Why a Traditionally Published Author Chose Indie Publishing - a Guest Post by Author Julie Coulter Bellon

There are so many roads to publishing in today’s world and I’ve been privileged to be both a traditionally published author as well as dip a toe into the indie published world. Both experiences have taught me a lot. When I was first trying to get published, I submitted my manuscript to the three publishing houses that I felt were my top three. Over the next few months I received three rejections of my work and I was heartbroken. I took it personally, like my writing wasn’t good enough, and I shoved my manuscript under my bed where it gathered dust for a year. After that year was up, however, and I’d had some distance from the situation, I started really looking at the rejections and the suggestions they’d made to make my manuscript better. Then, I was talking to another author friend and she encouraged me to finish the changes and submit again. Which I did. And within ten days of submission I had more than one offer of publication. It was my dream come true. I ended up traditionally publishing six books and the great thing about being traditionally published, (besides the fact that I felt validated that someone believed in my work and thought I was a great writer), is the team of experts you have behind you. I had editors and cover designers that made my book look good. I had a marketing team that got me on television and into bookstores for booksignings. They provided things like ARCs and bookmarks and advertising so I could build my fanbase and get my name out there. Of course there is a downside. As an author I didn’t get to choose the titles or covers for my books. Some changes were made to my books that I didn’t really like, but were done anyway. And my royalty percentage wasn’t what I really wanted and it took almost two years from the time of submission for my book to get on the publication schedule and into stores. Of course I looked past all that when I saw my book arranged in a display pyramid when I walked into the book stores. Or when I was doing booksignings next to some of the authors I’d always been a fan of and owned all their books. But then the indie publishing wave came along and I grabbed my chance. My publisher had said they weren’t interested in my next work, so I was free to do what I wanted with it. Since I had worked as an editor, I had some friends who were editors, I found a cover designer, and I started looking into what I needed to release the book on my own. It was a huge learning curve wearing all the hats of a marketer, editor, and cover designer, but I loved the end product. And so did my fans. With indie publishing, I’m able to get my books into the hands of my readers quickly. I get to choose the covers, the way the book is edited, and the title. I get a much higher royalty percentage. It seemed like such a great opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands and haven’t regretted it. I’ve published four titles independently and the first book in my Hostage Negotiation Team series, All Fall Down, won the RONE award for Best Suspense/Thriller. So, for me, being traditionally published first was a great foundation for me in learning the business and how to put out a great product. I found some of the greatest and most loyal fans with those first six books. And I got the validation that I needed that I was a good writer and a publishing company wanted my work. But, in indie publishing, I feel like I’ve been able to spread my wings a bit more and put out a product that is totally me---something near and dear to my heart. I’m so grateful that my fans have stuck with me through this journey and I hope they will for many more years to come. I have some exciting novels coming out that I know you’ll like, and of course, the final book in the Hostage Negotiation Team series is coming out in May. If you want to know more about me and my books, you can visit my website at www.juliebellon.com I also blog at http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com where I review some of my favorite TV shows, books that I’ve loved, and offer writing tips. I hope you’ll check me out!

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My sincere gratitude to Julie for taking time out of her very busy schedule to write this fabulous article on the benefits of both traditional and indie publishing.  Now I know you'll want to check out her books!  Here are a couple of hers that I've been privileged to read.

I've reviewed both these books on this blog.  Time Will Tell and Pocket Full of Posies.  Please click on the titles to read the reviews.  Julie has several more titles to her name.   Feel free to visit her at www.juliebellon.com for more.  

London's West End: Vibrant or Violent (A Guest Post by M.G. Scarsbrook, author of the mystery Dream of the Dead)

It's no secret I love a good mystery. I enjoy a good plot with twists and turns and suspense that keep me guessing until the end.  Some of my favourite mystery authors are British (Agatha Christie, B.C. Beaton, Reginald Hill to name a few).  I'm excited to share today a guest post from a new to me British author M.G. Scarsbrook.  Scarsbrook has a new mystery, Dream of the Dead, the debut in a new detective series West End Murders just released and I invited him to write a guest post about the setting he chose for this novel.  I am rather enamoured with London myself (though in day dream format for now) so I found this quite interesting and hope you will too.  

Be sure to check out the links at the end of the post where you can purchase this exciting book!

London’s West End:  Vibrant OR VIOLENT?

By M. G. Scarsbrook

My debut mystery novel Dream of the Dead is the start of a new detective series based in the West End, London’s world-famous entertainment district. Like the Oxford colleges of Colin Dexter, or the racecourses of Dick Francis, the charming theatres of the West End might initially seem an unusual environment for a crime novel. It’s certainly an exuberant, expensive, exhilarating area. But is it dangerous? After all, anyone who knows London tends to think of the West End as a pleasure ground for the masses. The colossal shops of Oxford Street and Regent Street. The glitzy restaurants of Soho and Covent Garden. The tourist magnet of Leicester Square. And, of course, the gorgeous theatres of St Martin’s Lane and Shaftesbury Avenue. Hardly a place teeming with criminals.

Or so it would seem...

Yet take a guess at which area of London also has the highest crime rate? Guess which part of the capital you are most likely to become a victim of violence?

That’s right. The West End. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING...

Many famous places typically thought of as being in ‘London’, from touristy sights like Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, or 10 Downing street, to prestigious universities, billion-pound corporate headquarters, and five star hotels, are actually located in the borough of Westminster. This borough also contains the priciest office space in the world to rent (£100 per square foot). And a Grade 1 listed home recently went on sale here for £250 million. By any standards, Westminster is a desirable, world-class location.

It’s also a bit dodgy. According to an official report, it also has more violent crime than England’s second largest city of Birmingham.

Wait a minute. Are you sure?

Yes, it's true. The UK Peace Index, a report from the Institute for Economics and Peace, puts Westminster 12^th in the UK for most violent places to live (Birmingham is 19^th on the list). Crime figures from the Metropolitan Police also show that 8,288 violent acts against the person occurred in 2012, including more than 2,000 robberies. For 2013, on a monthly basis, Westminster has by far the highest crime levels in London, with a crime rate of 20.46, more than double the second most crime-ridden borough (Islington at 9.97), and far more than notorious areas like Tower Hamlets, Newham, and Lewisham. Furthermore, within Westminster itself, the most dangerous ward is the West End – and by a vast margin. Its monthly crime rate of 127.28 puts the West End almost ten times higher than many other places, such as Knightsbridge at 14.13, or Abbey Road at just 4.62. The West End, almost by itself, is largely responsible for the inflated levels of crime in Westminster. 

REALISTICALLY SPEAKING…

Now hold on. Before you think twice about those theatre tickets you’ve just booked, we do need to put this in context. Although street gangs are sometimes known to commute to the West End to deal drugs, rob, and mug people, most of the offences there derive from another source.

Drinking. Lots and lots of drinking.

The West End has a massive concentration of bars and nightclubs, and most of the offences committed in the area relate to the alcohol-fuelled, midnight antics of drunkards, such as anti-social behaviour and violence against the person. We also need to remember that this is a busy area, too, with a high footfall. Extremely high. London is the most visited city in the world, and many people are attracted to the West End during their trip to the capital. More than 200 million people visit the area every year. No other borough can boast such popularity. Also, despite the high levels of violence, Westminster saw only one murder in 2012 – that’s right, just one – and homicide rates have fallen dramatically and consistently across the whole city every year since 2003.

So, while the West End isn’t exactly a den of thieves and cut-throats, there is certainly a trace of blood amongst all the glitter, too. Indeed, since its inception, the West End has always been a ‘colourful’ part of London.

A FASHIONABLE SPOT

During the 1600s, the streets and squares of the West End were built to hold the palaces of aristocracy and gentry. Opulent theatres, exotic shops, and refined gambling houses all sprung up to service the bored ladies and gentlemen. Eventually, as playwrights, prostitutes, and swindlers also plied their business in the area, the reputation of the West End declined, and aristocrats scurried away to calmer and more prestigious parts of the city. Nevertheless, their venues of entertainment remained, and the district soon embraced even bawdier forms of amusement, too, which held greater mass appeal. More theatres, more taverns, more brothels, and more coffee-houses arrived. An entire district, devoted to pleasure in all its myriad forms, was now open to all.

The West End was born.

Indeed, the streets soon became jubilant to the point of lawlessness, increasingly known as much for the spectacle of their playhouses, as for their duels (Sheridan fought one on Henrietta Street), and their bare-knuckle boxing matches (the oldest pub in the area, The Lamb and Flag on Rose Street, was originally called the ‘Bucket of Blood’). At the top of St Martin’s Lane, the Seven Dials district also became a notorious slum, even providing the inspiration for Hogarth’s famous painting ‘Gin Lane’.

Given this wild history, perhaps it’s no surprise the West End attracted the stern attention of the authorities. 

THE POLICEMAN COMETH

In 1749 the West End produced England’s first professional police force. Operating out of the magistrates court on Bow Street, just a short walk from Drury Lane and the Royal Opera House, the ‘Bow Street Runners’ were the first organisation of men formally employed by the central government to fight crime. Henry Fielding, author of Tom Jones, is credited with creating the revolutionary organisation, although it was under his brother John Fielding that it grew into an effective force to patrol the whole capital. The ‘Bow Street Runners’ are widely considered to be the forerunners of the modern police force in Britain. Indeed, the copper buttons on their uniforms gave rise to the colloquialism of ‘coppers’, a nickname still used for the police today! 

While the manic excitement of the West End has always needed the law to prevent it tearing a hole through civilised London, perhaps the biggest challenge for the area came in more recent times. In 1974 the market in Covent Garden, arguably the heart of the West End, was closed due to congestion and moved to Nine Elms. The old and vacant buildings left in its stead were gradually redeveloped into shops and entertainment venues. But without the same levels of people passing through the area, the following decade lurched into a post-market wasteland. The tube station was even shut on Sundays because no one wanted to go there. Likewise, Leicester Square spent most of the 1980s mired in the squalor of tramps, hustlers, and drug dealers. Thankfully, not much of this slump is visible anymore, yet only in the last two decades has the area really cleaned itself up…

DARKNESS BEHIND THE LIGHTS

Nowadays the resurgence of the West End is staggering. The tube station in Covent Garden is only likely to be shut due to overcrowding. Gangs of crushing tourists are far more prevalent than thugs leering in the shadows. A brief stroll through the area reveals brightly lit signs, family-friendly squares, a plethora of shows, chain shops, designer boutiques, and trendy restaurants set within characterful lanes and cobbled alleys. Once again the West End is the centre of commerce, creativity, and adventure in London – the most lively area of the city, and perhaps the entire country. But a darker, lawless past and present is never too far beneath the surface shine, either. Such dynamic tension drives the action behind any narrative. Despite first appearances, then, the West End provides the natural environment for any fictional tale, and is the perfect setting for a crime story, especially a detective novel like Dream of the Dead.

Where to Buy The Book:

Amazon US:  http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Dead-West-End-Murders-ebook/dp/B00GZRMO42/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386009795&

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dream-Dead-West-End-Murders-ebook/dp/B00GZRMO42/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386009795&

About The Author:

M. G. Scarsbrook is the author of three novels and the editor of four literary collections. Since 2011 his books have sold more than 20,000 copies worldwide and been translated into five languages. English editions of his work are sold in paperback, eBook, and audiobook formats at all major online bookstores. A member of the prestigious Crime Writers' Association and the Society of Authors, he lives in the UK and is working on the next book in the West End Murders series. To learn more, please visit his website: www.mgscarsbrook.com

Guest Post: The Ever Changing World of Publishing by Author Deborah Valentine

I just have to say I am in awe.  Authors are some of the most giving people out there.  They are willing to be interviewed, write a special piece or do a Q & A.  They are so busy and yet they make the time.  

The author of The Knightmare, Deborah Valentine, was so kind to write an article for My Bookshelf on the world of publishing.  She shares it with you here:

The Ever-Changing World of Publishing 

Recently I had some wonderful news. Orion confirmed it was digitally republishing my back catalogue of books for its imprint The Murder Room (http://www.themurderroom.com). I was delighted, of course. Honoured to be part of a group that, in their words, is “a portal to the crime and detective classics”.  I did a merry dance around the sitting room to the cat’s abject horror. I raised a hearty glass at dinner (to my GP’s horror had he been there to bear witness). I posted it on Facebook. Yes, Facebook!  

That’s when it hit me. Just how much the world has changed, in particular the publishing world, in just 20 years. Suddenly I felt, well, rather odd. Old. Or perhaps more accurately, like the character of Mercedes in my new book The Knightmare. Someone who for millennia has watched the world roll on, morph and change in surprising ways; someone who must adapt, morph and change herself. 

When I wrote my first book, I wrote it in longhand (remember longhand any of you?) and then transferred it to a typewriter (ditto typewriters?). The big debate at the time among my colleagues was whether to use a typewriter or a computer. A computer! How many of us live without one now? Promotion in those days consisted of wheeling out a writer at some festival or book-signing event after months in a room, on your own, losing any social skills you may have possessed by sitting there wrestling with the characters in your head all day. It was shock to the system to interact with the living. Meagre social skills had been lost, blunders occurred. It was terrifying but great fun. 

Increasingly our lives are now lived online. On Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter (God help us!), websites, et al. For publishing, as for many other industries, this has changed the game. Bloggers, people not necessarily part of the ‘literati’, can air their views, champion their favourite authors. Vox populi say what they want without a filter, without anyone telling them what they should or should not like. An author can take their own initiative, publish when and what they like. It’s no longer called ‘vanity’ publishing but ‘indie’. Entrepreneurial, not vain. No longer do they have to wait for ages – whole lifetimes! – to convince an agent or publishing house of their value, or be chastised if they change genre. For better, or worse, there are no gatekeepers. Authors can initiate a new career, revitalise an old one. They can interact directly with the public, even if they don’t have the financial resources to travel the country touting their books. Yes, there can be downsides but at least social skills can be honed on a more regular basis through social media. Fan mail comes by tweet or email, not post, and are answered in kind. From this, develops relationships that can be cultivated with (relatively) minimal fuss through any number of mediums. 

I love the feel of a hardback book in my hand. I’m an avid collector of them. There will always be a place for traditional publishing. But technology moves on daily. With tablets we can carry a whole library of books (and films) with us in our handbag (or manbag). Isn’t that wonderful? How many books can you take on holiday now without a dent in your weight allowance?  

I published The Knightmare digitally. A new book, a totally different genre from my first novels. The technology scared me senseless, but I got over it. I’m daily coming to grips with the changes in publishing – the do’s and don’ts that are no longer relevant, the opportunities to be embraced. I have things to learn (for example, how to update my website! Aargh!). But if you take the attitude ‘this will be fun’, it will be (even when you’re cursing some glitch in the system).   

Going back to my original point of contemplation, so much has changed in just 20 years. Unless you’re very unlucky, it isn’t a lifetime. And we can only wonder, what’s next? 

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About the author: Deborah Valentine is a British author, editor and screenwriter who once lived in California but far preferred the British weather and fled to London, where she has resided for many years. She is the author of three books published by Victor Gollancz Ltd in the UK, and Bantam and Avon in the US. Unorthodox Methods was the first in the series, followed by A Collector of Photographs and the Ireland-based Fine Distinctions. A Collector of Photographs was short-listed for an Edgar Allan Poe, a Shamus, a Macavity and an Anthony Boucher award. Fine Distinctions was also short-listed for an Edgar. They featured the characters of former California sheriff Kevin Bryce and artist Katharine Craig, charting their turbulent romance amid murder and mayhem. They are available from July 2013 as eBooks on the Orion imprint The Murder Room. With the publication of The Knightmare she has embarked on a new series of books with a supernatural edge. For more visit her website  http://www.deborahvalentine.co.uk/  or The Knightmare Facebook page. She is a Goodreads author.

Giveaway with Guest Author: Carrie Crain author of The Adventures of Austin Girl: The Legend of Diablo

I am excited to welcome author Carrie Crain as she celebrates the release of her delightfully charming tween novel THE ADVENTURES OF AUSTIN GIRL AND THE LEGEND OF DIABLO. She is an author of quirky comedies, adventurous romance and erotic horror including her 2013 erotic horror release, THE CONTRACT. Carrie received her bachelor of arts in Sociology from the University of Oklahoma and studied graduate-level screenwriting and creative writing in fiction at UCLA. When she is not writing, she is either painting, picking up dog poo, playing golf or writing lame jokes while drinking red wine. 

Contact Info: www.carriecrain.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarrieCrainBooks and www.facebook.com/LegendofDiablo

Twitter: @CarrieCrain and @LegendofDiablo

Goodreads: 

Austin Girl, the story’s heroine, is adorable, smart and feisty. She is thirteen going on twenty and she is thrown into a dystopian world where disco rules and the air reeks of polyester. 

