Now Available: Review Copies New Enviro Thriller/Mystery

Coming in October:

Email Editor Deb Smith for a galley: editor@bellebooks.com

 

 

PRIMITIVE

Mark Nykanen

 

Trade Paper, 16.95, 330 pages

You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlQ7ZduaUt8

Scribd excerpt: http://www.scribd.com/doc/19237140/Thrill-Ride-Read-the-opening-of-PRIMITIVE

 

 

"Environmental extremists want to use her.  Corporations want her dead.   The government wants her gone.  And her daughter just wants to save her life."

 

A "neo-primitive" cult, possessing secret government documents filled with terrifying information about global warming, kidnaps a fashion model and holds her hostage, forcing her to act as their spokesperson. As time runs out, her estranged daughter allies with a dangerous activist group to rescue her, while battling dark agendas from the government and Big Oil.

 

 

"More frightening than any vision of our future, Mark Nykanen's Primitive depicts the reality of the here and now. A timely and stunning vision of what happens when true-believers clash, catching innocents in the middle."
-- Ed Stackler, editor of New York Times-bestselling authors Greg Iles, Ridley Pearson, Ted Dekker, and others.

"It's not just a page-turner, it's a head-turner. It's Dan Brown meets Al Gore. You can't stop reading and once you're done, you can't stop thinking about its messages. A book that bookstore employees will hand-sell to customers and those customers will then insist their friends read."
--Dale Dauten, King Features

 "This is an exciting, gripping thriller that hooks the reader from the onset . . .  a profound cautionary tale." Harriet Klausner, Amazon.con Top Reviewer

 

 

 

Mark Nykanen is a four-time Emmy-winning journalist and former NBC News Correspondent. His three previous psychological thrillers – HUSH, SEARCH ANGEL, and THE BONE PARADE (St. Martin's Press) received excellent reviews from major venues including Publishers Weekly, Entertainment Weekly and others. Nykanen is now a fulltime fiction author. He lives in Canada. www.marknykanen.com

Old-fashioned live book tour

            Elaine Viets noted on this site that traditional book tours seem to be a thing of the past.  As Archie McNally would say, not for yrs. truly.  I did 24 stops in 30 days in New Mexico in June and July for The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras, the first in my cozy series set in Albuquerque's Old Town.  Yes, I had to devote several hundred hours of work for five months before the tour contacting stores, trying to get reviews in the media of the towns where I had signings scheduled, mailing examination copies to stores that wanted to see the book before deciding, mailing copies to reviewers, and re-arranging the schedule to minimize criss-crossing the state. 

            But it was worth it.  The headline of the Gallup Herald the morning after my signing and interview there read, "Former professor may fill Hillerman's shoes with new novel."  Not accurate in light of the fact that Hillerman didn't write cozies, but my publisher loved it.  Albuquerque Arts magazine featured me as their author of the month in June.  Unbeknownst to me, several people read the article and showed up at Treasure House Books in Old Town wanting to buy a copy.  So when I showed up at Treasure House to ask them to stock the book, the owner said, "Man, am I glad to meet you," and bought ten copies.  He sold them in less than a week, has since made two additional much larger orders, and now informs me I am his best-selling author.  My experiences in Gallup and Albuquerque are just two examples of things that can happen when you show up in person.  Another was my meeting with a mystery readers club in Taos arranged by Moby Dickens Bookstore.  One person in the audience was the Library Director in Questa, a small town north of Taos.  She asked me to meet with her patrons, and I sold a bunch of books in a town I hadn't even considered because it was too small. 

            I think blog tours are a great idea, but I don't think they can match what an in-the-flesh tour can do for you.  Of course, not every stop on a traditional tour is successful; I sat all evening in the Silver City Public Library without seeing another human, much less selling a book.  I know Amazon numbers are the subject of debate and sometimes even derision, but when I left home my number was approximately 1,750,000.  When I got back, it had risen to approximately 20,000, and my book was briefly in the top 100 mysteries.  I'm published by a small independent press, so my books aren't on the buy-lists for most bookstores.  The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras was in a handful of stores before the tour, but thanks to the tour is now on the shelves of 17 additional bookstores in New Mexico and West Texas.

 

Mike Orenduff

www.orenduff.org

www.ThePotThief.blogspot.com

 

 

INFO ON E-BOOK SALES?

 I keep hearing about how ebook sales are expanding exponentially, but so far I've seen no numbers to back up these rumors. Anyone out there got any actual numbers of ebook sales?

Pamela S. Beason

www.wildwingpress.com 

Support for Independent Booksellers

In hard economic times such as these, it is difficult for the small businessman or woman to earn a living. I am hoping that independent booksellers will remain a strong factor in the industry. As an author, I particularly want to show support.
Jacqueline Seewald
THE DROWNING POOL, THE INFERNO COLLECTION
Five Star/Gale, Wheeler large print

Promoting 2 books at once

I have an odd "problem," and that's promoting 2 books at the same time. One is a medieval thriller/romance ("Relics," Thomas Nelson, issued May 1), the other a contemporary mystery ("Bleeder," Sophia Institute Press, coming August 5). Both were 'fast-tracked' without much lead time. So, with two summer books and 2 different audiences, I'm wondering how to go about this.
Certainly, there are readers drawn to both types of fare. Still, it appears that I'll need two separate 'campaigns' to get the word out. Has anyone else faced such a dilemma? What was your best strategy for marketing two titles at once?
John Desjarlais
www.johndesjarlais.com

Calling all authors - Blog tours?

As Elaine Viets noted earlier, traditional book tours seem to be a thing of the past.  But what about blog tours?

I'm asking because, probably like many of you, I've been approached about pre-arranged blog tours. I haven't yet shelled out any money, but I'm curious what others think.

A few books ago, I started doing my own blog tours, reaching out to various bloggers whom I actually read, asking them if they would let me guest blog or if they'd be willing to read/review my new book or interview me. These are certainly cost efficient and seem to help sales. Yes, I have to write something, when I should be working on the next book manuscript. But sometimes these little essays get me thinking about a plot or character point. At the very least, I tell myself, they offer readers a real sample of my style. Like my blog, buy my book, or some such. I've also done blog exchanges, having writers guest blog on my little blog – and writing something for their blogs, too. But these tend to be smaller blogs, probably read only by the author's immediate circle. And as publisher deadlines loom and everyone and her cat launches a blog, I'm beginning to wonder about the efficacy of blog tours. As  social networking sites proliferate, are blogs - and blog tours - already outdated? 

 The problem, of course, is time.  At some point it's easy to just go into book-talk shtick and be, perhaps falsely, upbeat. But quality (or the lack thereof) gets the same. On a recent guest appearance, when for whatever reason I took the time to give more in depth and serious answers, I got a ton of responses that have made me reevaluate guest blogging. But then again, that was a well traveled site – and the host asked me very good questions. 

Do you do blog tours? Do you have thoughts on how best to arrange or  approach them? I'm curious to hear what other authors experience of these is, and if any bookstores have any comments, I'd love to hear them. 

Clea Simon

"Cries & Whiskers" 

"Probable Claws," April '09

"Shades of Grey," Sept. '09

http://www.cleasimon.com

POD VS Traditional

I am a newly published author (POD), not traditionally published, however. I have read so many articles on the pros and cons of each that I have found myself in a complete quandary as to which is the better road to travel the next time around. Not that POD has been a bad experience, but why does it seem, at least for me, that having a traditional publisher makes us more legitimate in the general publics eye. It's frustrating, because many POD authors write very well compared to the "celebrity" author who gets published for name alone. I probably need to take the suggestion of joining a writers group for my pat on the back. Any suggestions for a POD author to feel more justified. Thanks for any input.
Kim
www.pawsforlovemystery.com Murder With A View: A Paws For Love Mystery
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