ROBERT SWARTWOOD - interview

For starters, let me say I'm sorry about the font. I can't get it on a normal size. So get out your magnifying glasses!


There is nothing like discovering a new writer, that feeling when you're reading they're book and you think to yourself, yeah, I dig what this guy is doing here. I got that feeling when I began reading Robert Swartwood's The Serial Killer's Wife.


If you like fast paced thrillers that will keep you up long into the night I can't recommend it highly enough. 


Robert Swartwood is also the author of The Calling: A Supernatural Thriller and The Dishonored Dead: A Zombie Novel, not to mention he edited Hint Fiction: An Anthology of Stories in 25 Words or Fewer which features such authors as Peter Straub and Joyce Carol Oates.


When Robert agreed to answer a few questions for THE MAN EATING BOOKWORM, I was more than thrilled.


I hope you enjoy it!


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MEB: Robert, welcome to THE MAN EATING BOOKWORM! How are things?


RS: Things are going very well, Peter, thanks for asking and thanks for a) reviewing THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE and b) interviewing me here on your blog. An "indie" writer's best friend are book bloggers, so it means a lot when our work is singled out ... at least positively.


MEB: Your latest novel THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE, is a dynamite thriller that will leave readers breathless. Where did the idea for the story originate?


RS: I talked about this at Patti Abbott's blog the other week, but basically I had written a story a year or two ago called "True Confessions of a Serial Killer's Wife," which was about a woman whose husband is suddenly arrested by the FBI for being a serial killer. She's a middle school teacher and had no idea about her husband. What's worse, she has just given birth to a baby boy, and thoughts about whether her son has the same evil inside her husband begin to play around in her mind. The story was more "literary" than anything else, focusing on the characters and the aftermath of the arrest. There are two of her close friends -- Foreman, their family lawyer, and Sheila, her best friend -- as well as mentions of the woman's brother and the young hotshot lawyer that signs on to represent her husband. It's important to note that because all of those characters reappear in the novel. In fact, it was easy starting to write this novel because I had already laid out a background story for the main character with all these supporting characters. Of course, much of what I thought I knew about the characters changed while the novel progressed, which is always fun as a writer.


MEB: The pacing and tension are kept so high throughout most of the book. How hard, or how easy, was it to keep that going?


RS: If I learned anything from Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing, it's to cut the parts readers tend to skip. Writers will always preach that every word is important, but many don't really follow what they say. Oftentimes you'll find needless exposition or redundant dialogue, and I'm not just talking about "indie" writers either. The pros are guilty of it, too. Hell, I know I've done it in the past. Still, I try to always keep that in mind while I'm writing and -- most importantly -- when I'm going back through and revising/editing. 


I try to keep the pacing as fast paced as I can, even if not much is happening. In fact, what I've done recently -- in THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE and THE DISHONORED DEAD -- is combined chapters. I create a sort of juxaposition between the chapters and different scenes, because I feel that they can't stand by themselves as chapters, or if they did, they wouldn't be as interesting. It's more of a cinematic technique, and I'm sure there are some writing teachers out there who will condemn me for trying such things, but I'm okay with that.


I will let you in on a little secret, though -- I actually wrote THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE twice. After I had initially pitched it to my agent, I had the idea of having Elizabeth's son get abducted just like in the published version, but that she would be reunited with him almost immediately ... except there would be an explosive collar around his neck. The collar could not be taken off or else it would explode; Elizabeth could not go to the authorities or else it would explode; what's more, there was a timer on the collar that counted down from one hundred hours. The idea was to be a kind of twist on the standard thriller setup; her child was in peril, yes, but this time her child was with her every step of the way. I sent it to my agent and he said he liked it but felt it may be a tad over the top; his main concern was the collar around the son's neck, how bombs don't really have timers on them -- that's more a movie and TV conceit -- and how triggering a bomb isn't as easy as pushing a button. So he said that he would go out with it as is but suggested I revisit that particular point. I am as impatient as any writer, but I am also a perfectionist, so I decided to hold off and revisit the point, and in doing so rewrote most of the novel. But because of this, I ended up cutting out a good chunk and making the novel even tighter and more fast-paced. Plus, by the time it was done, the ebook revolution, if you will, was going even stronger. It began to make more and more sense to self-publish, especially with more bookstores closing, and so after a brief talk with my agent, I decided to do this particular novel myself. He understands how the current market is and was completely fine with it. 


