EVERY DEAD THING: John Connolly

The next stop on my journey of crime writers has lead me to John Connolly. Yes, I am late to the game, but for me it is all about the thrill of discovery that keeps me wanting more. EDT is about 400 pages, which in itself, is about 100 pages more than most of the stuff I have read over the last 9 months. For me, this is an instant red flag that I might be skipping some passages, but in this case it did not apply. Although, I could have done without so many "like" and "as if" comparisons, but that is just me.

This is a very good story. Most impressive to me, is that it was JC's debut novel and the history of how EDT eventually went on to be published.

EDT has one of the best openings I have read in a long time. I hate spoilers, so I will only reveal that EDT follows ex-cop Charlie "Bird" Parker as he avenges the death of some loved ones. It takes place in New York and Louisiana. JC is a stickler for facts and details and I learned a lot about numerous subjects during the story.

Two minor details I noticed, and I'm thinking this might be old news but..

-In one scene, Parker refers to sneakers as "trainers" and vacation as "holiday". Parker is from the U.S. and I don't think he would have used these terms.

JC has gone on to be famous, but my sense is that he is still a pretty Regular Joe.

Anyway, I highly recommend EVERY DEAD THING and will certainly be reading more of John Connolly's work.

My Q&A on Declan Burke's Crime Always Pays Blog

One of my favorite authors, Declan Burke, who wrote THE BIG-O and CRIME ALWAYS PAYS, was kind enough to offer me a Q&A session as part a weekly post he does with authors. To take a peek at it click HERE

If you have not read THE BIG-O, you don't know what you are missing. I am in the middle of reading the sequel, CRIME ALWAYS PAYS, which you can find HERE, and it is just as good, if not better so far.

MINDJACKER approved for Smashwords Premium Catalog

Got the good news this morning that my novel was approved to be included in the Smashwords Premium catalog. This was acccomplished by following the formatting guidelines that are required for distribution of an eBook, and passing the automated and manual review processes. I received my eBook ISBN as well, which I think is pretty damn cool. It also means that Smashwords will now distribute it to major online retailers including Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, and other Smashwords partners.

I am using Createspace for the print version. The cover is complete and the MS Word manuscript doc has been converted to a 6 x 9 novel template. The last step is to convert the MS Word doc to PDF, then upload it. From there I get a proof to review.

All of this and I have not spent one penny of my own money.

MINDJACKER: is now on Smashwords

Well, I guess I can call it a dream come true. My first novel is now published. It's available as an e-book on Smashwords website. I'm hoping to get it bumped up to the Premium catalog in a week or so. That will get it on the B&N and Amazon websites, as well as the Apple bookstore. If anyone is interested in checking it out, viewing 20% for free, or shelling out $2.99 to buy it, click Here

I hope to have a print version available in July sometime.