Over the weekend we wrote about Poisoned Pen Press offering several of its ebook mystery titles for free. Except they were only free on iTunes, not from the other major vendors.
We're happy to report that incremental progress is being made on that front. Amazon is now listing the Kindle editions for two of the books, Artifacts, the first Faye Longchamp mystery by Mary Anna Evans and In the Shadow of the Glacier, the first Constable Molly Smith mystery by Vicki Delany, as free. They are not likely they'll remain that way for very long, so we encourage you to take advantage of this offer from Poisoned Pen Press — as well as the publisher's other offers we wrote about — soon!
Important Note: Prices can and do change without notice. The price shown on the vendor website at the time of the sale is the price of the book. Please confirm the price before completing your purchase.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Poisoned Pen Press Free eMystery Offer Update
Please Welcome Author J. W. Metcalf
We are delighted to welcome author J. W. Metcalf as our guest blogger today.
Jaime's new mystery is Wasted Space (JWMetcalf, April 2012 ebook), the first in "The Case Files of Tony Gavel".
Today Jaime tells us about what worked for him as an author.
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I have always wanted to write since I was 7 years old. I still have the first story I wrote when I was in school. I wrote things here and there throughout my life, but nothing ever worth publishing. Always had a ton of ideas, but just never did anything with them. Procrastination was my middle name. I had the character idea of Tony Gavel for a few years, but in his original form he was an Investigative Reporter working for the Daily Times. I had a few stories planned out for him and I always started them during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Needless to say I never finished any of them. Got about 20K words in or so and stopped. It was always one thing or another that I didn't like, so instead of fixing the problem I would just scrap it.
This year was different. I started a new approach to writing. I decided to make Tony Gavel a Private Investigator. I had always enjoyed mysteries. Growing up I was a big fan of Mickey Spillane (The Mike Hammer Series) and Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series. I started the book Wasted Space on November 1st, 2011 and finished it April 9th, 2012. I did not write during the month of February. I wrote it every night at work during my break and lunch hour. It made work more bearable. (I work for the United States Postal Service.)
The way I wrote this book was different for me and it worked. I started with the last chapter. I knew the crime from top to bottom. Why the killer did it, how they did it, what did they gain from doing it, where they did it, etc. Once the last chapter was done, I began my book. I put myself in the shoes of Tony and went on the investigation. I knew Tony well so it was no problem for me to think like him and act like him. From there the book kinda flowed on it's own. I had beta readers to check out story flow and believability for me after each chapter so things wouldn't seem impossible or ridiculous. I had a school teacher friend do all my editing for me. My job was to just write. I was able to get almost 1200 words done in the hour and fifteen minutes I wrote each day.
Not knowing what was going to happen while I wrote was pretty exciting. A few times things popped up that I didn't plan at all. There was one point in the story when he was driving back to his office at 4:30am when something popped into my head totally out of the blue. I put it in the story. It just seemed logical for that event to happen. When my beta readers got to that point, they liked it and didn't expect it, but said it fit. I like looking through the eyes of Tony Gavel, it makes writing fun for me.
I have a whole series planned for Tony. I am calling it: From the Case Files of Tony Gavel. Then each case itself will be the name of the story. At the moment I have the first four books in my head. I just need to write them. I am currently on the sixth chapter of the second book Gone Fishing. You can read the first chapter of my book Wasted Space at my blog, authorjwmetcalf.wordpress.com. I also have a repost from an interview that Pat Bertram — the author of Light Bringer, Daughter Am I, More Deaths Than One, and A Spark of Heavenly Fire — did with my main character Tony Gavel.
I'm looking forward to writing the next few books in the series and I hope you enjoy them.
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About Wasted Space:
When a successful business man is found dead in his home, the police rule it a suicide. However, not everyone is convinced that a man who seemed to have it all would take his own life.
Private investigator Tony Gavel is hired to find out the truth of the matter. Tony's investigation leads him from the carefully manicured lawns of the suburbs to the seedy underbelly of the Big City. As he delves futher into the case, he uncovers secrets, lies, and danger at every turn.