MEB: What sort of research was involved in the writing of THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE?


RS: I would love to be one of those writers who can tell you that I spent hours and hours reading various texts and documentations about serial killers, who had even gone so far as to visit an actual serial killer in prison and pick his brain, who maybe even began killing several people so I could not only get into the mind of a serial killer but become an actual serial killer, but the truth is there wasn't much research. A few Google searches here and there provided most of what I needed. Besides, while solid research is great, oftentimes I think it can bog down the pace of a novel, especially a thriller. It's almost like the writer in question spent so long getting all this research and so they feel the need to insert it when it's not really needed just to show how smart they are. For me, at least, I worried more about just telling a really great story.


MEB: Some writers have a certain word count they like to reach each day. Some write at home, others in a coffee shop. Some blast Metallica or some kick ass movie soundtrack to accompany their keyboard pounding, while others prefer the sweet sound of silence.  What is a writing day entail for Robert Swartwood?


RS: My writing day varies drastically from week to week. My full-time job drains me more than I would like, so when I do get home I'm usually too tired to read let alone write. I used to try to write every day, at least 1,000 words, and while I would love to get back into that kind of schedule, right now it's tough. Also, I do all my own formatting for e-books and print books, so that takes a lot of time too (the reason I do it myself is because I love being in complete control, plus if I want to add stuff to e-books like bonus material or new excerpts, I don't have to wait on someone else to get it done). But once I actually sit down to start a new book, I really dive right in. I could write 1,000 words a day, or I could write 5,000. It all depends on the scene I'm writing, I guess. 


MEB: The success or failure of a book can happen literally in the blink of an eye. If you don't have a cover that say's "READ ME!" your book is dead in the water. You hired MEB favourite and cover designer extraordinaire, Jeroen Ten Berge, for THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE (as well as THE DISHONORED DEAD). What was it like working with Jeroen?


RS: Working with Jeroen is quite a pleasure. Blake Crouch was actually the one who referred me to Jeroen, telling me he thought Jeroen would really dig my stuff. And so far that seems to be the case. Basically, I send Jeroen my books and he makes some really kick ass design. Even the wrap around covers he makes for the trade paperbacks are stunning. But you know, it's funny that while having a great cover is definitely essential, oftentimes you'll see books with some pretty hideous cover art in the Kindle Top 100, while books with really great cover art don't fare so well. Obviously there are other factors involved, but the reality is that while having a great cover definitely helps, it doesn't guarantee you'll sell a lot of copies.


MEB: E-books. They've changed the publishing industry forever. What is your take on the whole legitimacy debate between "legacy" authors and "indie" authors? Can an "indie" author be as successful in reaching the wide readership of a "legacy" author?


RS: Oh boy, this is always a loaded question, because realistically there are pros and cons to both sides. It's great having the freedom that being an "indie" author provides, but at the same time most writers don't have the heavy reaching power that many major publishers have. Then again, most authors with major publishers are expected to do the bulk of their own promotion, so sometimes it doesn't matter. But for my book published last year, the Hint Fiction anthology put out by W. W. Norton, it was reviewed by The New Yorker and The Los Angeles Times and others, it was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon, which are all things that probably wouldn't happen to a self-published author. 


While this is a digital revolution, it's also a distribution revolution. Before writers needed publishers to get them into bookstores; now besides the fact that more and more bookstores are closing, the need of a middleman is no longer there. E-readers are now making it possible for writers to go directly to the reader. But is it a good thing? For some, yes. But just because you can, doesn't always mean you should. Before writers had to work with agents and publishers to make their books the best they can be; now they have a friend or two look it over before they upload it to Kindle and other formats. Of course some writers will put more work into it, but many writers are impatient, and so they present readers with a product that isn't the best it can be, which is a shame, because you usually only get one shot with a reader. If they don't care for your one book, they'll probably never bother looking at your other books, even if they're better. So there's that to take into account. 


