Caught in the middle: Amazon vs. IPG, Part II

Three months ago, I wrote a blog post detailing the contract battle between Amazon and IPG, book distributor for Medallion Press, publisher of my thriller, FINAL VECTOR. In that post I detailed the reasons why I found Medallion's support of IPG unacceptable. You can read the entire post here, if you're interested.

In the intervening three months, I asked for and received a reversion of rights letter from Medallion for FINAL VECTOR, leaving me free to pursue another publisher for the book or even, as was my intention, to publish the book myself.

I was just about at the point where I was ready to re-release FINAL VECTOR - I mean, literally, a week or so away - when I discovered IPG and Amazon have reached agreement on a new contract. This means Medallion's electronic titles (of which FINAL VECTOR was one) will once again be available for purchase at Amazon.

As I stated in my post back in February, the inability for readers to purchase my book at the world's largest ebook retailer was the reason why I wanted my rights to FINAL VECTOR back. Now that it will once again be available in that venue, I have withdrawn my request for a reversion of rights and plan to leave the book with Medallion Press.

Why would I do that? Why voluntarily stay with a publisher when I could release the book on my own and get a bigger cut of the royalties?

Here's why: Medallion Press showed faith in one of my novels when, to that point, no one else had. They believed in an unknown writer enough to offer me an advance and a path to publication at a time when self-publishing was still considered basically career suicide for a novelist.

I wanted all along to justify the faith they showed in me by earning out that advance through sales and then by making both of us - gasp! - money. I was well on my way to doing so when the rug was pulled out from under both myself and Medallion Press thanks to a contract dispute they had nothing to do with.

Am I crazy? Maybe. I have in my possession a letter enabling me to make more money from, and have more control over, a book that I wrote, and I am going to completely disregard that letter. If that makes me crazy, then so be it.

But some things are more valuable than the almighty dollar. Not many, I freely admit, but there are some. One of those is integrity. I like to think I have some. And I want to show Helen Rosburg and everyone at Medallion Press that they knew what they were doing when they signed me.

This is not to say I won't ever request my rights to FINAL VECTOR back from Medallion, but if I did it before earning out that advance I would always feel like I had walked away from a job before it was finished. My folks raised me better than that.

P.S. - Now that the book is available again, it is priced exactly where I was planning on pricing it - a very reasonable $3.99. If you've read and enjoyed my Amazon bestseller THE LONELY MILE, I think you might like to give this one a try as well...

Interview with bestselling author CJ Lyons

As an author with a full-time job on the side, I sometimes find myself complaining about being busy, about how difficult it is to find the time to write. But after taking a gander at what my guest today has accomplished in her life, I promise I'll never do that again.

CJ Lyons is the New York Times bestselling author of fifteen thrillers, including four different series and two books co-written with environmental activist Erin Brockovich, as well as four non-fiction books on the subject of writing. She spent seventeen years as a practicing Pediatric Emergency Physician before giving it up to write full-time, and has done a bunch of other stuff, all of which got me so tired reading about I had to take a nap afterward.

She's a superstar in the world of thrillers, but also down-to-earth, grounded, and generous enough to take time out from trying to beat a deadline to answer my stupid pointless incredibly intelligent questions:

According to your official bio, you’ve spent seventeen years as a Pediatric Emergency Physician, worked on the Navajo reservation, spent time as a Life Flight physician, participated in an archaeological expedition in Australia, worked on an environmental impact survey in the Hell’s Gate Wilderness Preserve in Kenya, traveled extensively and hold an orange belt in Kempo. Is that it? No skydiving?

CJ: I never had the urge to skydive. After two hard landings in helicopters, it just never made sense to me to jump out of a perfectly good plane and trust your fate to a piece of silk.

Seriously, though, what possesses someone with the ability and desire to work their way through medical school to give it all up to tell stories?

CJ: I was a storyteller long before I even dreamed of being a doctor. Used to get me in tons of trouble as a kid—but all those hours in time out because I didn't know the difference between real and fantasy (or truth and lies according to my parents and teachers) just gave me more time to listen to the voices in my head.

