INTERVIEW with Carolyn McCray, Amber Scott, and Rachel Thompson authors of DOLLARS & SENSE

Wormies, please enjoy 10 questions with the authors of Dollars & Sense: The Definitive Guide to Self-publishing Success.

1. What inspired “Dollars & Sense: The Definitive Guide to Self-Publishing” to begin with?

Carolyn had the idea that, with all her various forms of publishing and social media expertise, combined with Amber’s traditional to indie experience, formatting and Facebook prowess, and Rachel’s blog to book process and love and knowledge of Twitter, our combined efforts would truly create an incredible guide for any writer out there looking to self-publish or build their writer’s platform.

2. What is the co-author process like compared to writing solo?

It’s definitely a collaborative effort. We all focused on our strengths and fortunately, Carolyn had worked on many other team writing projects so she was able to organize us, keep us on track and on schedule. Amber had also coauthored an anthology so she knew what it was like and did an amazing job. Rachel did her best to keep up!

3. What challenges did writing nonfiction present as a fiction author?

Carolyn and Amber are both quite experienced with the business aspect of indie publishing as well as marketing and promotion, so it really was just a matter of writing it down in a linear way so someone new to the industry would be able to understand it easily. For Rachel, her book “A Walk in the Snark” is non-fiction (humor) plus she teaches social media workshops for the IBC so she was able to draw from both of those experiences.

While non-fiction doesn’t have the same creative process as a novel, there is certainly an art to it! We felt this book needed to encompass everything a new author would need to fully embrace self-publishing and social media and we were eager to get at it!

4. What three things can any author do today to improve sales?

Embrace social media, optimize their Amazon page, and have an eBook!

5. What advice do you wish you’d heard in the beginning of your writing career?

Carolyn says this to us all the time: forget all the writing prompts and exercises. The best prompt of all is this: write your darn book. There are always going to be a million reasons not to sit down and focus. Get rid of those and just get it done.

6. Why do you think going indie is so compelling to authors right now?

The attractiveness of being independent in all aspects of the creative process is what’s at the heart of it. What we teach is that the product you put out there has to be the very best quality or people simply will not buy it. Indie gets bad press as a stereotype that is unfair – there are plenty of us that have risen to the top using top of the line services and writing quality.

There is a paradigm shift in thinking as the publishing industry undergoes this massive change and authors also realize they can keep more profits this way. However, it takes a lot of hard work, as we spell out in detail in the book.

7. What did self-publishing teach you about your writing?

We all learned different lessons, of course, but ultimately the lesson is that writing is writing. We all love it and can’t dream of not writing, but you have to sit down and get it done. That said, self-publishing allows you to get it out to the reader base you have developed as well as expand into other areas through social media. The marketing is so much more intimate and that helps fuel us, to connect us with our readers and fans in ways never possible before.

8. When it comes to being indie, what’s the easy part? What’s the hard part?

Being a writer can feel quite isolating at times, so the easy part is definitely having each other to call on when we are having a tough day, to run things by, to critique something quickly, and to know we have each other’s back. Founding the collective has been an incredible bonding experience for all of us and we feel fortunate to have laid such a strong foundation for our entire collective.

The hard part is probably is doing it all ourselves which can become overwhelming. That’s one of the main reasons for the collective – sales and marketing can be difficult to do on your own, but with wonderfully effective promotions like Bestseller For A Day and our unique multi-author, same-day blog tours, indie authors can work as a team to promote their own work as well as give and receive support to other fantastic indie authors. The results are inspiring.

9. What is the biggest myth about self-publishing today?

That indies are ruining publishing in some way. That all indie writers are losers who couldn’t make it the traditional way. That eBooks are destroying minds. That we “cheapen” the literary process. The list goes on…
Of course indie authors do not have to be any of those things. No one is pointing a finger at Barry Eisner or JA Konrath. As more and more of the cream of the indie crop rises, that stigma will go down #hopefully


10. What tricks have you learned along the way to stay motivated despite the challenges a writing career presents?

Write every day. Treat it like a job. Cause it is! This is your career; give it the respect it deserves. Give yourself a word goal and when you meet it, and then you can play. We realize you have other commitments: family, kids, day job, etc. but writing is a commitment also.
Remember too that writing the book is only half your job: the other half of your time needs to be spent marketing it! Therefore, tricks like scheduling your tweets/mentions ahead of time is a real time-saver. Social media is a wonderful part of promotion but can also steal crucial time writing. Striking a balance is definitely key for any writer.

