Chuck is Right!

The irrepressible Chuck Wendig has a killer list- 25 Lies Writers Tell and Start to Believe.

It's way too painful for self-aware writers to read. Ouch. The bastard nails us.

Read it, if you've got the guts. Don't say I didn't warn you, though...

Library Talk

Had a great talk today at the Dunstable (MA) public library.

Had no idea what kind of crowd to expect, but set up my display anyway.

But Susan was in charge, and I was very pleasantly surprised to see an audience- the members of the adult reading group from the library.

So we chatted about publishing, the writing process, and my books.

I talked for over an hour, and fielded some terrific questions.

I explained how tough it was to get your book noticed- that library alone has over 15,000 novels!

Wonderful time meeting readers and talking about the current state of books and publishing.

And in a bit of Jungian synchronicity, NY Times best-seller mystery writer Debbi Mack was talking about Promoting Literacy with Little Libraries!

Tough Week

Whew-- been another tough week. TGIF!

Sure the weather was nice, but I started off by greeting Spring with a nasty cold. Apart from my day job, I put in time writing and working to get more readers, so when I'm down sick, that's too much not getting done.

Had to take our vehicle in for an awful grinding noise, but it didn't cost us hundreds of dollars this time. Okay, that bullet was only a flesh wound.

And my daughter's turning 18, while waiting to hear from colleges on acceptance, so it's been pretty nerve-wracking.

So good news-- I'm appearing at the Dunstable, Mass Public Library tomorrow, where I hope there will be some folk to hear me talk about writing!

Digging Their Own Graves

Big traditional publishers are digging their own graves with a fleet of backhoes.

One of of my favorite blogs is that of Kristine Kathryn Rusch, who came out with one of the best postings ever:
The Business Rusch: Scarcity and Abundance

It looks at the old publishing model as opposed to the revolutionary new world of publishing that has erupted in the last two years.

And yes, it's required reading.

A big part of the reason the big traditional publishers are experiencing difficulties is that the revolution has taken them completely by surprise, and they have not reacted well. They have a mindset, that if continued, will send them the way of the dinosaurs into extinction. They'll continue to lose money with stupid moves like giving Amanda Knox $4 million dollars to do a book of her story.

Four million dollars. That would support 800 midlist writers with an average $5000 advance-- but I guess an outdated story about a court case is way more important than reading 800 other writers. Well, we see where their priorities are. And they will most likely lose quite a bit of money on this. Are we supposed to weep for them? This isn't literature, which they keep insisting they're in charge of. See Konrath and Eisler's comments on the Hachette pub memo.

And neither is another big-selling author book I just read, put out by a supposed professional publishing company. It was crap-- read the reviews here. Wow- this is a cherished best-selling author, and the 1, 2, and 3-star reviews outnumber the good ones. So where's the editing from the pros? Where's the quality? Oh, I see-- his name means they can push any piece of crap out to make money.

Believe me, I know how badly it sucks to be in a dying paradigm. I grew up in a country where we at least gave lip service to concepts like law, human rights, and being the Good Guys.

Hard to justify keeping them around, if this is their way of doing things.

Two Phillips in One!

I got mentioned in another blog, this one by NY Times best-selling author Debbi Mack. This while she's busy with the launch for her latest mystery Riptide, a corker of a mystery-- my review here.

If you like mysteries, you have to grab this one-- now! It's got a limited-time price of under a buck for the e-book version. You can't beat that, even in the discount paperback rack.

And in this post, she also gives props to another Phillips, this one Louise, an Irish writer.

Nice name-- I'll have to check out her work.

Review of New Mystery- Riptide

Today we've got a review of the great new mystery Riptide, by the talented Debbi Mack (NY Times best-selling author, by the way).
Riptide launches on Monday-- great launch page here.

So here's a rundown--

Want a good, fast-paced mystery? Once again, Debbi Mack has scored a hit, this time with Riptide, the latest outing in the Sam McRae series. Here, attorney Stephanie Ann McRae (Sam) accompanies her friend Jamila, who is scheduled to speak at a Bar Association convention. Sam, who doesn't care about the boring convention, is looking forward to a nice vacation by the sea. It doesn't turn out that way, though, as Sam is roused in the middle of the night to see her friend taken for questioning in a murder.

Sam and Jamila had encountered the murder victim, a racist redneck, in previous confrontations, and when personal items of Jamila are found by the victim, the locals assume she is the killer. She hires a defense attorney, but they're up against a powerful, vengeful local family-- of which the deceased was a member.

Sam, of course, is not about to let her friend get railroaded, and starts investigating. Things just keep getting worse, as the weight of evidence mounts against her friend. Complicating things is the arrival of other people Sam has had encounters with-- some bad, some good, but of a nature Sam doesn't want to admit to.

As Sam tries to unravel the threads of what happened, she runs into a number of hostile folk, and eventually stumbles across a web of secrets and corruption. She is dogged in her pursuit of the truth, and manages to pry little bits of the puzzle out of reluctant witnesses and put the pieces together. She finds herself enmeshed in an alien world. Suffering hounding reporters, shadowy people following her, and malicious vandals, Sam tenaciously ferrets out the truth.

Another murder raises the stakes, and Sam must then race against time to expose the killer, as she herself comes under suspicion.

Sam is a great character, nice to the nice people, but sassy and snappy to the jerks. She has a quick temper for injustice, and is not afraid to speak her mind. She bribes, cajoles, and confronts people in an effort to find information. She even marches right into the lion's den, unstoppable in her quest to exonerate Jamila.

This is the third outing of Sam McRae. You'll want to read the first two, Identity Crisis and Least Wanted. The eBook of Identity Crisis cracked the New York Times e-book bestseller list in March 2011.

Debbi Mack also has a number of great stories. Check out her work.

What a Week

Holy crap, how much can a person take? Here's what's happened this week.

Our washing machine died. $800 later, they deliver a new one. Completely different model, have to learn all new stuff.

Printer died. $150 later, new one. Another completely different model, have to learn all new stuff.

Browser got auto-upgraded, against our wishes. One more ****ing time, completely different model, have to learn all new stuff.

Sick of this crap. So tell me some good news!

Okay, I won the contest Keith Rawson had at his very cool blog, Bloody knuckles, Calloused fingers. It's for mystery/crime writers and readers. I get a couple of signed books. They're supposed to be quite good-- will let you know.

Tomorrow I get interviewed on national Author Radio.

And later, I get to learn how to put together a local TV show. The Nashua library is teaching us the process. Would like to interview writers for a show.

Got the proofs of my latest story collection, Strange Tales. Looks great, ordered some copies. And just got copies of my big collection of stories, Jumble Sale.

Am going to need them, as I have a talk at the Dunstable Library on March 24th, so will need to show them all my books to date.