I don’t think your title is long enough *laugh*

CC: I wanted to make it longer by adding the words, “magic” and “sword” LOL

Do you have some underlying angst with Disco?

CC: Yes! It’s called polyester and Leif Garrett. Bwahahah

There are many cats or cat-like people in this novel, what’s up with your obsession with felines?

CC: I grew up in the country with cats. There were always stray cats giving birth to kittens in our garage. I used to have nightmares that these cats would turn half human and hiss and make me eat my veggies and do my homework. * I was in 3^rd grade.

Cat-obsessed Carrie is sharing her FUN FACTS from novel:

Fun Facts

1. I used the word “eyeballs” ONLY once. I deleted three because my husband hated that word and would cringe every time he read it. He said the word was distracting. I deleted for you, honey. Which got me musing, what word makes you cringe? Leave a comment on my author website.
2. I wrote the word “eyes” 71 times, I guess. I lost count at fifty.
3. The exclamation point can be found six times.
4. I can’t read maps and am enamored over magic swords.
5. I love disco and wanted Austin Girl to hate disco and everything to do with the ‘70s.
6. Skinny is a hipster.
7. I actually saw a Chevy Pie Wagon at one of those antique classic car shows and pretty much wrote this story around that fact.
8. Go-Go boots was used three times. I’ve seen the word “Go-Go” spelled “Go Go,” “go go,” “go-go,” and “Go-Go.” I stayed consistent and chose “Go-Go.” I’m sure a couple of my editors I hired are freaking out right about now. If any of y’all know for certain, leave a comment on my website.

Make sure you stick around and comment. Follow @CarrieCrain and @LegendofDiablo for double the chances. We’ll be giving away a copy of THE ADVENTURES OF AUSTIN GIRL AND THE LEGEND OF DIABLO either in paperback or e-book (winner’s choice).

Want to purchase Carrie’s novel, The Adventures of Austin Girl and the Legend of Diablo? Here are the buy links:

Amazon (ebook) http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Austin-Legend-Diablo-ebook/dp/B00A7CEYGM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1353002022&sr=8-3&keywords=carrie+crain

Amazon (paperback) - http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Austin-Legend-Diablo-Volume/dp/061563530X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1353002061&sr=8-2&keywords=carrie+crain

B&N.com – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-adventures-of-austin-girl-and-the-legend-of-diablo-carrie-crain/1113508801?ean=2940015504682

Smashwords – http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/251062



Due to lack of interest, this contest has been cancelled.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  Please come by in the new year for more exciting contests!

Gary Grossman, author of Executive Actions and Executive Treason, Shares Thoughts With My Bookshelf on His Exhilarating Spy Thrillers

As part of the Partners in Crime virtual blog tour for author Gary Grossman, I am including a guest post written by the author himself.  I am sure you will agree, upon reading it, that Executive Actions and Executive Treason are brimming with action...just the kind of books to keep you on the edge of your seat while you immerse yourself within the story.  If you love a good thrilling read, these may be just what you are looking for!!!

POLITICAL “REALITY” COMES TO INTERNATIONAL THRILLERS

     The day before September 11, 2001, I was in New York for a meeting with the History Channel.  Someone in the room wondered aloud, “Do you think we’re running out of History?”  This was at a network that was founded on telling historical stories through documentaries.  My company had already produced 50 or more docs and the question brought some light laughter. 

     “We’re always going to be making history.  The question for me,” I asked, “is whether we’re ever going to really learn from it.”

     The world changed the next day.   Two days later I began to drive back to Los Angeles with Robb Weller, my business partner from Weller/Grossman Productions.  Along the way, we convinced the History Channel to let us produce a history on Civil Defense in America.  But I also began thinking about the plot to bring down the World Trade Center towers, which had been years in the making.  I figured, quite rightly, that more sleeper spies were living and working in the United States.  My reasoning then went to other plots that were surely in play.

     Now we are a very impatient society, making and breaking movies or TV shows over a weekend or a few weeks of airing.  We turn nobody’s into celebrities, and then dismiss them as easily.  And we pay very little attention to the news, preferring to be caught up in  the noise  .  But to the Middle East, patience is another thing – centuries long.  To many, the invasion of the Crusaders  remains   recent history  . 

     With that in mind, I eventually focused on a plot that had been incubating for  30 or 40 years rather than just a few.   What would be important enough to wait that long?   The American presidency itself.