But as far as legitimacy? I think the ones having the most problems with it are the publishing people and those writers who feel the need to be validated. I know some writers who refuse to self-publish because they don't want that stigma. And I'm like, What stigma? The only stigma is the one given by those writers' peers. They feel it more important to impress their follow writers than to impress the people that matter most: the actual readers. Because let's be honest, readers don't much care whether a book is published by a major press or self-published ... well, okay, some do care, but the majority are open to giving new writers a chance no matter who the publisher is. And a good book, regardless who publishes it, will find an audience. 


So can "indie" authors be just as successful? As seen by writers such as John Locke and Amanda Hocking, of course. Still, it's difficult for the majority of other writers out there, even those published by major publishers. But that doesn't mean it can't happen. Like I said, good books will find an audience, mostly by word of mouth, so that makes blogs like yours so much more valuable for writers, whether they're self-published or traditionally published. 


(Also it should be noted that some writers just don't want to be bothered with having to find their own cover art and doing the formatting for their e-books and print books, either because they don't know how or they don't want to. And while I understand and respect that, I also think many "e-publishers" out there aren't a wise decision for writers either, because while they provide cover art and formatting, they then sell the book via online outlets and take a percentage each month, which can really add up in the e-publisher's favor. Instead, I would encourage writers to pay for cover art and formatting and upload it themselves. Sure it costs a good bit in the beginning, but in the end you keep earning back on your investment. And then, of course, there are writers who just like the idea of having a "publisher" ...)


MEB: Have you discovered any "indie" authors that have really impressed you? Anyone you would like to pimp to the Wormies?


RS: First I guess we'd need to get into a debate of just what makes an "indie" author indie these days. Like, is Joe Konrath now considered an indie author? What about Barry Eisler? Anyway, in terms of writers who I've never heard of before I read their books, No Shelter (Holly Lin, No. 1) by Z. Constance Frost is pretty awesome. In fact, one of the reasons I feature an excerpt in the back of THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE is a) none of my other novels right now are mainstream thrillers and b) I think her novel deserves more attention. And based on your recent review of the book, I'm glad to see it's working!


MEB: What's your favourite book you have read so far this year? Anything you're looking forward to reading?


RS: It's impossible to pick a favorite, but some books I've read this year that I really thought were great (along with NO SHELTER) were Every Shallow Cut by Tom Piccirilli, Run by Blake Crouch, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and Emily, Alone: A Novel by Stewart O'Nan. Out of the four, THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN really surprised me. I knew going in that the other books would be good, but I'll admit I was a bit skeptical going into a book narrated by a dog. But Stein really pulls it off well and tells a very engaging story. Also, I should note that out of the four, THE ART OF RACING IN THE RAIN was "read" via audiobook. 


Books I'm looking forward to? The new Stephen King novel coming out this fall, definitely. Also Ben Loory's short story collection Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day which just came out recently. Ben has such a distinct writing style and his stories are just so ... undesirable.


MEB: What's up next? Any hints for what eager readers can expect to in the coming months?


RS: This October I hope to release a new thriller, the first in a trilogy, called MAN OF WAX. It has the same standard thriller setup as THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE but goes in a different direction. Ben Anderson, a husband and father, goes to bed Sunday night in his home in Pennsylvania and wakes up Monday morning in a seedy motel in California. He doesn't know how he got there, he doesn't know where his family is, and on the bathroom mirror in dried blood is this message: LET THE GAME BEGIN. 


I'm also currently writing a short novel with horror legend David B. Silva, which is a supernatural western called WALK THE SKY. It has everything you would want from a pulpy horror western: cowboys, Indians, wrongly-accused men on the run from a posse out to kill them, deserted towns, shoot outs, ancient Indian gods, and what may or may not be zombies. We hope to have it ready by the end of the year, but most likely it will be made available sometime in January or February. 


And my novels THE CALLING, THE DISHONORED DEAD, and THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE should be available as trade paperbacks soon for those who prefer the pricier dead tree books.


MEB: Thanks a lot for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions Robert. It's very much appreciated!


Thanks again for having me, Peter! Before I go, though, I want to invite you and your blog readers to my website on August 1 at 7:00 pm EST where I'll be doing a live reading from THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE and more.


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Well, there you have it. Thanks again Robert! I for one can't wait for all those projects to hit the electronic shelves. Be sure to check out any of Robert Swartwood's novels and then drop me a line, let me know what you think.

THIEF by J.E. Medrick

Thief (Icarus Helix #4) is probably my favourite episode of J.E. Medrick's amazing super-hero series.

The star of this episode is Mason, a fifteen year old mute who has so far lived a difficult life. His father is a cop killer, in prison since his birth. He and his mother are near destitute since all the expensive (and ultimately fruitless) operations performed on Mason as a baby to try and save his voice.

Mason's one friend in the world is Jayden, an intelligent and beautiful girl who is deaf.

Mason and Jayden are beautifully written and make one of the sweetest couples in the pages of a book that I've ever read. You want to cheer for them to overcome their circumstances and get together.

But that might be harder said than done. With Mason's mother sinking under the strain of overwhelming debt, he feels tremendous pressure to do something about it, even if that means forming a partnership with one of Waredo's criminal kingpins.

At the same time Mason is dealing with something extraordinary that is happening to him, something he must learn to control if he's going to help his mother.

Careful readers won't fail to miss hints about what is going on with Jayden, and her involvement in events touched upon but yet to be fully explored in the series to date.

In summary, a terrific episode with some of Medrick's best writing to date. I've been beating this drum since the beginning, get this series! If you dig the X-Men or shows like Heroes and No Ordinary Family then this is just the series for you.

Today also marks the release of Thug (Icarus Helix #5). Check it out!

IAIN ROWAN - interview

Wormies, I'm delighted to bring you my interview with Iain Rowan, author of the short story collections Nowhere To Go and the recently released Ice Age.

Iain hails from the United Kingdom and has been published in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, as well as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine.

I've been reading NOWHERE TO GO (look for a review in the coming days) and if the first few stories are anything to go by, you're going to be hearing the name Iain Rowan a lot in the future.

Please welcome, Iain Rowan:

MEB: Iain, welcome to The Man Eating Bookworm. Can you tell us a little about NOWHERE TO GO? 

IR: Thanks for having me here. 

The eleven stories in Nowhere To Go were first published in Alfred Hitchcock's, Ellery Queen's, and elsewhere; one won the Derringer Award for best short story, and another was the basis for a novel shortlisted for the UK Crime Writers' Association's Debut Dagger award. 

An ordinary man who finds himself caught up in a bank raid gone wrong. A murder caught on security camera where the victim doesn't exist. A man with just months to live, who is already living in hell but decides to take on the devil. A mob accountant babysitting a hired killer on a trip to the countryside, and a burglar on an easy job who finds it might not be so easy after all. A con-artist conned, and what a man will do when in the grip of an obsession more important to him than his own life.  Eleven stories of what people do when there is nowhere left to go.

MEB: Why crime? What appeals to you about the genre? 

IR: Good question, because my writing crime stems from a love of reading the genre. I like the way it can create stories that keep you turning the page in excitement whilst at the same time shining a light on aspects of how people work, how societies work - or how they don't. I like the fact that the crime tends to create a pressure cooker which raises the stakes massively for the characters within the book, and tests aspects of character to the point of destruction.


MEB: NOWHERE TO GO has garnered some high praise from the likes of Dave Zeltserman and Allan Guthrie. How does it feel to have your work acknowledged by some pretty heavy hitters?

IR: It's fantastic for two reasons - firstly because it's such a help to have comments like that, when you're trying to promote your work amidst the thousands of other options for readers out there, and secondly because it reflects one of the things that I value most about the writing world - the generosity and kindness of many writers - who are very busy with their own careers -  towards others.

MEB: You very recently released another collection called ICE AGE. Can you tell us a little about that one? 

IR: Ice Age is a collection of eight strange and chilling stories. Stories of the dead and the living, and cities at war where it is hard to tell one from the other. Lonely roads and forest paths and wrong turnings. Very wrong turnings. The fiery martyrdom of The New Way, distant voices that call from the sea, and the ice creeping in, ever in. Stories in Ice Age have been reprinted in year's best anthologies (Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 16), and featured in anthologies nominated for Stoker and Shirley Jackson awards. 

