A BIG thank you

A BIG thank you to all my fans for your support and encouragement during my first year as a published author. I appreciate you all.

Carved in Memory is free

Carved in Memory, the prequel to Arctic Wargame, is free today and tomorrow. Enjoy it from this link, and see how things started for Justin Hall, “the Canadian James Bond.”

 

Friday’s Writing Advice from Mark Harril Saunders

Today’s writing advice comes from Mark Harril Saunders, author of Ministers of Fire. This is Mr. Saunders’s advice:

Don’t be constrained by the genre. Plot is important, for entertaining your reader but perhaps more importantly for revealing your characters. Write a good novel, and don’t worry about what category it’s in.

Fangs Out by David Freed

Fangs Out is a wonderful, slow-cooked to perfection, mystery thriller.

It begins with a powerful scene of the execution of a man sentenced to death for the murder of a young woman. The dying man claims his innocence. But don’t they all? This man, however, reveals the identity of the real murderer and his strong motive.

Enter Cordell Logan. Our almost broke flight instructor is hired by Hub Walker—the man whose daughter was killed—to dig up information refuting the dead man’s claim. An easy sounding job for ten grand; who can turn it down? But Logan finds out really soon that Walker is not completely straightforward with him.

Mr. Freed unfolds the tale and moves forward the plot very well. There are interesting characters, fully fleshed out and with depth and specks of humor spread out throughout the book. The dialogue is real, and the character’s actions are logical and plausible.

Logan begins his investigation, and the questions he asks upset quite a few people. He finds out many do not want to talk about this case, and they warn him to drop it. Then another woman ends up dead. Coincidence? Or is someone trying to silence any potential witnesses? What will Logan do, and what will it take to discover the truth?

Free short story, promotion & newsletter

ARCTIC WARGAME, the first spy thriller in the wildly popular Justin Hall series, is $2.99 until Saturday. Find out how the story started in this book with 51 reviews and 3.9 stars on Amazon.

 

My short story, THE LAST CONFESSION, is free today and tomorrow. Enjoy a great Mafia tale of betrayal, justice and revenge.

 

 

If you are not in my fans e-mail list, please enjoy my May 2013 Newsletter, your source of information about my books, promotions, deals and much more.

Pirate Alley by Stephen Coonts

Pirate Alley is one of the hottest thrillers of the summer.

The reader is introduced to CIA operative Tommy Carmellini in the prologue of this page-turner. Carmellini is running a secret operation in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, where his team snatches a computer geek working for one of the worst pirates in Somalia. Chapter One begins aboard a luxury cruise in the Gulf of Aden, close to Somalia, and the reader knows the two threads will connect pretty soon.

Mr. Coonts is undoubtedly one of the masters of the action thriller. There are battles and stealth operations, fast-paced dialogue and the political and strategic discussions in the background. The storyline moves fast, with barely a moment or two for the reader to think about what just happened and what will happen next.

The cruise falls prey of Somali pirates, determined to ransom all its passengers. The Americans put together a brave operation to cut off the cruise engines, but the operation is unsuccessful. The passengers are moved off the ship, to an old, ruined fortress. Ransom is sought, but Al-Qaida also seems to have some interest in these hostages, and they are not interested in money.

What will Carmellini do? How will he save the hostages? What will be the true cost of this operation to everyone involved?

Friday’s Writing Advice from Camilla Ceder

Today’s writing advice comes from Camilla Ceder, Swedish author of crime fiction like Babylon and Frozen Moment. This is Ms. Ceder’s advice:

In my opinion the most important thing, whatever you write, is to think about what you are personally interested in. What kind of book do you want to write? The crime genre can be formulaic and one can experience pressure to be commercial, to stick to the guidelines of what a crime novel “should” look like. To follow someone else’s agenda takes the fun out of writing and it’s impossible to satisfy everyone’s taste regardless. That’s why it’s essential to stick to your own expression, to what you think is important and interesting.

DOUBLE AGEИTS

I began working today on DOUBLE AGEИTS, the fourth spy thriller in Justin Hall series. I’m trying something new: shorter chapters and a faster pace. The first 1,200 words are done, covering the prologue and a part of the first chapter.

Carved in Memory is FREE

Enjoy CARVED IN MEMORY, the prequel to Arctic Wargame, for free until the end of Thursday: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0084R0196 It has 13 reviews and a rating of 4.3 stars

The Hit by David Baldacci

The Hit will become the next bestseller of Mr. Baldacci.

Will Robie meets his equal in The Hit. Jessica Reel is as skilled as he is, and she has started hunting the Agency’s officials. No one is safe while Jessica is out there. Robie is assigned to find Jessica and rein her in. He soon discovers the Agency is withholding information from him.

Mr. Baldacci does an excellent job in drawing in the reader, with lots of action from the first page. Many authors get lazy and dull after reaching fame. Mr. Baldacci, like his character, Robie, is at the top of his game. Short chapters make for a quick read and neck-breaking action follow seeming quiet moments of plotting and scheming. The dialogue is smooth and believable, and the moves of the characters are logical and consistent.

As Robie began to look for the agent gone rogue, he’s almost killed, then saved by Jessica. He realizes things are not as they seem. What is the reason Jessica is bent on destroying the Agency? What is the secret Blue Man not telling Robie? And how will Robie go about finding and stopping Jessica?