ROBOPOCALYPSE by Daniel H. Wilson

Keeping with the theme of robots, (see yesterday's guest post by Anthony Balducci for his robotic novel Life, Liberty. . . and all the rest) today's review is for Robopocalypse: A Novel by Daniel H. Wilson.

ROBOPOCALYPSE is about Archos (a Greek work for "master"), an artificial intelligence that spreads it's control like a virus and desires to see the human race brought to it's knees. It infiltrates everything with a computer chip inside it, from cars, to planes, to humanoid robots, turning them against mankind.

There is a few brief passages that left me wondering if there were supernatural origins behind Archos but that is never truly explored.

Think Maximum Overdrive meets the Terminator series of movies and you have ROBOPOCALYPSE summed up pretty good.

Almost too good.

That's not to suggest the novel is complete knock-off, but it comes pretty close.

But I'll be frank. I couldn't care less.

What I want out of a novel like ROBOPOCALYPSE is a fun summer time read. Give me action and violence and heroes and bad guys and I'm happy.

The story follows essentially a three year arc from the start of the robot uprising to it's conclusion. Along the way you walk in the footsteps of various key figures in the human resistance, including a soldier, a demolitionist, a congress woman, a cop and many others.

For me the best part of the book was the first quarter, when things started to go haywire. There are some truly creepy scenes and some hair-raising action sequences that will leave you breathless. The rest of the novel feels like your running from Hunter-Killers with John Conner in 2029, which is cool but for the fact that you feel like you have tread this ground before.

The novel ends neatly but the door is left open for a possible sequel. If you haven't already heard, Steven Spielberg is slated to direct the movie.

Daniel H. Wilson is a good writer but the one thing that left me wondering was his approach to the novel. If you read his bio, it states that he has a Ph.D. in robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. Yet, the novel never gets very deep into the technology aspect of things. Pretty much anyone with a token understanding of robots might have been able to write the technical scenes of the book, which was disappointing as it was surprising. I was hoping, given the authors background, for a little more authenticity in that respect.

Perhaps he felt the need to dumb things down in order to make it more commercial. If that's the case, I guess it worked. This is a summer popcorn book at it's best.

Daniel H. Wilson also has a couple nifty sounding non-fiction books out there called How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion and How to Build a Robot Army: Tips on Defending Planet Earth Against Alien Invaders, Ninjas, and Zombies. These definitely sound like they would be enjoyable reads.

Guest Blog Post - Anthony Balducci

Wormies, please welcome author Anthony Balducci, who hails from Gainesville, Florida, to The Man Eating Bookworm. Mr. Balducci is the author of the recently released Life, Liberty. . . and all the rest, as well as Lloyd Hamilton: Poor Boy Comedian of Silent Cinema:

Disney's Hall of the Presidents exhibit has been known to inspire high emotion. It is not unusual for guests to express disapproval of a disfavored president by booing when their animatronic recreation is introduced on stage. These machines look so human that guests cannot help but respond to them as if they are real people. When the exhibit opened at Disney World in 1971, a local pastor denounced the animatronic presidents as blasphemous, believing the engineers that developed them were messing in God's sandbox. My new novel, Life, Liberty. . . and all the rest, exaggerates the situation to further bring out the confusion and unease inspired by simulated men. The main characters are robotic clones of the U.S. Presidents far more advanced than their real-life counterparts. They possess cognition and physical autonomy that allows them to escape from a scientifically advanced amusement park.

Humanoid robots have been mischaracterized in films and television. Usually, a humanoid robot is portrayed as having strength to lift a car over its head, shoot laser beams out of its eyes, and use a built-in jet pack to fly through the air. But a true humanoid robot, which needs to act in cohesion with its operators and function in environments as ordinary as homes, parks and shopping malls, must be designed to mimic human behavior and share a human's physical attributes. It must have the ability to lift a laundry basket, see a jar of jelly in the refrigerator, and climb up and down a flight of stairs. Just to enter a home, it must have hands that can turn a doorknob and be the right size and shape to fit through a doorway. It cannot resemble Optimus Prime. What makes these creations fearsome is not their physical powers but the impact they have on us psychologically.

