Glenda York on the library's position in an information-drenched world, and the thriller's pre-eminence in a society racked by a climate of corporate and political corruption. 

It's been more than 200 years since Benjamin Franklin started the first lending library, and Americans are still coming to libraries seeking knowledge, but the institution of the library has changed enormously during that time.

 

In medieval times, books were valuable possessions—far too expensive for most people to own.  Consequently as libraries developed, they consisted of large collections of books and other materials, maintained and funded by cities or other institutions, and were used by people who would not or could not afford to purchase books for themselves.  However, we have gone from a time where information was scarce and precious, to a time where the information is vast, easily available (and in many cases free)—and quite literally overwhelming in its sheer volume.  Recent surveys have shown that 43% of the people in our society are having trouble making decisions because of sheer data overload.

           

As our society has evolved, so have our libraries.  The Alexandria Library was the grandest collection of knowledge in the ancient world, and one of the library’s current roles continues to be as a storehouse of knowledge.  Today, like a Phoenix arisen from the ashes, a new Library Bibliotheca Alexandrina sits very close to the original site.  Their goal is to recapture the spirit of the ancient library, to meet the challenges of a digital age, and to provide a dialogue between peoples and civilizations

But just as it is almost impossible to succeed in today’s world without computers and the internet, in the last decade or so libraries have been called upon to provide free Internet access to their patrons as well.  Ninety-nine percent of all public libraries in America provide such access.  For those Americans who don’t have Internet access at home, the public library is the place to get connected.

 

Public libraries give all people equal access to the benefits of technology.  In an America where there is a growing income inequity, with the gap between the richest and poorest becoming wider year by year, this leveling of the playing field is an important role that libraries still maintain.  The downside to this is that public libraries in some urban areas have become daytime shelters for the nation’s street people and their librarians unofficial social workers for the homeless (and often disturbed).  Certainly libraries “should be for everyone”, but if it’s not an environment that most people want to spend time in it doesn’t do anyone any good.

 

One of the trends afoot in the library today has to do with communication systems.  What is the ultimate form of communication, and will we ever get there? The train of thought being that we are not in a position to know the “ultimate form” of communication, but that it is probably not writing and reading books.  Books are a technology, and writing is also a technology, and every technology has a limited lifespan.  Well, as a Librarian, I think I would have to echo the opinion of one of my colleagues who when talking about an important function that public libraries still serve said “books, books, books for free, free, free”.   Books, not “information”, books, not “technology”.  Those small, flat, rectangular things made of wood pulp that are so easily portable and invulnerable to viruses or spam are still in my opinion the best thing going.  Can you curl up with a good e-book? I think not.  The bottom line is that libraries should not let the current focus on technology overshadow the activity of people who still read books for pleasure and visit the library in search of free, portable entertainment.  They may want more technology, but not at the expense of books.

 

Another trend in libraries is the increasing use of interlibrary loan.  Libraries with reduced buying power rely increasingly on interlibrary loan as a means of increasing their circulation.  The thriller genre represents a large portion of the books requested.  There has been a revolution in popular fiction.  We may be entering an important new era, one that Patrick Anderson in his new book calls “The Triumph of the Thriller”.  The thriller genre seems to dominate the best seller list in recent years.  I think thrillers are popular because they hook you early in the book and keep you involved throughout.   Also, a staple of the thriller genre is great skepticism of authority, which plays well in a country that since Watergate seems to embrace the concept.  In a climate of corporate and political corruption, novels that examine this dark cynicism have replaced the old bestsellers of a generation ago.  The 19th century pioneers like Poe and Conan Doyle and 20th century stars like Chandler and Christie have been replaced by Harris, Connelly, Lehane and others.  The crime, suspense, and violence in these books reflects the fearful place our world can be despite the marvelous technology and science we have come to rely so heavily upon. 

 

Time compression is also changing the lifestyle of our patrons.  The statistics state the case plainly.  People today sleep, on average, two hours less per night than 80 years ago (going from 8.9 hours per night to 6.9 hours).  34% of lunches today are eaten on the run.  66% of young people surf the web & watch TV at the same time.  We have more needs….faster.

 

There is talk of transitioning to a verbal society.  Presently keyboards are our primary interface between people and their electronic information, but many believe that the days of the keyboard are numbered.  Computers will become more human (with personalities almost) and our interaction will have more of a sense of being with another human.

 

Libraries will transition from a center of information to a cultural center.  Libraries have always been community gathering places and are the only institutions in American society whose purpose is to guard against the tyrannies of ignorance and conformity, and their existence indicates the extent to which a free society values knowledge, justice, truth, books, and culture.  And let’s not forget that it is the users of libraries who will determine the future of libraries.  Libraries will reinvent themselves and probably become more of a fusion of physical and virtual realms. 

 

While we try to provide the best in information, material, equipment, services and facilities to our patrons, we need to do it in the best atmosphere possible.  We need to provide them with a welcoming and nurturing place to come to explore, discover, retreat or contemplate.  This is as important as the books and stuff we have available in our facility.  People take action on or make their voices heard about things which they care about.  We want them to be passionate about their public library.  It has been said that librarians must do a lot with a little.  And they do it so well, no one seems to notice that they don’t have the resources they need. 

 

In his book COSMOS, Carl Sagan wrote “the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.”

 

Glenda York describes herself as 'a voracious reader, in love with the poetry of the English language, and in awe of those superb writers who know how to use it.  I read a mix of fiction and non-fiction, with probably a slightly greater emphasis on fiction.  As far as type or genre, I have my moods, but basically I read everything out there except bodice ripper romance novels.  I am a librarian in a small public library in south central Kentucky .  I’ve been married for 38 years, with one son (who is 16, and has just become an Eagle Scout).  I am a member of a local book club called “The Porch Page Turners”—so named because we meet at a local restaurant called “The Porch”.

Michelle Gagnon, author of THE TUNNELS, discusses the thrill of the dark side, even for those who enjoyed happy childhoods.

My mother called as soon as she finished reading my first book. I was excited to find out what she’d thought of the plot and characters, and to see if she’d identified the killer before the climax. Instead, she was intent on one issue: “Where did I go wrong?”

“What do you mean?” I replied, puzzled.

“We did our best to give you a happy childhood,” she said, distraught. “How on earth did you come up with all this?”

I opened my mouth to respond, then paused, mentally reviewing some of the scenes in my book. In retrospect, there was some very sick stuff in there. The way my victims were killed, for example; pretty gruesome, when it came right down to it. In my defense, those murders were based on accounts of ancient pagan rituals, but still...one reviewer had applauded my “imaginative use of gore.” That’s probably why when my agent first called to sign me, she confessed, “Honestly, I thought you were a man.”

And the ironic part is that I never set out to write a thriller. The book I had envisioned was a coming of age story set on a college campus, replete with romance, academic intrigue, and a graduation ceremony. I was aiming for chicklit: no gruesome murders, no mythical texts that explained how to raise the dead. I had a full outline for my opus, and spent months chipping away at it. The problem was that every time I got thirty or forty pages in, the story dried up on me. Time and again I scrapped what I’d written and started over, sometimes trying a different character’s perspective, sometimes altering the order of events. Nothing seemed to work. Then one December night, I was nine pages into the book. The writing process was going surprisingly well; two of my main characters were walking through the tunnel system beneath campus, en route to their first romantic encounter. The concrete walls were scrawled with graffiti, the ground mossy beneath their feet. Both were a little drunk and heady with the excitement of being somewhere forbidden. Dialogue was flowing, the scene was coming alive. And all of a sudden, one of them was brutally murdered. I sat back and stared at my computer screen, experiencing something akin to shock. This character was supposed to be the linchpin of my story. She had a major role to play, and now she was gone. After a moment, I started typing again, and another five pages poured out of me. Someone new appeared: an FBI agent with ghosts of her own who arrived on campus to investigate the murders. I hit “save” and decided to see where the story led the next day. And a few months later, I had a rough draft of The Tunnels.

It’s funny; now that I’ve completed two other thrillers, I can’t imagine ever writing anything else. After digging into the darkest domains of human nature, I don’t find chicklit satisfying anymore. And although I’ll admit that my ensuing books easily surpass the first in terms of gruesome detail, it’s never without a purpose. Despite happy childhoods, we all end up with demons to dispatch in some way, shape, or form. Both as writers and readers, we’re occasionally driven to explore our own worst fears, which is probably why the horror movie industry is booming. If you've ever walked alone down a dark street at night, worst case scenarios reeling through your mind, you know what I'm talking about. After all, situations like that frequently produce our best ideas.

So when people express surprise at the kind of books I write, unable to reconcile the woman pushing her baby in a stroller with the person who describes torture techniques in intimate detail, I just smile. Let them think I go home to walls plastered with crime scene photos, or that I sleep with an ice pick under my pillow. I know the truth, that any junior leaguer would feel at home in my house. She just wouldn’t want to visit my nightmares.

As for my mother, she has begrudgingly come to terms with the fact that her darling daughter has a very sick mind. She even claimed to enjoy my next book, although she confessed to skipping a few passages. And last Thanksgiving I noticed that she no longer trusts me with the carving knives.

Michelle Gagnon is the author of The Tunnels, a novel set on a college campus that James Rollins called, “a stellar work of suspense and terror.”A former modern dancer, freelance writer, dog walker, model, personal trainer, and Russian supper club performer, she lives in San Francisco with her family. In her spare time she runs errands and indulges a weakness for Hollywood blockbusters and stale cinema popcorn.

CJ Lyons profiles HEATHER GRAHAM, a spotlight guest at the forthcoming Thrillerfest in New York

ITW member Heather Graham has over 100 books published and has been honored with the Romance Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award. Recently Heather received a new honor, ITW's Sliver Bullet, recognizing outstanding contributions toward the pursuit of literacy.



Heather is slated to be a Spotlight Guest at ThrillerFest in July.  Here's a sneak peak of what you can expect from this New York Times bestselling author of romance, suspense, and paranormal thrillers.

 

CJ:  Please give us a brief background on how you first broke into writing and became published.

Heather: I majored in theater, which meant that I got out of college, did dinner theater, and to survive dinner theater, I was a waitress, tap-dancing waitress, bartender, back-up singer . . . . and when Derek, my third child, was born, I really couldn’t afford to go to work in order to go to work anymore! So I stayed home. 

I was a disaster at home. I still am. Writing for me always has a beginning, a middle, and an end.



I’d actually had a journalism scholarship when I’d started out at school, but I knew I wanted to do fiction. I was in love with Hammer films, Edgar Allan Poe, and then, on the other side, Gone With the Wind. I started sending off to Black Cat, Twilight Zone, and others.



My first sale was a horror story, but after a few years of sending off totally in the dark, I sold to Dell. I seriously knew nothing. I didn’t know there were categories. I thought the book would be out in a month or two. I now know that for that to happen, you have to A. sleep with the president, B. run for the office of president, C. be a rock star or football hero, D. commit a heinous crime that shatters not just our country but the world.



I have continued to love everything–seriously, everything, fiction of all kinds, non-fiction–and so I’m grateful to be doing some of everything.



CJ: You are one of the most prolific authors in the field. How many releases will you have in 2007 and which genres will they be in?

Heather: In 2007, I'll have out the pp reissue of THE ISLAND, as well as THE DEAD ROOM, BLOOD RED, THE SEANCE, THE LAST NOEL, and as Shannon Drake, THE QUEEN'S LADY.



THE LAST NOEL is about a family snowbound with killers at Christmas. THE SEANCE and THE DEAD ROOM feature ghosts, and BLOOD RED is, as one might guess, vampire.



My mother came from Dublin with a slew of great non-fiction on Ireland, and she was also a huge fan of gothic novels. I’m glad to keep going in the historical venue, although it seems that, as I write this, the paranormal is what has taken hold. There’s nothing like a straight suspense, and I admit to being into the whole ghost/vamp/eerie trend as well. I’m grateful to do what I do.



My dad was Scottish, from Stirling, and I love their history, too, so THE QUEEN'S LADY is based on the life of Mary of Scotland.



Oh, and I’m very excited to have a story for young readers out this year. It’s with Scholastic. It’s out in September, in 666 YEAR OF THE BEAST, and my story is called, “If You Knew Susie.”



{mospagebreak}CJ: You write under your own name and the penname of Shannon Drake. Why did you decide to use a penname? After so many books, do you still keep each as a separate brand? Or are they beginning to overlap somewhat?

Heather: Pseudonyms are wonderful when used to advantage. Sadly, I never did this, though I’m hoping to straighten it out now.

Years ago, when category novels were at their height, the houses were territorial when it came to names. A different house bought a book that my main house hadn’t been interested in reading. The editor told me I had about two minutes to make the deep decision regarding my new name. Sons Shayne and Derek walked into the room, and there was Shannon Drake. Shannon Drake is just historical now. She used to be vampires, too.



Pseudonyms are best used for different styles of writing. Say, straight hard-core suspense for one name, comedy, perhaps for another. A clear line so that readers are not confused and angered if they buy a book and expect a different kind of story.



CJ: What do you feel your main promise to your readers is as Heather Graham? As Shannon Drake? Do you think your fans differentiate between the two?

Heather:  I think that now, Shannon Drake readers will–or will come to–expect an historical story, and, hopefully, Heather Graham readers will know that it will be occult or suspense or both, but . . . contemporary. And thrilling. (Couldn’t resist.)



CJ:  How on earth do you juggle writing, research, family, marketing and the rest of life? Can you give us a glimpse of a typical day in your life?

Heather:  I wish I had good advice for juggling life in general. We all have other jobs, families, commitments, and then writing. But I try to think in priorities in general first, as in family and deadlines. Then, and I’m sure we all do this do, I worry about the immediate and do a lot of back-burner-ing.  I’m a disaster. Home-wise. We’ve been moving now to a house less than a mile away for almost thirteen years.



There is no such thing as a typical day. I travel frequently, more every year, because we have more initials every year . . . BEA, RT, FRW . . . all kinds of places. And last year, both my nephew and my son were married, one in the Keys, one in a castle, so it was very busy, but incredibly cool to actually get to walk my nephew down the aisle and then watch my son get married in his Graham kilt--with the tarantella playing for the Italian relatives, an Irish jig to dance to, and all kinds of vodka flowing for my Ukrainian daughter-in-law. Very happy year, but busy!



