In Yesterday's New York Times

Actual size 4" x 10.25"

BREAKING NEWS

PARIS HILTON RELEASED FROM JAIL TO ATTEND PUB DAY FOR PINTER AND BATTLES

Hollywood, CA (PA) - A spokesman for the L.A. Sheriffs Department said this morning that Paris Hilton has been released from county jail after she begged and pleaded to be set free in time for the publication day of Jason Pinter's THE MARK and Brett Battles' THE CLEANER.

"I discovered a love for reading while I was in the slammer," Paris said, sporting her new, teardrop tattoo. "I made it through all of Lee Child's Jack Reacher series, and had just begun digging into Barry Eisler's work when the chick in the next cell told me about the new books from Jason and Brett. Both sounded so good, I had to rush through Eisler so I'd be ready when they came out."

After being whisked away from the jailhouse, Paris was taken to the Borders on Beverly Blvd. Employees, having been forwarned about her arrival, were on hand after midnight waiting for her, and met her at her car with a copy of both novels conveniently stored in a snappy Borders' bag.

Paris is alledged to have said, "Put it on my tab."

To which the response was, "Ma'am, you don't have a tab at Borders."

But the problem was soon solved with a couple of loose twenties she found in the glove box.

---

Don't miss your chance to get THE MARK by Jason Pinter and THE CLEANER by Brett Battles.


Both novels available starting TODAY at BOOKSTORES EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!

T-Minus One Day

Well, tomorrow is the big day. The North American release of THE CLEANER, and I can hardly believe it.

But before tomorrow arrives...a little housekeeping news for everyone.

Starting in about a week THE CLEANER will also be available in an audio version!

For those of you not in the U.S. and Canada, THE CLEANER will be coming to the following countries in the appropriate language in the coming months:

Bulgaria
Russia
Germany
The United Kingdom

...and more on the way!

If you subscribe to THE NEW YORK TIMES or THE WALL STREET JOURNAL check them out tomorrow...Bantam Dell has done something very nice!

That's it for now. I'm going to try to spend the rest of the day not thinking about the release, but I'm sure that'll last about fifteen seconds.

THE CLEANER is BOOK OF THE WEEK

A big THANK YOU to David Montgomery for making THE CLEANER Book of the Week at his Crime Fiction Blog!

Only 8 days until THE CLEANER hits the shelves!

No Country For Old Men

It's always a good day when you run across the trailer for a new Coen Brothers film.

New Podcast is UP

I know we said we'd put them up every other week...but we've decided to increase the frequencies (at least for as long as we can.) This week we talk about Essentials to building a strong foundation for being a writer.

Listen to it here.
Or go type in www.battlesandbrowne.com.

Favorite Books and Winner

And so ends the final ARC sweepstakes for THE CLEANER. We are t-minus 2 weeks until pub date, so if you didn't when you don't have long to wait until you can get your very own copy!

To enter this time, all participants had to list their favorite all time books. The list is below, but first the winners:


1. Liz
2. Lee
3. Don Anderson
4. Gerald So
5. John Ling

Congratulations to each of you, and thank you to everyone who participated.

Now here's a list of some really great titles!

1. MINE (Which I didn't mention previously): It's a moving target, but I'd have to say it's either THE HEART OF THE MATTER or THE QUIET AMERICAN both by Graham Greene

2. STEPHEN D. ROGERS: DEATH OF CITIZEN by Donald Hamilton

3. PATTINASE ABBOTT: A PLACE OF EXECUTION by Val McDermid and BEL CANTO by Ann Patchett

4. ROB (as in Gregory Browne): funny guy, Rob. Sadly, if that book existed I'm sure it would have sold well.

5. GERALD SO: THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger

6. DON ANDERSON: SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL by Kent Anderson (runner up WINTER'S BONE by Daniel Woodrell.)

7. BERNITA: THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY By Guy Gavriel Kay

8. LIZ: BROTHER OF THE MORE FAMOUS JACK by Barbara Trapido

9. LEE: ATLAS SHRUGGED by Ayn Rand

10. JOHN LING: FIRST BLOOD by David Morrell

11. ANGELA: THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Dumas

12. STACEY COCHRAN: THE SUN ALSO RISES by Ernest Hemingway (runner up THE SHINING by Stephen King.)

13: LATHAM SHINDER: MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN by Jonathan Lethem

And 2 late entry...the drawing was already completed by the time these came in...but they were still in time to get their favorite books listed:

14. JUDY THOMAS: THE DAUGHTER OF TIME by Josephine Tey

15. CHRISTOPHER: THE LITTLE PRINCE by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

BONUS CHANCE!!!