MEB: Back to crime. From Morriarty to the Joker, from Dr. No to Scarface. Who, in your opinion, is the baddest criminal around?

IR: Moriarty is the classic  shadowy supervillain, sure. But if I had to pick one, it would be Keyser Soze, for pulling off the greatest trick of all.

MEB: Lets look at the flip side. Who the brightest crime fighter. You got Sherlock Holmes (of course), Superman, Batman, James Bond. Who is the king of crime fighting?

IR: Hmmm. That's a tricky one, because a lot of my favourite novels have protagonists who are flawed and skirting both sides of the law themselves. That's a long way from the classic crime fighter, like the examples you give. If I had to pick one though it would you be Holmes, because that's where I started with crime fiction, when I was a child, and I only have to pick up one of the books to be taken back to rainy Sunday afternoons where I'm lost in the smog of Victorian London.

MEB: If you had to recommend one book to hook someone on the crime genre, what would it be (besides NOWHERE TO GO, of course)?

IR: That's another hard one to answer, because it would be different books for different people, depending on their tastes. If I was trying to convince someone who was a lover of literary fiction, I'd give them Donna Tartt's The Secret History. Someone who was a lover of horror fiction, Red Dragon or Silence of the Lambs.  Someone who loved sf, I'd ask them if they'd already read China Mieville's The City and The City, and point out that it is as much a crime novel as it is a speculative fiction novel. Or I'd give anyone one of Peter Temple's or Martin Cruz Smith's books, or a novel like Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell, March Violets by Philip Kerr, or Year of the Dog by Don Winslow. Good fiction is good fiction, and the genre melts away.

Or if I was feeling mischievous, I'd give 'em White Jazz by Ellroy, and tell them that all crime fiction's like that...

MEB: What does a writing day entail for Iain Rowan? Do you write at home, a coffee shop, a dark corner of the basement? Do you listen to music or prefer the quiet tic tacking of your fingers over the keyboard?

IR: I'll write anywhere and everywhere that I can, at home, in a cafe, on a train, scribbled notes on a piece of paper when I'm out and about. I think there's a huge danger when writers think they must have a Special Writing Place, with Special Writing Things around them, and only when they're in that Special Place, with their Special Pencils and their Special Candles on, can they get started. It's a recipe for never getting anything done.

Where I can though, it's with music. But then the same's true of most other things that I do, wherever possible, it's with music.

MEB: E-books. What are your thoughts on the whole legacy publishing vs. independent publishing via e-books? Are you seeing e-books as a step towards legacy publishing for you or do you see yourself mixing it up, keeping several irons in the fire, so to speak?

IR: Definitely mixing up. Rejection haunts every writer, so having as many options open to you as possible is a really good thing. Diversification is a really good thing. I'm happy to be publishing short story collections electronically (because it's vanishingly unlikely that any publisher would go for that without an established market for novel-length fiction) but still looking for publication of my novel through print. If that doesn't work out, well, I have another option. Like I said, options are good.

MEB: What's up next for Iain Rowan? Any novels or future projects you can hint at?

IR: I've just abandoned a novel in progress, sadly. It was about a man working for a firm which used all kinds of underhand methods to find out information on public figures that they then sold on to the tabloid press. When his ex-girlfriend disappeared, and he became the suspect, he had to put his dubious skills to use to find out the truth.

Can't compete with the real world that's emerged over the last two weeks. If I'd finished it and published it a year ago, it would be the best publicity boost anyone could wish for. As it is now, it will look like a pale imitation.

So, time to start again. Sigh.

MEB: Thanks for dropping in and answering some questions, Iain!

IR: You're very welcome, thanks for having me.


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There you have it, Wormies. Thanks again to Iain for taking time out of his busy schedule and answering questions with some terrific answers.  If you're looking for some fantastic, award winning, crime stories check out Nowhere To Go. And if you're looking for something a little off the beaten path, read Iain's Ice Age. 