A family does not have much of a relationship with a toaster. But that would change if the toaster could get the bread out of the package, toast it to a golden brown consistency, and then serve it to the family at the kitchen table. It would, in this situation, need to have eyes, hands and legs. Communication with a simple stationary toaster is restricted to turning a browning dial and pulling down a lever, but verbal commands and verbal responses would be needed to communicate with a toaster skittering around the kitchen. A dog that can fetch and bark inspires greater feelings from its owner than a goldfish. In the same way, a toaster that can fetch and beep inspires greater feelings than the standard countertop toaster.

Movies and television specialize in violent robot uprisings. Think of Terminator, Matrix, I, Robot, Transformers and Battlestar Galactica. The robot rebellion depicted in my novel is less aggressive and more thoughtful. The robots' objective is not to destroy mankind but to become a part of it.

The book has a large cast of characters, many of whom alternate in narrating the story. I worked hard to vary perspectives, giving each chapter its own distinctive tone, style and message. Extensive research went into the preparation of the book to assure the accurate portrayal of the U.S. Presidents. Stories were specifically fashioned around the most important and intriguing aspects of their personalities and experiences. A better understanding of the robots brings about a better understanding of their models.

It proved to be a challenge that, for my first novel, I set out to create a story that combined science fiction, satire, history and adventure. I trust, though, that most readers are well-rounded in their interests and can appreciate these diverse elements. I am proud, too, how all of these elements came together.

I am trying to use creative marketing to make readers aware of the book. Events and characters of the book are treated as real within the context of social media. The George Washington robot has its own Facebook page. A blog features alleged news articles, brochures, and photographic evidence of robot sightings. You are invited to visit my blog at http://lifelibertyandalltherest.blogspot.com/.


Thanks, Anthony!
Wormies, be sure to check out Life, Liberty. . . and all the rest today.

Friday Night Stuff...

I went to see SUPER 8 this afternoon. Wow, what a great film. I loved it. If you haven't seen it yet, Wormies, I highly, highly, recommend it.

It totally put me in mind of such terrific coming-of-age movies as STAND BY ME and ET: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL.

It's about a bunch of tweens in 1979 that are making a zombie film. During one scene they are filming at a old railway stop, they are witness to a horrible train wreck. Something escapes from the cargo. Something out of this world. And they capture it on film.

What follows is an hour and a half of monster movie mayhem the way only Steven Spielberg can bring it to you.

Though I was a fan of some of Abrams' work, this is the best thing I've seen him do thus far. To be honest it was like he was channeling Spielberg himself to film this.

It will make those of you out there than grew up in the '70s and early'80s long for days past, when horror movies were the rage and rock and roll kicked ass. It was time of BMX bikes, long hair and young love.

Check it out. You won't be sorry.

One of the previews for SUPER 8 was THE RISE OF PLANET OF THE APES. It looks pretty bad ass. Check out the preview here.

Gollum, er, I mean Andy Serkis plays Caesar, the chimp that leads the revolt.

I was a big fan of the original series when I was younger. I can't wait to see this new vision.

Okay, back to the written word. Check this out:

Lauren Blaine is on the run...fleeing across the country, pursued by a pack of ruthless, skilled, and psychopathic killers. 

That's because she's dumped her husband and he hasn't taken it well.

Of course, he might have taken it better if he wasn't a major drug dealer with a gale-force temper... and if she hadn't run off with all of his cash.

Now she's marked-for-death, a moving target for every mercenary, hitman, and sadist in the midwest.

What they don't know is that Lauren is nobody's victim... she's a resourceful, brave, and cunning woman who won't go down without a fight. 

This is 10,000 words of non-stop action, violence and sex...a wild ride like nothing else you've read before...from twelve masters of suspense, who teamed up to write this rollicking story 250 rapid-fire words at a time, tag-team style, without an outline, without knowing what was coming next. The result is a pure, literary adrenaline rush.

Part 1 of Die, Lover, Die! was previously published in Top Suspense: 13 Classic Stories by 12 Masters of the Genre.

CARTE BLANCHE by Jeffery Deaver

Before I get to the meat of this review I think I want to make a few things understood.

I have never read a single Ian Fleming book (though I have intentions of doing so).

I have, however, seen most of the James Bond movies (there might be some really early ones I missed but I'm not sure). When I was a kid my brothers took me to the Willow movie theatre for a double bill of Octopussy and For Your Eyes Only. I had nightmares about Jaws (and if you think I'm talking about Bruce, you got less credit in the OO7 world than I do).

