A bunch of stuff

I was touring last week for Outsourced and had a lot of fun at Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale and Bookem Mysteries in South Pasadena. At Poisoned Pen , I finally got to meet Patrick Millikin who I've been trading emails with for years, and has been a fan/supporter from the very beginning with Fast Lane. We had a packed house there, with Garnett Elliott, Terry Tanner and Mike MacLean showing up, all very talented writers who I had the pleasure of publishing during my alternative life with Hardluck Stories. An up and coming hardboiled writer, Keith Rawson, who has been impressing me lately with some of his online short fiction, also showed up, and made this video interview after the event.

In between Scottsdale and LA I stayed in Sedona to do some research for an upcoming chapter for my Blood Crimes series, and if you've never been to Sedona, go there. The place is amazing.

It rained Saturday in LA, which doesn't happen often in Southern California, and screws up traffic there as badly as a snowstorm does here in Boston, and having a good part of downtown LA tied up by the NBA All-Star game didn't help any. But still a bunch of people braved the weather and traffic to come out to meet me and shmooze, and it was a pleasure meeting fellow Top Suspense Group author Naomi Hirahara and Bookem Bookstore owner, Barry Martin.

While I was gone the trends continued for Outsourced, The Caretaker of Lorne Field and Julius Katz.



Bruce Grossman sums up his review of Outsourced over at Bookgasm:

OUTSOURCED is a great respite from the dark material we are used to from the author, but that’s not to say this is some walk in the park. I’m hopeful he has some more heist books in him, since this one is ingenious. I recommend it to any crime reader; you won’t regret taking the ride

Newcity Lit likewise digs Outsourced. You can read their review here, but here's an excerpt:

As the foursome hash out their plan, another subplot ensues: two Boston cops are on the trail of Victor Petrenko, a Russian mafia leader who has established himself as a cruel “Don” who spreads fear around town while blackmailing prominent figures in order to avoid any serious prosecution. As the story unfolds, twists and turns bring the characters together for a surprising and eye-opening ending.

And online now is my Page 69 Test.



The Readers Advisory for Horror has given The Caretaker of Lorne Field a spectacular review. Here are a couple of quotes from the review:

Finally, if you liked the movie Black Swan, you will love CoLF. Both require the reader/viewer to make a choice as to what parts of the story are "real" or not. Both will also make you squirm throughout their duration...and you will love it!

Steven King would love this book, if he hasn't read it himself already.


Even Julius Katz Mysteries got some attention (and a lot of e-book sales) with the following review.