author of ASSASSINS ANONYMOUS, THE PARADOX HOTEL, and THE WAREHOUSE
This is pretty cool: The Big Thrill talked to James Patterson—and also me!—about short fiction and the new BookShots program, which I’m going to be a part of.
Are you curious to know what the title of our collaboration is going to be?
Are you curious to know when our collaboration will be coming out? That’s not in the story! Soon I hope though. I’ll let you know when.
A few months ago I wrote about a trick I use to write my novel outlines. You can read more about that here, but in short:
I write the outline three times, over the course of a few days.
The first two outlines, I throw away as soon as they’re done. The third is the one I stick with. This works for a couple of reasons: I forget all the bad stuff and remember all the good stuff. And I have time to reflect on the stuff I’m not sure about.
I’ve done it for three books so far and it’s working pretty well.
But that’s not the only trick I use for outlining. Continue reading “Making a better book with the index card trick”
Next week marks the release of a collection I am very excited to be a part of: Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns, edited by Eric Beetner and published by Down & Out Books.
All of the stories in the collection are required to not involve guns, and proceeds from the collection will benefit the nonprofit States United To Prevent Gun Violence.
Some of you might be thinking: “Why are you bringing politics into your writing career? Don’t you know that you’ll alienate part of your audience? You are a crazy person!”
Maybe!
If some people decide they don’t want to buy my books because I contributed a story to this, I’m okay with that. I’d rather have said something that nothing.Continue reading “Bakery bouncers and guns (or the lack thereof)”
For a few months now, in the wilds of Facebook and Twitter, I’ve been teasing a Secret Project. The time has finally come to share it.
I’m co-writing a novella with James Patterson.
He’s got a new venture called BookShots. Shorter works, propulsive narratives. It’s a long story, but I got an audition, and then got the gig, and we’re finalizing edits on it right now.
It’s pretty damn exciting. Also exciting: Fellow Polis author Derek Nikitas in on board for one as well.
I don’t know what else about the project I can share, so that’s all I’ll say for now… so keep your eyes peeled, and more soon!
So I recently got back from book tour—Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. It was a lot of fun. Chuck Palahniuk showed up to my Powell’s event, and bought my book and stood in line and asked me to sign it, which was kinda nuts. I also ate burritos and got some great books and did a bunch of other things. I would tell you more about it, but I don’t need to—I wrote a series about it for LitReactor.
Always a pleasure to get the Booked. treatment. Robb and Livius take a deep dive into City of Rose. Lots of great insight here. Dig it.
With the second Ash McKenna novel landing in less than a week, my publisher has marked down the eBook of the first, New Yorked, to $1.99 for a limited time!
Now, think about that. This is something I poured my heart and soul into for five years, and you can have it for less than what you paid for a cup of coffee this morning!
Not bad, right?
This is your chance to get in on the ground floor. I’m signed for four installments, and hope to finish it out with a fifth. It’s something that’s very personal to me, but also sometimes there are drag queen crime lords and men in chicken masks with guns. So it’s fun, too.
If you click here, you can see all the nice things people have said about it, and even read the first chapter.
And you can get it here:
Amazon * Barnes & Noble * iTunes * Kobo
Already have it? Spread the word, or leave a review (reviews are a great way to help any author), or pre-order the next one, City of Rose!
Pretty thrilled to say that I’ve written a scholarly essay about Road House for my favorite movie website on the internet. Yup. Pretty thrilled indeed. Check it out.
The Feb. 9 release date for City of Rose approaches fast. Time to start spreading the word about places I will be, for signing books and reading stuff and drinking and other acts of general merriment.
I’ve included links to the Facebook event pages, where you can RSVP (which is not a requirement for any of this stuff—just show up!).
Feb. 9 – The Mysterious Bookshop, NYC
58 Warren Street, 6:30 p.m. This is a joint event with fellow Polis author, Dave White, whose new novel An Empty Hell comes out the same day. RSVP on Facebook.
Feb. 11 – Staten Island Barnes & Noble, NYC
2245 Richmond Avenue, 6:30 p.m. Reading/signing. RSVP on Facebook.
Feb. 15 – Powell’s, Portland, OR
3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, 7:30 p.m. Reading/signing. RSVP on Facebook.
Feb. 16 – Noir at the Bar Seattle
Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 7 p.m. Reading with Johnny Shaw, Linda L. Richards, Dietrich Kalteis, Will Viharo, Sam Wiebe, Kat Richardson, Michael Pool and Owen Laukkanen. RSVP on Facebook.
Feb. 17 – Seattle Mystery Bookshop
117 Cherry St, noon. Reading/signing. RSVP on Facebook.
Feb. 18 – Noir at the Bar San Francisco
Iron & Gold, 3187 Mission St, 7:30 p.m. RSVP on Facebook.
Feb. 21 – Noir at the Bar LA
Mandrake Bar, 2692 S La Cienega Blvd, 8 p.m. Reading with Owen Laukkanen, Johnny Shaw, SG Redling, Patricia Abbott, Tom Pitts, SW Lauden, and Eric Beetner. RSVP on Facebook.
The release of City of Rose, the follow-up to New Yorked, is fast approaching, so it’s time to ramp up the gears of war (which is a much cooler way of saying it’s time to do book promo).
Let’s start with Goodreads. I need more people to add it to their ‘to-read’ list. It’s a big help for discoverability. So, here’s what I propose:
Go to this link and click that button under the cover that says “Want to Read.”
That’s it. Just click it.
Come November 13—a week and a half from today—I’m going to go through the list of people who’ve added it to their to-read list, and I’m going to pull some names at random, and those people are going to win PRIZES.
What kind of prizes? Here’s what I’m giving away:
A galley copy of City of Rose.
A limited-edition New Yorked umbrella.
And a copy of The Last Safe Place: A Zombie Novella.
So, to recap: Add City of Rose on Goodreads, maybe win a prize.
Get clicking!
Rob Hart