For a small town girl from rural Pennsylvania who had to work her way through college and med school, becoming a doctor was a dream come true. But once I had a few book contracts and realized how much time and energy it would take to be a writer, I decided that if I wanted to be good at either job something had to give. I'd already had seventeen wonderful years of living the dream of being a doctor, why not try a second dream come true as a fulltime writer?

How difficult a decision was it to put aside your medical career and concentrate on being a novelist full-time? Do you miss working as an active physician? Any plans to go back someday?

CJ: It was an extremely difficult choice. When I first quit medicine I missed my patients terribly—some of them even emailed and wrote me. But I've never missed the ungodly hours or paperwork or hassles with the insurance folks.

I don't plan to return—I'd have to do some intensive retraining if I ever did. But one thing I realized after my first book was published and I began getting fan mail was that in medicine I touched one life at a time. With my books I can touch tens to hundreds of thousands of lives.

That's a pretty darn good feeling.


Marketing people say authors need to figure out how to brand themselves. You seem to have managed that perfectly by promoting your work as “Thrillers with Heart.” That seems particularly apt given your medical background, but I’m guessing it means more than that to you. Can you talk a little about what “Thrillers with Heart” means to CJ Lyons?

CJ: I created the term "Thrillers with Heart" back in 2004 when my first book was a finalist in RWA's Golden Heart contest. I quickly realized that what I wrote wasn't traditional romance (sometimes there's not a happily-ever-after and some of my books have no romance at all) but it wasn't traditional mystery, either.

My books aren't about who-did-it or winning the girl/boy or car chases and explosions, although all of those elements appear in them. They're about the people and their relationships.

The common thread that runs through all my books is that heroes are born everyday. They're about how ordinary people find the strength to stand up and risk everything to change the world.

(Which, by the way, is the same reason why I went into Pediatric Emergency Medicine, so I guess my ending up writing Thrillers with Heart makes perfect sense.)


What was it like the first time you saw your name on the New York Times bestseller list for fiction? I’m guessing you can remember every detail from that day, true?

CJ: It was surreal. I was at a conference but a friend's husband went out and bought a lot of copies of the NYT and brought them back to the conference for me to sign. I honestly didn't believe it was real until I saw it there in print!


There’s a growing trend among established, big-name authors to release some of their work through other than traditional means. You seem to have taken advantage of this with the incredible success of Snake Skin, among other titles. Yet you’re working now with Minotaur. Do you ever envision a time when you will completely bypass traditional publishing?

CJ: I actually already did! The six months before BLIND FAITH hit the NYT list I was out of contract, relying solely on my indy-self-publishing to pay the bills (which actually was so incredibly empowering! Knowing that I didn't have to rely on NYC to make a decent living).

After the success of BLIND FAITH, my agent and I were suddenly inundated with offers. We held an auction—I even debated turning them all down given the money I was making myself. But I wanted two things that I couldn't do by myself: my readers kept writing, wanting to see my books in bookstores at affordable prices, and I wanted an editor to work with to kick my writing to the next level.

I found both in the offer presented to me by Minotaur. It's a gamble, working with NYC again, but the good news is that if things go wrong, I won't be losing too much. And if things go right, my readers will be winning big time.


What is a typical day like for CJ Lyons? Do you have a set routine you use to get your writing done?

CJ: God, no. After seventeen years of being tied to a pager and trauma radio, I thrive on never knowing what time it is or even the day of the week. I have no set schedule, never keep track of word count or page count—some days I don't even write! Heresy, I know!

All I need is a deadline. That keeps me on track. And on those days I don't write, put words on the page? I'm still writing—the story is fermenting in my head so that when I do get back to it, it's like scratching an itch, letting all that out onto the page.

I'm the same way about the books—each one is written differently. I don't plot ahead of time, so if I'm surprised, I hope the reader will be as well. I write out of order, then string the scenes together in the second draft—one book, CRITICAL CONDITION, I actually wrote backwards! I knew who was alive at the end and scene by scene worked my way back to the beginning to see how they got there. It was the most fun writing a book I've had!


Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what’s some of your favorite writing music?