My point being, that like Star Wars and Star Trek, I loved the movies, the shows, the stuff, but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head who Boba Fett's daddy was or how to speak Klingon. I'm just your average, everyday fan. Besides the Timothy Dalton movies, I think I dug all the Bond flicks. I still think Roger Moore was the best Bond, but Sean Connery was great, too. I even thought Pierce Brosnan was alright.

An aficionado I am not, but I dig the stuff. I think I have a sense of what makes a good Bond story, at least movie wise. I can only assume the movies have transferred somewhat favourably from the novels.

So, Jeffery Deaver's book.

Let me start by saying, I thought it was a little strange hiring Deaver to write a Bond book. While I'm not a fan of Deaver's, (I have only read The Bone Collector (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel), which I quite enjoyed by the way) I always had the impression he was more a mystery writer as apposed to a espionage/spy thriller writer.

And don't get me wrong, I'm not at all suggesting that one can't write in both fields. Lots of writers do it. I think Deaver could do it. But not as writer of Bond. Not if Carte Blanche is any indication.

I think Deaver spent too much time studying world cuisine and wine lists, than actually focusing on writing what everyone hoped to get, a full throttle adventure story featuring everyone's favourite spy. I think if you cut all the passages that focused on Bond's menu, the page count would have been cut in half. It got to the point where I dreaded 007 sitting down for a meal.

And as much as I understand this is a "re-boot" of the franchise, this new Bond comes across as a bit of a dull boy, if you'll excuse the expression. As worldly as he's supposed to be, Deaver never really adds any colour to the character. There is none of the wit I'm used to from the Bond films I've watched over the years (and lets face it, the films are the main point of reference for 99% of the folks out there).

Yes, there are exotic cars and beautiful women and some nifty gadgets (really just one thing, an Iphone with a lot of cool apps, he (cleverly?) calls an IQphone) but these things only work for the novel if you have one other key ingredient.

A badass super criminal.

Here, in my opinion is the big downfall of the book. Severan Hydt, CARTE BLANCHE's big bad, really isn't all that dastardly. Sure, he's a bad guy, but he's not the super-megalomaniac we're used to seeing Bond face. He plans to kill some folks, but it's not the President or the Prime Minister, or the Queen. He doesn't plan to steal the codes to launch a nuclear strike against the West or blow up the moon or destroy the Eiffel Tower. Nothing at all quite so grand. Which, under normal circumstances would be fine. However this is a Bond novel!

Sure, there are a few surprises, but nothing you don't see coming a mile away. And even those just come off as dull. You just get to the point where you find yourself thinking, who cares?

Another thing that bugged me was the way Deaver would explain something Bond planned on doing, only to start the next chapter with Bond doing the exact opposite. It works the first few times but after a while it starts getting frustrating.

As a Bond novel you want to see the super agent get himself out of sticky, over the top, situations. This "trickery" or "bait and switch", really started to bug me by the end of the book. I felt like I was wasting time reading, essentially, an unreliable character. Nothing ever happened!

This made most of the novel rather boring.

The writing is fine. Deaver is obviously a capable writer. More than capable. But the wrong man to write a Bond book.

Oh, and the cover? It sucks.

THE J.E. MEDRICK FILES - THE ARC CRISIS

Wormies, welcome to episode two of what I'm calling THE J.E. MEDRICK FILES. Depending on time and commitments on JEM's part, I hope to bring you an episode of the FILES on or near the date for each instalment of JEM's terrific ICARUS HELIX series. 

Today marks the release of THEIF, episode four. JEM is usually around here somewhere and I'm sure she would answer any questions you might have.

Before I pass the reigns over let me remind you all I still have two FREE copies of Cheat (Icarus Helix #1) to give away! Just leave a comment in the post below with your Kindle e-mail and I'll send you a FREE copy in the next day or so.

Over to JEM:

  

First of all, let me be blunt - I am kind of a nerd.  If you make a witty Gilligan's Island, Ninja Turtles or popular anime reference, there is more than an 80% chance I will get it and laugh appropriately.  Cricket?  You gotta know what a crumpet is to understand cricket!  (I also know how to actually play cricket.)

In loving anime, I also love some of its more static counterpart, manga.  My favorite manga is called "Bakuman".  It's about aspiring mangakas.  They want to write manga for a living.

Maybe it isn't hard to understand how a writer who wants to write for a living can enjoy reading a manga about aspiring mangakas.

