Argentinian Banner for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

This is the last international poster of the day — the Argentina banner version of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Titled la saga crepúsculo: amanecer parte 2 — we're not sure what words, if any, are supposed to be capitalized, so we'll leave them as written — the tagline is, "Un final épico que vivirá para siempre" ("The epic finale that will live forever"). We think it does a really good job of setting up the storyline for the film, all in one image.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 opens in Argentina November 15th, a day before its premiere here in the US.

Spanish Poster for Alex Cross

It must be international poster distribution day for the studios as we have a third foreign-language poster of the day.

The Spanish version of Alex Cross is shown (right; click for larger image) … and doesn't even depict the titular character (played by Tyler Perry). Maybe that's because the film is titled En la mente del asesino in Spain — "In the Mind of a Killer: — in which case showing Matthew Fox as psychopathic serial killer Michael "Picasso" Sullivan is quite appropriate.

To keep it all in context, here's the synopsis in Spanish: Alex, detective de la policía y psicólogo, está investigando las extrañas muertes de los miembros de una banda criminal. Todo parece indicar que se trata de un ajuste de cuentas entre gángsters pero a medida que se van conociendo los detalles, los crímenes se empiezan a parecer sospechosamente a otras muertes anteriores atribuidas a un asesino en serie llamado Sullivan. Cuando Alex se acerque demasiado al asesino, éste reaccionará matando a su esposa María y amenazando con hacer lo mismo con sus hijos. Alex, deberá utilizar todos los métodos que estén a su alcance para atrapar a Sullivan antes de que sea demasiado tarde.

Alex Cross opens in Spain on November 16th; it is currently in theaters here in the US.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121025)

Here is today's list of the Bestselling Free Kindle Crime Fiction: the top nine mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly, but if you cannot see the box below — or have scripts blocked — you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com, which includes a list of both the Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers.

Japanese Poster for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

A Japanese poster for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 has been released by the studio (right; click for larger image). This is one of the first posters we've seen that has prominently featured Renesmee, the daughter of Bella and Edward.

This fifth and (presumably) final film in the series is based on the fourth and final book in the series of young adult thrillers by Stephenie Meyer.

Directed by Bill Condon from an adapted screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, Breaking Dawn Part 2 opens in theaters in Japan on December 28th, 2012. (It opens here in the US on November 16th.)

Italian Poster for Lawless

An Italian poster for the crime drama Lawless has been released by the studio (right; click for larger image). The tagline: "Quando la legge è corrotta, i fuorilegge diventano eroi." ("When the law is corrupt, the outlaws become heroes.") This mostly gray-scale version is a variation on the other posters for the film, though the subtle touches of color on each character give each dimension.

Lawless tells the true story of the infamous Bondurant Brothers: bootlegging siblings who made a run for the American Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia. Inspired by true-life tales of author Matt Bondurant's family in his novel The Wettest County In The World, the loyalty of three brothers — played by Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke — is put to the test against the backdrop of the nation's most notorious crime wave.

Directed by John Hillcoat from an adapted screenplay by Nick Cave, Lawless opens in theaters in Italy on November 29th, 2012.

New Hardcover Mysteries for November 2012

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of new hardcover mysteries with books scheduled for publication in November 2012. Please note that some titles may publish early, and may already be available, and some may be delayed, published at a later date.

Below we're listing those authors with returning series characters, new series characters, and non-series or stand-alone mysteries in separate sections. All titles are available on our November new mystery books page, which will become the default home page for the site on November 1st.

Please Welcome Stephen L. Brayton

by Stephen Brayton

We are delighted to welcome novelist Stephen L. Brayton as our guest.

Stephen's most recent book — a "Mallory Petersen Mystery" — is Alpha (Dark Oak Mysteries, August 2012 trade paperback).

Today Stephen tells us about the importance to authors — and really, all of us — of social networking.