CJ: Yes, I love head-banging rock, zydeco, celtic, really anything with a good beat to it. Specific choices depend on the story I'm working on. For BLOOD STAINED, which is the darkest story I've ever tackled, I was playing MudVayne over and over along with Tool, Slipknot, and Godsmack.

For the book I'm working on now, it's Amergin, Whirligig (two Irish bands), Eddie Vetter, and the Drop Kick Murphies.


Can you name some of the authors who have influenced you as a writer?

CJ: Ray Bradbury had the greatest influence on me as a child. He was the first author who taught me that the words themselves can be as beautiful as the picture they create. I also love the way he can evoke emotion on a very subliminal level.

My stories have been praised as "breathtakingly fast-paced" and I owe that to a childhood spent reading EE "Doc" Smith, Harry Harrison, Leslie Charteris, Dashiel Hammett, John D MacDonald, and CS Forester.


If you could pick one book you feel best exemplifies your work, what title would it be?

CJ: BLOOD STAINED. That book took me to some very dark places and was a struggle to write because I drew on a ton of emotions from my days as an ER doc working with victims of violence.

It was a book that I could not not write. I hate when thrillers depict violence (especially violence against women) in a gratuitous, almost "titillating" manner, such as opening a novel with a rape or torture scene in the point of view of the victim to "grab" the reader. It does an injustice to the reader and to real life victims. Plus, as a writer, it's clichéd, taking the easy way out.

If I was going to depict these dark, twisted crimes, it had to be about the impact on the characters. I wanted readers to read these scenes and feel as if they were living through the experience of a professional law enforcement officer who has to deal with this every day in an empathetic fashion while not allowing their emotions derail their work.

It was a very tough balancing act. I think I pulled it off, both by using an immature character's point of view in Adam, and by using the victims' own words describing their abuse during police interviews.

I hope by going the extra mile to not use the clichéd serial killer torturing his victim scene, that I served the victims I've worked with and honored my readers, allowing them to appreciate the pain in a way that propels the story forward but also makes them empathize with what real life victims have suffered as well as challenges facing the professionals who work with them.

Hypothetical situation #1: You are marooned on a desert island, but before your ship sinks, you can grab any one book of your choosing. What book would that be, and why?

CJ: Perrault's collection of fairy tales. Makes the Grimm brothers look so very tame…

Hypothetical situation #2: You are given a choice by the Gods of Publishing. Your books can either bring you tremendous monetary wealth or they can be universally acclaimed as outstanding by the critics. Which do you choose, and why?

CJ: Neither. While I appreciate the critical acclaim my books have achieved, it's my readers who matter most to me. I want to empower and inspire as well as entertain, and from the fan mail I've gotten, I'm doing pretty good there, although I always strive to do better with each book.

And while NYC pays me very nicely, if I can earn the trust of my readers and keep delighting them with every book, the money will take care of itself.

What are you reading right now? What’s next on your “To Be Read” list?

CJ: Aside from research books on quantum mechanics and the multiverse, I'm actually on a YA reading jag (while I love to read all genres, I am constantly astounded by the fantastic YA available now—where were these books when I was a kid?). Currently I'm reading John Green's The Fault in Our Stars. Up next is Meg Rosoff's There is No Dog.

Thanks very much for taking the time to visit A Thrill a Minute. Any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with my thousands hundreds dozens handful of readers?

CJ: This is a true Renaissance for readers and writers. For the first time ever writers can make a living wage and be free to write the stories of their hearts—and readers are loving being able to find books that don't fit traditional publishing's cookie-cutter molds. Talk about your ultimate win/win! The future is bright and I'm honored that so many readers have chosen to spend their time and energy on my books.

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Fascinating interview, no? Huge thanks to CJ Lyons...

Interview with thriller author Gary Ponzo

I often talk about how difficult it is for a more or less unknown author to gain traction in the marketplace, simply because there are so many great writers out there putting out so much oustanding work.

Gary Ponzo's a perfect illustration of my theory. His name isn't as well known as, say, a Lee Child or a Harlan Coben or a Lisa Gardner, and yet if you love thrillers he's one name you absolutely must know.

Why do I say that? Everyone knows you can't please all the readers out there. My taste may not be the same as yours, and vice-versa. And we both might be right, even if we both love thrillers.

But check this out. Gary Ponzo has released three thrillers, A TOUCH OF DECEIT, A TOUCH OF REVENGE (featuring one of the coolest covers ever) and the brand new one, A TOUCH OF GREED. These three novels have received a total of 133 reviews at Amazon, compiling an average of 4.7 stars.

You know how hard that is to do? It means the writing is consistently high quality, not to mention interesting and exciting. But enough of my semi-coherent babble. Let's get started...thanks to Gary Ponzo for stopping by to discuss...well...writing and stuff:

You’re the author of the very highly regarded Nick Bracco thriller series, A TOUCH OF DECEIT, A TOUCH OF REVENGE and the brand-new one, A TOUCH OF GREED. When you wrote DECEIT, did you envision Nick as a series character from the get-go?

Yeah, I think deep down I always knew Nick was a keeper. At its core, the series is really a modern day Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kidd. Only they carry credentials. I've never really said this out loud before and never heard anyone ever make the connection, but that's really the truth. I don't even think Nick throws a punch until the third book. His partner Matt McColm is the FBI's sharpshooting champion 3 years running, so he's the one doing all the damage. Nick is the brains and Matt is the enforcer. Not that Matt is dense, he's just quick with a pistol.




Do you ever get tired of writing about the same character, and what steps do you a take to keep Nick fresh?


Well, Nick Bracco has PTSD, a cousin in the mafia, and a wife who wants him to leave the Bureau. That right there is enough material to keep me going for the rest of my life. I don't think I'll ever run out different ways to keep him in trouble. The only thing I'll ever run out of is time to write the next thriller.


In your author bio, you talk about the five year period it took to write A TOUCH OF DECEIT. What’s your writing process, and how have you refined it as you’ve moved forward?


Well, I've always worked with a writers critique group where we exchange each other's chapters and line edit our work. Once the novel is complete, I send it out to my beta readers who give me their input, then it's off to my editor who goes through it word-for-word to eliminate any grammatical errors. At the end of the day, it's about the quality of the writing. No one cares how clever your plot is if you can't keep the scene interesting and the five senses involved with every page. The reader needs to smell and hear and feel the emotion of the characters or everything else is nonsense.




Have you considered writing a stand-alone or starting a second series as you continue forward with Nick Bracco?


Yes, I'm already halfway done with a psychological thriller about a clairvoyant teenage girl who can truly read peoples mind. When she claims to hear invisible aliens thinking about the destruction of the planet, she becomes somewhat of a celebrity. A psychiatrist believes she's having auditory hallucinations. An FBI agent believes these aliens are real and are on the verge of exterminating the human race. A priest believes she's an angel sent down from Heaven to save our souls. The problem? One of them is right.


As far as another series, I haven't really given that any thought. I've had several people suggest a separate series starring Nick Bracco's cousin Tommy as the protagonist. It's a good suggestion, but the reason Tommy is so popular is that he's the comic relief for the Bracco series and I need to dose him out appropriately or he could become overexposed. But I could be wrong about that.




A major motion picture studio approaches you with an offer to start a Nick Bracco film franchise. The budget is no factor. Who plays Nick Bracco?


George Clooney, of course. And Brad Pitt would play Nick's partner Matt McColm. Hey, you're the one who brought up the fantasy, why not dream big?




You’ve had considerable critical success writing short stories in addition to novels. Do you prefer one over the other, and if so, why?


Short stories are one night stands; a romp in the sack with a woman you met at a wedding when you were twenty-five. It's quick and over fast. Instant gratification. A novel is a long-term relationship, sometimes involving therapy. It's messy and intimate and ultimately more rewarding. But every now and then I'll write a short story just to keep my libido working properly.




You got into the writing game relatively late in life (we’re almost exactly the same age, so I’m allowed to say that). How long have you known you wanted to write books, and what took you so long?


Ever since grade school it was obvious I had a knack for the written word. It seemed like every English project involving creative writing always ended with the teacher handing out my story as an example for the rest of the class. It wasn't until I turned 40 that I realized the clock was ticking and if I was ever going to leave some good fiction behind, I'd better get serious about it.