One really cool thing about manga (and anime) is the way the story plays out in arcs.  Maybe it's a little three episode chibi, or maybe it's a 45-episode-someone-is-going-to-die-at-the-culmination-of-this-battle-and-I-sure-hope-it's-Frieza masterpiece.

That's kind of where I am with my Icarus Helix series.  Episodes 1, 2 and 3 all, in the end, teased or focused on a single main event.  The characters from that event interacted in sometimes subtle, sometimes forward ways.

But at the end of Episode 3 (Coward), we got a big dose of Main Event 1.  Even though it's obvious there is MORE to the story, it's like a bit of tension is relieved, because we know SOMETHING.

So when I started writing Episode 4 (Thief), I had a few days of utter panic that nothing I was writing was going to be good or interesting.  "Coward" gave me more face time with fans than ever.  I received my first fan mail!  How could I possibly keep the energy up?  Would I be able to write an Episode 4 that kept those new fans interested?  I call this "The Arc Crisis".  I will probably feel it every time a huge plot point rolls through.  But that's okay.

"Thief" begins a new arc.  I am confident in the story.  It is something I would want to read, and therefore I am proud to write it.  I know where it's going with more clarity everyday and the pressure of excitement glows just beneath the surface of my skin.  And if, or when, I have doubts, I can read a few chapters of "Bakuman" and know that anyone else in the same situation might just feel the exact same way.

If you like superheroes, YA, or sinister bad guys... or you want some fun fiction to tide you over and make you wonder... you just might like the Icarus Helix series.  Please consider giving it a try with "Cheat"! :)

Contact Info:

E-mail: JEMedrickBooks@gmail.com

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J.E. MEDRICK'S CHEAT GIVEAWAY!

For the past few months I've been pimping J.E. Medrick's ICARUS HELIX series of novellas.

When I first read Cheat (Icarus Helix #1) I wasn't sure what to expect from the series. To be frank, I primarily picked it up because I'm a big fan of Jeroen ten Berge's cover work. It turned out I liked the story enough to stick around for Liar (Icarus Helix #2). It was after reading LIAR I knew I was going to love this series. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen in Coward (Icarus Helix #3). I heard it was darker than the previous two. It was and it firmly cemented me as a fan.

I can't wait to see where this story is going!

The ICARUS HELIX series is YA fiction in the tradition of television shows like HEROES and THE X MEN comic books.

When I first started doing this blog it was primarily a place to post my thoughts on the books I was reading. What I didn't realize was how interactive and close I would become with some of the writers I enjoyed reading. Some authors just drop by and thank me for a good review (for the most part, the only kind I like to feature). But some have taken our interaction up to a level of friendship, sharing their personal thoughts and feelings with me, and I with them.

One such author is J.E. Medrick. Not only is she a terrific writer but she's pretty cool, too. She's got a black Labrador Retriever (my favourite kind of dog) that's also a Cokephant. She digs comic books, superhero movies and Ryan Reynold's body (I believe her words were "HUBBA HUBBA"). She likes to make up words, like "hobojillion" and is a self proclaimed HUGE Justin Beiber fan (okay, I made that last part up).

Point is, I think of JEM as a friend and I really want to see her series take off and get the attention I believe it deserves. So, in honour of tomorrow's release of THIEF (episode #4) I'm giving away five copies of Cheat (Icarus Helix #1) via Amazon's Kindle.

If you want a copy all you have to do is be one of the first five to leave a comment (with your Kindle e-mail) for this post and it's yours.

I have a small request though. If you win a copy and you dig CHEAT, I ask that you blog about it or tweet about it or tell a friend.

Tune in tomorrow for "ARC CRISIS", part two of what I'm calling THE J.E. MEDRICK FILES.

COWARD by J.E. Medrick

J.E. Medrick's Icarus Helix series is one of my favourite stories of late.

It's fun. It's exciting. And it's got a great mix of action and teen drama. Yes, teen drama. It brings back memories of uncomfortable first days of high school, bullying and even first loves. There aren't many of us out there that don't remember those days.

In Coward (Icarus Helix #3) David West, an awkward freshman, discovers high school is an entirely different beast from middle school. It doesn't help matters that he's shy, and a bit of a geek. Things get off to a rough start at his new school after an accidental collision with a meathead on the football team.