I've unexpectedly come into possession of several more ARCs of THE CLEANER. And my surprise abundance is your chance for a free book. I'm going to give away five this time.

You read that right. FIVE.

But we're going to turn this one around fast. I'm setting the deadline for entries at 6 p.m. Monday June 11th...that's Pacific Standard Time.

This time I'm looking for your favorite book of all time - title and author. And if you feel up to it, let us know why. I'll pull the winners on Monday night and let you know on Tuesday. As always, previous winners, family and friends who already have a copy are encouraged to participate but are ineligible to win.

Let 'em rip!

------

Don't forget to listen in on the first of soon to be many podcasts from Robert Gregory Browne and myself. You'll find it at www.battlesandbrowne.com.

Battles and Browne Talk Writing

My good friend and fellow author Robert Gregory Browne and I have started something we hope a lot of you will enjoy. Every two weeks (and possibly more often as we get going), we will be posting podcasts about writing and the writing world. Sometimes we'll talk about the nuts and bolts, sometimes we'll interview other authors, and sometimes who knows. Should be a lot of fun.

And today, our very first podcast is up! You can hear it here at our new website Rob designed specifically for this - www.battlesandbrowne.com.

This weeks episode is called Character is King. You'll also notice a link on the main page where you can email us questions. We'll be answering as many as we can during upcoming podcasts. So go check it out and let us know what you think!

In Today's Mail

Two things of note in this picture...1) I received a copy of the actual hardcover edition of THE CLEANER today. Needless to say it is very cool. Still seems a little unreal, though. I'm feeling very out of body. And 2) I really need a haircut.

Less than a month to release day! (June 26th) And for those of you in the L.A. on July 7th, mark your calendar. I'll be doing a signings at Mysteries to Die For in Thousand Oaks at 1:00 p.m. and then a big one that night with friends and family in Westwood at The Mystery Bookstore at 6:30 p.m.

Publisher's Weekly Reviews THE CLEANER

Just came out this week. Wanted to share...

"Displaying an enviable gift for pacing and action, Battles’s debut novel is a page-turner that may remind some readers of the cult TV spy series Alias..."

Read the full review here (down the page a little)

Winner(s)!!! And the list

So...since this is my last give away of an ARC of THE CLEANER, I've decided not to give away just one copy, not two, not even three...BUT FOUR ARCs. So we have FOUR winners! Congratulations to:

Steve G
Jeff Shelby
Mindy
Angela/scifichick


Now...here's the list of books the entries generated!

FROM STEPHEN BLACKMOORE:
THE SONG IS YOU by Megan Abbott

FROM SPYSCRIBBER:
A GAME OF PLEASURE by Barbara Satow

FROM ROB GREGORY BROWNE:
VERTICAL COFFIN by Stephen J. Cannell

FROM KISSASYLUM:
THE SHAPE OF SNAKES by Minette Walters

FROM STEVE G:
GOD'S SPY by Juan Gomez-Jurado

FROM STACEY COCHRAN:
SUFFER THE CHILDREN by John Saul

FROM JEFF SHELBY:
I LOVE YOU, BETH COOPER by Larry Doyle

ANGELA/SCIFICHICK:
SCENT OF SHADOWS by Vicki Pettersson

FROM ABOOKWORM:
THE HINDI-BINDI CLUB by Monica Pradhan

FROM MINDY:
THE CONCRETE MAZE by Steven Torres

FROM ANNE:
THE SENSE OF PAPER by Taylor Holden

FROM ELLIE:
THE BOOK OF NAMES by Jill Gregory and Karen Tintori

FROM DIANE:
A THREAD OF GRACE by Mary Doria Russell

FROM SHARON:
THE ROSSETTI LETTER by Christi Phillips

FROM STEVE MALLEY:
RACHEL'S HOLIDAY by Marian Keyes

FROM RICK:
LISEY'S STORY by Stephen King

Thanks to everyone who participated and help to contribute to this list! A lot of good stuff here.

Only 2 Days Left to Win!

Sweepstakes ends Thursday night at 9 p.m. Pacific Time. I'll be pulling the winner then, and will post the name on Friday. So hurry up and get your entries in.

Enter Here!

CONTEST for an ARC of THE CLEANER

In case you missed the announcement on Monday, this is the last contest for an advance reader copy of THE CLEANER...

...check it out the details here!

Final Chance to Win an ARC of THE CLEANER

Here's my last contest for an ARC of THE CLEANER. (I hope to give away a hardcover before the official release date, but no promises.) To enter let's make it interesting. In the comments section let me know the name of the book that most recently surprised you. By this I mean a book you didn't expect to be as good as it was, something that gripped you more than you would have guess when you first picked it up. Give us the author, and a quick description of why it had this effect on you. Don't give away any spoilers. I hate spoilers.