Now, with five children, I have one year left with the youngest at home, and so I try to be there for her--and, of course, we all know, our children are all ours for life, so we are involved with them, their hopes, their dreams, their problems, their celebrations, forever.

I write anywhere, anytime. I thank God for laptops. I am a creature of when and what. Given a deadline, I will make it, no matter what else is going on. I like mornings--but I've gotten up at six AM for more years than I care to say, so it's natural. But on deadline, I notice that one and two AM may be looking just as fine!

For writers starting out – whatever your schedule, stick to it. A day a week, an hour a day, whatever. Make your commitment, and stick to it. There will be occasions when you are thrown off. Get back on. Do it. If you don’t do it, it won’t happen. That simple.

I know doctors, lawyers, housewives, business moguls, clerks, dog-trainers, and so on, people with high school degrees and people with several PhDs who have made it. What they shared was a love of reading, and determination. Oh, and a story to tell, and the burning desire to tell it.



{mospagebreak}CJ:  What do you find is the most rewarding part of your career? Any particularly memorable fan comments or meetings? Awards or honors?

Heather:  It’s a tremendous reward to be in the field. I’m not being Mary Poppins here, I’m just a realist. To go to great places, know other great folks.



It was a real reward to get to meet tons of the authors I had read. One of our members influenced me tremendously–I was in love with his work more than a decade before I was able to meet him. I was shaking. Don’t want to say who, because I’m afraid he’ll think I was a stalker. Turns out, of course, that he’s great, down to earth . . . and I admire him all the more.



Getting to do the Vampire party at Romantic Times each year, our New Orleans workshop and dinner theater, and being a Thriller Killerette are amazing rewards as well. My fellow Killerettes, Harley Jane Kozak and Alex Sokoloff, became instant best friends. It was as if we had known one another for ages, and really neat. My thanks here to our fearless leader, Bob Levinson, and the rest of the pack. They are all phenomenal. ITW has introduced me to many people with talents that go far beyond the field, such as MJ Rose, promo, Gayle and David and so many others–sheer sight and organizational skills and so much more.



I’ve been lucky enough to get rewards from Waldens, B. Dalton’s, RT, and to have been a recipient of RWA’s Lifetime Achievement Award..  My daughter, Chynna, was a bit younger when I got it. She was the first one I told. Her reaction–“But you’re not dead yet!”–was great. Kids are amazing. They will always keep you real.  

CJ:  What is your next big challenge? At your level of success, do you still have concrete goals or dreams about what you'd like to accomplish with your writing? Could you share them with us, and why they're important to you.

Heather: I consider it a challenge just to stay on the shelves. It’s an ever-changing, fickle world. I  hope to keep pleasing readers, and, of course, acquire new readers. Who doesn’t hope to do well on lists? I have far to go!



I don’t really want to retire, so I pray I just keep thinking of things, and that I think of things that will fit in with the world, my own desires of what to write, and what readers will want as well.

    

CJ: What one thing do you think would most surprise your readers to know about you?

Heather: I’m not terribly sure anything about me would surprise anyone. I’m an open book. Kids and cats and dogs. Water, scuba, ballroom, and music, theater.   I love it when I can just hop down to the Keys for a day or two. Diving is like a drug to me, makes the world wonderful!



Oh, maybe the skunk. She’s an albino, cute little pink eyes. Really a great pet. 



CJ:  Thanks, Heather!  We're all looking forward to seeing you in person at ThrillerFest!



Award-winning medical suspense author CJ Lyons is a physician trained in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.  She has assisted police and prosecutors with cases involving child abuse, rape, homicide and Munchausen by Proxy and has worked in numerous trauma centers, as a crisis counselor, victim's advocate, as well as a flight physician for Life Flight. Her medical suspense series will debut from Berkley in 2008.  Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net 

New York Times bestselling author and historian Javier Sierra believes in the idea that there are no coincidences in life. In fact, he believes that it is his destiny to help shed light on some of the great mysteries of the world, and he just does that with his latest novel, THE LADY IN BLUE (Atria Books; $29.00; June 2007), as he unearths answers to an enigma of the American southwest and Spain that has never before been exposed in such an accessible and entertaining manner.

 

 

THE LADY IN BLUE is an ecclesiastical and entertaining whodunit infused with an intriguing real-life historical enigma: the mysterious Lady in Blue who magically appeared to Native Americans in the early 17^th century.  The Spanish Conquistadores who were sent to what is now the southwestern United States, to investigate this strange phenomenon, believed she was the Virgin of Guadalupe—but the truth, it turns out, was far more surprising.

In modern-day Europe and America, the novel begins with this ancient Spanish mystery awakening the interest of a journalist, a retired psychic spy burned out from her job with the U.S. Defense Department, and several priests. True-to-life, the Vatican and the U.S. Defense Department are involved in researching the possibility of utilizing synchronized music to induce time travel. They believe that uncovering the secret behind The Lady in Blue’s ability to be in two places at the same time will get them closer to their goal, so when one of the priests suddenly dies and a rare manuscript containing the nun’s secrets is stolen, a race against time begins. With science on one hand, and faith on the other, conflicts abound, and it becomes imperative that the lost document is recovered—before it falls into the wrong hands.

A powerful archetype, the Lady in Blue announced the arrival of a new era, politically and historically, to the Indians and possessed wonders that continue to overwhelm the Vatican and the U.S. Defense Department. And now, suddenly, it seems she wants to emerge from the mists of time once again.

 

 

From an early age, James Grippando knew he wanted to be a writer.  "At age eleven I wrote a comedy western and put my friends in it so they would sit and listen to me read it to them.  In high school and college I was the weirdo who actually looked for courses that required you to write a paper.  As a lawyer I published in more academic journals than most tenured law professors.  I keep an "idea file" in my closet, and I'll never live long enough to write all the stories I want to write."

Readers who have already discovered the wonderful novels of James Grippando will be happy to hear he has many more ideas ready to thrill us.  He has written eleven novels, six starring his attorney character, Jack Swyteck, and one novel for a young adult audience, Leapholes.  His twelfth novel for adults, Lying with Strangers, has just been published by HarperCollins, and it's a masterpiece.  A standalone from his Swyteck stories, the story is told from the perspective of Dr. Peyton Shields, a first year resident at a major children's hospital in Boston, and her husband, an attorney with a secret ambition to become a successful author.  Their marriage already in tatters, a dark night on an icy road will change their lives forever.  To make their situation even more difficult, Peyton is being stalked and her admirer will do everything in his power to win her love.  A Grippando novel is a guaranteed great read, but he has outdone himself in his latest.



Grippando was inspired to write Lying with Strangers in 1998.  "My son spent the first eight days of his life in the hospital's neo-natal intensive care unit.  Each day, my wife and I would visit him in that darkened room, reach inside the incubator, and touch his little hands and face.  When we finally left the hospital, I told Ryan's doctors and nurses that they were my personal heroes.  What I didn't tell them-and what I didn't realize until some time later-was that I desperately wanted to write about them. We had to closely monitor Ryan's condition after he came home.  Luckily, I had a friend whose twin brother had graduated at the top of his class from Harvard Medical School and who had just been named Chief Resident at Boston Children's Hospital.  Dr. David Weinstein was in the most coveted position at the best pediatric hospital in the world, but he always found time to take my calls.  During one of our conversations, I told him-only half-jokingly-that I ought to write a novel about a pediatrician.  Later, he phoned and said, 'Why don't you come up to Boston Children's and shadow me, see what hits you?' I couldn't get there fast enough."{mospagebreak}



Grippando continued, "One morning during my stay at his house, David told me about another pediatric intern-a brilliant and beautiful young woman who had been stalked by a patient's relative.  A light immediately went on, and Peyton Shields was born.  I realized, however, that I was building quite a challenge for myself.  My editor and I were about to launch a series for HarperCollins featuring Jack Swyteck-a man who is a lawyer in Miami.  The story in my head was about a woman who was a doctor in Boston.  We went with the Swyteck series-the right decision-but Peyton Shields was never far behind in my heart and mind. It took years to finish Lying with Strangers, partly because of the research involved, but also because I wrote it in my spare time.  Over the six years it took to write it, I wrote six other novels and a short story for the ITW thriller anthology."



He had amazing access to the hospital.  "I love research.  That's the great freedom of a writing career, being able to dive headlong into any subject matter-or into the head of any person that interests you. I owe a huge thanks to Boston Children's Hospital, which allowed me to shadow its chief resident and interview several female residents.  I couldn't have possibly captured what it's like to work at the best pediatric hospital in the world without spending time there.  To have that kind of access to such a fabled institution and to the men and women who worked there made this some of the most enjoyable research I've ever done."



One terrifying aspect of Lying with Strangers deals with the invasion of privacy aided by the Internet.  Grippando remarked, "There is one thing all thriller writers agree on:  it's difficult to overstate the danger of just about anything in today's society.  Identity theft over the Internet is the fastest growing crime in the world, and we are all vulnerable.  Readers find the stalker in Lying with Strangers so frightening because he knows his victim so well.  For better or worse, the Internet gives all of us-criminals included-the power to uncover intimate details about perfect strangers.  Even scarier, it enables predators anywhere in the world to reach into our homes and target and communicate with their next victim.  It's interesting that I started writing Lying with Strangers in 1999, before the dangers of the Internet were even talked about.  The book is more relevant now than ever."{mospagebreak}



The novel also features an attorney who yearns to be an author.  Grippando's series character, Jack Swyteck, is also an attorney.  Does he share any characteristics with his characters?  He responded, "I can definitely relate to Kevin's experiences as a young lawyer dreaming about becoming a writer.  Like him, I was working 50-60 hour weeks in a big law firm, secretly writing a novel nights and weekends.  And also like Kevin, I had my share of disappointment along the road to success.  After four years of writing, not a single publisher wanted my first manuscript. But my agent believed in that book.  'Jim,' he said, 'you got the most encouraging rejection letters I've ever seen.' It sounds goofy, but what else can you say to an author who's taken his best shot and landed face down on the floor?  Artie the optimist, I called him.  With Artie's encouragement, I wrote another novel in seven months, and it sold in just a few days to HarperCollins Publishers, The Pardon was the very first novel to feature Miami criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck.   A lot of people think that because Jack is now in six of my novels (most recently When Darkness Falls), Jack must be me.  That's not at all the case.  Jack's father is Florida's governor, and my dad was an equally great man but a blue-collar worker on Chicago's Clark Street.  Jack's love life could fill an entire chapter in Cupid's Rules of Love and War (Idiot's Edition), and I've been married thirteen years to the love of my life.  Jack's best friend was once on death row, and my friends-well, maybe some of them do belong in jail.  But cloning my friends or myself is not what makes a character work for my readers or me.  It's about complexity.  My bad guys are never all bad, and my good guys are never all good.  They have a past that makes you understand their contradictions, their flaws, and their motivations.  They surprise you, too. And if they have dark secrets they're trying to hide, even better.  I keep all of those things in mind as Jack Swyteck grows with each novel."



Even though Lying with Strangers is set in Boston, James Grippando currently lives in South Florida.  "My writing routine remains very Miami.  I write in my backyard.  My outdoor office has these essentials:  a patio table and chair, a big shade umbrella, a laptop computer, a hammock, a hot tub, and a swimming pool.  The cell phone is optional.  For me a 'normal' workday means putting on my oldest pair of shorts and favorite T-shirt, visiting the refrigerator every half hour, and explaining to my youngest daughter that she can't bang on the keyboard while daddy is trying to write a book.  Early in my career, I often woke in the middle of the night to write.  I try not to do that so much anymore, but you never know when inspiration is going to strike. For the most part, morning is my most productive writing time, and I try to finish every afternoon in time to coach my son's soccer team."

Fatal Erotica

Lies and murder leave their deadly marks in Cruel Poetry, Vicki Hendricks newest noir novel. At the core of the story is Renata, an erotic magnet of destruction. She's gorgeous, young and wild, living in a hotel room in Florida where she gets her kicks having sex for money and thrills.

"I think of it as a book of illusion tied up in a grand illusion that you can control life and the world around you," says Hendricks.

Julie, an aspiring but frustrated novelist, lives in the hotel room next to Renata. At first Julie watches Renata through a peephole in the wall thinking she'll use her observations as material for writing. Instead, she falls in love with Renata then kills one of Renata's clients whom she thinks is strangling Renata during sex.

Then there's Richard, a married college professor who meets Renata while jogging. He's at a low point in his life. His mother just died. But like Julie, he is fascinated by Renata's sexual intensity. He can't resist her.

"Both Julie and Richard are drawn to Renata's free spirit because of their constraints and personality problems," Hendricks says. Add Renata's boyfriend and the professor's wife to this fatal mix and all are dragged down into the web of Renata's lifestyle.

"The book is about my favorite subject," says Hendricks. "Passion and psychological twistedness that leads to murder."

Vicki Hendricks lives and teaches writing in South Florida. She is an avid skydiver and has logged in more than 600 dives. An adventurer at heart, she swam with pink dolphins in the Amazon, climbed a volcano in Guatemala, sailed the Devil's Triangle, went dogsledding in Finland and Alaska and shark diving in South Africa. Her short stories have appeared in numerous collections including Best American Erotica. Cruel Poetry is her sixth novel. Read an excerpt here.

Biblical Secrets

Viktor Baltazar will do anything, including murder, to get his hands on a Phoenician statue called The Navigator, the title of Clive Cussler's seventh NUMA file series featuring Kurt Austin. A minerals magnate and mercenary, Baltazar believes The Navigator is the key to finding the ancient biblical object he covets.

"Anyone who gets in his way, he kills," says Cussler's collaborator, Paul Kemprecos. "Baltazar comes from an old, mysterious European family but he's a bad seed right from the beginning."

His first victim is an antiques dealer. His second victim, a UN investigator, is saved by Austin, head of NUMA's special assignment team. NUMA or National Underwater and Marine Agency, is like an underwater NASA.

At 6'1, Austin is broad-shouldered, gregarious and easygoing. "But he's not afraid to be tough when the moment arises," Kemprecos says.

To find out why the Navigator is so extraordinary, Austin and the NUMA team must voyage through time and space in search of answers. Their odyssey encompasses the legend of King Solomon and Queen of Sheba, Thomas Jefferson's encoded and mysterious packet of documents, and a top-secret scientific project that could impact the world forever.

Clive Cussler began writing in 1965. He is the founder the National Underwater & Marine Agency, (NUMA) a 501C3 non-profit organization that dedicates itself to American maritime and naval history. Cussler and his crew of marine experts and NUMA volunteers have discovered over 60 historically significant underwater wreck sites. Cussler's internationally bestselling novels are published in more than 40 languages in more than 100 countries with a readership of more than 125 million fans. His collaborator, Paul Kemprecos, has co-authored all Numa Files novels with Cussler. Kemprecos is a shamus award-winning author of six underwater detective thrillers.

Body Parts

Joe Frye, the only woman cop in Miami's homicide division, is haunted, shadowed by memories. Not even her lover, detective Louis Kincaid, knows the whole story that began in 1975. Back then, Frye was the low person on the totem pole, an ambitious 22-year-old rookie who had a lot to prove.

She remembers clearly when they found the first bone.

Two boys and their dog playing in the woods uncovered a female pelvic bone near a small town called Echo Bay, Michigan. It was the beginning of a trail of bones�never a complete skeleton�of young girls brutally murdered by a serial killer.

"The experience will change her life and how she views herself as a woman and police officer," says thriller author PJ Parrish, who is in fact a team of two sisters, Kelly Nichols and Kris Montee.

As the investigation intensifies, Joe is caught between the demands of a local sheriff and the state police, and a predator who has been operating over the course of a decade�a murderer who has chosen her as an opponent or next his victim.

A Thousand Bones is a new venture for Parrish. It's the first time the sisters have written about a female protagonist. Though Louis Kincaid makes an appearance, he is not a lead character. "Strangely, after seven books, it was a challenge to write about a female," says Parrish. "We really had to shift gears."

PJ Parrish aka Kelly Nichols and Kris Montee are the creators of the Louis Kincaid series. Their novels have appeared on the NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestseller lists and been nominated numerous times for Edgar and Shamus awards. Nichols lives in Mississippi and Montee lives in Florida. You can read an excerpt from A THOUSAND BONES here (be sure to scroll down to the middle of the page).

Joining Forces

Ever wonder how Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, Red Tornado and the rest of the Justice League of America (JLA) superheroes got together?

Thriller writer Brad Meltzer has the scoop. For when he's not churning out bestselling novels he's giving voice to these iconic superheroes. The pen behind the JLA's latest compilation: Justice League of America, Vol. I., Meltzer says, "Each hero is dealing with identity in some way. This story shows how the JLA formed and why they need to work together because some problems are bigger than all of them."

How does Meltzer do it?

First he writes the script, then sends it to illustrator, Ed Benes, who draws the action. "It's like directing a movie," says Meltzer. "We decide how many panels should be on a page. It's a really fun day to put words in Superman's mouth."

Meltzer began writing comic scripts in 2001. He particularly enjoys the historical aspect of his superheroes. "America gave the world jazz and it gave the world Batman and Superman," says Meltzer "You know you're just a tiny patchwork in this enormous quilt," he says. "Unlike my thrillers, where people are killed off, Superman will be here long after I'm dead."

Brad Meltzer is the number one selling author of the comic books, IDENTITY CRISIS and JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. He is also one of the co-creators of the TV show, JACK & BOBBY. His first thriller was an instant bestseller. Since then, all six of his novels have hit THE NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list including the number one spot for BOOK OF FATE. He is the first author to reach the #1 spot on both THE NEW YORK TIMES and the Diamond comic book bestseller lists simultaneously.

Dolphin Deception

When law partner Steve Solomon finds himself on a high-speed chase against Jet-skiing, eco-terrorists, he ends up in waters deeper than Key Biscayne in South Florida. By dawn, one person is dead and Steve has a new client:the extreme animal rights activists.

Dolphin liberators? Or is something more ominous going on?

In Paul Levine's Trial and Error, the fourth in his Solomon vs Lord series, law partners Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord--who also happen to be lovers--return to duke it out and find the truth behind these devious, aquatic dealings. But there's one additional complication: Lord is prosecutor and the partners end up on opposite sides of the case.

Key to these four books is the relationship banter and struggle between the couple. "The two are really different," says Levine. "But they love each other and are better together and more productive than if each were alone."

A trial lawyer for 17 years, Levine started out as a journalist for The Miami Herald covering criminal courts in Miami, FL. "Watching trials fascinated me," he says. But he soon discovered that law work involved a lot of day-to-day drudgery and time keeping. He started writing as therapy and finally quit law after he sold his second book.

These days if something interests him he asks himself, how can I make a book out of that?

"I became fascinated with dolphins driving from Miami to Key West and picked up a book on how dolphins communicate," Levine says. "Some stories say dolphins can sense if a person has a tumor. We do know if a bunch of children are in the water that dolphins will go to the child with developmental problems. They're special animals."

Paul Levine is the author of the bestselling Jake Lassiter novels, which have been published in 23 countries. He is the second recipient of the John D. MacDonald Award for fiction and has been nominated for an Edgar Award and a Thriller Award. In addition to writing novels, he is a screenwriter. A screen adaptation of his book, SPEAK FOR THE DEAD, appeared as an NBC movie in 1995. TRIAL AND ERROR is Levine's twelfth novel.

12.19am.  A Mercedes leaves the Ritz Hotel.



12.35am.  A car loses control in a Paris underpass.

3.57am.  Three people are pronounced dead.

3.58am.  Samuel Carver realizes he's been set up.

"This is the best first thriller I have read since The Day of the Jackal." -- Wilbur Smith

"Audacious, full of tension and tradecraft ... A great thriller read." -- Lee Child

Praising Cain, Part I on The Rap Sheet

Tom Cain is the pseudonym of a leading British journalist who has contributed to major magazines and newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic. Cain has lived in London, Moscow, Washington DC and Havana. THE ACCIDENT MAN is his first thriller.

When a Catholic priest dies in mysterious circumstances on a remote tropical island, his estranged brother, Thomas, sets out to learn what arcane research the priest was pursuing which might have gotten him killed.



Refusing to believe the rumors of terrorism, which are gathering around his dead brother, Thomas begins an archaeological quest through southern Italy, trying to make sense of the curious images he finds and their link to a dreadful place long shut away from the public eye. But if he is bent on uncovering the secret of his brother’s death, there are others, as strange as they are sinister, who will do everything in their considerable power to make sure that does not happen.

"A.J. Hartley is a rare discovery:  a writer capable of challenging a reader as much as he thrills.  His latest novel, ON THE FIFTH DAY, careens at a breathless pace from dark crypts to exotic sunlit shores.  Full of historical mystery, rife with intrigue and suspense, here is a tour-de-force sure to keep pages turning deep into the night." -- James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of Black Order

A.J. Hartley is the author of the USA Today bestseller, THE MASK OF ATREUS. He is also Distinguished Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. 

Meet Skyy: a fantastic new superhero. A sensitive assassin, who defends the helpless and brings justice to those who cannot fight for themselves.

The first novel in The Lady in Black series, Black Skyy weaves an intricate tale of heroism, lethal beauty, and intoxicating eroticism.

Skyy believes she is called by God to use her abilities to save others from the brutality of life, even if her methods are questionable at times. Set in both New York and Washington D.C., Black Skyy follows Skyy’s adventures in all their sensational and sensual thrills as she employs her uncanny intellect to capture and punish evildoers. Battling not only the bad guys, but also her inner conflicts, Skyy must fight to find her place and purpose in life, as both a woman and a symbol of justice.