But things go from rough to weird when David absorbs the metal from a pop can through his hands. Later he absorbs the shower handle in his parents bathroom. If puberty isn't enough, having to deal with a freakish power increases the stress weighing on his shoulders.

David has read enough comics and seen his share of Marvel movies to know what's up. But what kind of super hero is a guy that can absorb metal? This and other questions weigh on the young kid's mind as he learns the girl he's crushing on might be dating a guy on the football team. And to make matters worse, it seems that guy has a power also, something cooler than absorbing metal.

COWARD is the darkest episode yet in the Icarus Helix series, and one that will likely cement most readers as fans of the series if they are not already.

These stories are perfect summer reading for all the YA fans out there looking for something thrilling and new to read. With movies like THOR, THE GREEN LANTERN and X MEN: FIRST CLASS filling the theatres, not to mention recent popular television shows like HEROES and NO ORDINARY FAMILY, it's hard to imagine there not being an audience out there for the Icarus Helix series.

With each episode pricing in at a measly .99 cents, the MEB says you can't go wrong and now is the perfect time to jump on board.

Episode four, THEIF, hits the digital stands on Wednesday!

I'm Back!

As you have probably guessed from the dust and cob webs, I've been away for most of the week.

My wife and I took our three children up to cottage country and enjoyed a few days of peace and quiet. We had a lot of fun playing on the beach, roasting marsh mellows and just enjoying each other's company.

I had planned on doing a lot of reading and writing while I was away but neither really happened all that much.

Anyways, I'm back. I'm going to do some dusting and cleaning and get things put back in order so that things can resume come Monday morning. If you have been waiting for a reply from me via e-mail, my apologies for the slow response. You will hear from me soon!

Have a great weekend Wormies.

YELLOW MEDICINE by Anthony Neil Smith

Besides having a bitchin' new cover, Yellow Medicine by Anthony Neil Smith is a kick ass read. Originally published back in 2008 by Bleak House Books, it's now available as a cheap e-book. So, if you have a hankerin' for some gritty crime and a twisty turvy suspense story, YELLOW MEDICINE is just the read for you.

Billy Lafitte is a deputy that likes to do things his way, even if his way isn't necessarily legal or right in the eyes of public perception. He takes a cut of the local drug trade, uses the county residents dirty laundry to get things he wants, and spends a lot of his on duty time in a bar listening to his favourite psychobilly band, Elvis Antichrist.

Enter two psychotic bad guys looking to step in on Billy's neat little operation and things quickly get out of hand. Way out of hand. Before Billy knows what's happening corpses are piling up, people are going missing and his life is being threatened. In no time he's got the Sheriff on his butt and Homeland Security.

What follows is damn good noir.

Lafitte is one of the more interesting characters I've read, walking that fine line between being morally reprehensible and being the kind of guy that will risk his life to save yours. Even though you know you should hate him, you can't help but like the guy. He's the big underdog that has a history of breaking the law, screwing up and letting people down, but is trying to do right this time. Really, you can't help but root for him.

At all times entertaining, Smith also doesn't shy away from jabbing you with an emotional punch to make sure you're paying attention, before knocking you out with the last third of the novel.

If you dig YELLOW MEDICINE, you won't have to wait long to read the sequel. Hogdoggin' is now available for download. Look for a review of that one and other titles by Anthony Neal Smith in the not too distant future.

IMPORTANT NOTICE!! Pay attention to this one Wormies. See below this review that kick ass looking book by Roger Smith called Dust Devils? If you buy DUST DEVILS by Roger Smith for your Kindle (or Nook or whatever) and send Anthony Neil Smith the proof, he's going to give you (FREE!!) three of his e-books. That's right. You buy DUST DEVILS (only $3.99) and you can get yourself three Anthony Neil Smith books (including YELLOW MEDICINE and HOGDOGGIN') for free. Just click on the link to his website above for details. The offer is only valid for this week, so act fast.

Any hey, I just started reading DUST DEVILS and I can tell you it's excellent so far. Look for a review coming up soon.

A DEVIL OF A DEAL...

TO AVENGE WHAT HE LOVES, HE MUST BECOME WHAT HE HATES

Framed for murdering his family, South African journalist Robert Dell's only ally is his oldest enemy: his father, an ex-CIA hitman with one last shot at redemption. Hunting the real killer, father and son take a bloody road trip into the heart of darkness, uncovering a conspiracy reaching to the highest levels of the State. 