Here's an example:

GROTESQUE by Natsuo Kirino
I wasn't really sure what I was expecting from this book. Granted, I had heard good things. But when I picked it up to read I kind of expected it to be one of those books you read, enjoy, then quickly move on to the next one. Not even close. The story was like water going down a drain spinning you closer and closer to the center but not taking the straight route. Each time it took me around the drain there was something new and unexpected.

See, not so hard. Your turn! Doesn't have to be a thriller or suspense novel either. Any novel. Reading's good, but even better when you cross out of your comfort zone.

Contest ends at 9:00 p.m. Pacific Coast Time Thursday, May 24th.

As If There Weren't Already Enough Reasons to Go

ThrillerFest  goes video!
Please click on the link to watch our video.
And then click here to sign up

WICKED BREAK

So in what's become a mini-tradition, I purchased Jeff Shelby's latest book (in this case WICKED BREAK at the L.A. Times Festival of Books and had him sign it.

I actually began reading it while I was still at the festival, and finished it today. I have to say, Jeff has done it again. I love his style, and I've thoroughly enjoyed both of his books. Noah Braddock is a PI who'd probably rather be surfing most days. But when he puts his mind to work, he definitely doesn't go at it holding anything back. And it was nice to see he even seemed to grow up a little the latest installment.

Great job, Jeff. And for everyone else, a big thumbs up for me.

L.A. TImes Festival of Books in Pictures

Spent all Saturday on the campus of UCLA at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Tons of people - readers and authors alike! But no reason to tell you about it...let me show you....



No crowds yet...still about an hour from official opening time. But they're coming!

Setting up at the Mysterious Galaxy booth

Book TV

Everywhere books!

Robert Gregory Browne at his first of four signings for the day

Best T-shirt of the day

Nathan Walpow at the Mystery Bookstore booth

The Mystery Bookstore's very own Bobby McCue

The crowds begin to grow

James Ellroy at the Borders booth

Michael Connelly talking to a fan

Crowded now

The wonderful and talented Cornelia Read fresh from the Edgars

Speaking of Edgars...Edgar award winner Naomi Hirahara and I catch up (Way to go, Naomi!)

Duane Swierczynski trying to unsuccessfully get out of a picture with Sean Doolittle during our gourmet lunch

Sean Doolittle and Victor Gischler

Mary Higgins Clark (blue jacket), Carol Higgins Clark (in red), behind the Mystery Bookstore worker in the white shirt is George Pelecanos passing time with Stuart Woods.

A whole portion of the festival I only did a quick pass through...

Simon Wood

The Fonz looking for a book...that's right, Henry Winkler at the Mystery Bookstore booth

Sean Doolittle and Joanne Fluke

Laura Lippman talking with Jan Burke at Mystery Galaxy booth

Joseph Wambaugh

Megan Abbot, Jason Starr, and Theresa Schwegel


If you've never gone before, hopefully these pictures will have convinced you it's an event not to be missed.

LAT Festival Some Preliminary Photos

From last night's party at the Mystery Bookstore in Westwood. Bobby and Linda through a FANTASTIC party. Must have been over a hundred people by final count. Here are a few pics. I should have taken more. After the party about a dozen of us went and grabbed a (too expensive) dinner: Jim Pascoe, Sean Doolittle, Jason Starr, Victor Gischler, Jan Long, Simon Wood, Stephen Blackmoore, Mark Haskell Smith, Aldo the Mystery Dawg and son, and Robert Gregory Browne.

Off to the festival...after a quick stop at the old Farmer's Market for breakfast! Enjoy the pictures....




Stephen Blackmoore and Robert Gregory Browne trying to look important


Murderati Blogmates Simon Wood and Robert Gregory Browne

Los Angeles Times Festival of Books!

This is a big weekend here in L.A. It's the Festival of Books at the UCLA campus. An excuse for a couple hundred thousand of your closest friends to get together an celebrate the written word.

I will definitely be there, hanging out with this guy, hoping to see this guy, and this guy, and the female Brett, and her good friend...oh and this knucklehead will be there too, but if I see him first, I might be able to avoid him.

The point is there's going to be a ton of people in town for this really wonderful event. If you are in the area, I encourage you to go even if just for a few hours. It's a ton 'o fun. And you can quote me on that!

I'll be wandering around, so if you see me, stop me and say hi!

Here are some links to get you excited:

The Mystery Bookstore, which is hosting a pre-festival party Friday night (yep, I'll be there!)

A Nice Piece in the L.A. Times

Festival of Books Home Page

List of Author Attendees (which I know for a fact is not a complete list

Festival FAQ

Festival Directions

Festival Event Map (warning, this is a PDF)