feel like having a look at this book, here it is:

Upcoming Mystery Panel in Concord, NH

Happy post-Groundhog Day, and Superbowl Sunday. How about that game, huh? One for the record books, and the ages.

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 7th.

The Wings of Knowledge program is hosting us for a panel, with a couple of my fellow Sisters in Crime.
From their events calendar: https://www.nhti.edu/wings

"Noted mystery authors Joy Seymour, Dale T. Phillips and Lea Walt present the “nuts and bolts” of successful mystery writing."

Our panel will be speaking at 6 p.m.in the living room of the library at the New Hampshire Technical Institute, Concord’s Community College.
The address is 31 College Drive, Concord, NH 03301

It's the only on-campus building with a clock tower, so shouldn't be hard to find.

We'll sign copies of our books after the panel, so come on up for a fun night of talking about making mysteries!

First Story of the Year Published!

Hello All.
Am very happy to see my first published story of the year, One For the Road, in Crimson Streets.

Click here to read it.

And there's some terrific artwork- an illustration by the talented L. A. Spooner:

They tell me it's the last story of their first year of publication. Cool milestone.

Last year, my story Forever Amber was the last story ever accepted by the awesome ThugLit.
Would rather these excellent publications keep going!

And have three more stories sold that will be appearing in various publications ere long. Here's to a productive year!

Upcoming Big Author Shows

Have some big author events coming up.

First up is Crime Bake, the big annual mystery convention for New England. Been sold out for months! Put on by the Sisters in Crime, it features Pro authors and fans meeting and mingling for a weekend of panels and presentations.
Nov. 6-8 at the Hilton in Dedham, MA.

I'll be waving in promo pictures, since I was a judge for this year's writing contest, the Al Blanchard Award. I'll also be on the Ask the Experts panel, and will also be signing books for the Level Best Books anthology- Best New England Crime Stories 2016: Red Dawn.

The title says it all.
Last year's collection, Rogue Wave, (with another story of mine) was a finalist for a Silver Falchion Book Award!

The following week I'll be at the Victoria Inn, a lovely B&B in Hampton, NH, for the Authors at the Inn event, a night of food, fun, and book signing. I'll be celebrating my 3 recent book releases!

And then in December, we're at the Gala Mystery Night at the New England Mobile Book Fair. The top names in mystery in all New England will be there to sign books. Refreshments served! Come on down and stock up for the holiday season!

Two Great Anthologies

Here's the awesome cover for the soon-to-be-released anthology, Best New England Crime Stories 2016: Red Dawn, from Level Best Books.

My story Hope it Fits is in this one. Look for it in early November, making a debut at Crime Bake, put on by Sisters in Crime (where I'll be one of the experts in the Ask the Experts session).

And my story Automat was in the one last year, Rogue Wave. Two years in a row!

Not only was my story submitted for a Derringer Award, the collection is now a Finalist for a Silver Falchion Award. Up against some amazing pro works, from the best writers. We're in heady company!

Featured in Latest Granite Coast Magazine

The new Granite Coast entertainment magazine is out, and features a few New England writers- most notably myself and fellow Insanity Tales author Stacey Longo, author of the new release Ordinary Boy.

The mag has lots of info about music and entertainment in our region, so check it out. Here's their Facebook page.

Noir at the Bar II- Postponed For Snow

Well, we live in New England, and must deal with what Nature gives us. And she's giving us a butt-ton more snow, a lot of it scheduled for our cool reading.

So now you have to wait until Spring to hear us- we're rescheduling when the snow is no longer a factor.

I'm going to be one of the featured crime and mystery writers reading from their works on Sunday, Feb 8th, for Noir at the Bar, at The Pour House, 907 Boylston Street, Boston, from 6-9.

Think I'll read Automat, my story in the Level Best Books New England Crime Stories 2015: Rogue Wave - since the story was submitted for a Derringer Award.

Come on down and hear good stories, have a pint, and hang out with the Kool Kids- like Chris Irvin, Steve Ulfelder, Bracken MacLeod and fellow member of the Sisters in Crime Connie Jonson Hambley (to see an interview with Connie, click here). 

Ann Everett Talkin' Twang

Howdy, y'all.
I'm currently featured on the blog of Texas writer Ann Everett, on her "Talkin' Twang" blog.

If you haven't yet discovered her, she's written a very funny book that I liked: Laid Out and Candle Lit.

Here's a quick description:
Tizzy Donovan is having a run of bad luck. A bakery delivery gone wrong. A bar fight with an old classmate. And the discovery of a dead body in the cemetery.
Texas Ranger Ridge Cooper’s luck isn’t much better. He’s finally gotten his first solo case, and it’s in the Podunk town of Brownsboro, Texas. But when he meets local beauty, Tizzy, he thinks his luck is about to change, until she becomes the prime suspect in his case!

She's written others, too, but that's a good start to her writing, full of Southern sass and good humor. Even damn Yankees will love it!

Cool- another guest spot- Susan Kaye Quinn

Can fame and fortune be far behind? :-)
First we guest on the site of Joe Konrath, prominent Indie guru:
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2014/04/guest-post-by-dale-t-phillips-and-vlad-v.html

Today we're guesting on the great blog of Susan Kaye Quinn-- Innovation: Four Indie Authors, One Small Cooperative:  http://www.susankayequinn.com/2014/06/innovation-four-indie-authors-one-small.html

She's written the Indie Author Survival Guide, listed on my Writer's Bookshelf resource page as a necessary book for writers to absorb.

