Editing by Elizabeth

May 10, 2012

Having the Last Laugh by Mike Faricy

Tomorrow I’ll be reviewing Russian Roulette by Mike Faricy, author of the PI Devlin ‘Dev’ Haskell series, but today Mike has stopped by to share his experience in the world of independent publishing.

MikeFaricy Thank you, Elizabeth, for the opportunity to post on your blog site. As you know I write crime fiction and am indie published, and I wanted to trumpet indie publishing through some stories of my own experience. Over the years I’ve lost count of the rejections I’ve received. Suffice to say they were in the hundreds when I stopped collecting them; I think I lead the league in the rejection department.

After penning my first work of genius, I mailed off forty or fifty query letters, each a page in length, the first two paragraphs a brief outline of my blockbuster, the third paragraph, two sentences highlighting my unique charms. I sat back and waited for competing offers. After all, who wouldn’t be eager to sign me?

It turned out no one. Less than half even bothered to reply using my self addressed, stamped envelope. Undaunted, I penned a second classic and mailed more queries, sat back and received similar form replies.

“I don’t get it, you’re such a good liar,” a soon-to-be former girl friend waxed eloquent. →

May 09, 2012

Fun House by Chris Grabenstein

I always heard that television was a cutthroat business, but this is ridiculous. – Danny Boyle

The seaside resort of Sea Haven, NJ has seen more than its fair share of murder and mayhem over the course of author Chris Grabenstein’s John Ceepak mystery series, but nothing officer John Ceepak and his partner Danny Boyle have experienced in their careers could have prepared them for the horror they must confront in Fun House… babysitting the contestants of a Jersey Shore style reality show.

Indeed, when “Fun House” (“Think Jersey Shore meets Big Brother meets Survivor.”) sets up shop in sunny Sea Haven things get quite stormy for Ceepak and Danny, as the buff, bronzed, and boozed up cast proceeds to wreck havoc – loudly and usually with much profanity – on everything and everyone they come into contact with.

When footage of Ceepak arresting one of the contestants run amok in a drunken skee ball rampage hits YouTube and goes viral, the show’s producers smell ratings gold and convince Sea Haven’s Mayor to assign Ceepak and Danny to the Fun House cast full time.

Things go from obnoxious and annoying to deadly and serious, however, when one of the cast members is brutally murdered. Add in a drug dealer called Skeletor, a motorcycle gang, the Jersey mob, and an anonymous death threat promising to kill one of the remaining cast members live on air and you get two things: through the roof ratings and a lot of overtime for Ceepak and Danny. →

May 09, 2012

Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

“I’m more passive aggressive than aggressive. I’m a wait and see kind of girl. More vulture than falcon.” – Miriam Black

Miriam Black has a unique and unwanted talent; with one glancing touch of skin on skin she can tell exactly when and how someone is going to die. Heart attacks, auto accidents, murders, peaceful passings in old age, she’s seen them all.

Initially Miriam tried to intervene when she saw a death that looked like it could be prevented. Except every time she tried her actions seemed to end up being what actually brought about the death as foreseen. So Miriam’s given up trying to derail the death train, deciding instead to ride it.

Now when she encounters someone who will be dying in the not too distant future – usually suddenly or violently, and always alone – she makes a point of being present at the time of death so she can help herself to whatever cash/credit cards the person has on hand when they shuffle off this mortal coil. It’s not the most pleasant way to make a living but, quite frankly, Miriam just doesn’t care anymore.

Or so she thought. Then she meets Louis, a gentle giant of a trucker whose death Miriam not only foresees but, to her horror, seems to play a part in. Complicating matters is a young con man named Ashley who figures out Miriam’s talent/scam and wants a cut, starting with Louis. Fate being the brutal bitch she is, it turns out Ashley’s on the run from some very nasty people, people who now have Miriam in their sights as well. →

May 09, 2012

Earthquakes and Fast Friends by Dianne Emley

I’m pleased to welcome back LA Times bestselling author Dianne Emley for a continuing look at her Iris Thorne series. I’ll be reviewing the series’s third entry, Fast Friends, tomorrow. Originally published in the early 90s, it’s been an interesting experience for Dianne to revisit books she hadn’t looked at in nearly a decade.

Dianne Emley Thank you Elizabeth for again letting me contribute to your blog. This is my third posting about my experiences revisiting the five books in my Iris Thorne Mysteries series that was originally published by Simon and Schuster during the 1990s and have been out-of-print. I’ve gently edited all the Iris Thornes and am releasing them for the first time as e-books and trade paperbacks.

Today I’m discussing Fast Friends, the third Iris Thorne mystery, which is again on-sale. In the fall, Foolproof, Iris #4, will be rereleased. The fifth and final Iris Thorne, Pushover, never before published in the U.S., will be out in 2013. The primped and polished first two Irises, Cold Call and Slow Squeeze, are available now.

Fast Friends is my most personal book so far. It was originally published in 1997 and I wrote it from 1994 to 1995. It was inspired by pivotal events in my life at that time, events that shook me (sometimes literally) to the core and that inspired me to take a look back at who I was once upon a time, where I came from, and how far I’ve come since. →

May 04, 2012

Tea with Death by Joel M. Andre

“No one invites me out for tea. I felt it would be rude of me to decline.” – Death

Joel M. Andre, author of the wickedly funny A Death at the North Pole, has the type of twisted, sarcastic sense of humor I love. Given that, I went into his short story Tea With Death with high expectations and Andre did not disappoint.