JELLY by Peter Andrew Leonard

Here's another short piece of fiction for you, Wormies. It's my answer to Dan O'Shea's short fiction challenge. The ground rules? A thousand words. Someone dies leaving something everyone in the family wants and will do crazy shit to get. You know, normal family stuff.

By the way, it's Mr. O'Shea's Birthday today. Happy Birthday Dan and enjoy your vacation!

I almost didn't get this one written. I banged it out last night while watching (and cursing) the Toronto Blue Jays receive a good old fashion drubbing (12-2) at the hands of the Texas Rangers.


JELLY

"What the hell are you doing, Bud?"

The shovel bit dirt again, chu-thunk!

"Bud! I said, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

With a grunt, Bud swung the shovel over his shoulder, dirt flying, and then stabbed the shovel into the earth. "What the hell does it look like, Jelly?"

Jelly's eyes were wide in astonishment. "Well, Bud, it looks like your digging up our pa's grave, is what it looks like."

Bud shook his head. "You always were a bright one, Jelly."

"Now, don't go being like that!"

Bud dislodged the shovel and stuck it back in at an angle, wiggled it so a good chunk of dirt came loose and then lifted it free, tossing it over his shoulder at the growing pile there. He was sweating hard, big wet circles of sweat staining his shirt and pasting it to his back.

"Bud?!"

"What?!"

"Why won't you tell me what you're looking for?"

"I'll do better than that, Jelly. I'll show you."

"But Bud, what makes you think it's down there?"

"Well, let me see. It ain't in the goddamn house. It weren't in the safety deposit box! So you tell me where else it could be?"

Jelly rubbed his stubbly chin and licked his lips, looking around nervously. The night seemed darker than usual, as if all the stars had been turned off.

"What if we get caught?"

Bud snorted. "We? There ain't no we, Jelly. There's just me."

Jelly frowned, rubbed his chin a little more, deep in thought. Then he said, "But Bud, we's brothers. Family. In'it 'sposed to be split between us?"

Bud tossed a few more shovelfuls over his shoulder, his breathing deep, heavy. "Who's digging here, Jelly?"

"Why, you are, Bud."

"That's right. Me. Not you. Me. You didn't want to come out here. You wanted to forget all about it. Therefore, whatever I find, I keep."

Jelly watched Bud dig for a few more minutes, not liking the words that had come out of Bud's mouth one little bit. They made him a little bit mad. What made him mad, too, was the way his brother spoke to him, like he were stupid or something.

It seemed Bud was always calling him something mean, saying he was simple, or slow, or worst of all, retarded.

Jelly's large lips squeezed tight, curled downward, as he watched his brother go deeper and deeper, closer towards their daddy's coffin.

Crack!

"There you are you sonofabitch!" Bud chuckled and began to dig away at the hole with more vigour, the coffin lid showing below a layer of chunky dirt.

"This ain't fair!" Jelly snapped.

Bud set the shovel aside and got down on his knees, searching along the side of the box for the latches. "Life ain't fair, Jelly. You of all people ought to know that!"

Jelly felt something dark tighten in his gut, heard that dark voice that sometimes talked to him inside his head, the one that told him he shouldn't let his brother talk to him that way.

"There," Bud said, and with a grunt, lifted the lid on the coffin.

"Bud, no!" Jelly gasped.

"Relax, Jelly. He ain't getting up."

Jelly swallowed, heart thumping. This was all wrong, he thought. Every part of it.

"I don't believe it!"

"What, Bud?"

"It's here! I got the bugger!"

Jelly had to steel himself to look down but he finally summoned the courage and aimed his eyes downward. A spidery shiver ran down his spine. There was pa. There was Bud and in his hand was what Bud'd been looking for. Bud was staring at it the same way he looked at the naked ladies at the titty bar in town.

"You know what this means, Jelly?"

Jelly shook his head.

"Jesus Christ, Jelly. You get dumber every day. It means I'm rich!"

Jelly didn't understand how a baseball card could make someone rich. It was just an old piece of cardboard with a snobby looking guy on it. What was so special about that?

"It's just a silly card, Bud. Ain't nothing but a kid's thing."

"Help me out of here, stupid," Bud said, his eyes gazing at the card with an expression of excitement on his face.

"Jelly?"

Cronk!