     With that notion, “EXECUTIVE ACTIONS” war born. 

     I researched Russian sleeper cell spies operating in the U.S and considered who would run them after the fall of the Soviet Union?  I answered that by transferring the chain of command to a Middle East terrorist bent on revenge. 

     For the sequel, “EXECUTIVE TREASON,” I dug deeper into history, bringing two explosive stories from the 1930s forward to present day.  The first was an actual plot to overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt, conspired by Wall Street.   The second was the power of hate speech as broadcast by Father Charles Coughlin, the influential radio minister who railed against the president, liberals and others, encouraging rage and distrust. 

     I’m a big believer that history repeats itself, and because we rarely learn from the mistakes history teaches us, we keep facing avoidable conflicts and their consequences.   Here were perfect examples that I could write about that clearly drew from today’s headlines and created, for me and for readers, what I like to call “political reality thrillers.”

     My appetite for solid research has been reinforced in my varied career twists and turns as a radio DJ, a former college teacher, a TV historian and author, a journalist and newspaper columnist as well as a documentary producer for History Channel, National Geographic, A&E, PBS, USA Network, Discovery TLC and NBC News.   Each time I delve into an historical subject, I hear the echoes today.  And whenever I begin a contemporary story, the roots are always in the past.

     This was the case for the Emmy winning special “Healing the Hate” (USA Network) through which we examined hate and hate speech in America.  With each segment story we traced the fundamental hatred back decades and centuries.   The same was true for my History Channel documentary “The Night Tulsa Burned,” based on the race riots of 1922, a horrible chapter in American history which has continually played out, and in the documentary we produced, “The Plot to Overthrow FDR.”

     Inspiration also came from my parent’s careers.  My father, a law enforcement officer, was Supervising Investigator for the New York State Civil Service.  My mother ran political campaigns for the mayor of my home town and area congressmen.  Politics and police work were ingrained in me and figure heavily into the characters and characterizations of both ‘EXECUTIVE ACTIONS” and “EXECUTIVE TREASON.”  My background and their influence also figure prominently into the latest sequel, “EXECUTIVE COMMAND,” my next eBook release from Diversion Books, summer 2012.

     I’m a big believer than no one person solves crimes, particularly on a global level.  So, I weave multiple figures that all touching different parts of an investigation simultaneously.  In success, they come together and share what they know.  When they don’t, well, we’ve seen what happens with devastating results in real life.

     My lead characters are a Secret Service Agent, a Boston woman attorney who gets wrapped up in the plots by circumstance, the President of the United States, a charismatic Vermont senator running for the presidency, a revengeful terrorist, a particularly adept assassin, a techno savvy FBI computer geek,  the hate-spewing talk radio host and even some smart civilians.  Action occurs on different levels at the same time, giving the books a heightened, perhaps, filmic pace.

     The authors who really deliver for me include Tom Clancy, in the overall techno thriller world;  Dale Brown for his incredible talent in with Air Force-driven stories; Patrick Robinson for his thrillers about submarines; and of course, Larry Bond, Baldacci, Kussler, Koontz, Meltzer and Palmer.  But I always have to reach for my copy of “Seven Days in May” by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II when I need to get centered.

       Finally, a story to share.  My wife didn’t know I was writing my first novel.   I didn’t tell her and I could get away with writing a few pages a night with little notice.  But one day she came across research I had printed out and inadvertently left on the desk.  Hours later, with the papers in hand, she asked, “Gary, do we have a problem?”  Then more emphatically, she said, “We need to talk.” 

     She was holding my very detailed research about poisons that can go undiscovered in a victim’s body even after sophisticated examination and sniper rifles with pin-point accuracy at hundreds of yards. 

     “Oh those,” I offered. 

     “Yes,  these.”

     “I’m writing a political thriller,” I said. 

     “Sure you are.”

     “Really,” I pleaded.  I opened the word doc and showed her some of the work.  Needless to say, she was greatly relieved to discover I wasn’t planning on killing her.  Now she’s happy, as I am, that “EXECUTIVE ACTIONS” and “EXECUTIVE TREASON” are both out as eBook releases and getting terrific reaction.  

Purchases of Executive Actions and Executive Treason may be made through the following sites:
 www.garygrossman.com or www.diversionbooks.com