— ♦ —

We all understand, or should understand, how social networking is essential to marketing and eventually, producing sales. We also understand the problem of spam, Internet viruses and other harmful software, and identity theft. Let me address these issues in reverse order.

Photo provided courtesy of
Stephen L. Brayton

Everybody knows about Facebook, Twitter, and many other social networking or community sites. Most of these places have privacy settings. You are allowed to show the public exactly what you want to show. If you don't feel like giving your birth date, then don't. If you don't want to even add a picture, you aren't required. Especially for a place such as Facebook, you can provide as little information about yourself as you desire. Facebook gives the option of not allowing any stranger to view your information unless that person is accepted as a friend.

This same information holds true for your personal website or blog. You may give as much or as little information as you are comfortable giving. I am a member of several .ning sites and they have many options when it comes to posting blogs. There's one option that allows only the poster to see the blog, which doesn't make much sense unless you just want to create an online journal or diary. (Again, this doesn't make too much sense because these are social networking sites.) You can allow anybody or nobody to comment on your blog. And of course, we've all seen some of the hoops we have to jump through in order to comment on some blogs, including discovering HOW to comment.

I understand the need to keep personal information private. I'm certainly not advocating giving out your social security number, the name of your bank, and the whereabouts of your children at any given time. I think responsible parents should monitor all activity their children have on the Internet. If they want to have a diary, fine, buy them one. You can still purchase diaries and journals with actual paper pages. I know, I bought one for my niece last Christmas. I mean monitor ALL Internet activity. This includes Facebook and MySpace friends if they have those pages. It includes knowing about and monitoring postings, messages public and private, and any presence in chat room. Your child does not have but very limited privacy when living under your roof. Look at it this way: You wouldn't allow your child to walk up to a stranger on the street corner and start talking about personal things. It is no different than the people in these chat rooms. I know, I've been to many chat rooms and talked with strangers. Let me tell you, they are not shy and can be very devious.

However …

If you are an author with a website and an active blog, you DO want to be seen and interacted with. You need to have ways for the public to contact you in regards to various matters. How to buy your book. How to inquire about interviews or guest blogging. How to inquire about book reviews.

If you do not want people phoning you, then don't list your phone number. If you want to only have people email you list the address. You can even list the address in broken form so it's not as easy for spammers to send their crap. What I mean by broken form is this.

My email address is: slb@mahaska.org. Go ahead, contact me. I love email. If my system doesn't recognize you, then it'll throw you over to a spam file website where I regularly check and dispose of the garbage. If you end up there, chances are I'll recognize you and give you an "okay" with the system. A broken form listing might be: slb (at) mahaska (dot) org. I've seen plenty of sites with this type of listing and it's fine.

If you are a book reviewer or a blogger who accepts interviews or guest posts, do your public a huge favor and make it easy for them to contact you. Don't bury your email in an obscure location where people have to wade through the muck to find it. If you have an ABOUT section or a CONTACT page on your website/blog, then either of those would be an excellent place to list your contact information. Make it prominent. We've all seen cluttered websites and blogs. There is too much information coming at you either with advertising or other material. Sometimes it's very difficult to enjoy the site and its offerings. If it is a site you'd like to connect with, then finding the contact information might be difficult.

What I'm saying is, if you don't want people to contact you, that is your prerogative. But if you are accepting reviews or interviews, don't make the contact process difficult. Recently I've run into several sites where I've given up because even though it is a pretty cool place to visit, and the owners accept interviews / guest bloggers / book reviews, I couldn't find contact information.

I attended a seminar regarding martial arts websites. My website has a page for my taekwondo club. I came back from the seminar and immediately changed the format of the page. No, currently I am unable to do all that I want to do with the page, but you will notice my phone number and email address are listed at the top of the page without the reader needing to scroll down. My website's contact page lists my email in large bold letters. My blog and review blog list my contact information either on the home page or the ABOUT section.