Bud collapsed on top of his paw like a sack of potatoes.

"Don't ever call me stupid ever again!" Jelly howled, the shovel gripped tight in his fists, blood dripping from the blade.

It only took about a half hour for Jelly to fill in the grave.

Card and all.

"Ain't stupid, Bud," Jelly said to the mound of dirt.

JEROEN TEN BERGE interviewed by Joseph D'Agnese

You guys know one of my favourite people in the world is cover designer extraordinaire Jeroen Ten Berge. The man, in my opinion, is a genius. His covers are so awesome he makes me want to read books I normally wouldn't.

A couple months ago I was exchanging e-mails with Jeroen and learned he would be attending Bouchercon 2011, in St. Louis. Since he lives on the other side of the world I knew this might be my only chance to meet him in person for some time.

Now I'm not an overly impulsive chap, but I couldn't let this wonderful opportunity slip by. That very night I bought airline tickets and spent a few hours searching for a reasonably priced hotel room.

I'm really looking forward to meeting Jeroen.

Okay, but the main point of this blog post is to tell you all about an interview Jeroen did recently with Joseph D'Agnese, author of The Scientist and the Sociopath and the just released Jersey Heat. Check it out HERE!

I haven't read it yet myself, I'm saving it for afterwork tonight (been doing a lot of overtime lately to pay for Bouchercon and the million books I'll surely end up buying!). When I get home I'm going to crack a Molson Canadian 67 and enjoy reading about my friend.

And hey, when you're finished reading the interview, why not purchase Mr. D'Agnese's Jersey Heat? The purchase will get you a coupon for a free copy of The Scientist and the Sociopath. Pretty good deal if you ask me!

NO SHELTER by Z Constance Frost

I've been on a darn good string of kick butt novels lately, each one seemingly trying to out do the one before it.

The most recent streak began with Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Fall (The Strain Trilogy), which I read along side Baltimore Volume 1: The Plague Ships. Two superb stories filled with history and mythology and vampiric action.

From there I read Robert Swartwood's thriller, The Serial Killer's Wife, a novel that will hijack your time and threaten your kids with murderous intent. Alright, I'm having fun. But it's a damn good novel that should be read by all you thriller lovers out there.

From there it was Die, Lover, Die!, a short story from The Top Suspense Group that should come with a warning label for readers with weak hearts.

Now, speaking of thrillers, you must check out the book I finished reading just last night. It's called No Shelter (Holly Lin, No. 1) by Z. Constance Frost. It's the story of Holly Lin, a secret government assassin, and how she pretty much kills anything that gets in her way. She's hot, feisty, frighteningly tough, and loves to drop the f-bomb.

Oh, and she's also a nanny.

That's right, a nanny. And when scum bags kidnap and threaten to kill the two kids that mean more than the world to Holly Lin, well, she'd do anything to get them back and some.

NO SHELTER is part mystery, part thriller suspense, and all kinds kick ass!

With so many books to read, it's actually quite lucky that I read NO SHELTER when I did. I hadn't even heard of it until I finished THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE, where it was spotlighted with an excerpt at the end of that book. I have a ton, I mean a ton, of books to read. I don't have time for new books!

But here in lies two lessons for you e-book authors out there.

One, it's a good idea if you can, to have your book excerpted at the back of another kick-ass novel. That way, the reader finishes one amazing read and while they're still on a high, there they find YOUR book.

Lesson two? Have an amazing product description.

These two simple things helped NO SHELTER skip to the front of my reading book line. No easy feat, that!

I don't know much about Z. Constance Frost, other than she's a mother of two that lives in the Washington D.C. area and writes heart pounding thrillers. One reviewer on Amazon.com suggested NO SHELTER was far too polished to be a first time author's book, going so far as to ponder whether or not Frost was a nom du plume of a published writer simply testing the e-book waters.

I have to admit, the possibility is intriguing. A cool name like Z. Constance Frost writing about a cool chick that kicks butt? Hmmmm...

Regardless, NO SHELTER offers up a new foul mouthed, knuckle brawling, gun shooting, sexy heroine for readers to love and cheer for. Frost writes with the emotional force of an AK-47, taking no prisoners. And just when you think you have it all figured out she kicks your legs out from under you, leaving you wondering where she's going to go next.

