Eddie Loves Animals

A couple months into quarantine I decided to write a few short stories, which is something I haven’t done in about twelve years. I wrote this particular story with ‘Noir @ the Bar’ in mind. If you don’t know what that is, N@tB is a “literary” event where a random group of crime writers get together at a bar in some pre-determined city and read their stories to each other (and anyone else who happens to be there) while drinking heavily. It’s always a good time, and I’ve done enough of them over the years to have a pretty good idea what type of story works best in this setting. 

Hint: The more absurd, ridiculous, or funny the better. 

Since another N@tB won’t be happening any time soon, I decided to send this one out into the real world and see what sober people thought of it. The story is called ‘Eddie Loves Animals’, and while I’m not sure it can be called funny, it is definitely absurd and probably a little ridiculous. And if Noir is characterized by fatalistic and cynical people living morally ambiguous lives, then this might be the most noir story I’ve ever written. 

You can find it at TOUGH:

Eddie Loves Animals

The Couple in Room 13

 

I've been sitting on this exciting news for a while, and I can finally share it because today is pub day. 

Simon and Schuster UK, who published my first three novels, is reissuing my first book, Cold Kiss, with a new title and a gorgeous new cover. The book is being reissued in print, and it's available today in ASDA and independent book stores all over the UK. I'm thrilled about this news, and incredibly grateful to the team at S&S for breathing new life into this dark and snowy little tale. 

This one is probably my favorite of all my books, so if you haven't read it yet, now is a great time.

The Couple in Room 13

JR

Broken

For a long time I've wanted to write a story set in the town where I grew up. Beaumont Cove isn't quite Manitou Springs (ocean instead of mountains), but it's close, and I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the vibe of that strange little town. Broken is a slightly different book than the ones I've done before. It's not really a mystery, or a thriller, or a crime noir, but it does have elements of all three. Personally, I just think of it as a story, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Broken

Until next time,

JR

The Ridge

It’s pub day…

I'm excited about this one.

I get excited about them all, but this one in particular because it's a little different for me. It's still a suspense novel, and still built on a hard-boiled/noir foundation, but The Ridge lurks closer to The Twilight Zone, Black Mirror, and Tales from the Darkside realm than any of my previous books. It’s also one of my personal favorites, and I’m thrilled it’s finally out in the world.

I hope you dig it.

The Ridge

Stay tuned, there's more to come...

June 1st

Out of the Black

Publication day is here...

Written in a spare, laconic style reminiscent of Elmore Leonard or Robert B. Parker, this fast-moving, bleak thriller driven by the economic realities of modern America will appeal to fans of suspense fiction from the grittier side of the mean streets.— Library Journal

Out of the Black

There's a lot of stuff coming in the next couple weeks, but here are a few early reviews and links.


Reviews:

Booklist

New York Journal of Books

Out of the Gutter

Spinetingler

Out of the Black

My Life in Stories

Kemper's Book Blog

A Bookworm's World


Interviews:

Lit Reactor

Shelf Awareness

The Reading Frenzy


I also did a live interview on KMTV's "The Morning Blend" earlier today.

KMTV: The Morning Blend


There are a couple radio interviews coming up. The first is this Saturday afternoon, August 31st, with Suspense Magazine at 1:20 CST.  The next one is on Tuesday, September 3rd, at 9:25 am CST, and it's with Back Porch Writer.

Suspense Magazine

Back Porch Writer


There is a lot more coming up in the next several weeks, so please check back. I'm going to do my best to keep this page updated this time around. If you decide pick up a copy of Out of the Black, thank you very much. I hope you enjoy it.

And as always, thank you for reading.

Bestseller

So much for my promise to keep this blog updated.

In my defense, I’ve been working non-stop on the new book, and if all goes well it'll be released sometime in September 2012. I'm also hoping to have a new novella available sometime this summer.