This post is not about visiting my sites (although if you would, I'd be grateful. Sorry for the BSP). This is about making sure YOUR sites are as user friendly as possible. This is about making sure people can reach you if you so desire.

It is a fast-paced Internet and people lose interest quickly. If they don't see what they're looking for within a reasonable amount of time (and that time varies from person to person), they'll move on and you lose.

— ♦ —

Stephen Brayton is a Fifth Degree Black Belt instructor in the American Taekwondo Association. He's a reader; a writer; an instructor; a graphic designer; a lover of books, movies, wine, women, music, fine food, good humor, sunny summer days spent hiking or fishing; and a catnip drug dealer to a thirteen pound cat, Thomas.

You can learn more about Stephen and his books at StephenBrayton.com.

— ♦ —

Alpha
by Stephen L. Brayton
A Mallory Peterson Mystery

On a rainy October morning, Mallory Petersen, private detective and martial artist, discovers the corpse of her boyfriend, Bobby Furillo, in front of her office in Des Moines.

Bucking police authority and continually attacked by unknown adversaries, Mallory uncovers Bobby's devastating secrets. Each new revelation puts Mallory in deeper peril from powerful and dangerous people.

And just what are those enigmatic RSVP cards that keep showing up in Mallory's mail?

  

The Black Mile by Mark Dawson is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Black Mile by Mark Dawson as today's fourth free mystery ebook (Kindle format only).

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.

Blue Murder by Colin Dunne is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Blue Murder by Colin Dunne as today's third free mystery ebook (Kindle format only).

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.

A Song for the Asking by Steve Gannon is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Song for the Asking by Steve Gannon as today's second free mystery ebook (Kindle format only).

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.

The Philanthropist's Danse by Paul Wornham is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Philanthropist's Danse by Paul Wornham as today's free mystery ebook (Kindle format only).

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.

Winner of the 2012 SCIBA T. Jefferson Parker Award Announced

The winners of the 2012 Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) Awards were announced this past weekend, and the winner of the Best Mystery Award, named for T. Jefferson Parker, is Kings of Cool by Don Winslow. The book is a prequel to Winslow's Savages, which was 2011's winner of the same award.

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare for alerting us to the winner.)

Mr. E. Reviews Snow White and the Huntsman

Purchase/Rental Option(s)

I rather liked this action/adventure interpretation of the Grimm fairy tale, more from the overall storyline and look of the film than from the performances — with the notable exception of Charlize Theron, who is really quite good here. Some editing could have improved the pacing, but on balance, it's certainly worth seeing.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews Snow White and the Huntsman.

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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.

Review: A Lack of Temperance by Anna Loan-Wilsey

A Mysterious Review of …

A Lack of Temperance by Anna Loan-Wilsey. A Hattie Davish Mystery.

Review summary: There is a good sense of time and place in this debut mystery, with an engaging amateur sleuth as its central character. The series premise is also a promising one, having this traveling secretary visit different settings to solve local crimes. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

A Lack of Temperance
Anna Loan-Wilsey
A Hattie Davish Mystery
Kensington Books (September 2012)

Publisher synopsis: Have typewriter will travel...and track down dead bodies. Not the usual motto for a Victorian private secretary and certainly not what Miss Hattie Davish has in mind when she responds to the latest summons for her services. On the eve of the 1892 Election, Hattie arrives in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a booming health spa and vacation resort, hoping to hike the hills, botanize and placate the demands of her newest high-society employer. Yet her employer is missing, and this idyllic Ozark village is being plagued by a league of temperance women attacking saloons with hatchets and bricks, a city council candidate fighting in the streets and a trail of cryptic death threats. With her reputation and life on the line, Hattie will put more than her trusty typewriter to the test.

      

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121024)

Here is today's list of the Bestselling Free Kindle Crime Fiction: the top nine mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly, but if you cannot see the box below — or have scripts blocked — you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com, which includes a list of both the Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers.