April 2008 Archives

NEW YORK CITY - When New York Times bestselling thriller author Wendy Corsi Staub realized she would havetwo major novels published on April 29, the dynamo promoter knew she'd need to work some magic to get readers' attention at this critical point in her career.

With DYING BREATH (Zebra Books), a mom-in-jeopardy thriller, and LILY DALE: BELIEVING (Walker), a young adult paranormal, Wendy and her husband, Mark--who met when they were both working for a Manhattan advertising agency--had a challenge on their hands: two books with two different reading audiences. How could they simultaneously reach both without spending Madison Avenue-type promo bucks?

"We knew social network sites like MySpace and Facebook are the hot ticket these days," Wendy said. "But we wanted to build an exclusive environment to engage my readers, where they could express themselves, discuss the books, and actively participate with me and each other. My husband, along with former advertising agency colleagues, came up with an innovative concept in Internet promotions: the first--we think--author specific social networking site, where readers can see a bit more than the usual About the Author page. Please check it out," she said enthusiastically, "on www.WendyCorsiStaubCommunity.com and let us know what you think."

Accused of one man's murder, Bobbie Faye goes on the run, trying to stay ahead of the pack of thieves, murderers, and criminals who are all after missing mysterious diamonds. She has to find the gems and figure out the motives of the dead sexy FBI agent who's pressing her for more than just the jewels, all the while sidestepping her steamy (and steamed) detective ex-boyfriend.

Bobbie Faye Sumrall is back in fighting form in this latest installment of her crazy, wacky adventures through Cajun country.
 
"Toni McGee Causey doesn't just write. She takes prisoners. She grabs you by the heart and the funny bone and carries you off into a world of captivating characters, that are a whole bunch of crazy and twice as much fun. Don't try to sleep -- you'll be laughing too loud." -- Marshall Karp, author of Bloody Thirsty

"If you're a fan of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, this is a treat for you. Bobbie Faye is another wise-cracking gal with a knack for getting in trouble. The novel is fast paced, while the mystery keeps you guessing. If you're up for a fast-paced book, however, this is one you won't want to miss." -- Romantic Times (4 stars)

Toni McGee Causey lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She and her husband, Carl, are licensed general contractors, and, in order to support her writing addiction, they run their own civil construction company. You can visit Toni and Bobbie Faye at www.bobbiefaye.com.

In The Rosetta Key, American adventurer Ethan Gage and Napoleon Bonaparte continue the harrowing race to recover an Egyptian book of power that could tilt the struggle for mastery of the world. Set during Napoleon's 1799 invasion of the Holy Land, this epic tale continues the tale of "Napoleon's Pyramids," which sold into 24 languages. Can the secret stolen from the Great Pyramid be recovered in the tunnels and ruins of Palestine? Can an unlikely alliance and Ethan's fledgling knowledge of electricity thwart the French siege of Acre? And will the hero learn the fate of lost love Astiza? An electrifying combination of battles, exotic landscapes, and colorful characters who really lived.

"Ever the incorrigible gambler and all-around scamp, Gage makes an irresistible antihero. The ending promises more volumes in what one hopes will be a long series." -- Publishers Weekly

"Historical fiction meets thriller here, with plenty to interest fans of both genres. The action is nearly nonstop, the humor is plentiful, and the intrigue is more than enough to keep the pages turning." -- School Library Journal

William Dietrich is the author of 11 books that combined have been translated into 26 languages. He is also a lifelong journalist who shared a Pulitzer for coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill and a teacher of writing and the environment at Western Washington University. Dietrich is a Washington state native who wears two literary hats. He has written and spoken extensively on the environment and science, writing four books on Pacific Northwest environmental history. He is also a novelist who puts his heroes and heroines in thrilling predicaments in exotic environments, from the South Pole to Roman Britain, and from the desolation of the Australian Outback to the temples and pyramids of the Middle East. He is presently working on a series of novels featuring American adventurer Ethan Gage during the Napoleonic wars.

This month we come over all Peculier, find a literary author indulging in some (James) Bondage, and someone at Hodder's hunting down the next big debut...
 
After technical difficulties last month, we're back with more international news from the world of crime and thriller fiction. The months do fly by at this time of year, so I do hope you haven't missed me too much.
 
Oh, you didn't miss me at all?
 
Well, never mind.  Onwards and upwards:

A MOST PECULIER AWARD
 
Barely seems like two minutes since Allan Guthrie won last year's Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, and already the latest longlist has been announced. There are a few familiar faces on the list, including previous winners Mark Billingham (Buried) and Val McDermid (The Grave Tattoo), as well as previously shortlisted authors such as Simon Kernick (Relentless) and Stuart MacBride (Dying Light).
 
Presented at the Harrogate International Writing Festival (chaired this year by the ever charming and slightly dangerous Simon Kernick), the awards have become a major part of this bookseller's (and I assume many others) crime calendar.  And as ever, I shall be at Harrogate this year to raise my pint of Theakston's in honour of the winner. Before falling over along with everyone else who's been gulping beer at the bar in the awards hall.

What began with Ghost Road Blues and continued with Dead Man's Song reaches its terrifying climax in Jonathan Maberry's Bad Moon Rising. This supernatural thriller will solidify his award-winning reputation and bring new readers seeking their thrills with chills.  

What was your inspiration for the trilogy?
 
The trilogy started off as an experiment that grew out of my nonfiction writing.  I've been a nonfiction guy for thirty years now, and after doing about a dozen books on martial arts I took a left turn into writing about occult and paranormal folklore.  My grandmother (who died in 1978 at 101) told me as a boy about the myths and legends - or as she called them 'beliefs'-- of the supernatural, so I grew up knowing about the European legends of vampires, ghosts and werewolves.  The legends, by the way, are substantially different than the depictions seen in popular fiction and film.

As I was writing my second book on spooky folklore (Vampire Universe - Citadel Press, 2006), I began to speculate about how real people would react/respond if they encountered the supernatural.  And these would be real people with modern pop culture sensibilities, so they would know about stakes and crosses and all of that.  But since none of that stuff is in the folklore (the novelist Bram Stoker added much of what we now consider vampire lore) the characters would be confronting evil that they truly would not understand or know how to stop. 

So I took a swing at writing a story.  As I outlined it I realized that the story I wanted to tell was a BIG story.  Lots of characters, lots of threads that would allow me to explore the different facets of folklore and the dynamics of human reaction to the known and unknown.  So I outlined what came to be known as the Pine Deep Trilogy.

There are some novelists who write with a common theme, a "what" that drives their fiction. Others discover the "what" as they go along.

International bestselling author Eric Van Lustbader doesn't so much write with a "what" in mind, but a "who."

He calls this The Outsider.
    
"Since I'm an Outsider myself," Lustbader explains, "all my protagonists are Outsiders, as well, starting with Nicholas Linnear [of the Ninja Cycle novels].  Being half-Asian, half-Western, he belongs in neither world.  He stands apart and, like all Outsiders, is more qualified to comment on society.  Because he has no biases, no axes to grind, his observations are neutral, therefore balanced, most truthful and thought-provoking."

In addition to his numerous creations, Lustbader has also carried on the saga of Jason Bourne, in cooperation with the Robert Ludlum estate. The same Outsider motif drew Lustbader to Bourne.

"Many's the time Bob Ludlum and I would discuss our respective prototypical heroes," says Lustbader, "remarking on how similar in makeup they were: loners yet fiercely loyal, they were walking, talking oxymorons, which made them special not only to the two of us, but to our millions of readers.  Because aren't human beings, by nature, paradoxical?  Think about it.  How many times have you found yourself experiencing two opposite emotions simultaneously? We wonder how we can love and hate someone at the same time, but that's rational thinking; emotions like love and hate are irrational, not subject to the artificial 'laws' humans have imposed on society, in a futile attempt to turn chaos into order."

Success can never be guaranteed in every case Alexandra Cooper prosecutes, but for once the odds are with her for putting away a serial rapist for a crime he committed over twenty years previously, but outside the courtroom another predator is at large. His first victim was a call-girl, a cat-o-nine-tails discovered near her body, and it seems as though Detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace need to look amongst her clients for the killer, but the discovery of other corpses, the modus operandi remarkably similar to the first, turns the investigation into a hunt for a random and viciously sadistic murderer. A part of his signature is that in the humid heat of summer he leaves his victims' remains in some of the least populated parts of New York - a derelict office building, an abandoned fort on an island below Manhattan. Alex fears it may be another twenty years before they can identify this monster, each day bringing the dread of news of another killing, then she, Chapman and Mercer get lucky and are able to give a name to their target. But that's not the same as putting him safely behind bars: to do that they are going to have to get close to him, much too close for Alex's own safety ...

"Fairstein delivers a scorcher of a crime novel --her hottest yet." -- Library Journal

"Fairstein's nail-biting 10th legal thriller... manages to both entertain and educate." -- Publisher's Weekly

"Intriguing... fans will love the result." -- Kirkus

"Fairstein proves what a fantastic legal mind she has." -- The Mirror

Linda Fairstein, one of America's foremost legal experts on crimes of sexual assault and domestic violence, ran the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney's Office in Manhattan for more than two decades. Her first novel, FINAL JEOPARDY, which introduced the character Alexandra Cooper, was published in 1996 to critical and commercial acclaim. Her nonfiction book, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, was a New York Times notable book in 1994. She lives with her husband in New York and on Martha's Vineyard.

Summer means big blockbuster titles and big blockbuster movies. One of the most anticipated films coming out this summer is the latest movie in the Indiana Jones franchise, titled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  And one of our own ITW members--James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Judas Strain--was hand-picked to write the novelization to the upcoming blockbuster, due out May 22nd.  He sat down with The Big Thrill to answer a few questions.

So how were you chosen to write the novelization to Indy 4"?

Well, over the years, my books have been critically compared to Indiana Jones.  I think mostly due to the historical or archaeological nature of the novels.  In fact, one reviewer of my book, Map of Bones, described it as a cross between Indiana Jones and the The Da Vinci Code.  To this day, I'm still not sure if that reviewer was insulting me or complimenting me.  But I personally take any comparison to Indy as a compliment.  And such reviews did eventually draw the attention of Random House who obtained the adaptation rights to the upcoming film.  After that, my name got submitted, and I got the thumb's up. 

Julie Compton's debut novel, Tell No Lies, is the story of a family man's obsession and the price he's forced to pay. When assistant DA Jack Hilliard finds himself simultaneously seduced by a dream job and a tempting woman, he soon learns how easy it is to compromise his values and comfortable life for ambition and desire. But when the object of his obsession is charged with a heinous crime, and Jack alone can prove her innocence, he must choose between saving her by speaking out, or saving his marriage and career by remaining silent.

In Tell No Lies, the reader gets a glimpse of the differences between private law firms and the district attorney's office. As someone who has worked in both the private and government legal sector, which do you prefer?
 
On the private side, I worked at two larger law firms, and then a smaller, boutique firm, before becoming a stay-at-home mom for several years. When I returned to practice, I accepted a position with the US Trustee's Office, part of the Department of Justice. It was my dream job. Although I worked with great people at all my jobs, there's no denying that at private firms, an attorney has the constant pressure to bill more hours, bring in clients, become a partner, etc. I didn't have these same pressures at my government job, which made it easier to just enjoy the purely legal aspects of the practice.

After turning out three World War II military thrillers, author Steven Wilson took a step backward in time to embrace his other professional interests-the Civil War. His newest novel, President Lincoln's Spy, is the first in a contracted series featuring Captain Fitz Dunaway, a discredited army officer turned spy. Conveniently, Wilson works as the curator and assistant director of the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee.

Of the new novel, Wilson says, "It's about a discredited army officer who is given the opportunity to redeem himself only if he agrees to act as a spy for the Assistant Secretary of War. Being a military man, he thinks that spying is distasteful, but he also wants to get back in the fight and he wants a regiment, which is what's offered to him if he will only take on the role of the spy."

At first glance, Annie Powers seems a happy, wealthy woman living a perfect life in Florida with her husband Gray and their daughter Victory. But Annie is not what she seems. Soon, however, we see Annie's demons beginning to creep up on her, triggering unfamiliar and frightening memories. Once upon a time Annie was Ophelia March, a young woman who escaped a troubled home only to find herself in the thrall of a killer. Annie thought she left that girl behind - the night Ophelia died in a fiery crash. She's wrong. After a series of terrifying events, Annie quickly realizes she must piece together these memories to finally make sense of who she was, who she is and, ultimately, to save herself and her daughter.

"Black Out is riveting psychological suspense of the first order. If you haven't yet experienced Lisa Unger, what are you waiting for?" -- Harlan Coben

"I read Black Out in one hungry gulp, and spent the rest of the night trying to calm my jangled nerves. This is a stunning, mind-bending shocker with moments of sheer terror-one of the best thrillers I've read this year!" -- Tess Gerritsen

"Twisty, riveting, and enormously exciting. Lisa Unger is a powerful and elegant writer, and Black Out is her best novel yet." -- Joseph Finder

Lisa Unger is the New York Times bestselling author of BEAUTIFUL LIES and SLIVER OF TRUTH. Her novels have been published in 26 countries, receiving rave reviews and appearing on bestseller lists around the world. BEAUTIFUL LIES was a finalist for the ITW "Best Novel" Award in 2007.

Ghost Moon, the next book in award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Rebecca York's popular Moon series, tells the story of Quinn, a woman who comes from a universe parallel to our world on a mission to save a friend's life. She's stopped in her tracks by a ghost, Caleb Marshall, killed 75 years ago by his cousin. Caleb's stayed on earth to avenge his death. Although he and Quinn are powerfully drawn to each other, she's terrified that he will wreak vengeance on her friends, the Marshalls; and she sees no future in a relationship with a phantom. Everything changes when Caleb acquires the body of a murder victim. But can he and the Marshalls work together to foil a diabolical plot aimed at the heart of the U. S. government?

"Rebecca York delivers page-turning suspense." -- Nora Roberts

"Riveting, passionate, breathtaking are all perfect descriptors for Rebecca York's latest Moon series book: Ghost Moon. It has everything--a storyline ripped from today's headlines, fascinating characters, paranormal elements, and a fast moving pace." -- sensual.ecataromance.com

Ever since she can remember, Rebecca York (aka Ruth Glick) has loved making up stories full of adventure, romance and suspense. As a child she corralled her friends into adventure games or acted out romantic suspense stories with a cast of dolls.

Terry Scarborough is a legal scholar and provocateur who craves headline-making celebrity, but with his latest book he may have gone too far. He resurrects the long forgotten language of slavery still visible in the Constitution and flogs it with hints of a long missing and scandalous letter written by Thomas Jefferson. Flames of racial violence illuminate Scarborough's book tour across the nation until he is brutally murdered in a hotel room in San Diego. Paul Madriani finds himself thrust into this disturbing case as he struggles to defend a young man charged with Scarborough's murder and facing the death penalty -- the son of an old friend. Madriani believes that the key to the case rests with one man, the source of the infamous Jefferson Letter--an eminent justice of the Supreme Court who has disappeared into the shadows on medical leave and who is the vital swing vote on every hot button social and political issue facing the High Court. Madriani and his partner Harry Hinds race to find the missing Jefferson letter and the secret it holds hidden in the dark depths of slavery -- an untold scandal tangled in the roots of the nation's founding and the real reason Scarborough was murdered. It is a story that lays bare the soaring political stakes of a Supreme Court where critical decisions teeter on a razor's edge, in a nation badly divided, living in the Shadow of Power.

"Take if from a prosecutor--Steve Martini has created one of the most charismatic defense attorneys in thriller fiction. Madriani is a guy who won't quit until he works every angle, finds every chink in the D.A.'s armor, and picks at the evidence until he tears the thread to unravel his opponent's case. Best of all, he's got the heart of a lion--protective, humane, courageous--that makes him such great fun to watch." -- Linda Fairstein, author of Killer Heat

"Steve Martini is an expert at good old-fashioned, gimmick-free storytelling. Shadow of Power is an intelligent and intriguing thriller with crisply drawn, believable characters and breathless, cross-cutting suspense. Fans, including me, have been waiting for this one. Paul Madriani has aged like a fine wine. He's a wary, battle-scarred hero with a decency that rings true. This installment in a terrific series will not disappoint." -- Steve Berry, author of The Venetian Betrayal

"One thing--among many--that I love about Shadow of Power is the sense that what you think is inevitable, isn't. You think the defendant must be guilty. You think there's no way Madriani can save this guy. And you'll never guess where this twisting tale is really going--for the ending is a shocking piece of hard, unassailable logic put into motion by the mind of a very cold killer. I never saw it coming. Ingenious." -- John Sandford, author of Phantom Prey

Steve Martini was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, graduated with honors from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and holds a law degree from the University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law. His experience includes work in journalism as well as private law practice. In 1984, he turned his talents to fiction, quickly earning positions on bestsellers lists. To date, he has authored 12 novels.

Chase was raised as a getaway driver by his grandfather, Jonah, a con man feared by even the hardened career criminals who make up his crew. But when Jonah crosses the line and murders one of his own, Chase goes solo, stealing cars and pulling scores across the country....And then he meets Lila, a strong-willed deputy sheriff with a beguiling smile who shows him what love can be. Chase is on the straight and narrow for the first time in his life--until tragedy hits, and he must reenter the dark world of grifters and crooks. Now Chase is out for revenge--and he'll have to turn to the one man he hates most in the world. Only Jonah can teach Chase how to become a stone-cold killer. But even as the two men work together, Chase knows that their unresolved past will eventually lead them to a showdown of their own.

"The Cold Spot is truly dazzling. Piccirilli has taken the mystery to a whole other level." -- Ken Bruen, award-winning author of The Guards

"Blackest noir, the most minimal kind of minimalism, and at the same time deeply emotional: this is not easy to do. I loved The Cold Spot." -- Peter Abrahams, bestselling author of Nerve Damage

"Lean, brutal and completely arresting, Tom Piccirilli's The Cold Spot is a bull's-eye hardboiled tale." -- Megan Abbott, author of The Song is You

"The Cold Spot is crime fiction at its very best, an exceptional revenge story so vivid you feel like you're in the back seat of a getaway car with a master storyteller at the wheel." -- Jason Starr, author of The Follower

Tom Piccirilli is the author of twenty novels including The Cold Spot, The Midnight Road, The Dead Letters, Headstone City, November Mourns, and A Choir of Ill Children. He's a four-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award and has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award, the International Thriller Writers Award, and Le Grand Prix de L'Imaginaire. 

Intricate, edgy, and intense, The Deal is a fast-moving thriller set against the backdrop of the Manhattan commercial real estate world. A cutthroat, rainmaking real estate executive, protagonist Jonah Gray has it all - movie-star good looks, a Park Avenue penthouse, and a seven-figure income.

Or at least he had it all until a friend presents Jonah with the deal of a lifetime: invest half a billion dollars in prime NY real estate, act quickly, and collect a huge payoff. But within days, Jonah is thrust into the epicenter of an international and personal scandal. Jonah will be forced to explore a whole new territory where danger, death and deception lurk at every corner. Closing this deal could mean losing everything.

"Wheeling, dealing and greed haven't looked this good since Gordon Gekko." -- Chris Grabenstein, Anthony Award-winning author of Tilt-a-Whirl

"The Deal rips open the ugly underbelly of the real estate business to expose greed, treachery and power struggles that lead to murder. Adam Gittlin turns real estate into real suspense." -- Marshall Karp, author of The Rabbit Factory and Bloodthirsty

"One of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. Gittlin is one to watch." -- Robert Dugoni, New York Times best-selling author of The Jury Master

Adam Gittlin is a commercial real estate executive who lives with his wife Raina in Manhattan

Emily Kramer, wife of a Los Angeles private detective, wakes up one morning to learn that her husband has been shot to death on a suburban street during the night. The bank accounts of the agency and her family have been emptied. Her only hope of finding out why her husband was murdered is to to keep the detective agency running.

"A spunky but believable heroine, an emotionally conflicted killer, a plot whose twists you will not anticipate--what more could a reader want from a piece of escapist fiction? Fidelity is a winner. But then, Perry has never written a bad novel in his life." -- Library Journal (starred review)

"This is fine writing from one of crime fiction's grand masters." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Solid. . .Perry intrigues as always with spare, intelligent prose,"

Thomas Perry is the author of the Jane Whitefield series as well as the bestselling novels Nightlife, Death Benefits, and Pursuit. He won an Edgar for The Butcher's Boy, and Metzger's Dog was a New York Times Notable Book.

Action adventure set in England on eve of WWII. Hero Nick McIver and sister Kate become spies trying the thwart the impending invasion of their island by Germans. In a time travel sequence, Nick journeys to 1805 to help Admiral Lord Nelson defeat the French at Trafalgar
 
"Nick Of Time is a blast--the best of Robert Louis Stevenson, Horatio Hornblower, and Harry Potter. The kid in me loved it and so did the adult!" -- James Patterson

"Ted Bell proves that he's the master of swashbuckling for young and old." -- Steve Berry

Ted Bell is the author of the New York Times Bestselling Alex Hawke series of spy thrillers. Formerly in advertising and a consultant for the U.S. State Department, Ted began writing fiction in 2001. He lives in Florida and Colorado with his wife, artist and political consultant Page Lee Hufty. He is a member of the board at the President's Home at Mt. Vernon.

Thirteen years after losing her mother and sister on the same day, Alex is called home, to the house that still fills her nightmares with screams. Alex's stepsister has gone missing, leaving Alex to care for a nearly catatonic niece she's never known. As Alex searches for her stepsister, her path crosses that of Special Agent Daniel Vartanian.

Someone is mimicking a thirteen year old crime that ties to Daniel's serial-killer brother Simon, and to Alex Fallon. As Daniel investigates, he finds his own past inextricably intertwined with Alex's. As bodies fill the morgue, they race to reveal the secrets of the past before the murderer kills them all.

"Intense, complex, and unforgettable." -- James Patterson, New York Times bestselling author

"There well could be a new thriller sheriff in town. This is a book that will be talked about all summer long." -- Lorenzo Carcaterra, New York Times bestselling author

Karen Rose is a New York Times bestselling author of chilling romantic suspense. She received the Romance Writer's of America's RITA® award for Best Romantic Suspense in 2005. Three of Karen's other titles have been RITA® finalists, including her most recent title, DIE FOR ME, also the recipient of the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Romantic Suspense of 2007.

Her eighth novel and hardcover debut, SCREAM FOR ME, will be released May 13, 2008.

A former chemical engineer and high school teacher, Karen lives in Florida. For more information, please visit www.karenrosebooks.com or email her at karen@karenrosebooks.com. 

Watcher in the Woods - The King Family begins their search, quickly realizing that they must learn more about the worlds in order to find their mother. But they also must pretend that all is well at home. When a stranger appears and tries to force them to sell the house, their desperation reaches new heights.

Robert Liparulo is the author of the adult thrillers Comes a Horseman, Germ, and Deadfall. The six books in the DreamHouse Kings series are his first stories for young adults.