Praise for Dust Devils

"Roger Smith is the master of the coolly-described nightmare." DER SPIEGEL (Germany)

"Topping my list of favorite crime thrillers of all time. Absolutely breathtaking" 
DAVE ZELTSERMAN - KILLER & THE CARETAKER OF LORNE FIELD

"An amped-up, page-turning noir sure to leave the reader blistered 
and bruised with satisfaction." 
FRANK BILL - CRIMES IN SOUTHERN INDIANA

"Roger Smith's best work. Shocking, unsparing and very satisfying."
MACK LUNDY - MACK CAPTURES CRIME

"Noir at its most brutal and honest. Not so much about the dark and the shadows as it is about the stark light of the noonday sun." 
A. N. SMITH - HOT DOGGIN' & YELLOW MEDICINE

"A compelling, high-octane page turner." 
CRAIG RUSSELL - LENNOX & FABEL THRILLERS

THE DEAD MAN: THE DEAD WOMAN by David McAfee

The Dead Man: The Dead Woman by David McAfee is my second favourite of THE DEAD MAN series of books, after The Dead Man: Face of Evil. And that's saying a lot.

This series just gets better and better with each new instalment in Matt Cahill's ongoing hunt for Mr. Dark and the reasons behind his macabre abilities.

In THE DEAD WOMAN Cahill find himself in a small Tennessee town being terrorized by a serial killer. He also meets a woman that may, or may not, know a thing or two about his haunting visions of evil.

This is a terrific little book. It's well written, tight and meets with my one requirement for an excellent Dead Man book. A little axe swinging action!

This is my first time reading anything by author David McAfee and I hope it won't be the last. It's very obvious he's a talented writer and I can't wait to see what he can do outside THE DEAD MAN universe.

I've said before but it's worth repeating. This is a great series. If you haven't jumped onboard yet, you're missing out. My fellow Canuck, Gef Fox (of Wag The Fox) mentioned in his review of Dead Man: Hell in Heaven (The Dead Man) that this series was similar in rhythm to the '70's television show The Incredible Hulk. I thought that was a very astute comparison. And since I loved that show growing up and I love this series of books, you gotta do what's right and check'em out!

Guest Blog Post - JOSEPH GARRATY

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by a writer wondering if I had time to review his new novel. The letter was courteous, professional and friendly. All things I appreciate (not just as a book reviewer and fan, but as a human being).

Unfortunately I have a bit of a backlog of books I need to get to at the moment, and I'm a very slow reader. But I wanted to do something for Joe, so I proposed a guest blog post. He agreed, I'm pleased to say.

Wormies, meet Joseph Garraty:  

As a writer, I can safely say that writers are nuts. We sit in quiet places for large chunks of time, constructing elaborate edifices and often whole worlds from figments of our imagination. It’s a neat trick, once you can do it, but it tends to make us a little crazy.

But you know who’s even crazier than that?

Rock musicians.

I get a pass here, too, since I’ve played in one rock band or another for the last ten years, so I know what I’m talking about. But don’t take my word for it—think about some of your favorites. Neil Young drove halfway across a continent at age sixteen, until his beater broke down and he had to abandon it on the way to California. The guys from Guns ‘N Roses reportedly lived in a mini-storage unit for a while. David Lee Roth—hmm. Probably nothing I need to elaborate on there. The name alone conjures up images of excess beyond anything I could invent.

These are people with huge creativity, insane monomaniacal obsession, and risk tolerance that would make an insurance adjuster seize up and drop dead at the first whisper. At one concert I attended, I saw the lead guitarist for Taking Dawn leap, guitar in hand, off a four foot stage into a seething crowd, without any apparent thought about whether he might break an ankle, fall on his guitar, or club an audience member into insensibility.

And this is normal for rock musicians.

That’s why I knew I had to write a horror novel about a rock band. Stick four or five rock musicians in a room, and you’ve got a recipe for all kinds of extreme personality interaction—and as a writer, I get to skin that away and get at the person underneath. And since it’s a horror novel, I get to stress-test the characters and the group they’ve formed under some pretty outrageous conditions.

Enter my newly-published novel, Voice. Here’s the setup:

Johnny’s a lousy singer for a mediocre rock band, and he wants to be famous more than anything. Case is a hotshot guitarist with an enormous chip on her shoulder who happens to need a band. When she joins up with Johnny’s band, Ragman, the group gets a jolt of new life, and it soon becomes obvious that Johnny doesn’t have the chops to keep up. But somebody’s been watching Johnny—somebody who can give him a voice to move millions. . . if he’s willing to make a deal.

