The thriller writing community is a pretty helpful bunch. We blurb each other, trade advice, volunteer our time, buy each other drinks, and often pimp each other when new projects come out.
If you're looking for some stuff to read, I highly recommend the following:
PALE IMMORTAL by Anne Frasier. Anne writers damn good thrillers. Here's a video to give you an idea of what the book is about.
THEY by David Morrell. It's an Amazon short, and it may be the best 49 cents you'll spend this year.
PRESSURE by Jeff Strand. This is the scariest book of the summer. It will freak you out, guaranteed.
THE DEVIL'S PITCHFORK by Mark Terry. A great technothriller. It combines the deadly science of Robin Cook and the machismo of Tom Clancy.
DON'T BE AFRAID by Rebecca Drake. A terrific debut by a terrific new author. Fans of Anne Frasier will enjoy this book as well, and you should all be fans of Frasier.
CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM by Melanie Lynne Hauser. Too cheap to buy hardcover? This delightful debut is now available in trade paper. If you enjoy super heroes, chick lit, or humor, pick this up---I really enjoyed it.
THE FINAL STORM by Wayne Thomas Batson. Wonderful YA fantasy that combines Paolini with CS Lewis. My son loves these books.
THE PRESSURE OF DARKNESS by Harry Shannon. I loved this book. It's a killer mix of Lee Child heroism and James Bond villainy.
JAMES BOND IN THE 21st CENTURY by Glen Yeffeth. Speaking of Bond, here's a smart collection of essays about everyone's favorite secret agent, including one by yours truly. I analyze the value of Bond's favorite gadgets, and cram more jokes into 2000 words than humanly possible.
THE HARROWING by Alex Sokoloff. A creepy ghost story about some teens playing with forces they don't understand. You'll throw away your Ouija Board once you start reading.
SACRED COWS by Karen E. Olson. A very fun and exceedingly clever debut, now in paperback.
THE PERFECT FAKE by Barbara Parker. A terrific stand-alone mystery about forgery, with some fun thrills and a dash of romance.
JAMAICA ME DEAD by Bob Morris. Big laughs for the small budget. Morris is funny, and so are his books. This is his second, now in paperback. If you like Hiaasen or Dorsey or me, pick this up.
STILL RIVER by Harry Hunsicker and KILLER SWELL by Jeff Shelby. These two tied for best mystery debut of 2005. Both are now available in paperback. Pick them up, then pick up their new hardcovers NEXT TIME YOU DIE and WICKED BREAK. Good stuff.
If you don't read James O. Born, well, you should. Start with WALKING MONEY.
Plus, Tess Gerritsen has a new one, THE MEPHISTO CLUB, but I haven't read it yet because it isn't available until next week. How much do I want to read this? On my 500 bookstore tour, I begged no less than 300 booksellers for an Advance Reading copy. No one would give me one. I even offered several of them cash. Guess I'll have to wait until the 12th of this month.
And finally, if you're looking to become a romance writer, and like your romances spicy, pick up THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO WRITING EROTIC ROMANCE by Alison Kent. Is it good? Let's just say that Alison has a staggering four titles currently available for pre-order on Amazon. Four titles coming out in the next five months! Eat your heart out, Nora Roberts.
I'm curious to get some of your recommendations. Who should I be reading?
Tuesday, September 5, 2006
Saturday, September 2, 2006
JA Konrath Saves Publishing
Good news! I was rummaging around in the attic today, and came across this old brass oil lamp. I gave it a good buffing, with the intent to sell it on eBay, but after only a few minutes a genie magically appeared. He gave me six wishes (normally genies only give three, but I gave him a really good buffing.)
Being the unselfish guy that I am, I have decided to use these six wishes to save the publishing industry. By happenstance, this also saves the bookselling industry, and manages to save midlist authors as well.
Here are my wishes:
1. Eliminate returns. Returns cost too much money, both in the printing and the shipping, and this cost is absorbed in the price of the product. If there were no longer returns, the prices of books would drop. It would also mean that stores don't stock double the amount of bestsellers that they expect to sell. This extra shelf space could then go to smaller midlist books that aren't normally stocked.
2. Eliminate offset printing. If the major publishers used POD technology, there would no longer be a need for warehouses or distributors. Another drop in price. Plus, books never go out of print. Authors have the potential for royalties indefinitely.
3. Bigger royalties for authors, to correspond with the smaller pricetag on books.
4. Extra content on books without extra cost. Books could come packaged with the audio version and Palmreader version bundled with the print version on a single DVD. It could also include interviews, pictures, perhaps even video.
5. Equal discounts. The indies pay the same amount as the big box stores, no matter how many are ordered. That will mean a drop in the sales at big box stores, but it would be a boom for the indies and the chains.
6. Bookselling is taught in college. How much would it benefit authors, bookstores, and people who love to read, if you could major in book sales? Book stores could hire people with specialized degrees, people who were extremely well-read and know the dynamics of the book business. I've met booksellers who have literally handsold thousands of books. What if every bookseller was like this?
The genie assured me that these wishes will come true, but he hemmed and hawed a bit about how long it was going to take.
I have faith, though. Lots of faith.
In the meantime, I'm searching my attic for another lamp, because the music industry is really a disaster.
Being the unselfish guy that I am, I have decided to use these six wishes to save the publishing industry. By happenstance, this also saves the bookselling industry, and manages to save midlist authors as well.
Here are my wishes:
1. Eliminate returns. Returns cost too much money, both in the printing and the shipping, and this cost is absorbed in the price of the product. If there were no longer returns, the prices of books would drop. It would also mean that stores don't stock double the amount of bestsellers that they expect to sell. This extra shelf space could then go to smaller midlist books that aren't normally stocked.
2. Eliminate offset printing. If the major publishers used POD technology, there would no longer be a need for warehouses or distributors. Another drop in price. Plus, books never go out of print. Authors have the potential for royalties indefinitely.
3. Bigger royalties for authors, to correspond with the smaller pricetag on books.
4. Extra content on books without extra cost. Books could come packaged with the audio version and Palmreader version bundled with the print version on a single DVD. It could also include interviews, pictures, perhaps even video.
5. Equal discounts. The indies pay the same amount as the big box stores, no matter how many are ordered. That will mean a drop in the sales at big box stores, but it would be a boom for the indies and the chains.
6. Bookselling is taught in college. How much would it benefit authors, bookstores, and people who love to read, if you could major in book sales? Book stores could hire people with specialized degrees, people who were extremely well-read and know the dynamics of the book business. I've met booksellers who have literally handsold thousands of books. What if every bookseller was like this?
The genie assured me that these wishes will come true, but he hemmed and hawed a bit about how long it was going to take.
I have faith, though. Lots of faith.
In the meantime, I'm searching my attic for another lamp, because the music industry is really a disaster.
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