Old crimes and new combine in this first of a four-book limited series from bestselling author Kasey Michaels. What do a murdered scholar athlete, the sensational case of The Baby In The Dumpster, and a serial killer gone to ground have to do with the suicide of ex-cop turned P.I. Teddy Sunshine twenty years later? As it turns out -- a lot!

"...Michaels has done it again!" Starred review for The Butler Did It, Publishers Weekly; named one of the top mass market paperbacks of 2004.

A Gentleman By Any Other Name, Publishers Weekly list of Best One Hundred Books of 2006.

Kasey Michaels is the New York Times and USAToday bestselling author of more than one hundred novels in a career soon to begin its third decade, and has, among other awards, received three coveted starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. She is currently serving as President-elect of Novelists, Inc, an international organization for multi-pubbed authors.

On the morning we meet him, Gary Kemmerman is roped into becoming an amateur sleuth and finds his second chance at love. He's wearing a wedding ring to preserve memories; Becca is wearing the band as a defense against men. Not easy for those two, falling for one another--but it allows him to say goodbye to his late wife, and uncovering the multi-million dollar corporate scam behind his friend's death gives him purpose. When the killer comes for Gary but takes Becca, he may have to say goodbye again. He's not a cop, doesn't carry a gun, isn't bulletproof, and is up against professional assassins--but he can't say goodbye again.

"Buckle your seatbelts for a roller coaster of a ride."

"Say Goodbye" is exciting, moving, and very believable. Easy to read and enjoyable, this is an excellent novel!"

"SAY GOODBYE starts with a bang and carries you at a breakneck pace all the way to the very satisfying end. A retired widower finds the courage to investigate a friend's murder, battle corporate corruption, and even seize a second chance at love! I'm looking forward to more Reluctant Sleuth books!"

At Wharton, as a destroyer officer, in suits as senior VP of a NYSE management consulting company and then senior VP at a public relations company, I found ways to write. Winning Deadly Ink Press' 2007 David G. Sasher, Sr. Best Unpublished Thriller Novel Award was a great honor. My genre is the mystery thriller, but I can't write a novel without offering a deep love story. I live with my wife in northern New Jersey. Visit my website at http://www.reluctantsleuth.com.

In this stunning YA adventure series from acclaimed author Robert Liparulo, a house that is more than meets the eye will change the lives of the King family forever. When the Kings move to a new home in a new town, the house seems odd at first; but things get really strange when they realize that some rooms are portals to other worlds.

Robert Liparulo is the author of the adult thrillers Comes a Horseman, Germ, and Deadfall. The six books in the DreamHouse Kings series are his first stories for young adults.

Off the southwest coast of Ireland, folklorist Keira Sullivan journeys in search of a Celtic stone angel--an angel immortalized in an old Irish story. When Keira goes missing, search-and-rescue expert Simon Cahill rushes to Ireland to find her. They return to Boston only to learn the legend of the angel has emboldened a predator . . . a killer desperate to possess the priceless Irish artifact.

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

Carla Neggers has written more than 50 novels -10 of them New York Times bestsellers-and has earned raves from critics and readers alike for her unique blend of fast-paced action, suspense and romance.For more information, visit Carla's website at www.carlaneggers.com.

Chris Grabenstein's first book for younger readers (Middle Grades) is filled with the same humorous and spinetingling storytelling that has made him a fast favorite with adults.

Zack Jennings, his dad, and new stepmother have just moved back to his father's hometown in Connecticut, not knowing that their new house has a dark history. Fifty years ago, a crazed killer caused an accident at the nearby crossroads that took forty innocent lives. He died when his car hit a tree in a fiery crash, and his malevolent spirit has inhabited the tree ever since. During a huge storm, lightning hits the tree, releasing the spirit, who decides his evil spree isn't over, and Zack is directly in his sights!

Chris Grabenstein is the Anthony award-winning author of the John Ceepak/Jersey Shore mysteries TILT A WHIRL, MAD MOUSE, and WHACK A MOLE plus the holiday thrillers SLAY RIDE and HELL FOR THE HOLIDAYS. In 1986, he and his college buddy Ronny Venable wrote THE CHRISTMAS GIFT starring John Denver for CBS TV and it still shows up every holiday season on cable TV. You can visit Chris on the web at www.ChrisGrabenstein.com.

Scorch tells the story of Hollywood special effects man and ex-Navy SEAL David Cole, who is forced to relive the horror of war when a trained killer from his past, hired by a ruthless film producer, tries to murder him by burning him alive. The killer isn't successful, but the attack does take the life of Cole's son. Framed for the crime, Cole uses his knowledge of F/X and urban warfare to hunt the men responsible. But as Cole's ravaged body deteriorates, so does his grip on reality--transforming his grief and drive for justice into violent insanity. It's only a matter of time before Cole becomes a threat to friend and foe alike, which is nothing compared the ultimate price he could pay.

"Lean, mean and relentless. On the set and on the page, Paoletti is the real deal." -- Marcus Sakey, author of The Blade Itself

"Scorch is intense, gripping and non-stop. Paoletti has created a first-rate thriller from top to bottom." -- Brett Battles, author of The Cleaner

"Scorch combines action, suspense, and wonderful, true-to-life characters. Watch out, this debut is only the beginning." -- Dana Kaye, Crimespree Magazine

After years as an award-winning journalist and advertising copywriter, Marc Paoletti decided to focus his energy and passion on fiction of a different sort. Scorch draws upon his experiences as a Hollywood pyrotechnician, when he blew things up for movies and television shows. His short fiction has appeared in numerous anthologies alongside such authors as Stephen King and Irvine Welsh, and recently he received an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror, and was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His next novel, The Last Vampire, is co-written with Patricia Rosemoor and forthcoming from Del Rey.

A hit man learns a lesson in irony when the hunter becomes the hunted in a deadly game of paintball in the dark. Now the man's body serves as a message from the past, unraveling the lives of the people touched by an unresolved crime. To solve the case, a relentless female detective goes against the advice of her Hispanic partner to sift through the tragic memories of the prime suspect--a reluctant man whose past she believes will hold the key to unmasking the real killer.

"High stakes romance, riveting gritty suspense and engaging characters. Jordan Dane is a fabulous new voice." -- Cindy Gerard, New York Times Bestselling Author

"Jordan Dane is a brand-new star on the horizon of women's fiction. Her style is gritty-her writing sharp and concise. Nail-biting suspense and heart-stopping emotion." -- Sharon Sala, New York Times Bestselling Author

"Thrills and chills from first page to last, Jordan Dane will make you think twice before you ever walk alone in the dark again." -- Robin Burcell, Award-winning Author

After Jordan Dane sold her first 3-books to Avon/HarperCollins in auction, her debut title - No One Heard Her Scream - held more significance. Everyone heard her scream! And that went double for the next 3-book thrillers she sold before having any books released. Prior to selling, Jordan received 33 national writing competition awards. Formerly an energy sales manager, she now is following her passion to write full time. Take a front row seat to suspense with Dane's back to back releases in April through June 2008--No One Heard Her Scream, No One Left to Tell, & No One Lives Forever.

Keith Raffel caught up with Rob Palmer whose new book Eyes of the World is being released this month - perfect timing for a book featuring a female president.

In your new book, Lynnie Connor is America's first female president. Are there similarities to any real-life female who currently happens to be running for president?

Any similarities are entirely unintended! Actually, I got the idea for Eyes of the World years ago, before Hillary Clinton was a candidate for any public office. There are similarities that can't be avoided, though. For example, what stance would a woman candidate for president have to take on military matters? And what is the proper role of the president's husband?  In the book, I had to deal with dozens of questions like that, and it's been interesting to see how my solutions have sorted out in comparison to those of the Clinton campaign.

So give us a sneak preview.

Mike Stanbridge has known President Lynnie Connor since they were children.  Their friendship is common knowledge; their longstanding love affair is the most carefully guarded secret of their lives.  It's the campaign season, and Lynnie is running hard for reelection.  Mike is framed for murder, and his only way out is to dig into Lynnie's past.  What he learns seemingly turns her whole life into a lie, and sets him up for the biggest fall of all.

Wendy Corsi Staub is a novelist who defies traditional labeling.  Currently under contract with four major publishers, she'll release a total of sixteen novels in an eighteen-month period that will conclude this fall.

Two of those titles fall into the suspense genre and both will be released April 29. DYING BREATH is an adult thriller (Zebra) and LILY DALE: BELIEVING (Walker), is the second title in a hardcover series which has been optioned for a television show. Both stories contain an element of the paranormal in that both heroines are gifted psychics.

Wendy has an impressive list of honors and awards, including multiple NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling lists for her many of her more than 70 published works. She has achieved career landmarks under her own name in the psychological suspense market and under Wendy Markham in the area of chick lit and women's fiction.

She was awarded this year's Romantic Times Career Achievement in Suspense Award, and she is also moving into new technological territory with what the designers consider the first ever author-generated "social networking" website www.wendycorsistaubcommunity.com, which will be up and running as of April 18.

After just reading about all of Wendy's accomplishments, I feel that I've run a marathon, but I do have some questions for her.

Summer's fast approaching. Thinking of traveling abroad?  Maybe you won't (dollar's too low) or can't (too busy writing), but that doesn't mean your book has to stay home.  Your thriller wants to go overseas.  And guess what?  It can.