Janet Stevens Cook lives in Mitchellville, Maryland, and is married with two children. Currently, she hosts her own radio show and is the owner of Event Staff Inc., a full service event management and staffing company. Janet is a graduate of Howard University and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.  Learn more at  www.myspace.com/blackskyy07

Once an idyllic Pennsylvania village, Pine Deep awoke one morning to find itself bathed in a massive bloodletting.  Twice in thirty years the townsfolk have endured the savage hungers of a murderous madman...but if the residents think the death of serial killer Karl Ruger put an end to the carnage, they’re dead wrong. 

 

Bodies mutilated beyond description, innocents drive to acts of vicious madness.  A monstrous evil is preying on the living—and the dead—and turning the quite little town into hell on earth.  Their only hope is to find the source; but the secrets that lurk in the heart of Pine Deep are twisted into its very roots.  This time the townspeople aren’t just fighting for their lives, but for their very souls.

“Jonathan Maberry rushes headlong toward the front of the pack, proving that he has the chops to craft stories at once intimate, epic, real and horrific.”  --Bentley Little, author of The Burning and Death Instinct

Jonathan Maberry is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of GHOST ROAD BLUES.  He is the author of seventeen nonfiction books, over 1000 feature articles, as well as short stories, plays and more.  Jonathan is a Board Member of the Philadelphia Writers Conference; a speaker for the National Writers Union; and an active member of the ITW, MWA and HWA. Learn more at www.jonathanmaberry.com

 

Six years ago, Jack Till helped Wendy Harper disappear.  But now her ex-boyfriend and former business partner, Eric Fuller, is being framed for her presumed murder in an effort to smoke her out, and Till must find her before tango-dancing adversaries Paul and Sylvie Turner do.

The Turners are merely hired to do a job, though, and prefer to remain anonymous.  When their identities are compromised, finishing the job is no longer enough.  Their fee just went up.

"Thomas Perry is one hell of a writer.  Silence is an ingeniously plotted and tightly written novel of taut psychological suspense.  This is catnip for true fans of the mystery/suspense genre." --Nelson DeMille



"Thomas Perry is, quite simply, brilliant.  And as each book comes out he becomes more so.  Silence is a case in point.  Don't miss it." --Robert B. Parker



"Silence is a runaway train-paced thriller from the devilish Thomas Perry." --George Pelecanos 

Thomas Perry is the author of many critically acclaimed novels, including Edgar Award-winning THE BUTCHER'S BOY and its sequel, SLEEPING DOGS; the five-volume Jane Whitefield series (VANISHING ACT was chosen as one of the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association); and the national bestsellers DEATH BENEFITS, PURSUIT, and NIGHTLIFE. 

THE TAKEDOWN, Quinlan’s next thriller, takes place in Brooklyn, New York, where Quinlan spent some time as a young man. A dark tale, as much a mystery as a thriller, it’s the story of Dick Miller, an ex-con who’s gone on the straight and narrow.

Unfortunately for him, he wakes with a hangover on Christmas Eve and finds the body of his boss – the sexy Dot Racine – in the trunk of his car. Even more unfortunately, Dot was also his lover, and Dick had good reason to kill her. Dick must discover her killer before the police – or someone worse – finds him with her corpse.

Publisher’s Weekly says, "Quinlan brings to glorious life several offbeat, deviant characters from roads less traveled. [THE TAKEDOWN] hurtles along like an express train to its smashing climax." Book reviewer Harriet Klausner calls it "a wild entertaining crime caper."

Patrick Quinlan is the author of two novels, SMOKED and THE TAKEDOWN. He is also the co-author, with Blade Runner star Rutger Hauer, of Hauer’s memoir, ALL THOSE MOMENTS. Quinlan lives on the coast of Maine with his wife, Joy Scott.

It seemed like the answer to Haley's prayers. The most popular girl in her high school promised Haley that her life would change if only she performed certain dark rituals. And if Haley can convince her twin sister to participate, their power will double.

Together, they will be able to summon mystical entities they never dared to dream of.  But these are powerful, uncontrollable forces that can kill--forces that demand to be fed.

"An imaginative chiller. Riveting!" -- Publishers Weekly

Award-winning author, Deborah LeBlanc, is a business owner, a licensed death scene investigator, and an active member of two national paranormal investigation teams. She's the President of the Horror Writers Association, President of the Writers' Guild of Acadiana and the creator of the LeBlanc Literacy Challenge, an annual, national campaign designed to encourage more people to read.

Katherine Adams, an attractive and savvy attorney from Atlanta finally takes a much needed vacation with her best friend, Beth.  In Miami, they board the magnificent "Ocean Majestic" and begin their cruise to Europe. But all is not well.

Two days out to sea they witness a violent argument between two men, one of whom looks strangely familiar to Katherine; the other turns up dead that evening.  Before she can do anything about it, the fire alarms go off and the largest cruise ship in the world begins to sink in the middle of the Atlantic.

The Second Perimeter is an novel of espionage and revenge. The Speaker of the House sends his troubleshooter, Joe DeMarco, to investigate what appears to be a low-stakes government contract swindle and finds out that he's uncovered an espionage ring that has infiltrated a naval base and is stealing top secret information on nuclear submarines.

The leader of the espionage ring is a lethal female spy that has a history with DeMarco's close friend Emma, an ex-spy herself.   Mike Lawson is the author of The Inside Ring, a novel that also featured Joe DeMarco and was nominated for the Barry Award.

"A rich variety of spies, former spies, and criminal operatives entangled in a deadly and suspenseful war of attack and reprisal.  What could be more entertaining?" -- Thomas Perry, author of Nightlife

"High level entertainment from a writer who could soon rise to the top of the thriller heap. " -- Publisher's Weekly

Mike Lawson worked for the U.S. Navy as a high-ranking senior executive and knows the in-and-outs of D.C. politics.  His novel, THE SECOND PERIMETER, takes place at a naval base where he used to work. Mike lives in the Pacific Northwest.

John Cann could never defend a war criminal. But when a friend and colleague needs his help, Cann must make an impossible choice.

With his past close behind, Cann will wage an epic battle in the spaces where memory can transform – or destroy.

A Grave Breach brims with raw emotion.

“Grisham and Turow move over; there's a new legal thriller writer on the scene….first-rate” -- David Hagberg ( Sean Flannery ), bestselling author of Allah’s Scorpion

“A hard-boiled debut that becomes more credible--and inevitable--with the turning of every page.” -- Jeremiah Healy, author of Turnabout and Invasion of Privacy

“[James Macomber is] in the league of guys like Clancy and Coonts.” -- Geoff Metcalf, former national radio talk show host/commentator

Learn more about the author at www.jamesmacomber.com.

In this seventh in the "Mississippi Delta" series, the past comes a'calling. When a traveling show of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" comes to Zinnia, Mississippi, amateur detective Sarah Booth Delaney finally gets a shot at a leading lady role—after the prima donna Renata Trovaioli is found dead in her dressing room.

But Sarah Booth gets more than the role of a lifetime:  She's also charged with murder. And her beau from her NYC actings days, Graf Milieu, is back in the picture.