I look forward to the next Holly Lin story, called DOWN IN A HOLE.

DIE LOVER DIE by The Top Suspense Group

Die, Lover, Die! by The Top Suspense Group is hyper-speed thrill ride that doesn't let up from start to finish.

If you're looking for a quick fix between books, this short story is just what you're looking for. When you have some of the top names in the suspense genre (we're talking Ed Gorman, Dave Zeltserman, Lee Goldberg, Harry Shannon and more!) teaming up for a slam bang action thriller, you know your going to be treated to something gnarly.

Lauren is a woman on the run, and she's leaving more dead bodies in her wake than Death himself. From L.A. to Kansas, all the way to Chicago, Lauren is pursued and terrorized by goons, hitmen, and crazy-assed waitresses that know no bounds.

The writing is furiously fast and the action over-the-top. At only 99 cents it's honestly one of the best deals on Amazon.com!

THE DETACHMENT by Barry Eisler (pre-order)

Check out the awesome cover, below, created by MEB favourite Jeroen Ten Berge for Barry Eisler's The Detachment.

I'm telling you, he rocks. This is one of the sharpest covers I've seen him do (though BIRDS OF PREY - A Psycho Thriller kicks ass). I love the blend of colours and letter scheme. I've said it a million times on here, Jeroen will make readers want to read your book.

DISCORDIA: THE ELEVENTH DIMENSION by Dena K. Salmon

Today's review is brought to you by Aidan, my 9 year-old son. He loves to read and play video games, especially anything to do with Sonic the Hedgehog. He's looking forward to bringing all the Wormies out there reviews of some of his summer reading selections.

Check out his first review below:

Discordia: The Eleventh Dimension (Discordia (Quality))is a book that both gamers and readers of fantasy books can enjoy.

The book has a lot of cool and creative characters that make the story exciting and fun to read.

It's about two kids named Lance and Adam who play an online game called Discordia. They get sucked into a replica of the game and if they don't get out soon they'll slowly turn into the characters they play inthe game; a zombie and Hobgoblin!

They must help someone named The Great One find a magical wand owned by sorcerer, so that he will help them find a portal that will lead them back home. Along the way they meet up with a hunter girl named Rayva, who helps them travel and find their way.

This book is a five star read for readers 9 and up.

Fact: The book is based off a real online game called DISCORDIA: THE ELEVENTH DIMENSION.

I hope that you will love to read this book.

THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE by Robert Swartwood

The Serial Killer's Wife, by Robert Swartwood, is an explosive summer thriller. You adrenaline junkies out there won't want to miss this one (Jen over at Book Den, I'm looking at you!).

THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE is one of those books that begins with a heart twisting moment of suspense and doesn't let up until the very end.

Author Blake Crouch sums it up nicely, "This is a scary, thrilling, page turning, race-against-the-clock novel if there ever was one, with a true shocker of an ending. Miss this one at your own peril".

Indeed!

Elizabeth Piccioni, wife of the famous serial killer Eddie Piccioni, started a new life after her husband was arrested for murders she knew nothing about. New address, new job, new names for her and her son. She leaves her old life behind in hopes of saving her son from the horrible legacy left by his father.

Then one day out of the blue Elizabeth receives a threatening phone call from an anonymous caller, "- how would you like me to kill your son - fast or slow?"

Her son has been abducted.

Now Elizabeth is on a frantic road trip from hell. Soon people are dying and the body count continues to climb as the mysterious caller terrorizes her with tasks she must perform within a certain amount of time or else her son will be killed.

THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE, though written with a different approach, reminded me a little of Stephen King's A GOOD MARRIAGE from his collection of novellas Full Dark, No Stars. In that story a woman makes a discovery that her husband of many years is actually a serial killer. Both A GOOD MARRIAGE and THE SERIAL KILLER'S WIFE are great explorations into wives of these horrible monsters.

Robert Swartwood is a sharp writer, his prose lean and mean as a razor blade. He notches up the tension from chapter to chapter like a master story-teller, keeping you reading long into the night.

Like Crouch says, miss this one at your own peril.