Tomorrow I'll be selling books at the Town of Fremont, NH 250th celebration.

And a week from Sunday, I'll be at Noir at the Bar in Boston, hobnobbing with cool mystery writers.

Three Stories Out

To show what a hard-working writer I am, I've got 3 stories out in current publications--
and another tale in an upcoming issue of Beware the Dark.

The first one is my story KillerElla, featured in the inaugural issue of Trysts of Fate magazine.
Since it's the very first issue of this magazine, you may want to pick one up as a collector's item.
Just sayin'...

The second is Knife Edge, a story featuring Mt. Katahdin in Maine, out now in Over My Dead Body.
This is my third story in their publication- a great place for mystery and crime tales.

And my third one, Dead Man's Hand, is in Voluted Tales, an Australian publication.
That makes the third continent where I've been published!

Check them out- hope you like them!

I'll be at the Foxboro, MA Common this Sunday at their craft fair, signing books with the folks of Books and Boos, along with Vlad V. We got rain-dated out of Saturday, so hope it's better then!

Featured Again- Alumni Magazine

Well, my alma mater is taking notice of my writing. They profiled me in the latest issue of the online alumni magazine. Nice to get another mention.

 

Addendum- they've announced their Commencement speakers for this year (not me- yet).
Writer Tess Gerritsen and singer/songwriter Dave Mallett.
Just so happens I've met them both. Cool! Saw Dave perform at a concert and got his autograph on a record album- so you know how long ago that was!
And I met Tess at the Bouchercon conference last year. Her work to support Alzheimer's research nudged me to make a donation, which then got me a guest post on the influential publishing blog of Joe Konrath!

 

 

 

The Big Time

Great news today- I'm featured on the prominent website of Joe Konrath, one of the gurus of self-publishing. I've got a co-written guest post with Vlad V. and we discuss how to give your way to success as an Indie writer. Check it out, and feel free to leave a comment. Oh yeah- there's some special deals for you for checking it out...

This is The Big Time- like getting an at-bat in the Major Leagues. And we knocked it out of the park.

We've got some excellent comments already, and people have found value in our message. The idea of joyous cooperation and collaboration, rather than fearful competition (fostered by Big Traditional Publishing) is resonating with more and more people.

Everybody does better when everybody does better (saying of Jim Hightower)

We've got a lot of people we work with. Folks like Chris Obert of Pear Tree Publishing, who puts together author signings and the New England Author's Expo. The owners of Books and Boos bookstore in CT, where they host author signings and include them at their showcase table at conventions. The New England Horror Writers. The Sisters in Crime. Librarians. Reviewers. Independent bookstore workers.

It's a great New World of Publishing, and savvy writers are working together to make things better for everyone. Viva La Revolution!

Cover Boy

Wow- I'm currently featured on two covers at present.

First, I made the cover of a new magazine! No, not GQ or Esquire, sorry, that's later. But here's a link to the very first issue of Trysts of Fate magazine.

Dare I say, you might want to pick this up as a Collector's Item that may very well increase in value. Premier issues are good things to snag for your future. And check out my story KillerElla, a fun little romp. Zombies, romance, and fairy tales- how can you go wrong?

And made another cover, for the emag version of the University of Maine Alumni Association newsletter. Go Bears!
They've got a lovely little piece about me publishing my 12th book.

Talk About Audio

Today I'm featured on the website of the Maine Crime Writers, talking about producing audio books.

This is all part of the new world of publishing, with more opportunities to get work out to a public in many different ways.

Upcoming Events

It's a fun time, albeit a busy season.

First up is our Local Author Fair at the Groton, MA Library this coming Sunday, Nov. 17th-- 2-3:30
Drop on by- there will be refreshments and some prizes while we sign books and meet people.
Here's a link of attending authors.

 

Then we have a panel discussion on What Makes a Good Mystery at the Tewksbury, MA Library, on Saturday, Nov 30, also at 2. We'll be signing books after the panel, so come on by.
We're listed here, as part of the Sisters In Crime Speaker's Bureau, and here on the library site.
I'll be appearing with Gary Braver and Ellen Larsen.

This Wednesday, Nov. 13th, my post on getting books into audio will appear on the website of the Maine Crime Writers.

Great timing, because my story collection Fables and Fantasies will be out on audio then.

Two other story collections of mine, Apocalypse Tango and Strange Tales are in audio production and will make their appearance soon.

News and Events

Hello-- lots of happenings lately. This is a writing life...

Had a great time at the New England Authors Expo.

My quickie YouTube piece from that event.

My first Audio book is now out- How to Improve Your Interviewing Skills.
Also out on iTunes!

My latest story is in a huge anthology, the 30th Anniversary issue of Fungi.

I'll be signing books with a few other New England Horror Writers at Annie's Bookstop in Worcester on Sunday, August 18th, from 1-5:

And the following Sunday, I'll be doing the same at the big fair in Middleton, CT from 10-4.

Oh, yeah, and writing...