But when you deal with the devil, you never get quite what you bargained for. Johnny gets what he wants, sort of, but his new voice has some fairly, shall we say, hellacious side effects.

As the weirdness surrounding Johnny worsens, we get to see what the characters are really made of—and that’s the sort of craziness that writers (and readers!) live for.

Drop by my website at http://www.josephgarraty.com, or check out Voice at these sites:

Amazon

Smashwords

Guest Post Blog - DAVE ZELTSERMAN & ARCHIE

Archie called me the other day for a short talk, and was kind enough to transcribe our conversation and send it to me via email.

DZ: How’s Julius taking all the attention my write-ups of his cases have been getting—winning Shamus, Derringer and Ellery Queen’s Readers Choice awards?

Archie: He’s been amused by it. Especially since those awards are supposed to be for fictional works.

DZ: Yeah, I know. To be honest, I’m embarrassed by it. I thought I made it clear in my write-ups that I was simply chronicling true detective cases instead of writing fictional stories.

Archie: Julius expected that to be the case. Since I’ve learned over the 8.43 years that I’ve been with him not to doubt him, I didn’t, but I was still hoping this time he’d be wrong.

DZ: I have to admit, it caught me by surprise, especially since these cases have all been well documented in the newspapers, and at least people in Boston know Julius is real, as are all the people I’ve written about. But I guess what’s happening—and what Julius knew would happen—is that people think I’m writing some sort of meta fiction—taking real life people and real life cases and replacing one on the actors, namely you, with a fictional sci-fi device. I mean every person in Boston knows that you’re Julius’s assistant, but they refuse to believe you’re the way I wrote you.

Archie: That’s just great. Makes me feel one inch tall.

DZ: Instead of your two-inches.

Archie: Exactly.

DZ: Sorry, pal.

Archie: Not your fault. Julius fully expected this, regardless of how you wrote these cases up.

DZ: Thanks, Archie. Well, I hope when people read my write-up of the Kingston Case, which I’ve titled ‘Julius Katz and Archie’, they realize that you really did save Julius’s life… what’s going on, you’re glowing orange right now?

Archie: Umm… nothing..

DZ: This embarrasses you? You glow orange when you’re embarrassed?

Archie: Next question!

DZ: Okay, I don’t want you overheating or anything. I’m finishing up the Sanderson case now, and I’m thinking of titling it, ‘Archie Beats Julius to the Punch’.

Archie: Oh, please do! That would annoy Julius to no end. He claims he still solved the case before me, while I claim otherwise. So you agree with me?

DZ: Well, I’ll let the readers decide. Hey, Archie, as always it’s been fun. Tell Julius I say hi.

Archie: Will do.

Thanks to Dave Zeltserman for that great post! 

And thanks to all the Wormies out there that stopped by this week. My hope is that I turned at least one new person onto Dave's writing.

Want more Dave Zeltserman? Dave is doing a book tour for JULIUS KATZ and ARCHIE all this month starting on the 6th. I've posted a list of stops below.

Monday, June 6

Interviewed at Virginia Beach Publishing Examiner

Tuesday, June 7

Guest blogging at The Dark Phantom Reviews

Wednesday, June 8

Interviewed at Book Marketing Buzz

Thursday, June 9

Guest blogging at Writing Daze

Friday, June 10

Guest blogging at Literarily Speaking

Monday, June 13

Interviewed at Pump Up Your Book

Tuesday, June 14

Interviewed at Review From Here

Wednesday, June 15

Book reviewed at Book Reviews by Molly

Thursday, June 16

Interviewed at The Writer’s Life

Friday, June 17

Guest blogging at A Cozy Reader’s Corner Reviews

Monday, June 20

Guest blogging at The Book Boost

Tuesday, June 21

Guest blogging at Authors Book Corner

Wednesday, June 22

Interviewed at Paperback Writer

Thursday, June 23

Guest participant at Literarily Speaking June Book Panel

Friday, June 24

Book reviewed at Life in Review

Monday, June 27

Interviewed at As the Pages Turn

Tuesday, June 28

Interviewed at Cafe of Dreams Book Reviews

Wednesday, June 29

Book reviewed at Cafe of Dreams Book Reviews

Thursday, June 30

Interviewed at American Chronicle