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Showing posts from 2017

On Gender and Jedi

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Fair warning: beyond here be spoilers (not to mention deep-dive Star Wars nerdery). If you haven't seen The Last Jedi yet, you may want to navigate away. I'm serious. If you keep reading, you will be spoiled. This is your final warning. From here on out, it's all spoilers, all the time.

BLOOD BUSINESS is Now Available!

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Yesterday, I had elections on the brain, so I failed to celebrate a bit of book news: Hex Publishers' latest anthology, BLOOD BUSINESS , is now available! BLOOD BUSINESS, edited by Mario Acevedo and Joshua Viola, is actually two anthologies in one—each featuring its own cover. (The image I've included here is the back cover, because, well, my name's on it.) All of the stories are gritty crime tales, but half of them take place in the real world, while the other half contain supernatural elements. My story, "The Group Home," is the latter. No matter your preference, the lineup—which includes Paul Goat Allen, Betsy Dornbusch, Jason Heller, Stephen Graham Jones, Mark Stevens, and Alyssa Wong, to name but a few—can't be beat. Grab yourself a copy today!

The Haunting Hour

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Dustin Tucker , who starred in the irreverent Portland Stage production of Sherlock Holmes' "The Hound of the Baskervilles," for which I participated in a Q&A last year, is adapting my short story "The Well" for the stage as part of his Haunting Hour series. The Haunting Hour runs from October 25th to November 4th, and also features work from Tess Gerritsen, John Cariani, and many more. Bob Keyes wrote  a fantastic article about it for Maine Today . If you're interested in attending, you can get tickets here . I'll be on hand for the Saturday, October 28th performance , if you'd like to say hello or get a book signed. I'll have a few books on sale for the duration of the run, but please feel free to bring your own copies on the 28th if you'd like. I hope to see you there!

RED RIGHT HAND is Now Available in Paperback!

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It's official: RED RIGHT HAND is out in paperback! To celebrate, I swung by John Valeri's blog for a chat ... and if you leave a comment on the interview, you can win one of five free copies! What're you waiting for? Get clicking , and good luck!

Appearance: Cold River Radio Show, 9/10

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New Englanders! If you're as big a fan of old-fashioned variety shows as I am, I hope you'll join me Sunday, September 10th, at 7PM in Intervale, New Hampshire for the Cold River Radio Show! It promises to be an amazing night of story and song. (Don't worry; I'm not providing any of the song.)

BREAKOUT Foreword

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Donald Westlake is one of my literary idols. His Parker books—written under the pen name Richard Stark—comprise, in my opinion, the finest crime series ever written. The series (twenty-four books strong) kicked off in 1962 with THE HUNTER and concluded with DIRTY MONEY, which was published shortly before Westlake's death in 2008. Thanks in part to a twenty-three year hiatus between 1974's BUTCHER'S MOON and 1997's COMEBACK, the series has never been in print in its entirety... but that's about to change. The University of Chicago Press began reissuing the series in 2008, with forewords from such crime fiction luminaries as Charles Ardai, Lawrence Block, and Dennis Lehane. Next Tuesday, September 5th, they're releasing the last four books in the series. NOBODY RUNS FOREVER and ASK THE PARROT feature forewords by Duane Swierczynski. Laura Lippman penned the foreword for DIRTY MONEY. BREAKOUT includes a foreword by me. How psyched am I? Very. Westlake&#

RED RIGHT HAND Nominated For An Anthony!

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RED RIGHT HAND  has been nominated for the 2017 Anthony Award for Best Novel! Thanks to all who included it on their ballots, and congratulations to my fellow nominees. It's an honor to be counted among such talented folks.

A Numbers Game

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Before I pivoted to writing full-time, I was a scientist. A molecular biologist, to be exact. I wore a lab coat and everything. Trust me, it was very impressive. Like many scientists, I’m more than passingly acquainted with statistics. I’m not saying I’m a wiz or anything, but I know enough to get by. When you spend half your time generating data and the other half analyzing it, a little number crunching is unavoidable. The funny thing about numbers is, people take them as gospel, when in fact they can be manipulated in all sorts of ways—and for all sorts of reasons. Eighteen months ago, the media went nuts over a World Health Organization report that classified bacon as a carcinogen. The statistic they latched onto was that eating bacon made you 18% likelier to develop colorectal cancer. Pretty terrifying, right? Not really. See, your baseline risk of developing colorectal cancer is roughly 5%. 18% of 5% is 0.9%. So in reality, eating bacon raises your risk of colorectal c

Scene of the Crime

On Monday, January 30th, Portland Stage is doing something pretty cool: they're putting on staged readings of works from several local crime writers. The folks they've invited to participate are a talented bunch. Gerry Boyle . Brenda Buchanan . Paul Doiron . Julia Spencer-Fleming. And yours truly. They asked us each for several excerpts from our novels that might play well on stage. I couldn't resist sending along a couple short stories too. I thought it'd be a kick to see one performed in its entirety. Apparently, the fine folks at Portland Stage agreed, because in addition to killer excerpts from Gerry, Brenda, Paul, and Julia, they'll be tackling my darkly comic short "Eight Pounds," which first appeared in Thuglit in '09. The event is open to the public and pay-what-you-can (I understand $10 is pretty standard). A complimentary wine and beer reception kicks off at 6:30PM. Performances begin at 7:00PM. If you'd like more details, you can che