The biggest news so far this year is that Already Gone officially became a national bestseller after hitting #8 on the Wall Street Journal’s Bestseller list in the US.

Wall Street Journal.



The book also reached #1 on Amazon earlier this month, and it hit #5 on the Heatseeker chart in the UK. So, it looks like 2012 is off to a great start.

There’s also a very nice review in The Los Angeles Review of Books this week.

L.A. Review of Books

And here's a radio interview I did last week for the Mulberry Lane Show.

Not much else to report. I’m still ironing out signings and convention appearances for the year, and I’ll be posting updates as things develop.

Until then, thanks for reading.

JR

Happy New Year

Just a quick update to start 2012.

Simon and Schuster released Already Gone in the UK on December 8th, and the response has exceeded all my expectations. It hit the Heatseekers Chart the first week after the release, and climbed into the top five the second week. I have no idea where it is now, but with any luck the momentum is still going strong. I’ll post a new update when I hear more.

A lot of really good reviews have come in since my last update, and I’m flattered so many people are enjoying the book. Here are a couple of my favorites that popped up recently:

The Nerd of Noir @ Spinetingler Magazine

The Lincoln Journal Star

Milo's Rambles


I also did an interview with Ray Banks at his blog. You can read that one here:

The Saturday Boy


Several people have emailed asking about appearances and signed copies. Here’s what I’ve got set up so far:

Left Coast Crime (Sacramento, CA) in March.

Bouchercon (Cleveland, OH) in October.

Thrillerfest (NYC) in July.

Noircon (Philadelphia, PA) in November.


There are a couple tentative in-store signings in the works, but I'll post those when I know the final details. If you want a signed copy, but you don't think you'll make it to any of these stops, just email me here, and I’ll give you an address where you can send your books. We’ll figure it out.

That’s it for now, but since one of my 2012 resolutions is to update this blog more often, you should hear from me again soon. Until then, I want to say thank you to all the readers, reviewers, and friends who picked up copies of the books and helped me spread the word in 2011. I had a fantastic year, my best yet as a writer, and it wouldn’t have happened without everyone’s support.

And as always, thanks for reading.

JR

Still Rolling...

Already Gone has been out for two week, and the response has been fantastic. The book hit the ground running on day one, and it's still going strong. This one is easily my fastest selling novel so far, so thanks to everyone who has picked up a copy or is planning to.

I've been busy working on the new book, so I haven't put together a signing schedule for Already Gone yet. If you'd like your copy signed and you don't want to wait, go ahead and email me at john@thecoldkiss.com, and I'll give you the information on where you can send your books.

In the meantime, I went on KMTV's The Morning Blend today to talk about the books, movie stuff, and writing in general. If you'd like to see how it turned out, here's a link:

The Morning Blend


I also did a interview with Suspense Radio last week. Here's that link:

Suspense Radio.


Here's another interview I did earlier this week. This one with Jedidiah Ayres over at the Barnes & Noble, Ransom Notes blog.

Ransom Notes


And finally, in case you haven't seen it, Duane Swierczynski wrote a great guest review of Already Gone for the Kindle Post blog.

The call is coming from Inside the house.


As always, thank you all for supporting the books.

Already Gone

Today, my third novel is officially published.

If you’d like to read a few early reviews, you can find them below:

Review #1

Review #2

Review #3

Review #4

Review #5

I also wanted to say thank you to all the people I’ve met over the past few years who have stepped in to help me along. I feel lucky to be able to do what I do, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to all the friends, editors, publishers, publicists, marketing teams, critics, radio show hosts, producers, screenwriters, reviewers, and especially the readers who have taken time out of their lives to read my stories. I’m humbled by the support, and I hope you enjoy Already Gone .

Two days...

October 25th, 2011

A Very Good Day...

This afternoon I was out playing golf with this guy, and when I got home, I found this...

And inside, these...

A very good day, indeed...

And for those who are interested, here's a link to the Channel 6 News story that ran last night.