More thriller writers than ever before are entertaining readers in all corners of the world.  But it's not always easy: getting your book to cross borders is a lot like taking an international trip: you need a valid passport, you need to research the local sights and ask for recommendations...you may even need a shot.  The same goes for your book.  Do you know how to get your break-out thriller into the Berlin bookstores?  Or why you need to know who your foreign rights agent is?  And when to build a Spanish-language section on your website?

Monthly Book Giveaway

Congratulations to Norman Glick, the winner of this month's BIG THRILL giveaway. Norman will receive an assortment of signed thrillers including ISLAND LIFE by MICHAEL W. SHERER, THE LAST NIGHTINGALE by ANTHONY FLACCO, SEASON OF STRANGERS by KAT MARTIN, KISS HER GOODBYE by WENDY CORSI STAUB, and NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM by JORDAN DANE.

All subscribers to THE BIG THRILL webzine are automatically eligible for the monthly drawing. Click here to subscribe to the BIG THRILL email.

New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers thrives on adventure, and it shows in every thriller she writes. Now the author offers one reader a chance to experience his or her own adventure.

To enter Neggers' "Live Your Adventure" contest, readers in Canada and the U.S. need only tell the author in 50 words or less about the adventure they would most like to experience. One lucky winner will then win $1,000 to make that adventure happen. It's all part of the excitement over the debut of Neggers' newest novel, THE ANGEL (MIRA Books), which goes on sale April 29.

To enter the "Live Your Adventure" contest online, visit www.eHarlequin.com/adventurecontest and follow the onscreen entry instructions.The entry deadline is July 31.The winner will be selected by the author and her publisher and notified by Sept. 4, 2008.

For more details, visit www.CaraNeggers.com.

R. Barri Flowers and his agent have sold the UK and Commonwealth rights to his bestselling true crime book, THE SEX SLAVE MURDERS, to John Blake Publishing of London.

The new edition of book will be published in early 2009. For more information, visit R. Barri Flowers' website.

Kelli Stanley's debut novel Nox Dormienda - a historical mystery set in Roman Britain, but written in the classic noir style of Raymond Chandler - is highlighted in the cover story for the April 15th issue of Library Journal.

Wilda Williams, fiction editor for LJ, concludes "Genre Spotlight 2008 "Mystery": The Sound of Crime Fiction" with a paragraph focusing on Kelli's new Roman Noir genre as uniting two hot trends within mystery and crime fiction: the historical novel and the reemergence of classic hardboiled/noir/PI stories. Williams leads the article by discussing the growth of large-print editions and audio books, mentioning the Audiobook Publishers Association's nomination of ITW's The Chopin Manuscript.

DETROIT, March 20, 2008--The Strand Magazine has announced its nominees for the 2007 Strand Magazine Critics Award. Recognizing excellence in the field of mystery fiction, the Critics Award is judged by a select group of book reviewers from the nation's top daily newspapers, as well as by Andrew F. Gulli, Managing Editor of The Strand Magazine. With Larry Gandle of The Tampa Tribune serving as The Strand Critics Award chairman, this year's judges include Patrick Anderson of The Washington Post, Dick Lochte of the LA Times, Oline H. Cogdill of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, David Montgomery of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Hallie Ephron of The Boston Globe, and Sarah Weinman of The Baltimore Sun.

Fresh from a recent interview on the Biography Channel's Crime Stories, bestselling thriller, true crime,and criminology writer R. Barri Flowers has been interviewed for Wicked Attraction, the new Investigation Discovery channel series about couples who partner in crime.

He discusses the killer couple, Gerald and Charlene Gallego, the basis for his
bestselling true crime book, THE SEX SLAVE MURDERS, as well as serial killers in general and what motivates them to kill.

The episode will air this fall.

Thomas Greanias revealed Antarctica as the hiding place for the lost continent of Atlantis in Atlantis Rising.  Now, the hero of that remarkable discovery must keep it a secret. On a visit to the grave of his father, he discovers a cryptic message concealed on the tombstone.  The deciphering of the code will propel him to discover a conspiracy buried in plain sight in the heart of the nation's capitol.  Clearly, the intensity increases in The Atlantis Prophecy.

What sparked the idea for The Atlantis Prophecy?

I was in Washington, D.C., as an on-air correspondent for NBC television affiliates, having just wrapped my report on the president's State of the Union Address outside the U.S. Capitol Building, when a friend in the government took me on a secret tour below the Capitol.  We're talking way, way, way below.  Then we went up a hidden staircase to the top of the Capitol Dome.  I was 21, and you could do those things back then in 1987 that you can't do 20 years later in this post-911 world.  Anyway, that night introduced me to the hidden world beneath Washington, D.C., and the secret history of America's capital city, and, ultimately, the American military's history of using astrology to wage war.