Is there any one author or group of authors most influential in convincing you to write thrillers? Who do you look at for inspiration?


My first introduction into genre fiction was Raymond Chandler. He opened my eyes to the art of outlandish metaphors. But Elmore Leonard is probably my favorite author. His dialogue is spot on. It's so casual. He makes it seem so easy, yet as a writer, you know it isn't. Also, Nelson Demille and Lee Child. Those are probably my top four.




What are you reading right now? What’s next on your “To Be Read” list?


It's sad, but it's so hard to find time to read anymore. Once the family is asleep, I'm in my office writing. But I'll still get in four or five books a year. Right now I'm reading a book a buddy of mine, Michael McShane, wrote titled, A Solitary Tear. It's terrific. He really knows how to keep your interest without the need for bullets flying or bombs ticking. He's a really talented writer.

Hypothetical situation #1: You’re marooned on a desert island, but before fleeing your sinking ship, have the opportunity to grab one book. What do you choose?

The Lion's Game, by Nelson Demille. It's over 900 pages long. And it ended too soon.

Hypothetical situation #2: You are given a choice by the Gods of Publishing. Your books can either bring you tremendous monetary wealth or they can be universally acclaimed as outstanding by the critics. Which do you choose, and why?

That's a tough one. Why would so many people buy the book if it were lousy? Oh, okay, I'll take the critical acclaim and work until I'm eighty. There, are you happy now?

Thanks for taking the time to visit A Thrill a Minute. Any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with my thousands hundreds dozens handful of readers?

Just that you asked some great questions, Allan, and I appreciate the time you took to put this together. I wish you all the best in your writing career, there are plenty of readers out there for all of us.

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If you'd like to check out Gary Ponzo's work, this is the perfect time to do it. His brand-new Nick Bracco thriller, A TOUCH OF GREED, is available FREE for the Kindle today and tomorrow...

My Three Favorite Reads of 2011

I used to read a lot; roughly seventy books a year. I would finish one novel and immediately start on the next. My library card probably spent more time out of my wallet than in.

Then I started writing seriously and found that making time to write cut deeply into my  reading time. Don't get me wrong, I still love to read and always will, but instead of reading seventy books a year, now I'm probably down to around twenty.

That being the case, I almost never try a book any more that I'm not reasonably sure I'm going to enjoy, which in some ways is a shame. It's kind of fun to take a chance on an author or a book title I've never heard of, with a description I'm a little leery about.

But on the other hand, reading only books I believe I'm going to enjoy makes it really difficult to pick my favorites. Plus, as a writer, I know how much blood sweat and tears it takes to write a book, so I'm not about to trash anyone's work.

And I want to be clear about one thing: This is a list of my favorite books of 2011, not necessarily the best books of 2011. I didn't read anything close to the number of books to be able to venture an educated opinion on the best books. But I sure do know what I like, and I really dug the following three titles.

So, without further ado, here we go. My three favorite books of 2011:


#3 - The Bastard Hand - Heath Lowrance, New Pulp Press

This book was my introduction to Heath Lowrance's work, and it held me spellbound from the first page to its final, shocking conclusion. Lowrance uses exquisite powers of description to evoke a rich southern aura, while weaving a tale of sex, violence and corruption.

I reviewed The Bastard Hand back in April, if you're interested in a fuller description of the book, but if you enjoy noir, or even just outstanding fiction, you're doing yourself a disservice if you haven't yet checked out this debut effort.

Heath Lowrance has followed The Bastard Hand up with a short story collection and several standalone shorts, and you can't go wrong with any of them. Rumor has it he's working on a second novel.


#2 - The Paradise Prophecy - Robert Browne, Penguin

Robert Browne is a former screenwriter who penned his first novel just five years ago. I had read most of his previous work and enjoyed it when I picked up The Paradise Prophecy, but had no idea what I was getting into. Robert Browne has stepped up to the next level with this book, writing a thriller that puts him in a class with the best of the best.

The Paradise Prophecy is based on John Milton's Paradise Lost, but if that premise sounds dry and uninteresting, all you have to do is open the book and you'll lose yourself in a globetrotting thriller filled with intrigue, deception and a final, supernatural apocalyptic confrontation.