Countdown!

Five days.

After more than a year of waiting, there's only five days left until The Cold Kiss is released in North America. A part of me still doesn't believe everything that's happened over the past year, but I know it'll hit me the first time I walk into the store and see the books on the shelves... I can't wait.

If you want the book delivered, you can always pre-order it. Here are a few links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Powells


Or if you want the audio book, you can get it here:

Blackstone Audio


In other news, I added another stop on the book tour. This one in Minneapolis at Once Upon A Crime. I'll be there on Saturday August 7th from 1:00 to 3:00 to sign and discuss the book. If you're in the area, stop by.

Also, if you're in Omaha and you're interested, I'm going to be on channel 6, WOWT-TV, tonight at 10:00 talking about the books and the release of The Cold Kiss on Tuesday.

Tour Dates

The Cold Kiss is going to be released on July 6th, 30 days from today.

Finally!

Starting that week in July, I'll be stopping at a few bookstores and conventions around the country to discuss the book, writing, publishing, or whatever else anyone wants to talk about. I'll also sign copies, of course.

Here's where I'm going to be so far:

July 8th - 11th, I'll be at the Grand Hyatt for Thrillerfest in New York.
July 17th, Mystery One in Milwaukee, WI.
July 24th, Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ.
July 31st, Mysteries to Die For, and The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles, CA.
August 14th, Murder By The Book in Houston, TX.
October 14th - 17th, I'll be at Bouchercon in San Francisco, CA.
November 4th - 7th, I'll be at Noircon in Philadelphia, PA

I'm looking to add stops in Colorado, Nebraska, Minneapolis, Portland, and Seattle before the end of the year.

Also, if you're in the UK, I'll be in London for the UK release in early September. No set dates yet, but I'll post them as soon as I know.

If anyone has ideas for other stores/cities I should hit, post it in the comments or drop me a line at john@thecoldkiss.com and let me know. I'll see what I can do.

Oh, and Michael Stewart was kind enough to do a feature interview with me for the International Thriller Writers. If you want to take a look, it's up on their website. Here's the LINK.

AmazonEncore Cover Art

Here's the cover art for the AmazonEncore edition of The Grove.





Stark and simple with a cool, old school vibe. I love it.

Amazon Encore

—BIG NEWS —

We finalized the deal a couple weeks ago, and I’m excited to announce that The Grove is going to be published in the US through AmazonEncore, the new publishing branch of Amazon.com.

The release date is November 2nd, and I can’t wait to see this one in print. Actually, I can’t wait to see both of the books in print, but The Grove is extra special to me. It’s my first novel, and even though it’s not the first one to be published, it is the book that started it all.

Everyone at AmazonEncore has been great to work with. And let me tell you, these guys move fast. In the two weeks since we finalized the contract, they’ve already edited the book and sent it back to me for revisions. They’ve written promotional copy and worked with me to get everything just right. And if things go well, I should see brand new cover proofs later this week.

Stay tuned…

My First Review

The Nerd of Noir over at Spinetingler Magazine posted the very first review of THE COLD KISS.

Check it out HERE.

Cover Art UK

Here's the cover art for the UK edition of Cold Kiss.



Simon and Schuster sent the cover proofs and they look incredible.

Optioned!

I got the news from my agent yesterday that that the movie option for my novel THE COLD KISS was finalized and that it went to Jane Startz (ELLA ENCHANTED, THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD), with Ole Bornedal (NIGHTWATCH, JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY) to direct.

I couldn’t be more excited about this. The people at Jane Startz are passionate about this project, and Ole Bornedal is absolutely brilliant. His film, JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY, is stunning. If you haven’t seen it and would like to check it out, you can stream it on Netflix.

Here’s the trailer.



What a great way to start the year.

Cover Art

Here's the cover art for the US hardcover edition of The Cold Kiss.




The people at Tor did an amazing job. I couldn't be happier.