Tea With Death finds the unnamed host/narrator welcoming Death for what he hopes will be an enlightening conversation. Getting on in years himself and having lost his youngest son to suicide born of depression, the host has many questions about how death actually occurs and what happens after. He also has a secret agenda he plans to spring on Death if the opportunity presents itself.

The concept of man sitting down for a conversation with the Grim Reaper is certainly not new in book or film, but it usually comes with either a boatload of pretentiousness or too much slapstick irreverence. Andre, however, strikes just the right balance.

Death and his host indeed reflect upon the process of dying, and along the way Death shares many of the secrets of his profession. He does so, however, with a wicked sense of humor and more than a dash of sarcasm, as evidenced from very the moment he shows up for his tea date: →

May 02, 2012

Spinetingler Magazine 2012 David Thompson Community Leader Award Winner

Spinetingler Magazine has announced the 2012 Spinetingler Magazine Awards winners, and I’m honored that from amongst such a wonderful group of nominees Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White was chosen as the 2012 David Thompson Community Leader Award winner.

David Thompson was a bookseller and publisher whose passion for crime fiction knew no bounds, nor did his tireless advocating of crime fiction books and authors. You can learn more about David by visiting Sarah Weinman’s blog, where she compiled a deservedly lengthy list of the tributes that poured in from every corner of the crime fiction community in David’s honor upon his untimely death in 2010.

It is truly an honor to win an award that bears David’s name.

Thank you to the Spinetingler crew for nominating me, and to everyone who took the time to vote. Every person who was nominated does such wonderful things to support crime fiction books and authors, and all were more than deserving. For a group that thrives on murder and mayhem – in print, of course – the crime fiction community is actually quite tight-knit and supportive, and I am proud to be a part of it.

May 01, 2012

The Truth About Scarlet Rose by Julia Madeleine

“You want to call being born without a soul an illness?”

It’s one thing to be hated by strangers or coworkers, but when one of your own daughters describes you as a narcissistic bitch who was born without a soul, well, that makes a statement.

Truth is, it’s a fair statement about Sylvia, née Scarlet Rose; she’s a first class bitch who makes Joan “Mommie Dearest” Crawford look like June Cleaver.

During her heyday in the 60s Sylvia was a stunningly beautiful young woman who enchanted men as the stripper known as Scarlet Rose.

Time was not kind, however, and The Truth About Scarlet Rose finds Sylvia a washed-up, bitter woman living on alcohol, welfare, and “donations” from her daughter, Fiona… the same daughter Slyvia forced into stripping at age sixteen to help support the family.

When Sylvia’s ex-husband, Charlie, is found brutally murdered Fiona vows to do everything in her power to help catch whomever was responsible for killing the closest thing she ever had to a father. The more she digs into the family’s past, however, the more strange and sordid things get. And for every answer Fiona uncovers she unearths two more questions, the biggest of which is whether she will be able to discover the truth without being destroyed by it. →

April 30, 2012

When The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction by Julia Madeleine

Pleased to welcome Julia Madeleine on her tour in support of The Truth About Scarlet Rose (which I’ll be reviewing tomorrow) for a post in which she shares the tragic inspiration behind one of the book’s characters.

Julia Madeleine True stories can often trigger an idea for a novel or a story. This is always a fantastic moment when the spark that ignites the imagination occurs. Sometimes, those ideas are based on a tragedy, as is the case with my novel The Truth About Scarlet Rose.

When I was in college I worked nights in a Toronto strip club. Every bar of course has its regulars. One of our regulars was a businessman named Chris. He was nick named “Megabucks” because he was rich and he was a big spender. He was in his late fifties, divorced, lonely and he loved to party.

Chris would party all night; drinking, laughing and joking, often with complete strangers and usually he was footing the bill. At least a dozen people—dancers as well as customers constantly surrounded Chris, who would be the centre of attention at the table. He would buy shooters by the tray, and his table would go through several trays in a night. Some nights he’d even buy the entire bar a round. →

April 27, 2012

Living Proof by Kira Peikoff

“You’re an agent of the DEP, Trent, but really, you’re an agent of God.” – Gideon Dopp

Welcome to the year 2027, the new Dark Ages of scientific research where not only has stem cell research been completely outlawed, but the termination of any embryo, even those “left over” from in vitro fertilization treatments, is considered first degree murder.

The Federal Department of Embryo Preservation (DEP) practices strict oversight on fertility clinics, making sure that every embryo generated is accounted for. Those not actually used must be stored in a viable state in perpetuity, and clinics are subject to both yearly and random inspections to ensure they are performing up to Federal guidelines.

Dr. Arianna Drake runs one of the most successful fertility clinics in New York. A little too successful in the eyes of Gideon Dopp, a former priest and current Director of the DEP. Given that Drake’s father was an outspoken scientist and she herself supported a radical professor during her time in school, Dopp is leery about exactly why Drake’s clinic is producing so many embryos.

Determined to figure out what she’s up to, Dopp sends one of his agents, Trent Rowe, undercover to get close to Drake and dig up the dirt the DEP needs to shut the clinic down. After all, not only does Dopp suspect Drake of criminal activity, the DEP really needs the PR boost that shutting a clinic down would bring. The more the devoutly religious Rowe learns about Drake and what she’s up to at the clinic, however, the more he begins to question not only his mission, but his faith as well. Now both Drake and Rowe must decide where to put their trust: in science, God, or each other? Their choices will have ramifications not just for the two of them, but potentially the future of all scientific research. →

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