CONTEST RESULTS...AND NOT JUST A WINNER

Yes, we have a winner! But what we also have a is a great list of suggestions for some great reads. First the winner, then the list...


Congratulations to:

spyscribbler!!

Spyscrib...please email me your address to brett@brettbattles.com and I'll get it out to you. I won't be able to send it out until next week as I'll be at Left Coast Crime through the weekend.

I think this contest was very successful! (I promise to have another...probably late March.) Here's the list of Spy Fiction we came up with in the order they came in:

THE QUIET AMERICAN Graham Greene.
A story of love, lust, jealousy and misguided patriotism set in the turbulent world of 1950s Vietnam.

THE HUMAN FACTOR Graham Greene
Maurice Castle must decide what he needs to do to save his family, and then whether he can pay that price.
Offered up by Stephen D. Rogers

THE TAILOR OF PANAMA John Le Carre
Harry Pendel is an unassuming tailor in Panama, who is working as informant to the British government. What his people don't know is that Harry has an agenda all his own.
Offered up by Stacey

THE SCORPIO ILLUSION Robert Ludlum
An ex-naval intelligence officer is brought out of retirement to stop the world's most dangerous terrorist - who happens to be one smokin' hot lady.
Offered up by Jeff Shelby

SPOOKER Dean Ing
An innocent DEA agent becomes the target of an ex-KGB mother and son team who now make their living hunting fellow spies.
Offered up by Steve

A COFFIN FOR DIMITRIOS [aka The Mask of Dimitrios] Eric Ambler
Is in novel terms an existential espionage novel, focusing on why society requires ‘enforcers’ like Dimitrios to make the world revolve.
Offered up by Ali

THE CLEANER Brett Battles
Berlin is again a city of that will send chills down your spine.
All right, Steve G...I know you're just trying to suck up to get an ARC

THE MATARESE COUNTDOWN Another Robert Ludlum
Substitute super-agent for retired Navy officer and Russian counterpart for world's most dangerous terrorist and we've got the same blurb.
This one from Mary

EYE OF THE NEEDLE Ken Follett
The allies have the Germans convinced they plan to invade Calais. Only one spy knows the truth, and the only person preventing him from getting that knowledge to the Nazis is Lucy Rose, a woman caring for her crippled husband on a lonely island.
Offered up by Mindy

THE BRIDGE OF SIGHS Olen Steinhauer
In 1948, in a small, unnamed Eastern European country, homicide detective Emil Brod has been assigned his first case in the People's Militia, and his colleagues think he's a spy.
Offered up by Daniel Hatadi

GORKY PARK Martin Cruz Smith
Three dead bodies buried in the snow add the crooked members of the KGB, the FBI, and the NYPD and have fun.
Offered up by Nikki

PATRIOT GAMES Tom Clancy
From Great Britain to the US, danger follows CIA agent, Jack Ryan, and his family, landing them in the midst of international terrorism.
Offered up by Angela/SciFiChick

THE MESSENGER Daniel Silva. Around the globe action involving the world art community, Israeli Mossad, The Pope and the U.S. President.
Offered up by Traveler

THE FAITHFUL SPY Alex Berenson
This book has a depth to it which includes an historical context of the World War 1 aftermath throught World War 11 and contains international intrigue with exceptional characters.
Offered up by Alissa

THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE David Morrell
Spanning the globe this book features a novel of fierce loyalty, violent betrayal and revenge.
Offered up by Ellie

THE PERFECT ASSASSIN Ward Larsen
A lethal organization combined with a partnership with a killer in a high stakes struggle for the Middle East Power.
Offered up by Sharon

TEARS OF AUTUMN Charles McCarry
A unique approach to the Kennedy assassination which contains more information about the Vietnam connection.
Offered up by Pearl

THE MARK OF THE ASSASSIN Daniel Silva
An inside look at the life of a CIA Agent whose quest leads him to a secret organization rife with corruption.
Offered up by Joelle

DOCTOR NO Ian Fleming
Poor James Bond, after recovering from a bizarre shoe poisoning, his rest trip to Jamaica has him fighting off a mechanical dragon and a half German-half Chinese supervillian with only his close personal friend, Honeychile Rider, to lend a hand.
Offered up by Angie

LESS THAN A SHADOW David Chacko
A prominent journalist is murdered in Istanbul escalating into high drama involving the Turkish Mafia,a lethal hidden secret and a terrible threat about to change the Middle East forever.
Offered up by Principessa

LEGENDS Robert Littell
A man tries to sort out his past identies to find out the truth of who he is and, er ... not die.
Offered up by Spyscribbler (fyi...would have taken any of the Rain books, too)

THE EIGER SANCTION Trevanian.
I can't believe nobody's mentioned this one yet. It's a brilliant piece of writing that's almost a send-up of the espionage genre--but also bloody, action-packed, sadistic, and clever as fuck.
Offered up by Duane Swierczynski (BTW...if you haven't read Duane's books - THE WHEELMAN or THE BLONDE - you are really missing something! Just finish THE WHEELMAN last night and read THE BLONDE over the holidays. Loved them!!)

MRS. POLLIFAX ON THE CHINA STATION Dorthy Gilman
Senior citizen spy outsmarts the Chinese government.
Offered up by Sandra Seamans (and, of course, cozy spy thrillers count)

STORMBREAKER Anthony Horowitz
After discovering his recently murdered uncle was really a spy, 14 year-old Alex Rider is recruited by MI6 to take over his uncle's mission and infiltrate a prep school.
Offered up the ineligible Rob Gregory Browne

CONTEST!!!

Less than a week left in my contest to win an ARC of THE CLEANER! Details HERE. And here's what some people you may know are saying about THE CLEANER:


"It's always great to discover a new writer who can turn a genre on its ear. Brett Battles's THE CLEANER proves the case. Part Raymond Chandler, part Clive Cussler, part Robert Ludlum, here is an international thriller chocked full of action, taut with suspense, and laced with a fair amount of humor and romance. An exciting debut by a major new talent...I look forward to seeing what comes next!"
--James Rollins. New York Times Best Selling Author of Map of Bones and Black Order

"Brett Battles makes a grand entrance into the thriller scene with this
unputdownable spy novel. THE CLEANER has it all: exotic locales, James
Bondian derring-do, and ingenious plot twists that will keep you
sweating all the way till the end." -- Tess Gerritsen. New York Times Best Selling Author of THE
MEPHISTO CLUB

Brett Battles is a compelling new voice in the thriller genre. The Cleaner
combines the best elements of Lee Child, John LeCarre and Robert Ludlum.
Deftly plotted, perfectly paced and expertly executed, Battles takes his
readers on a joyride from the U.S. to Vietnam to post-Cold War Berlin.
Jonathan Quinn is a character worth rooting for. Brett Battles is a master
story teller. Find a comfortable chair and plan to stay up late. You won't
be able to put it down. A stellar debut. Highly-recommended.--Sheldon
Siegel. New York Times Best Selling Author of The Confession.

"THE CLEANER is a terrific novel. It features a compelling plot, thrilling action and an unforgettable cast of characters. This debut novel is a powerful read." --Robert K. Tanenbaum

A HUGE Congratulations

Two of my favorite books from last year have been nominated for BEST FIRST NOVEL BY AN AMERICAN AUTHOR. The first is the moody and lyrical A FIELD OF DARKNESS by Cornelia Read. I read it right after it came out. It's a great book and Cornelia is going to be (hell, already is) a huge talent.











The second is HOLMES ON THE RANGE by Steven Hochensmith. Those who read this blog probably already know I'm a huge fan of Steve. HOLMES ON THE RANGE had be laughing out loud like I've never done before when reading a book. And it's follow up ON THE WRONG TRACK (which I was lucky enough to get in an ARC) is just as fantastic.

I haven't read the others on the list, so I can't comment other than to say they'll have to be pretty damn amazing to be better than these two.











ALSO, Naomi Hirahara's SNAKESKIN SHAMISEN has been nonimated for BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL. Naomi's Mas Arai series is fantastic. I could not be happier for her.










~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

CONTEST REMINDER: Win an ARC of THE CLEANER! Read more here.

Win THE CLEANER

Time for a little fun, folks. I have just received my ultra cool Advance Reader Copies of THE CLEANER. But they’re not doing any good sitting here in a box with me. I want to get them into your hands!

Over the next couple of months, I’m planning on giving away a few copies to lucky winners. (Okay, lucky is subjective. You’ll let me know what you think after you read it.)

Well, today is the first day of contest #1. The question is…how to choose a winner?

This is what I’ve come up with. Everyone (with exception of those listed below) who enters is eligible. To enter you just need to post a comment here with the title of your favorite spy novel and a one sentence synopsis. For example, here’s what mine would be:

THE QUIET AMERICAN by Graham Greene.

A story of love, lust, jealousy and misguided patriotism set in the turbulent world of 1950s Vietnam.

That’s it. This way we can all learn about books we might not have known about and you all get the chance to win a copy of my book. All entries that have given the appropriate information will be put in a hat. The winner will then be pulled randomly.

Contest ends in 2 weeks on January 31st. You can enter as many times as you want, but only one entry per person will be valid!!

And if you are a member of Killer Year, my writing group, or my family, you can also enter, BUT you aren’t eligible to win. Sorry, gang. You can hit me up for a copy later.

A Contest You Don't Want to Miss!

The deal of a century. You could win 150 SIGNED thrillers! All you have to do is sign up for the International Thriller Writer's newsletter, which is worth it even without the prize. Find out more here.

Marcus Sakey's THE BLADE ITSELF

Check this out! My Killer Year buddy, Marcus Sakey, just had his debut thriller THE BLADE ITSELF (available everywhere January 9th) reviewed by The New York Times!!!

Check out the review HERE.

Way to go, Marcus!!

Killer Year is Here

Welcome to 2007. I know I'm glad it's here (understatement of the decade!) I'm also pretty sure I can speak for my fellow Killer Year folks. In the coming months we will all be experiencing that thing that can only happen to an author once, the publication of our debut novels. So to celebrate the arrival of 2007, here's a list of the Killer Year books. We hope you enjoy them as much as we've all enjoyed writing them!





SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
Sandra Ruttan
January 7, 2007
The video appears to show a woman falling to her death, but the cameraman says the police sent him away without investigating. Reporter Lara Kelly is intrigued, but suspicious. She’s finds enough evidence to print a story about an apparent suicide.

Detective Tymen Farraday, the newest detective in a precinct plagued by rumors of scandal and corruption, is sent to check Lara’s sources. Before Farraday and Lara are even sure they can trust each other they discover a body. When Lara is attacked Farraday is forced to protect her and as they untangle a deadly web of corruption, murder and abduction, they find themselves in the path of a killer.





THE BLADE ITSELF
Marcus Sakey
January 9, 2007
For Danny Carter, retired thief turned respectable businessman, sharing a normal life with his loving girlfriend seems like the ultimate score -- until his former partner comes looking for him. A hardened killer fresh out of Stateville, his partner wants to kidnap the son of Danny's millionaire boss, and needs help to pull it off. Doing the job could cost Danny his career, his relationship, and his freedom; refusing could cost him his life.





BIG CITY, BAD BLOOD
Sean Chercover
January 9, 2007
A disillusioned newspaper reporter turned Chicago P.I., Ray Dudgeon isn't trying to save the world. He just wants to do an honest job, and do it well. But when doing an honest job threatens society’s most powerful and corrupt, Ray’s odds for survival make for a sucker’s bet. The worlds of Hollywood moviemaking, Chicago organized crime, and Washington power politics collide in Big City, Bad Blood.





LIAR'S DIARY
Patry Francis
February 1, 2007
When a teenage boy is arrested for a particularly brutal murder, his mother seeks to learn the truth, and finds herself increasingly ensnared in a web of lies.





KISS HER GOODBYE
Robert Gregory Browne
February 6, 2007
ATF agent Jack Donovan is just getting reacquainted with his estranged daughter, Jessie, when a ruthless gunrunner kidnaps her and buries her alive. With the clock ticking, Jack soon realizes that the only way he can save her is to follow a killer into the darkness of death itself.





A WICKED SNOW
Gregg Olsen
February 27, 2007
Southern California criminal investigator Hannah Griffin teams up with FBI agent Jeff Bauer to catch her mother, a notorious serial killer who pulled off the greatest vanishing act in history.





VINNIE'S HEAD
Marc Lecard
March 6, 2007
In Vinnie’s Head, Long Island petty criminal Johnnie LoDuco snags his best friend’s head while fishing for flounder, and attracts the attention of some very unpleasant people. Is it the head they want, or Johnnie?





LOST DOG
Bill Cameron
April 1, 2007
Peter McKrall, disaffected smart-ass and kleptomaniac, finds a dead hooker in the park while looking for his niece's lost toy dog. At the crime scene, he has a chance encounter with the killer, Jake, who panics and sets out to implicate Peter in the crime. The next thing Peter knows, the victim's frantic ex-con daughter is calling in the middle of the night and the police, misdirected by Jake and by Peter's own sordid past, have cast suspicious eyes his way.





BOBBIE FAYE'S VERY (very, very, very) BAD DAY
Toni McGee Causey
May 1, 2007
Bobbie Faye Sumrall is a dead-broke Cajun living in a broken-down trailer in Lake Charles, Louisiana. When criminals demand Bobbie Faye's Contraband Queen tiara-- the only thing of her mama's she inherited-- in exchange for her good-for-nothing brother, Bobbie Faye has to outwit the police, organized crime, former boyfriends, and a hostage she never intended to take (but who turns out to be damn sexy), in order to rescue her brother, keep custody of her niece, and get back in time to take her place as Queen in the Lake Charles Contraband Festival (think Mardi Gras, with more drinking and pirates). Luckily, she knows how to handle guns, outwit angry mama bears, drive a speedboat, and get herself out of (and into) almost every kind of trouble. If only that pesky state police detective (who also happens to be a pissed off ex-boyfriend) would stay out of her way . . .





THE CLEANER
Brett Battles
June 27, 2007
The Cleaner is an international spy thriller featuring Jonathan
Quinn, a freelance professional "cleaner." When he takes on his latest job, it seemed simple enough – investigate a suspicious case of arson in Colorado. But the case takes a turn for the worse and soon Jonathan is leapfrogging continents, trying to find out why someone wants him dead–and if it's linked to a larger attempt to wipe out his employer. His only hope may be a woman from his past who's reluctant to help–but who may hold the key to solving the case.





THE MARK
Jason Pinter
July 2007
Henry Parker, a young newspaper reporter moves to New York looking to usher in a new era of fearless and ethical journalism. After being given his first assignment by legendary newsman Jack O'Donnell, Henry stumbles into a bloodbath and ends up accused of murder. On the run from both the authorities and a vicious assassin who wants him dead for reasons more personal than he could have ever imagined, Henry must rely on Amanda Davies, a headstrong young law student, to uncover a vast conspiracy that could shatter a city...or control it.





WHEN ONE MAN DIES
Dave White
September 2007
When Gerry Figuroa is killed in a hit and run, his pal, Jersey P.I. Jackson Donne, is hired to investigate. Donne soon discovers that Figuroa may not have been quite the innocent he seemed. A second case leads Donne to a dead body on the steps of Drew University. As he digs deeper, Donne uncovers a drugs connection, and it quickly becomes clear that certain people would rather he dropped his investigation. Soon his ex-cop partner shows up bent on shattering everything, and Donne finds his past hurtling towards him with a vengeance.





PYRES
Derek Nikitas
Fall 2007
When a folklore professor is shot dead in his car, the crime smashes together the lives of three disparate women: his anguished teenage daughter, a detective facing her own family’s collapse, and the pregnant former-junkie girlfriend of the killer. These three women must choose where to aim their last shots at redemption, even as they face a gang of barbaric thugs who torch homes and lives for a thrill.





ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS
J.T. Ellison
November 2007
A vicious, highly mobile killer is terrorizing the Southeast. Showing no mercy to his victims, he leaves a trail of mutilated bodies faster than investigators can process the crime scenes. Nashville Homicide Detective Taylor Jackson, working with FBI profiler John Baldwin, must follow the killer along his devious path. How many will die if they don't succeed?

Read the Inteview!

Bethany Warner at Word Nerd has an interview up with me. Actually went up on the 20th, but I didn't realize it. (And, yes, I've emailed her to let her know she's got my name misspelled in the title. Hahaha...keeps me humble. )

Read the interview Here.

Crimespot Rules

1st RULE: You always talk about CRIMESPOT.

2nd RULE: You ALWAYS talk about CRIMESPOT.

3rd RULE: If someone says "what's CRIMESPOT" or goes limp, push them out of the chair, their computer time is over.

4th RULE: At least 3 blogs to a category (so the list looks full).

5th RULE: One blog update at a time.

6th RULE: No shirts, no shoes.

7th RULE: CRIMESPOT will go on as long as it has to.

8th RULE: If this is your first time at CRIMESPOT, you HAVE to click through to every blog.

PRE-ORDER NOW!!!

Okay, so it's still a bit over six months before THE CLEANER actually hits the books story, but it's up on Amazon now, so you can pre-order your heart out!

THE CLEANER on Amazon.com

Me? I've already order 423 copies...or at least I've thought about doing that!

All right...I mean...alright...I mean...

Okay, I know language changes. Spoken faster than written, but written also changes. What was once unacceptable becomes common place, the norm. (Kind of like using a phrase like "the norm.") I get that. Hell, I'm guilty of pushing that envelope myself. Often.

But there's one thing I haven't been able to do. I think the blame goes to my high school English teacher, Mr. Byrd. (Mr. Larry Byrd, by the way...ironically the coach of the varsity basketball team.) Maybe it wasn't him, but that's what my foggy memory is telling me this morning. It's the phrase all right vs. the word alright.

I get it. Alright even looks good to me. But I just can't right it. (I've made an exception for this post. It's painful, but I'm doing it for the good of all.) Any time I come to the point where I need to write the phrase/word, I opt for the phrase. This goes true for both description and dialogue. In THE CLEANER you will never see an "alright." It will always be "all right." Unless I made a mistake somewhere that is.

I don't know why I continue to have this hang up. I just do. I've tried to shake it, but it won't go away.

So my questions to you are: 1) where do you come down on the Alright vs. All Right issue? 2) What grammatical pet peeves do you have that have become accepted by most everyone else?

BREAKING COVER NEWS!!!

Just got the go from my editor to post the cover for THE CLEANER. So here it is!!! Let me know what you think!



The cover was designed by Ray Lundgren. And I'm told the gun will be in silver foil with the details of the gun embossed. (click on the cover to see a larger version)

More Good News...

This time for my good friend Phil Hawley. From Publisher's Marketplace:

German rights to Philip Hawley, Jr.'s STIGMA, to Andrea Diedrichs at S. Fischer, by Joachim Jessen at the Thomas Schlueck Agency, on behalf of Maja Nikolic and Simon Lipskar at Writers House, in a good deal, for two books.

Rights previously sold to Plaza y Janes in Spain and AST in Russia.

YEAH, PHIL!!!!!

Big Killer Year News

We're going to have a short story anthology out in Winter 2008! St. Martin's just picked it up. Read more here, and here.

I also should be having some of my own news to announce soon! Very exciting stuff!!!

The Ache

Book 2 is flowing really well these days. Before most people have even gotten into their cars to head to work, I've already written several pages. I've come to the point where I'm not just seeing 4 or 5 pages ahead, I'm seeing 20 to 30. (Yeah, I'm one of the non-outliner crowd.) This is an exciting point for me in any story, when I'm really starting to feel it. This morning I hit page 170, and by some point next week I'll pass 200 - my unofficial halfway point.

But this is also when I start experiencing a good but at time annoying side effect. I call it the Ache. It grabs me deep down, at my very root.

I'll be sitting at my computer at work or on my couch watching TV or lying in bed getting ready to sleep and it hits me. My characters begin talking to me. Before I even realize it a whole scene is played out in my mind, but almost seems as if it's playing out in front of me. I start speaking in dialogue, rapidly, nearly unable to keep up. Then I repeat it over and over, three, four times. Sometimes making subtle changes, sometimes repeating word for word. I then reach for a pad of paper or open a new document on my computer and I write it down.

That's not the annoying part. The annoyance comes in when I'm not somewhere I can write it down. Perhaps driving down the freeway, maybe sitting in a movie theater, or, like yesterday, while I was walking down the street to pick up lunch. I had nothing to write it down, but that didn't stop me from going over the dialogue over and over. And, yes, every once in a while I found myself talking out loud.

Today was only a minor annoyance. The scene kept playing through my mind as I picked up my food, grabbing on and not letting go. It stayed with me all the way back to the office, so the first thing I did was write it down.

I love the Ache. I just hate it when I don't have an opportunity to write it down. I've lost tons of stuff that way. NEWS FLASH: My memory ain't the best. But when I do keep it, when the Ache translates to words on the page, there is nothing better.

We all get the Ache...but I'm curious where the strangest place was that you got it...

A father's love for his son

There's little I can add to this story, except that it actually made me cry. Not just a little bit, but so much I had to shut the door to my office for a moment.

It's not a sad story. It's story of love.

You can read it here.

And you can see it here:

One for Now and One for Your To Be Purchased List

Today marks the paper back release of Tasha Alexander's AND ONLY TO DECEIVE. A turn of the century (well...late 1800s) mystery that sounds just like the type of book I like to sink my teeth into.

From Tasha's site:

"Emily's desire to learn more about her late husband takes her to the quiet corridors of the British Museum, where, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. To complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond the marrying kind. Her search to solve the crime leads to surprising discoveries about the man she married and causes her to question the role in Victorian society to which she, as a woman, is relegated."

If it's not in your bookstore, ask them why. If they don't give you a good answser, start yelling and screaming like a madperson...they love that.


I was lucky enough to score an advanced copy of Robert Gregory Browne's KISS HER GOODBYE at Bouchercon. I finished it over the weekend and I have to say this book rocks! It comes out early February, but you can pre-order it now (follow the link on Rob's site.) It is a non-stop, action packed thrill ride that kept me awake longer than I wanted to be up a couple nights!

From Amazon:

"ATF Agent Jack Donovan wants only two things in life: to take down violent cult leader Alexander Gunderson and to reconnect with his estranged daughter Jessie. But none of Donovan’s experience as a top cop or an absent father has prepared him for the unthinkable way in which these two parts of his life are about to collide.
In a desperate act of revenge, Gunderson kidnaps Jessie and buries her alive. And just as Donovan’s team is closing in, fate intervenes in the form of a bullet, and the secret to Jessie’s location is lost forever. Or is it?

With only a few precious hours of oxygen to sustain her, and not a single clue pointing in her direction, Jessie is sure to die — unless Donovan can somehow find her. And he's willing to trade anything to save his little girl. Anything.

Even his own life."

How could you not want to buy a copy?

Bouchercon Pictures!!

Madison is a beautiful city. Though I wasn't able to see much, what I did see was worth a trip back someday. The conference hotel was right across the street from the capitol building. On Saturday morning, there was a great farmers market that circled the entire building...vegetables, cheese, bakery goods, you name it. People walked around it counter-clockwise...which, of course, was why I walked in a clockwise direction. Easier to people watch that way.



Proof that I was actually there.



Robert Gregory Browne, Phil Hawley, and Marc Lecard all ready for action



Crimespree Party



Joe Konrath and David Morrell



James Born



Me with fellow Bantam Dell author Sean Doolittle...who is too tall for his own good



Phil Hawley getting in a little "Phil" time



Marcus Sakey explaining the ins and outs of novel writing to Rob F. and Bill Cameron



Rob and I working protection for the lovely and talented Tasha Alexander



Here I am with the nicest person in the wolrd, Shane Gericke



And finally, this one's for Tasha's and my agent Anne. Wish you could have been here!

After looking at these pictures...apparently I have only one expression. Oh, well...at least it's not a frown.

I'll have a few more photos up at the Killer Year Blog on Thursday, if all goes well!

Killer Year

You’ve heard several of us talking about it. Maybe you were even around at the beginning when Sarah Weinman mentioned the high profile of a group of novelist debuting in 2007. That spurred Jason Pinter, JT Ellison, Sandra Ruttan and myself to form the group Killer Year.

For most of the summer, we’ve been brainstorming ideas, planning what approaches to take and growing our ranks. We’re now 14 strong, and what’s more, we’ve even convinced ITW (International Thriller Writers) to take us under their wing. But that’s only the beginning. There is so much more in store. To start, we’ve launched our new, information packed website Killeryear.com. Today also marks the return in force of our Killer Year Blog, with an initial guest post by author M.J. Rose.

We’ve even got a Killer Year Myspace page! For that matter, so do I - click here.

So much new, and this is only the beginning! Expect more, exciting announcements over the coming months. And get ready because 2007 is only 3 months away…there are 14 books you need to put on your reading list!

A Memory, Five Years Removed...

I was sitting in the second floor office of an old waterworks building. The building was serving as the temporary headquarters for a group of us working on a specialized graphics presentation that would operate inside a visitor center near a VW planet in Germany. Did I mention the waterworks building was in Berlin?

It was in the afternoon. Most of the crew had gone out for a late lunch, but I’d stayed behind to do a little work. Suddenly one of the guys ran back into the office, his face white. “A plane just hit the World Trade Center,” he said.

His sister worked in a building right next to the towers, so he was more than just normally upset. He and the other two had been having lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant. The owner, who didn’t speak English but was very friendly and was used to seeing us around, had turned on a TV and shown the others what was happening.

I was confused. I couldn’t quiet get my head around what was happening. There was no TV at the plant, and I had not been with them at the restaurant.

Needless to say we decided to quit for the day. We rushed back to our hotel, and gathered in one of the rooms to watch. Sometime during our trip the second plane hit. But we were there in time to see the towers come down.

The immediate impact was that even if we wanted to fly home to the states, we couldn’t. I seem to remember there was at least a week with no international flights into the U.S. That was an eerie feeling. We were totally disconnected from our home, and no one knew when that connection would be fixed. It’s one of those things you don’t think about until it’s gone.

Over the next several days, anyone who found out we were American treated us with extreme sympathy. I remember one taxi driver, also someone who could not speak English, making it known to us how badly he felt. I could have sworn I saw tears forming in his eyes.

At the U.S. Embassy, rather at the fence that was place several blocks from the embassy, makeshift memorials sprung up. Flowers overflowed the sidewalks and edged into the streets.

There was so much compassion. So much “we are with you.” So much good will.

I wish it was still there now.

I think in Story

I think in Story. All the time. Day, night. Waking, sleeping.

I think in Story.

Doesn't matter where I am or what's going on, it's the way my brain works. I can't turn it off.

Truthfully, I don't want to.

Scenes, characters, plotlines, motivation, story. They run through my mind unhindered. They bring order to the chaos of my thoughts. They inform the decisions and choices I make.

Whether I'm in a grocery story, walking down the street or sitting at my desk at work, I think in Story.

When I see a waitress at a restaurant, tired, but smiling, I wonder what she is thinking. I could ask her, I guess. But I won't. I don't need to. My mind fills in the gaps.

When I'm at a concert, the music intensifies the process, becoming a soundtrack to my thoughts. The scenes are sometimes so intense it's as if I am really there. If there is snow in the scene, I can feel the cold. If tension fills the air, I can feel the electricity prickling at my skin. But often it is stories of sadness or contentment or melancholy that the music evokes, and these emotions wash over me, submerging me and carrying me away if only for a few moments.

When I'm at work and a problem arises, I see the back story, I see the motivations of all the players, and I see the through line to the climax. From this I often know which path we should take. In this I am the office problem solvers. But if they only knew. It's not problem solving. It's story.

It's the way I've always been. It's the way I will always be.

I think in Story.

Deus Ex Machine Gun

One thing I can't stand is when author take the easy way out. Don't get me wrong. I've done this, too, and I hate myself for it.

You know what I mean. When motivation is glossed over, or a character is faced with an impossible situation, but wait, suddenly he's the master of a little known Asian fighting art that is the only thing that will save.

For me, even an unbelievable story needs to seem believable. And that means not taking the easy road. Not copping out. It's something I learned from my late teacher/mentor/friend Bill Relling. He would never let any of his students get away with easy outs. He would question us and question us until we gave in.

"Why does he find the knife under the car?"

"Because it was there."

"Not a good answer. Why?"

A pause. "Because...he needs it?"

He nods. "Yeah. But?"

Another pause. "But just because...he needs it doesn't mean it should be there."

A smile now. "So...?"

"So I'll change it."

Admittedly, that's a pretty lame example, but essentially it illustrates what I mean. (I would have been a horrible critic back in the old Greek days...Deus Ex Machina? Pah-lease!)

If a character needs a ray-gun to solve the plot, make obtaining one believable within the world of the story. If a detective needs info about a suspect, don't have an ex-lover conveniently sitting at a bar ready to spill the beans. Make the detective work. Make the ex-lover lie. Make the lies tell the true.

DON'T MAKE IT EASY!! But as a corollary, DON'T MAKE IT COMPLICATED FOR COMPLICATED SAKE.

Make it believable. Make it real for the world you are writing about. Make it gripping. Put up obstacles that are really obstacles. Make your characters work. Make 'em think. Make 'em make mistakes. And even the good guys get hurt now and then.

Just don't cop out.

FINALLY!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have title. That's right for all three of you who have been following the ins and outs of the title to my debut novel, who have drawn charts trying to figure out the conspiracy behind the lack of title, and who have not slept at night trying to think up the perfect title for me, you can now relax.

Next spring, I hope you all run out and purchase my debut thriller, THE CLEANER.

It's the title I really wanted, and I couldn't be happier.


Now a little housekeeping word of warning. I'm going on vacation starting tomorrow. So I might post something in the next week and a half, then again I might not. So don't hate me...(David Terrenoire, I'm talking to you!)

ThrillerFest Photos

A couple photos from ThrillerFest courtesy of author Jeff Buick.


Myself, Jeff Buick, Phil Hawley and John Gilstrap


Elizabeth Krecker and me
...she would be the one on the right...

Home

ThrillerFest 2006 is now in the past. I returned home last night from what turned out to be the best conference I've ever been to. From meeting several of my Killer Year classmates, to being taken under the wings of two fantastic, established writers, to meeting big names and newbies and everyone inbetween. I'll try to post my thoughts later. I'm still a bit mush minded at the moment.

One thing I have realized is that time is becoming an issue. WIth that in mind, no more posting everyday for me. I'm going with the two to three times a week strategy. I hope that doesn't keep you from checking in. I'll still be here, just working on book two a little harder.

I'm Off

Tomorrow (or today if you're reading this on Wednesday), I'm off to ThrillerFest. Getting in a little early so I'm rested and ready for the fun. No posts until probably next week. Have a great weekend, and I'll let you know how it all went when I get back!

Hey, if you haven't checked out Tuesday's post with the links to the KT Tunstall performances, then do yourself a favor and go there right now.

And don't miss J.B. Thompson's interview with Jason Pinter, fellow Class of 2007 member!

See you next week!

Accelerating Toward a Killer Year

It seems the last couple of months someone’s been pushing the gas pedal closer and closer to the floor. It’s one of those things you don’t notice at first, then just by chance, you glance at the speedometer. “Whoa!” you say. “How the hell did that get up to 120 miles per hour?”

And if I thought things were going fast before, today markers the beginning of a whole new phase. Today is the official launch of theKiller Year website, and the Killer Class of 2007’s blog. Jason Pinter’s up first at the blog, so check out what he has to say. Tomorrow it’s my turn. On the following days you’ll hear from other members of the Killer Class of 2007, so bookmark our blog and website so you can check back often.

And the launch is just in time, too. ThrillerFest begins a week from Thursday, so if you’re going, you’ll be able to meet several of us there. And if not, we’ll keep you posted on the happenings through our new kids on the block point of view.

Hang on, everybody. And enjoy!

Something Every Writer Should Read

Jason Pinter has written a fantastic post today about agents and their value. All writers starting out or even already done the road need to read it. Click here.

Cold Case

J.T. Ellison has a post on Murderati today about a cold case that is personally important to her. If you have the chance, please go over and read about it. And on the off chance you can help, please do so.


If you're a debut novelist with a crime/suspense/thriller coming out next year don't forget to send your info to jason@jasonpinter.com.

And everyone should bookmark Killer Year, we'll be getting it going soon, then will have constant updates!

A Killer Year

Did you feel that earthquake yesterday? Maybe not, but trust me, you will. It's not the kind of earthquake that shakes for a while and goes away. It started Wednesday morning...actually started on Tuesday (see JT's comment)...hell, it's been building for the past several months now.

Every year sees another group of debut authors make their appearances. But I don't know, 2007 just seems different. Okay, I know. It seems different because I'm one of those debut authors. But that's not what I mean. See, several of us have been slowly developing friendshps that we've used to support each other, share information and learn together. Now we've decided to make it official. Watch out the Killer Class of 2007 is coming.

Yeap. We have our own website. More to come soon. Jason Pinter, JT Ellison, Sandra Ruttan and I have official declared 2007 A Killer Year.

If you're a debut thriller/crime/mystery novelist whose first book is coming out next year, you're in. Just email Jason your information at jason@jasonpinter.com.

Our goal is to work together to get our names out there. We have a helluva lot better chance of getting recognition together than we do on our own.

Join us. It's going to be a blast. And it's going to be a killer year.

ATTENTION

Your first book coming out in 2007? Get yourself over to Jason Pinter's Blog and sign up as an official member of the class of 2007.

Together, we'll make this a Killer Year. HA! I love that! It makes me laugh.

YK Syndrome then an Interesting Link

So I was thinking about writing this post, and, you know, I couldn't exactly figure out, you know, how to, you know, start it. I mean, you know, starting a post is hard. You have to, you know, grab your audience, and, you know, talk about something, you know, relevant.

Man, I hope you made it through that paragraph. It was as painful to write as I'm sure it was to read.

As you might have guessed, I've been thinking a lot about public speaking lately. Next year after the book comes out, I hope to get some opportunities to go out and do a few signings. Even before that, there are at least three conferences I'm planning on attending, and at the first, ThrillerFest at the end of the month, I'm appearing on a panel. So I've started to pay more attention when I see others speaking in public.

Within the past week, I've had the opportunity to attend a couple of signings. First the Thriller Anthology signing with five great writers - Denise Hamilton, Gregg Hurwitz, Gayle Lynds, Christopher Reich and Christopher Rice, and then the next night Barry Eisler at the Mystery Bookstore. To a woman/man, they were all great speakers. Clear. Funny. Entertaining. Informative.

Great role models.

After I left Barry's signing on Friday night, I turned on the radio and caught part of a sports radio talk show. (I have my sports moments. GO ANGELS!...though we suck at the moment.) They had a caller on the line. Callers are seldom good public speakers, so it didn't surprise me that he was inflicted with YK Syndrome, that is, inserting "you know" after about every fifth or sixth word. What did surprise me was when the host came back on to speak. He seemed to have been infected by the disease. During his first response, he said "you know" seven times. Second response, nine times. Third response, eight. I stopped counting after that. This from a man paid to speak publicly nearly every day.

I'm sure you all have heard speakers with similar issues. It's a crutch, a way to fill the air because you think you need to fill the air. After all you are the speaker. You are the one everyone is looking at. What we fail to remember is that sometimes it's okay to not say anything. A pause without a "you know" filling the void, is thoughtful. It shows the speaker is confident and in control of what they are saying. Whereas dropping the old YK into the mix makes a speaker sound unsure of themselves.

Now I'm not about to start throwing stones here. I've been known to employ the you-know pause on several occasions. But I really try to watch it. And with more talking in front of groups ahead of me, I would love to completely excise this tendency.

So if you're ever talking with me, and, you know, you hear me, you know, fall into the YK Syndrome, you know, knock me up side the head.

Or just tell me to shut up.


Interesting Article on publishing paperback vs. hardback. Click here.

Tar Pits and Ideas

Most of you probably don't live in a place where you experience this, at least not on a daily basis, but tar bubbles up out of the ground here. Weird. I know. But I see it every day.

Now before you go thinking I'm talking about the whole Los Angeles, area. I'm not. Well, at least I assume I'm not. I'm just talking about my little corner of weirdo paradise. A little strip know as the Miracle Mile. You've heard of it in the movies, you've read about it in books - specifically those of Raymond Chandler. It's like those other iconic L.A. locations: the Sunset Strip, Hollywood and Vine, Rodeo Drive.


Another famous L.A. landmark is the La Brea Tar Pits. The tar pits, see, they're right on the Miracle Mile. That's a two for one for all you tourists out there. I see both of them every day. My day job is on the Mile. All right, smart aleck...in a building on the mile. In fact, if I stand up from my desk in the cube farm and look out the window, I can actually see the main pit across the street. It's not easy to miss. They've got a family of staged mammoths to demonstrate the dangers of the pits.

The tar pits are a part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) complex. Surrounding the pits is a beautiful grass park. I walk through that park almost every day. What I've noticed over time is that occasionally tar starts bubbling up in unexpected places. There are two new miniture eruptions right on my path in the middle of a large grass expanse.

The tar got me to thinking about ideas. And how ideas pop up at any time from unexpected places. It could be someone we see walking down the street. It could be a news story we read. It could something we've heard from a friend. Or it could be something that pops into our heads for no apparent reason at all. (For a more detailed post about the genesis of an idea, read Jeffrey Cohen's excellent and hilarious entry at Murderati from June 4.)

I marvel at that process. I love that moment an idea hits me. There's nothing like it. These idea moments happen to everyone. I mean EVERYONE. Someone might swinging their cart around a corner at a super market when they have an idea that shows them the exact ratio of acceloration to turning angle they need to win the Indy 500. Someone might be searching blindly for the snooze button when they come up with the idea that planting a bougainvillea in a certain spot would be the perfect touch to their front yard. Or someone might be having breakfast with someone they're not particularly fond of and realize that writing a story about a serial killer that targets cereal tycoons would be great.

Perhaps the first person could become a world class race driver, the second a successful landscape architect, and the third a published author.

Perhaps.

But it's just as likely that these three would become none of these things.

Getting the ideas is just the first step. It's what we do with these ideas that determine our paths. Let me repeat: It's what WE (you and I) do with these ideas that determine our paths. If we don't, it'll just be a lot of woulda, shoulda, coulda. If you want to be a writer, then you take the ideas and you write. Doesn't matter where they came from. They're going to bubble up in unexpected places. You're job is to do something about them, not just say, "Hey, look at that. That would make a good story," and then move on.

Ideas are great. But they remain only ideas, until you act.

What are you going to do with your ideas?

Cornelia Read

Stopped back in at the Mystery Bookstore last evening to say hi to Cornelia Read and get my copy of A Field of Darkness signed. Unfortunately I wasn't going to be able to stay for her discussion, but I was hopeful that I could grab a moment or two of her time prior to her talk.

And I was in luck. We spotted each other as soon as I walked in and had a great, albeit quick, conversation. Got the book signed and made my exit. I sure that the event went off great. There were already several folks crowding into the store.

Thanks, Cornelia!

You're Beautiful

You’ve probably all heard the song. If you haven’t, you just haven’t been listening to the radio or watching MTV or VH1. You’re Beautiful by James Blunt has been in heavy rotation everywhere. I know there are those of you out there who are completely burned out on it. I even read where one radio station in England has banned the playing of anything by Blunt. Not because he isn’t any good, but because he is played too much everywhere, in other words, a severe case of over exposure.

Usually, I’m one of the first to jump on the You’re-Playing-It-Too-Much bandwagon. Really, I am. I don’t listen to top 40 radio because of that. In fact, I seldom listen to pop radio at all. KCRW is my station here in L.A. It’s the local public radio station, and they have some kickass radio programs. Check ‘em out. They podcast almost everything over the web. In this age of the Internet, I think KCRW would probably be my station wherever I lived. When not listening to the radio, I’ve got the iPod going with what it tells me is 4.7 days worth of continuous music.

But here’s the thing. I love this song. There are several elements that play right down my alley. The simplicity of the guitars. The emotion of the voice. But most of all, the story the lyrics tell.

It’s a simple one. You catch the eye of someone across the room, and for a split second you feel the attraction between the two of you. You can see a whole shared life right in front of you. But, for whatever reason, you know you will never be together. And then she (he) is gone. But that memory is there for you for the rest of your life.

The song makes me think back to the fall of my senior year in high school. I was working at McDonalds (yes, it’s true.) I was very much a single guy at this point with no idea what to do about it. But that’s probably beside the point.

I remember this one night, it was a Saturday. Late, maybe 9:30. Not a busy time for us. This family comes in: a husband and wife and their teenage daughter. I’m sure we were about the same age. I remember her face to this day. Open and friendly and cute as hell. I lived in a small town with only a single high school, so I was pretty sure they weren’t local.

The girl and I exchanged glances while they ordered their food. Then again while they were out in the dinning room eating. I wanted so much just to say hi. But it was like I’d forgotten how to talk.

And when they left, she looked back at me.

And she smiled.

And I smiled back.

And then she was gone.

I never saw her again. But I’ve never forgotten that evening, that perfect meeting.

That’s what this song does for me.


You're Beautiful
by James Blunt

My life is brilliant.

My life is brilliant
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful.
You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yes, she caught my eye,
As I walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Flying high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last 'till the end.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

You're beautiful.
You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

The Signing Express

Looks like the L.A. area is the place to be for book signings for the next week! Personally, I’m planning on dropping in at three of them. Here’s what’s on tape:

Thursday June 1st
7:30 p.m. THILLER: Things get started off with a bang as several of the contributors to the new Thriller Anthology from ITW and MIRA Books gather across the country doings several signings. (See schedule here for location of event nearest you.)

At Barnes & Noble on the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, my local event, Denise Hamilton, Gregg Hurwitz, Gayle Lynds, Christopher Reich, and Christopher Rice will all be there signing copies of the book. I’m definitely going, and I’m dragging Phil Hawley with me…okay, not dragging. He wants to go. In fact, I’m making him drive.

Friday June 2nd
7:00 p.m. Barry Eisler will be signing copies of The Last Assassin at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. I’m going to this one, too!

7:30 p.m. More THILLER but this time at the Borders in West L.A. Almost identical cast to the one on Thursday.

Saturday June 3rd
5:00 p.m. Cornelia Read signs copies of Field Of Darkness at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. I’m hoping to at least stop in for a few minutes to pick up my copy and say hello in person to Ms. Read!

Sunday June 4th
4:30 p.m. Still More THILLER It’s a final stop for the thriller gang on this crazy weekend. This time at the very busy Mystery Bookstore. Bobby and gang are going to have to sleep for a week after all of this excitement!

Monday June 5th
1:00 p.m. Lee Child and Cornelia Read in a joint appearance at Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks.

Lee Child is also going to make a drop in appearance at Mystery Bookstore. No time specified.

Wow…I’m just exhausted writing about all of it.

Don’t you wish you lived here? At least for a week?

Copy Edits In Progress

First off, the notes and corrections aren’t bad at all. In fact the majority of the marks are instructions for the printing/typesetting process. There are actually many pages where there are no marks at all.

Most of the work I have to do is in answering and address several questions and issues both the copy editor and my editor have come up with. These are mainly written on yellow post-it notes stuck throughout the manuscript. I’ve taken the route of going through the entire manuscript and taking care of the easy ones first. Then I go through again and again dealing progressively with the more involved issues. This way, the real big things (nothing is really THAT big) can stew in my mind while I deal with everything else.

So I’d guess I’d say, so far, so good.

One thing, though…I’ve learned that I don’t know the difference between past and passed. Well, that’s not exactly right. I mean I DO know the difference, just don’t ask me what it is right now…I’m tired. But apparently my fingers don’t know the difference. Because when they’re typing away on my keyboard they confused these two word more often than anything else. I’d reprimand them if I thought it would do any good, but they’d probably say, “I was only following orders from the brain.” Then the brain would have some lame excuse like there “must be some faulty wiring in the spinal cord region.” And the spinal cord would blame the nerve cells, who wouldn’t blame anyone but would threaten to all get “pinched” at the same moment if I came down on them.

So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this is a problem I’ll have to live with. I’m sure someday I’ll get passed…past…passed…past…around it.

Copy Edits Cometh

I knew this day was approaching. It had been hinted at for weeks, though the original timeline had The Day happening in early June. I’m talking about receiving my copy edits on Hung Out to Die.

For those of you not familiar, copyediting is what happens after you’ve done all your story editing with your editor. The manuscript then is giving to a person whose job it is to go over the entire book word-by-word, line-by-line. They look for typos, inconsistencies, misuses of language, and God knows what else.

I’ve been both looking forward to, and a bit nervous about this stage. But in a few short hours the package with my marked up pages will be in my hands, and I’ll need to put my nerves and excitement to the side. It’ll be get down to work time.

They’ve given me about three weeks to go over everything, approving or STETing suggestions, answering questions they have, and generally tightening the manuscript. Then it’ll be on to printing bound galleys and ARCs.

I can feel things starting to pick up speed. I just hope I don’t forget to strap myself in!

Another Fun Read

Just finished Jeff Shelby's Killer Swell yesterday. I really enjoyed it. Jeff has created a great cast of characters. They'll be fun to watch as their relationships evolve over the coming books in the series. It's also a pretty quick read. And seeing as it has a beach/surfer backdrop, you could say it's the perfect summer book.

Check it out.

In Reference to Reference

I don’t know about you, but I used to be a compulsive reference book collector. The kind of books I’m talking about are the ones specifically aimed at writers. This has come to mind because as I set up my work area in my new place, I find myself unpacking boxes and boxes of reference books.

A sampling of titles:

Smart English
Crime Reference
The Dictionary of Clichés
A Writer’s Companion
20 Master Plots
Descriptionary
Dictionary of Modern Slang
Barlett’s Familiar Quotations

The list goes on and on. The thing that I find funny is that once I purchased each book, I would typically put it on a shelf and never open it. It was a comfort just to know that they were there. In a way, I think I purchased them to prove to myself that I was serious about being a writer. Weird, I know, but it worked.

Nowadays I seldom even open my dictionary as my computer has a perfectly adequate one. Even when I’m looking to name a character, the baby name books I own sit on the shelf, there are now better resources on the Internet.

I contemplated getting rid of some of my growing reference library, but just couldn’t do it. And chances are in the future, if I’m browsing through a bookstore and see a reference book I think might be interesting, I’ll probably buy it. It’ll join the others, but I’ll be glad it’s there.

And by the way, if anyone wants to know “How to Create A New Identity,” I have a book on that, too.

What's a Picture Worth?

One of the interest tools I use to help get my creativity going is looking at pictures. I’m not talking about pulling out the family photo album and getting at laugh at that shot of Uncle Dan wearing the hula skirt…though, that actually could work. What I’m talking about are stock photo books.

In advertising, production, and the graphics industry there is a big need for photography. But shooting something new every time you need it is expensive. So what’s spring up is a whole industry of stock photos that you can purchase for a particular use. To aid their potential buyers, these stock companies create books of photos. They divide the pictures into sections – active people, panoramas, nature, highways, etc. You get the idea. Sometimes whole books are dedicated to one subject.

Over the years, I’ve collected several of these books. When I’m stuck or feeling uninspired, I’ll pick one up and start thumbing through the pages. If a picture catches my eye, I’ll mark it with a post-it. Occasionally, a photo will do more than just catch my eye. It’ll jump off the page at me. I’ll stop and stare at it for several minutes. Maybe it’s a picture of a person, and I can see their whole character right before me. Maybe it’s a place and as I watch as a scene from a story I have yet to write unfolds.

Often the pictures I’ve looked at don’t make it to the written page. But what they have done is get my juices flowing again. And in the back of my mind I know one day I’m going to find that picture that will translate not only to the page but will give me an entire story. It’ll be like my own mini-moment of nirvana.

What do you use to jump start your creativity?

***BREAKING NEWS***

Big congrats to my friend J.T. Ellison, a frequent contributor here at The Sphere. Seems she gone and got herself a 3 book deal with MIRA. The announcement in Publisher’s Marketplace says it’s a “very nice deal.” Hell, isn’t anytime you get your first book contract a very nice deal? (Unless, J.T., they are throwing a ton of money at you…then it IS a very nice deal…and if you need a new best friend, I’m available.)

J.T. I couldn’t be more excited for you. Way to go.

You can catch J.T. Ellison blogging every Friday at Murderati.

Work Space

I find myself contemplating workspace. With the move this weekend, it’s my opportunity to set up an area (were it a room to itself…ah…that’ll be the day!) that I can use for my primary writing location.

As some of you know by now, my favorite office is a table at whatever coffee shop I happen to be near. That probably won’t change. I love being surrounded by people when I work. But what I would like to change is the percentage of work (and by work, I mean actual pages written on my manuscript) I am able to accomplish at home.

I’ve got some sort of block when it comes to writing prose at home. It’s not that I haven’t done it, nor continue to do it, it’s just that it doesn’t happen very often. So I’m looking at this move as an opportunity to change that mode of thinking. Fresh place, fresh start.

Let’s start with the desk. A lot of people love a large working space. Someplace you can either spread out a lot of things on, or keep clean and empty to help unclutter your mind. (Clutter might be a good future post…me = not so go at keeping the clutter away.) I used to be a big desk person, too. My previous desk now serves as my dinning table. The key word there is now. When it was my desk a few years ago, it was my desk.

These days, I like my desk small. My current desk, and the one I will keep using after the move is 2 ¾ feet across by 2 feet deep. Tiny. And I love it. It has a nice, light pine finish on top, with a dark stained edge. It’s a nice wooden table that looks like it came straight from a nice furniture shop. But the secret is, it didn’t. Or at least it didn’t get to me that way.

I found it abandoned outside an apartment building. And don’t worry, I waited several hours before I laid claim the table, checking every so often to see if it was still there, sitting only a few feet away from a dumpster. In my mind, I saved the poor thing from certain disaster at the city dump.