When an attempt is made on his own life, his friend and former partner, Officer Dwight O'Toole, gives Tony until the end of the week to solve the case before the police take over. Can Tony crack the case before the clock runs out, or will his unstoppable pursuit of justice land him in the morgue as the latest victim?
Night of Knives by Jon Evans is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Night of Knives by Jon Evans as today's fourth free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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Night of Knives by Jon Evans
Original Hardcover Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
About Night of Knives (from the publisher): Veronica Kelly came to Africa to start her life over. Still reeling from her divorce, she is grateful when a handsome stranger invites her to join a tour to visit gorillas in Uganda's wild Impenetrable Forest — a trip that goes desperately wrong when their group is captured by brutal gunmen.
This is no random kidnapping: her abduction is only the first move in a deadly strategic game. Now she must embark on a wild journey across Africa, to unveil a malignant conspiracy before it consumes entire nations — and thousands of lives …
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
The Ambassador's Wife by Jake Needham is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Ambassador's Wife by Jake Needham as today's third free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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The Ambassador's Wife by Jake Needham
An Inspector Samuel Tay Mystery
Publisher: Half Penny
About The Ambassador's Wife (from the publisher): The first body is in Singapore, on a bed in an empty suite in the Marriott Hotel. The second in Bangkok, in a seedy apartment close to the American embassy. Both women. Both Americans. Both beaten viciously and shot in the head. Both stripped naked and lewdly displayed.
The FBI says it's terrorism, but the whispers on the street are that a serial killer is stalking American women across Asia.
Inspector Samuel Tay of Singapore CID is something of a reluctant policeman. He's a little overweight, a little lonely, a little cranky, and he smokes way too much. Thinking back, he can't even remember why he became a police detective in the first place. He talks about quitting all the time, but he hasn't. Because the thing is, he's very, very good at what he does.
When bodies of American women start turning up, Singapore CID calls in Inspector Tay. It's a high profile case, and he's the best they have.
Then why is it, Tay soon begins to wonder, that nobody seems to want him to find the women's killer? Not the FBI, not the American ambassador, not even his bosses at CID.
When international politics takes over a murder case, the truth is the next victim.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
The Killing Circle by Chris Wiltz is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Killing Circle by Chris Wiltz as today's second free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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The Killing Circle by Chris Wiltz
A Neal Rafferty Mystery
Publisher: Premier Digital Publishing
Originally published in 1981, this first of four mysteries in this series introduces New Orleans private investigator Neal Rafferty.
About The Killing Circle (from the publisher): Nothing's what is seems in New Orleans, but this murder was one for the books …
Two books to be exact; a missing set of William Blake rarities — and street-smart detective Neal Rafferty has been hired to find them. Instead, what he finds is the body of a rare book dealer and a growing list of females — each with a pretty good reason to do him in. There’s his all too ready to confess wife, his unhappy, illegitimate daughter, and the beautiful, sensual Catherine — a woman who’s a lot easier to love than she is to believe. What does a tough private eye do when he finds himself falling for the prime suspect in a murder case?
The answers, and the truth, may be hiding in the steamy streets and sleazy bars of New Orleans, and Rafferty’s got to choose the right one … choose between a truth he can live with and one he could end up dying for.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
The Princess of Felony Flats by Bill Cameron is Today's Featured Free Mystere-Short Story
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Princess of Felony Flats by Bill Cameron as today's second free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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The Princess of Felony Flats by Bill Cameron
Publisher: Bill Cameron
This short story originally appeared in the 2010 anthology First Thrills and was nominated for a CWA Dagger Award.
About The Princess of Felony Flats (from the publisher): A mysterious dwarf makes a risky play for the statuesque consort of a drug kingpin in a hard-boiled retelling of a classic fairy tale.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Two Shots by Joe Albert is Today's Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Two Shots by Joe Albert as today's free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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Two Shots by Joe Albert
A Tony Leach Mystery
Publisher: Joe Albert
About Two Shots (from the publisher): When state conservation officer Tony Leach responds to an emergency call about a hunter who has been shot and killed at a deer camp in the woods of northern Minnesota, there’s no way he can be prepared for the twisted web into which he’s been thrust.
Five years removed from a stint with the Minneapolis Police Department, Tony Leach is a conservation officer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Content to spend his days in the woods and on the water enforcing fishing and hunting laws, he thought he’d left violent crime behind when he left the city. But a single call from dispatch two days before the deer-hunting season opens changes that.
Now, he’s pushed into working a case he really shouldn’t be involved with, and digging for the truth in the death of a noted political operative that some high-powered people would prefer remain buried in the northern Minnesota woods. As Leach pursues those responsible, he finds people and things aren’t exactly what they seem. And as the investigation goes on and the web unravels, it becomes increasingly clear the only way for it to end is with a killer’s — or his — demise.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross is Today's Barnes&Noble Nook Daily Find
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross as today's Barnes&Noble Nook Daily Find. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Tuesday, June 12, 2012.
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The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross
Publisher: HarperCollins
This stand-alone thriller is by the author of the Ty Hauck mysteries.
About The Blue Zone (from the publisher): Kate Raab's life seems almost perfect: her boyfriend, her job, her family … until her father runs into trouble with the law. His only recourse is to testify against his former accomplices in exchange for his family's placement in the Witness Protection Program. But one of them gets cold feet. In a flash, everything Kate can count on is gone.
Now, a year later, her worst fears have happened: Her father has disappeared — into what the WITSEC agency calls "the blue zone" — and someone close to him is found brutally murdered. With her family under surveillance, the FBI untrustworthy, and her father's menacing "friends" circling with increasing intensity, Kate sets off to find her father — and uncover the secrets someone will kill to keep buried.
Important Note: Barnes&Noble updates its Nook Daily Find every day at approximately midnight PT. The title referenced above is available at a discounted price for Tuesday, June 12, 2012 only.
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Carbs & Cadavers by J. B. Stanley is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Carbs & Cadavers by J. B. Stanley as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Tuesday, June 12, 2012.
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Carbs & Cadavers by J. B. Stanley
A James Henry Mystery
Publisher: Midnight Ink
This is the first in the "Supper Club" mystery series by the author of the "Molly Appleby" and "Hope Street Church" mysteries.
About Carbs & Cadavers (from the publisher): James "Professor Puff" Henry may as well have "loser" stamped on his forehead. Divorced, overweight, shy, and living at home, he relies on books and his favorite snack — cheese puffs — for sweet relief from his problems. A former English lit professor at William and Mary, he moves back to Quincy's Gap, a small Virginia town in the Shenandoah Valley, to take care of his recently-widowed father. To improve his social life and waistline, he joins a supper club for dieters who lovingly call themselves the "Flab Five". Avoiding carbs is nearly impossible in this deep-fried potato-loving land, so a mysterious death in their small burg provides an effective, if disturbing, distraction. While dodging delectable temptations, Professor Henry and his fellow dieters work together to shed pounds and find the killer who has struck fear in this tight-knit community.
Important Note: Amazon.com updates its Kindle book deal every day at approximately midnight PT. The title referenced above is available at a discounted price for Tuesday, June 12, 2012 only.
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Monday, June 11, 2012
Hard Case Crime to Publish Harlan Ellison's First Novel, Web of the City
Harlan Ellison may be best known for his works of science fiction, but he is also the author of a considerable body of crime fiction. Two of his short stories have won Edgar Awards — "The Wimper of Whipped Dogs" in 1974 and "Soft Monkey" in 1988 — and now Hard Case Crime will be publishing a new edition of his first novel, Web of the City, in April 2013.
Originally published in 1958 by Pyramid Books under the title of Rumble — Ellison reportedly hated the title — Web of the City is set in Rusty Santaro's neighborhood, where the kids carry knives, chains, bricks. Broken glass. And when they fight, they fight dirty, leaving the streets littered with the bodies of the injured and the dead. Rusty wants out — but you can't just walk away from a New York street gang. And his decision may leave his family to pay a terrible price.
In his early 20s, Ellison — anonymously — became a member of a Brooklyn gang as part of his research for the book.
Hard Case Crime will publish the book together with three of the author's short stories. You can read an excerpt from Web of the City on the publisher's website.
(Hat tip to CrimeSpree Magazine.)