"Carolyn Haines has done for the Delta what Janet Evanovich has done for New Jersey ." -- The State

"A writer of exceptional talent."-- The Milwaukee Journal

"The next best thing to curling up with a mint julep on the porch swing on a lazy afternoon." -- Publishers Weekly

Carolyn Haines is a multi-published author. Her 2006 thriller, PENUMBRA, was named one of the top 5 mysteries of the year by LIBRARY JOURNAL. That honor was also bestowed on HALLOWED BONES in 2004.

Miami homicide detective Joe Frye has memories that haunt her and a past not even her lover, detective Louis Kincaid, knows. It began when Joe was a rookie cop in Michigan. The bones found in the woods near Echo Bay were the first clue to a string of brutal murders of young women.

Plunged into a heated investigation and caught between the dictates of a reluctant sheriff and a savvy state investigator, Joe must face down a predator who has chosen her as his worthy opponent -- or become his next victim.

"Crime fiction at its finest -- beautifully written, beautifully imagined, yet packed with raw power, like an iron fist in a velvet glove." -- Lee Child

"High class suspense, stunningly crafted page after page on the way to a thrilling climax." -- Linda Fairstein

"A THOUSAND BONES sizzles with taut suspense and the promise of the tumultuous conclusion. Keen attention to detail and thorough character development get equal billing with scintillating thrills, giving Parrish another top-notch whodunit." -- Publishers Weekly

PJ Parrish is two sisters -- Kris Montee and Kelly Nichols -- who teamed up to write the New York Times bestselling Louis Kincaid series. Their eight books have been nominated for ten awards, including the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony and Thriller Award.

Jonathan Quinn is a professional cleaner. His job? Nothing too dangerous, just disposing of bodies, and doing a little cleanup if necessary. But when his latest assignment unexpectedly turns violent,  he is forced to leapfrog continents to find the person who is trying  to kill him.

And as the hunt intensifies, Quinn is stunned by what he  uncovers: a chilling secret . . . and a brilliantly orchestrated  

conspiracy with an almost unimaginable goal.

"A brilliant and heart-pounding thriller." -- Jeffery Deaver, New 

York Times bestselling author of THE BONE COLLECTOR and THE SLEEPING DOLL

"Brett Battles makes a grand entrance into the thriller scene." -- Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of THE MEPHISTO CLUB

"An exciting debut by a major new talent." -- James Rollins, New York Times bestseller of MAP OF BONES and BLACK ORDER

"Hypnotically gripping." -- Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of THE LAST SPYMASTER

Brett Battles was born and raised in southern California, where he still makes his home. He has traveled extensively, including trips to Vietnam and Germany?two locations that play prominent parts in his debut thriller THE CLEANER.

Publishers Weekly posted a recent article about a growing trend in marketing:   video advertising.   My publishers put together the following trailer for the upcoming paperback release of my next novel.   It's posted on my website, on YouTube, and now here.   Welcome to the new digital age!... James Rollins

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The setting is the streets of New York, and the year is 1991.  Four women have been murdered all from different walks of life, including a cheerleader, stockbroker, a housewife and a prostitute.  Homicide detective Dave Dillion of the NYPD is on the case and must solve these murders or risk losing his job.  Dave encounters a beautiful social worker...

"Light and Anthony have put together a fast moving thriller that keeps the suspense building right to the end." -- Crimespree Magazine

"Fast moving, clever, and suspenseful. This mystery showcases some good police work, colorful characters, and some interesting plotting.   A good read." -- Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine

"LADYKILLER is a dark tale with an unsettling ending.  On a one-to-ten darkness scale, this thriller rates a high nine." -- Mystery Scene

Lawrence Light & Meredith Anthony are a husband and wife team. Lawrence Light is currently the Wall Street editor for FORBES magazine and Meredith Anthony has written for  MAD Magazine and the legendary women's humor quarterly, HYSTERIA.  

Douglas Malik is reputed to be the world's leading cardiac surgeon, but since he moved into the apartment upstairs, Emma Colten has begun to wonder what kind of man he really is.  Late at night, she hears disturbing conversations overhead, and haunting pleas from Malik's young daughter.  It could be innocent. But what if it's not?  Reporting what she's heard could mean the end of her young surgical resident husband's career. 

"The First Stone is a remarkable story by a remarkable writer.  Filled with intrigue, beautifully blended with friendships and love of family.  Judith Kelman's characters are warm and wonderful."  Clive Cussler

Judith Kelman is the winner of the 2002 Mary Higgins Clark award from MWA for SUMMER OF STORME.  THE FIRST STONE is her 17th novel, in addition to which she co-wrote a non-fiction book with her husband Dr. Peter Scardino's PROSTATE BOOK.

Renata is young, beautiful, and enjoys sex for money and kicks. Few are immune to her intoxicating allure – even her pet Burmese python, Pepe, seems captive to her charm. Richard, a poetry professor with a wife and two sons, refuses to give up his erotic fascination with Rennie, though it threatens his home and career.

Julie, a shy wannabe-novelist, spies from her next door room, lusting for Rennie between bouts of frustrated writing. Rival passions to save Rennie from her dangerous occupation and become her one true love turn into violence and murder.

“I loved this book. It’s a private ticket into a secret world of desire and sex and the raw edge between them. I don’t know why the book has chapters. I read it page to page with the fever of the addicted.” Michael Connelly

“The authentic heir to James M. Cain, Vicki Hendricks is the high priestess of neo-noir. A fierce and fearless talent.” Dennis Lehane

“I never miss a book by Vicki Hendricks. No one on the current scene is writing supercharged, erotic, real noir novels like these.” George P. Pelecanos

Vicki Hendricks is the author of the noir thrillers Miami Purity, Iguana Love, Voluntary Madness, and Sky Blues, as well as many published short stories. Cruel Poetry is her darkest novel yet, entwining sex, drugs, obsession, and murder on Miami Beach. She lives in Hollywood, Florida, and teaches writing at BrowardCommunity College.

You ever kill anyone?

I did. And she thanked me for it.  Crazy, huh?  Yeah, well maybe I am crazy…  But let me tell you; something like that happens to you and it isn’t easy to shake.  You can move to the deep southern Caribbean to some no-name little island, buy a scuba dive shop, try to forget. But you won’t.  You can’t.

Isla Tortuga. This sleepy corner of the Caribbean is the perfect refuge for expatriates who need a fresh start. A few friends, plenty of beer, and a dive shop to run—there’s enough here to distract Phil Riley from his past . . . until an abandoned sailboat draws him into a deadly game that uncovers a past he thought he buried. Fueled by sheer will and unreliable instincts, Riley’s clumsy attempt at playing detective could save his soul or get him killed—or both.

"In Running Wrecked, Mark Combes introduces Phil Riley, a former Ford assembly plant employee, haunted by a deadly past and hiding out in the Caribbean, where he buys a dive shop... and becomes submerged in an investigation when a local family disappears. This debut is a must for fans of Randy Wayne White and Bob Morris." -- Mystery Scene Magazine



"Running Wrecked will have Caribbean lovers running to the bookstore. Author Mark Combes clearly knows the lay of the land, and the sea. And Phil Riley, the hero of this kinetic, seaworthy tale, is a nautical knight in the tradition of Travis McGee." -- Bob Morris, author of the Edgar Award nominated Bahamarama 

Mark Combes is an avid sailor and Scuba diver and travels extensively in the Caribbean pursuing his passions. He works in book publishing and this is his first novel.