…now I feel compelled to say I NEVER have done anything like that before or since. That was my one and only refuse “purchase”…stop judging me… oh, wait…that’s me judging myself…sorry….

Anyway, the desk will be the centerpiece of my new work space. I’ve staked out a place for it under a window overlooking a large green space.

So besides the desk?

Sound system will be important. But since my music will actually be generated from my computer, I just need to plug in a good set of speakers.

My chair is a nice, old-fashion wooden office chair on wheels. It tilts backwards and rocks a little if I want. Think I purchased it from some fancy furniture store about ten years ago. It’s a little scratched up, now though. Once, when I was transporting it in the back of a truck, I hadn’t secured it properly and it flew out onto the highway. It’s a wonder it didn’t shatter into splinters. It still works great.

There are a few things I’m going to need for this new space. A couple of filing cabinets so I don’t have to leave everything in boxes. And some book cases…Yes, I do have book cases already, but all the real estate on their shelves has already been claimed twice over.

I’m sure there will be a few other additions once I get settled in.

But the truth is, the best office furniture in the world won't make a difference. The most important thing will be that I believe it's a place where I can work and be creative. Yep...it's all psychology.

How about you? What’s your workspace like? Is it they way you want it? What would you change?

TODAY’S TOP 10 BRETT’S iPOD ARTISTS/ALBUMS:
(in no particular order)

1. K.T. Tunstall – Eye to the Telescope
2. U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind
3. John Coltrane – Blue Train
4. Green Day – American Idiot
5. Tan Dun & Yo Yo Ma – Soundtrack to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
6. The Who – Quadrophenia
7. Tei Towa – Future Listening!
8. Sergio Mendes – Timeless
9. My Morning Jacket – Z
10. Billie Holiday – The Complete Decca Recordings

A Thoroughly Pleasant Evening

As some of you know, I will be part of a panel discussion at ThirllerFest this summer - What Do You Mean I Can’t Quit My Day Job: New Writer’s Tell It Like It Is. If I’m not mistaken, most of us on the panel have our debut novels coming out next year. As it turns out, a couple of the other panel members live here in the L.A. area. Last night I met up with one of them, Philip Hawley, Jr., at where else than Starbucks.

It was Phil’s suggestion, and I quickly agreed. We met up at 7 p.m. and spent two hours talking about our lives, our books, the publishing process and the industry in general. Phil’s book, Stigma, is due for release in March 2007. It sounds great!

I guess the best part was that, as soon to be published authors, we seldom get a chance to sit down with anyone and talk shop. We all basically work in our own little spheres of solitude, with the only interaction book-wise being the occasional call or email from our editors or agents. (Thank God for the blogs and my critique group. Without them, it would be like rowing a boat alone in the middle of the ocean.)

I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about Phil in the future. He is definitely one of the nice guys. Maybe we can even coax him to leave a post now and then.

Running

I’ve spent most of the weekend running. Running from this store to that store. Buying things I’ll need in my new place. Running around my current abode, packing, discarding and generally making a mess.

I’ve also been running from working on book two.

I’ve talked about this before. How I’m stuck in the loop, second-guessing everything I come up with. Knowing the last thing I want to do is write a variation on book one, but worrying that every plot I think up is just that. They aren’t. I’m over thinking. Case in point, one plot I have is definitely different. But the amount of research I’ll have to do is daunting. (J.T., maybe I could hire you? And by hire, I mean ask you to do it for free.) Plus I like to have traveled to the main locations my stories are set in. In this plot, that might not be the case, and that concerns me.

So I continued to run into the night – first Best Buy, then the shoe store, and finally back home to watch part of Soylent Green (gotta love TIVO.)

This morning when I got up, I decided to go on a real run, after all, I did finally buy new running shoes the night before. Okay, okay, most would probably refer to what I do as a jog. Some might even look at me and say they could walk faster than I move, but I digress.

Run, I did. With my iPod. Music on loud – this time the soundtrack to Moulin Rouge, a nice mix of slow and fast. I though about many things on my run. Potential jacket copy for Hung Out To Die. How I was going to arrange my furniture in the new pad. Why Expedia.com has a billboard up next to The Grove shopping center that says “See Where The Sun Goes When It’s Cloudy Here,” and thinking that sign belongs more in Seattle than Los Angeles…then looking up and realizing it’s cloudy this morning.

As I finished my run, coming to the last few steps before I’d start my two-block cool down walk, a new plot hit me. Bam. Out of the blue. I tell you, I wasn’t even looking for it. But it’s a good one. Easy for me to see beginning and end. Lots of interesting characters. A great location where I’ve actually been.

I stopped mid-step. I’m sure I looked odd. (Hold on, this is L.A. Everything is odd here.) Still, had there been others on the street, I’m sure they would have given me the “Are you okay?” raised eyebrow look.

Hell, yes. I was okay. Better than okay. Rockin’.

So while I was spending all weekend running away from the plot of book two, I ended up running right into it.

The moral here: If you're haveing a hard time with a plot, with a scene, with your lover or whatever, take a breather and forget about it for a while. The answer will come. It always comes.

Another Recommendation

Just finished M.J. Rose's The Delilah Complex. It'll suck you in and keep you wondering until you're done. M.J. is one of those writers whose prose flow so smoothly, she makes you forget at times you are actually reading.

What Goes and What Stays?

So my house is a mess. I mean, A MESS. Boxes everywhere. Piles of God knows what all over the place. I’ve been throwing things out by the ton.

See, I’m a pack rat. Still am. There are a lot of things I refuse to part with, but since I’m moving, I’m trying to be a little more realistic about what I need and don’t need. That means those jeans I’ve been holding onto for years…gone, Christmas decorations I don’t use…gone, old sinus meds, old t-shirts, unused furniture…gone.

One thing I realize I’ve gained a lot of is hard copies of the different novels I’ve written. (I’ve finished four novels…Hung Out to Die – my first sale – was actually book number three.) My process is this: first draft is done entirely on the computer, then comes the re-writes. I do rewrites in rounds, with each round basically being an edit and a fine tune. For the rewrite, I print out a full copy of the novel and then read it, marking it up as I’m going along. Often this involves complete rewrites of scenes, my revisions wrapping around to the backside of the printed page. I like the feel of reading the text on a printed page. I enjoy crossing out what’s wrong and noting the change I want to make. It’s freeing for me, somehow. That’s the first part. The fine tune comes in as I input the changes into my computer. I don’t just insert exactly what I’ve written. I give it a second look and make sure it’s what I want, rewriting again if I think something better will work.

That’s one rewrite round. I can do three, four, six, ten rounds. To me, getting the work right is extremely important. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not one of those people who constantly rewrites and reworks. Between each rewrite, someone other than me usually reads the draft – maybe the members of my critique group, maybe a trusted friend, and now usually my editor. Their notes and questions and suggestions are what drive the next draft.

What does this have to do with my move? Simply this: I now realizes that I have a ton of printouts of all my manuscripts, each a different draft with different notes. And I’ve got to tell you, I can’t throw any of them out. So those five or six boxes are coming with me and probably will stay with me until one of us has turned to dust. My personal writing history. I’ll probably never look them over again. No one will. But these babies ain’t going anywhere.

And you know what? It’s actually a comforting thought.