I was fortunate enough to interview Robert Browne in October, and found him to be not just a talented author, but a gracious and humble individual as well. Considering the ability he demonstrates with his latest book, that's saying something.


#1 - Every Shallow Cut - Tom Piccirilli - ChiZine Publications

I love genre fiction, and one of the elements of genre fiction I love the most is noir. It's gritty and brutal and honest, and for my money, the leading practitioner of modern noir fiction is Tom Piccirilli. Every Shallow Cut might just be the best thing he's ever written.

It's a novella - a noirella, as he likes to call them - and not a full-length novel, but that didn't matter to me and shouldn't matter to you. Every Shallow Cut cuts like a knife and packs a punch that will stay with you long after you've finished reading. Piccirilli picks at scabs we can all relate to with his work, and he's going to have a hard time topping this beauty.

I reviewed Every Shallow Cut back in March, if you're interested, but if I were you I wouldn't bother checking it out. Just go to Amazon or wherever you prefer to buy your books, and get this one. You'll be blown away.

Actually, I can say that about all three of my favorite reads for 2011. You can't go wrong with any of them.

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Interview with bestselling author Robert Browne

"I wouldn’t want to drop dead and leave behind a manuscript full of holes."

It's always interesting to me to discover the different routes authors take to publication. In the case of Robert Browne, this meant chucking a career writing screenplays to sit down half a decade ago and pound out his first novel, KISS HER GOODBYE, on nothing but faith.

Four more novels have followed, each garnering sales and acclaim, including Browne's latest release, THE PARADISE PROPHECY, which for my money qualifies as the thriller of the year.

In addition to being a kick-ass writer, Rob's extremely approachable and a truly nice guy. If you're not familiar with his work, you need to change that, and as soon as possible.

He agreed to wire himself up to my lie detector and answer every ruthless question I threw his way. Here is the result:


Your background is in writing screenplays. What possessed you to leave an established career and embark on another path as a novelist, when you had no clue whether you would be successful? Did you just wake up one day and decide to write a book?


Well, the first mistake is assuming it was an established career. I had been knocking around Hollywood for over a decade taking pitch meetings, doing the dance, but after a sale to Showtime and several close encounters that fell through at the very last moment—as is typical of Hollywood—I found myself writing cartoons like Diabolik and Spider-Man. Not that this wasn’t fun and fairly lucrative, but it just wasn’t what I had envisioned for myself.

Ever since I was thirteen years old I had wanted to write a novel. I had a few aborted attempts in the drawer, but figured at my advanced age it was time to do or die. So I sat down and wrote KISS HER GOODBYE, never believing for a moment that it wouldn’t sell. I don’t know why I felt that way, but fortunately, I was right.


Along those lines, I picture authoring a screenplay as being a much more collaborative process than authoring a novel. Is that the case, and did that play any part in your career change?

There are pluses and minuses to collaboration. When I was writing cartoons, I collaborated with a great guy and showrunner named Larry Brody. Brody and I hit it off and became friends and the collaborative process was great. He plotted and outlined the stories, I wrote the scripts, adding dialogue, etc. We were both, essentially, doing what the other guy didn’t want to do, so it worked out well.

With movies, the collaborative process can be great until you disagree. Then screenwriters are fired and replaced. They’re disposable. Most screenwriters understand this going in, however.

The only thing that really played a part in the career change was the desire to finally sit my butt down and write what I’d always wanted to write: novels.


Would you ever consider returning to your screenwriting roots?

Sure. I enjoy writing screenplays. I also think they’re relatively easy to write. Certainly a lot easier than novels. For me, at least. When the pilot for KISS HER GOODBYE was shot for CBS, the producers asked if I was interested in writing any episodes if it went to series. Any guesses what my answer was?

Your latest novel, THE PARADISE PROPHECY, is a sweeping supernatural thriller that takes the reader on an adventure through the centuries and around the world. Having read it, the book strikes me as potentially career-defining. Do you agree, and did you originally intend for THE PARADISE PROPHECY to be such an ambitious project?