Kate Reilly is having a bad month...

She's on trial for murders she didn't commit. She's next on the list of a serial killer. The parasitic vampires known as the Thrall want her to investigate the murder of their young, and will use any means necessary to force her to bow to their demands.

And---possibly worst of all---her boyfriend Tom's werewolf pack is trying to break them up so Tom can mate with other humans to ensure the survival of his pack.

Now Kate must fight for Tom---and fight for her very survival!

In Adams and Clamp's latest, psychic tough gal Kate Reilly returns to find trouble coming from all directions: her gorgeous boyfriend's werewolf pack is trying to break the couple up; she's being sued for her part in a gruesome death; and the Thrall---evil, parasitic vampires who, last time out, tried to make Reilly their new queen---demand her help in finding a batch of missing vampire eggs. Loathe to assist the wretched bloodsuckers, Reilly reluctantly agrees when they promise to help find a cure for her brother, Bryan, who has been living in a zombielike fugue since his drug overdose years ago. In the course of her search, Reilly soon discovers that she's the target of a multipronged manhunt and must outwit killers bent on her destruction. Picking up where their bestselling Touch of Evil left off, Adams and Clamp jump straight into the action. Fans will happily rejoin Reilly's story, which features great chemistry between the leads and a swift pace; unfortunately, the overly complex plot will prove a challenge to those not already familiar with the unconventional rules of Adams and Clamp's world. -- Publishers Weekly

C.T. Adams and Cathy Clamp are USA Today bestselling authors of both the Sazi books and the Kate Reilly/Touch of Evil series through Tor Books Paranormal Romance line.

When Lulu Lavender's racially blended family is murdered and she's abducted while the resources of the Cochise County Sheriff's Office are devoted to the high-profile, media circus case of a missing white girl, it's left to a small substation and Sheriff's Lt. Buck Shelton to solve the case and find her.

The case leads Buck into a dark world of desperate power seekers, border vigilantes and drug dealers, and ultimately to a bloody showdown between good and evil, with tendrils that reach all the way back to the first Europeans to enter the American southwest.

Jeffrey Mariotte is the author of more than thirty novels, some of which, like the WITCH SEASON teen horror quartet, have been nominated for major awards.  He is also one of the owners of specialty mystery/suspense/science fiction/fantasy bookstore Mysterious Galaxy, and in his spare time a writer of comic books.  He lives on the Flying M Ranch in southeastern Arizona.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Mackenzie Stewart's hunt for a violent fugitive takes an unexpected turn when a federal informant disappears. She and FBI Special Agent Andrew Rook realize the stakes are higher than either had imagined, and a master criminal with nothing left to lose is prepared to gamble everything.

"No one does romantic suspense better!"--Janet Evanovich

Carla Neggers states: I started writing as a kid growing up on my family's 90 acres of woods and fields in rural western Massachusetts. I'd climb a tree with pad and pen and perch myself on my favorite branch and create stories. I'm a storyteller at heart. My latest book, ABANDON, hits stores in paperback in late May. And I have another story percolating...I always have a story percolating. It's why I write.

Greetings from Shane Gericke. Rather than dive immediately into the opening passage of my upcoming crime thriller CUT TO THE BONE (June 5, Kensington), I thought I'd first share with you an e-mail I received the other day from a reader. It's real, not made up. Read it, and you'll know why thriller writers drink. As background, my books are emotionally violent, occasionally bloody, and bunches of stuff from schools to cemeteries get blowed up real good ...

Dear Mr. Gericke,

While I'm a big fan, and all, I'd really like to read about puppies frolicking in flowers in fresh meadows not strewn with body parts, and love stories structured like complexly orchestrated symphonies that culminate in Platonic friendships (which are of course the deepest kind) instead of lovers being hacked to bits. Puppies, flowers, symphonies, and friendship are what make our city such a paradise for my devoted spouse, seven happy children, two lovable Goldens, two affectionate tabbies, and me. There is such excitement, don't you think, in just sitting in safety outside in our clean, fresh air with the singing birds and whispering breezes! I'm sure your other readers would agree and be as happy as I would be to read a novel about the comical misadventures of ponies, kittens, and puppies growing into well-adjusted adults instead of being mercilessly slaughtered by psychotic wackos. I recommend that you pick up a copy of Positively Naperville and other fine magazines for ideas. Why, you could even include some gluten-free, non-fattening recipes in the novel to provide ongoing benefits to your readers. That would be so delightful!

Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Gericke, and feel free to pass these ideas on to your publisher. I'm sure Mrs. Kensington would support them.

 - - - 

And now, as promised, the opening sequence of CUT TO THE BONE. Please enjoy!

11:58 a.m.
    The blue velvet curtains drew back like it was movie night, allowing Johnny Sanders to stare through the bulletproof window.
    Twelve sets of eyes stared back.
    The eyes of the people who’d come to watch him die.
    Sanders half-smiled in acknowledgement.
    Some returned it. Others looked away. One skinny guy flinched, like Sanders had snaked through the glass and tickled him.
    Sanders thought that hilarious. He was strapped to a quarter-ton chair, which was bolted to the floor, which was anchored to reinforced concrete.
    He wasn’t tickling anyone.
    He was waiting. For the end.
    Which would come in, oh, a minute and a half.
    He tried to relax by taking deep breaths. No good—the air stank of quicklime and paste wax. The former from the fresh-cured concrete that formed the execution center’s floors, ceilings, walls, and corridors. The latter from the chair itself.
    He traced his fingers along its wide oak arms.
    Slippery as drool.
    The paste wax, he figured. Humidity. Restless fingers of the condemned, rubbing the wood like a rosary . . .
    Sanders shivered, suddenly chilled. He wondered why. The execution center’s furnace was pumping heat like the devil opened a hole in the earth.
     Maybe I’m getting sick, he thought. Hope I don’t catch my death of a cold.
    The little joke made him smile.
    He glanced at the official clock over the curtains.
    The smile faded.
    He wasn’t sick, he knew.
    He was scared.
    He shouldn’t be. But he was.
    Go figure ...

Read the entire first chapter at www.shanegericke.com.

Shane Gericke chairs this year's ThrillerFest Author Auctions, and invites you to bring your heart--and your checkbook--to New York City for all the fun.

Gericke started his writing career in high school, as a $30-a-month sportwriter for the local Frankfort Herald. His new novel, the crime thriller CUT TO THE BONE, launches worldwide in June, 2007. His 2006 debut from Kensington, BLOWN AWAY, became a national bestseller three weeks after launch, and was recently named the nation’s top debut mystery by Romantic Times Book Reviews. Slovak, Turkish, Chinese and Polish translations are out or in the works, and he earns high praise from some of the world’s most-admired authors, including New York Times bestsellers Lee Child, John J. Nance, Douglas Preston and Gayle Lynds, who says, “Shane Gericke writes with the clear eye of hard-nosed reporter and the sweet soul of an artist. His power is visceral and unforgettable.”

Before switching to thrillers, Shane spent 25 years as a journalist, most prominently at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he was a senior financial editor. He writes for national magazines, is a founding member of International Thriller Writers Inc. He lives in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, where his thrillers are set. Visit him at www.shanegericke.com