The Paradise Prophecy was not really a book I had planned to write. It came about through conversations with Dutton, in a discussion about the ultimate bad guys. The fallen angels from Milton’s Paradise seemed to fit the bill and it took off from there.

The funny thing is, I was slowly gravitating away from doing supernatural stuff and suddenly here I was writing a book that’s more supernatural than anything else I’ve ever written. A big, rousing epic about angels and demons and a conspiracy to destroy the world.


You told me once that you spend as much time as it takes to make your work as clean as possible on the first go-around, and rarely write more than one draft. This is exactly opposite how I write, so I find it fascinating. Did you really write a book as complex as THE PARADISE PROPHECY in a single draft, and if so, how long did it take to complete?

I’ll be honest and say that I don’t think THE PARADISE PROPHECY is all that complex. Complex emotions, maybe, a lot of history and intersecting storylines, but if you step back and look at it, the story is pretty straightforward.

But Paradise is the exception to my usual rule, because it took two drafts. I wrote the first one is four months and wasn’t happy with it. And when I turned it in, I knew my editor would request changes. It was great to have his objectivity, because I went back and spent another four months completely rewriting the second half of the book. I had the story down, but what I needed was more historical and emotional depth—and I worked hard to include that.

And when I say draft, by the way, a draft for me is probably about ten drafts for someone else. I don’t leave a scene or a chapter until I’ve rewritten it a dozen or more times and feel it’s ready for the printing press. My mother always told me to wear underwear without holes, to avoid embarrassment in case of an accident. I guess I took that advice to heart. I wouldn’t want to drop dead and leave behind a manuscript full of holes.


I read on your website that Batty and Callahan will be returning in future books, making this your first series after authoring four stand-alone novels. Can you drop any hints as to where the reluctant partners will be heading next?

If and when they do return, I’m sure it will be to explore some of the things left open in the first book. Like the mysterious D.C. connection. But it’s all up in the air at this point. I won’t put a word to paper until I feel I have an idea that warrants it.


Can you name some of the authors who have influenced you as a writer? When did you know you wanted to devote your life to the written word?

The two writers who have influenced me most are William Goldman and Donald Westlake. I read a Westlake novel when I was thirteen and was so enthralled that I immediately knew this was what I wanted to do for a living. Tell stories. A few years later I read MARATHON MAN by Goldman and was completely blown away. If you compare my style of writing to either of theirs, you’ll definitely see the influence.


Hypothetical situation #1: You are marooned on a desert island, but before your ship sinks, you can grab any one book of your choosing. What book would that be, and why?

I’m going to cheat and say it would be my Kindle, with several books on it by my favorite authors like Westlake, Goldman, McBain and Donald Hamilton—to name just a few.


Hypothetical situation #2: You are given a choice by the Gods of Publishing. Your books can either bring you tremendous monetary wealth or they can be universally acclaimed as outstanding by the critics. Which do you choose, and why?

The money. Critical acclaim doesn’t pay the mortgage.

While I do enjoy reading a good review, I honestly couldn’t care less what the critics think. The only reviews I’m interested in are reader reviews. There’s nothing more satisfying than an email from someone who responds positively to your work. If I can give to them what my favorite authors have given to me, I’ll be a happy man.

I do care about money, however. Quite a bit.


What are you reading right now? What’s next on your “To Be Read” list?

Right now I’m reading OBSESSION by Debra Webb, which hasn’t been released yet. Next on my list is THE HYPNOTIST by Lars Kepler, which I’ve heard good things about.


Thanks very much for taking the time to visit A Thrill a Minute. Any last words of wisdom you’d like to share with my thousands hundreds dozens handful of readers?

Words of wisdom would require me to be wise. But the truth is, I’m just struggling to figure it all out like everyone else—especially with the rapid and radical changes the publishing industry is facing right now.

I’ll let you know if I succeed.

When a recommendation is not a recommendation

I'm the first to admit the nuances to technology escape me most of the time. When I was a kid there was no Internet, no computers. "Television" meant a huge black and white TV set with rabbit ear antennae sticking out of the top which received three stations. Four, if you counted PBS. Five, if you wanted to watch Channel Nine out of Manchester, NH, which came in as mostly snow.

The point is, while I'm as up on technology as a fifty-one year old man with little interest in tech stuff can be, a lot of the rules of the road associated with that tech stuff mystify me.

Case in point: Like most authors, I'm constantly looking for ways to promote my work. I thought I had stumbled upon one when I discovered the "Recommendations" section in Goodreads. If you're not familiar with it, that's where readers can go to post genres or other information they are looking for from potential books, and other Goodreads members can suggest books fitting their requirements.

Perfect! I figured I could network with readers looking for the things I write about, and respectfully suggest my book to those readers. Which I did. To probably a dozen or so readers, before being informed that what I was doing was highly inappropriate and could result in me being banned from Goodreads.

Yikes.

If you know me, you know self-promotion doesn't come easy to me under any circumstances. If I had my way, I wouldn't do any of it. The last thing I want to do is be known as someone who tries to skirt the rules. I looked at the Goodreads thing as an opportunity to connect with people looking for what I was offering. I didn't mass-email anyone, I personalized every contact I made, and I only contacted people interested in thrillers who were looking for a new book to read.

Obviously, I won't be doing that any more, although it still seems to make sense. Supply and demand, and all that.

I've always felt that if you didn't make a few mistakes every now and then you weren't trying hard enough, and it was an honest mistake, so it doesn't really bother me that much, but to everyone I contacted on Goodreads who was seeking a thriller recommendation, I apologize, although most of them didn't seem to mind.

So now I'm back to trying to think of ways to get my book in front of motivated readers' eyes. Anyone have any ideas? I'm open to suggestions...

JK Rowling says, "Bookstore? I don't need no stinking bookstore!"

I love bookstores. I've been an avid reader since I was a little kid, and anyone who loves books will be able to relate when I say there aren't many things better in life than spending a couple of hours browsing through the new releases, trying to decide what to buy next.

I mention this as a preface to the following question: What obligation does an author have to try to support bookstores, the vast majority of which are struggling mightily, caught between a down economy and the ebook publishing revolution?

As basically an outsider to the debate (my debut thriller, FINAL VECTOR, was published in ebook form only, as will be my followup, THE LONELY MILE, at least for the time being), I can't help but be amused by the bookstores' hysterical reaction to the news out of Merrie Olde England that JK Rowling intends to make the ebook editions of her smash Harry Potter series available ONLY through her own Pottermore website, bypassing not just Amazon, but the brick-and-mortar Barnes and Noble, Borders, Waterstone's, and all other physical booksellers.

Why am I amused? Because as a mostly unknown author it would be just about impossible for me to have ink-and-paper editions of my upcoming StoneHouse Ink thriller, THE LONELY MILE, stocked in any of the gigantic chain stores, even if there were ink-and-paper editions to sell, even in my own local area.

Space is limited in a bookstore, obviously, and why would Barnes and Noble allot any of that valuable space to an author most people have never heard of? Even if I begged and groveled? It's a financial reality that the bookstores have to allot space to the books they believe will best sell. In genre fiction, that means stocking the biggest names only.

Nothing personal; it's just business. It only makes sense from a financial perspective.

But of course, JK Rowling is one of those "biggest names." She might just be the biggest of the biggest names. The launches of her Potter books have been EVENTS, each one more gigantic than the last, with anxious and adoring fans lined up around the block outside the stores, waiting breathlessly for the midnight opening of the store on release day, so they could rush in and spend their money on the latest Harry Potter adventure.

But here's the rub, the thing I find so deliciously ironic. JK Rowling is the eight hundred pound gorilla in the room. I don't mean that literally - she looks quite lovely - but in a very real way she has outgrown the need for bookstores or anyone else to help sell electronic editions of her work. The very thing that made her book releases so attractive to bookstores - her unparallelled popularity - has made her realize there is no reason to share any of the take with bookstores or anyone else.

I'm sure there's nothing personal; it's just business. It only makes sense from a financial perspective.

So all of this leads back to my original question: Does JK Rowling - or any author, for that matter - have any obligation to support brick-and-mortar bookstores? Or does the continuing rise of ebook popularity mean the symbiotic relationship between authors and bookstores is doomed?