Yearly Archives: 2011

Holly West > What’s New > 2011

Top 10 in ’11

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This year I kept track of the books I read using Good Reads. I set an initial goal of reading 25 books, but upped it to 35 sometime mid-year when I realized I was way ahead of schedule. I'm at 33 now with three weeks to go until we ring in the new year.

Here are my top ten picks for 2011, in no particular order:

1) A DROP OF THE HARD STUFF by Lawrence Block

Drop

What can I say? This book was a treat. I thought we'd seen the last of Matthew Scudder, one of my all-time favorite private eyes in fiction, but thankfully, Mr. Block decided he had another story to tell about Matt Scudder and the result is one of the strongest Scudder novels yet.

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Guest Review: POSSESS by Gretchen McNeil

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Possess_coverMy friend Kate Carruth is a 13-year-old avid reader who was kind enough to stop by my blog today and give her thoughts about Gretchen McNeil's debut novel, POSSESS. Thanks, Kate!

The novel Possess by Gretchen McNeil is a unique and equally thrilling story. With a tough and rebellious heroine and a mysterious cast, the whole plot makes a great story that you just do not want to put down. McNeil does a skillful and artistic job of piecing everything together in her very first novel.

Possess starts off with a bang and no lag at all. The main character, Bridget, comes off as any other good Catholic girl who cares next to nothing about what people think about her. And then you realize, after you learn of her father’s murder and a demonic experience of banishment, she as far from your typical teenage girl as one can get. After hearing cold, monstrous voices in the walls and feeling the atmosphere around her change, she seeks out help from the exorcist Monsignor Renault, who teaches her how to use her newfound power. Everything changes when a suspicious character turns up, Father Santos. He warns Bridget of what she is and is surprised to hear that she doesn’t already know. Once a close friend of hers is murdered at her church, the only person she can trust is luscious, but annoyingly overprotective, Matt Quinn. That’s when the story really begins to take off and the mysteries unravel.

I’ve been super excited to start reading Possess over my Thanksgiving break. I am pleased to say that the story was simply astounding. The main character, Bridget, is loveable and somebody you can totally relate to (except for her exorcism powers, that is). The humor in this book is much like the humor Rick Riordan shows in his Percy Jackson series to ease the darkness and tension of some parts. Also, the right information is given to you at the right time, unlike some books that throw a boatload of knowledge at you out of the blue. Another one of my favorite aspects of this book is the romance. You really feel how the character feels for another character, and the love isn’t excessive’ cheesy, or sappy. This is finally a book that fits that criteria. If you liked Banished by Sophie Littlefield or the fantasy bits of the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Myers, I highly suggest this book. Possess is aimed toward people who love thrillers with dark humor. It is most definitely a book that will please everyone.

This novel is surely one that will please all who read it. Possess is an incredible story, the first book written by Gretchen McNeil. I am very impressed with her ability to write for she has a really special gift. If you’re searching for an exciting, captivating read that never skips a beat, look no further than Possess. Trust me, it’s seriously awesome and worth your time.

I’m Just Drawn That Way

Posted on Categories Writing, InspirationLeave a comment

I'm sitting here listening to Levon Helm sing The Mountain. It's a song about coal mining that's touches me so deeply that it makes me want to weep. It also makes me want to write beautifully tragic stories.

It got me thinking about things and places I'm drawn to, that I've always been drawn to. I don't know, maybe my viewing of COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER at the tender age of twelve influenced me (and coincidentally, Levon Helm played Loretta Lynn's father in the film), but I do have an attraction to the culture of coal mining, West Virginia, and Appalachia. Mind you, it's a romanticized version (like if Disneyland had a "Coal Mining Land"), but an attraction just the same. And I don't mean to make light of coal mining–I know it's a tough, dangerous life.

Someday I'd like to write a story set in this world, but my greatest fear is not doing it justice. It deserves to have justice done.

But that said, I felt the same way about London, specifically 17th century London. I honestly don't know why I thought I could write a novel set during this time (especially my first novel), but somehow I managed to do it. I'm still working on doing it justice, but I have no doubt I will.

So there's hope for my Appalachian mystery yet.

Other things I'm drawn to:

— Voodoo and other African religions and how they adapted themselves to Christianity
— Storyville in New Orleans
— California Gold Rush country (I grew up there)

Will I ever write stories or novels about these places/things? I probably will. But one thing just struck me–everything I'm compelled to write about starts with a place or a time in history, or a theme. The characters come second. I don't mean to say they come second in the actual writing, but the thing that forms first for me is the setting, and then I mold the characters to fit into it. I wonder if that will change as I continue writing?

What about you? What are you drawn to?

 

 

An Ode (of sorts) to NEEDLE Magazine

Posted on Categories Writing, Inspiration, Books2 Comments on An Ode (of sorts) to NEEDLE Magazine

Don't know why, but the more I look at this cover, the more enthralled I am by it:

Needle_cover

Sure, part of the reason is because my name's on it, I ain't gonna lie. It could also be the nipples. But John Hornor Jacobs, the Creative Director at NEEDLE: a Magazine of Noir, designs some kick ass covers. I've been a fan for a long time.

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Dani Amore: My Path to E-Publication

Posted on Categories Writing, Path to Publication, Author Interviews, BooksLeave a comment

Dani Amore is the author of DEATH BY SARCASM and DEAD WOOD. Today she was kind enough to stop by the blog and tell us about her path to publication.

I decided to become an independent author because a famous writer gave his reason for why you shouldn’t self-publish.  Basically, he said that if you’ve written a novel and can’t attract interest from an agent, you probably haven’t written a good enough book. So don’t self publish.

I had written a novel that attracted attention from an agent. In fact, I’d written two different novels that had attracted two different agents.

The agents had several things in common:

1.  They both represented New York Times bestselling authors.
2.  They both believed in my respective crime novels.
3.  They each represented me (one in 2003, the other, in 2005)
4. They absolutely could not sell my respective crime novels.  Despite going out to many publishers.

So I after the second agent couldn’t sell the second book, I found myself without agent representation.

I’m feeling pretty low.  I’ve taken to calling myself Miss-Can’t-Sell-A-Book.

Of course, I can’t stay away from the blank page.  So I write a thriller.  My most ambitious work to date.  The manuscript is 600 pages or so.  110,000 words.  It’s dark. Gritty.  Bad-ass. I love it.

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Let’s Get Personal

Posted on Categories Writing, Books3 Comments on Let’s Get Personal

Nazareth_ Child2On Friday night I went to a launch party for Darrell James's debut novel, NAZARETH CHILD. It's a book I've been looking forward to, and it was great to celebrate the release with Darrell and well, a hundred or so of his best friends. The great thing is that many of those friends are my friends too.

The following morning, I tweeted "I talked so much last night my throat is sore today." See, you get me in a room full of writing friends and I get so excited to have someone to talk to about writing and books, I can't shut up.

Which brings me to the subject of this post.

On Monday, the esteemed Steve Weddle asked this question on DO SOME DAMAGE:

"Wasn't Twitter supposed to kill crime fiction conventions? You make friends online, you don't need to meet them 'in person' to know them. Isn't that the, ahem, conventional wisdom?"

For me, the answer is no.

Don't get me wrong. Twitter is the single most useful tool I've found for networking on a daily basis. Every contact I've made in the publishing world started there, but I never intended for them to end there.

From the beginning, I made an effort to go out and meet the people I connected with on Twitter in person. If I recall correctly, the first Twitter friend I met was Linda Brown from the Mystery Bookstore. Soon after I met James Scott Bell. When I became aware of conferences, both local and national, I attended them. At my first Bouchercon in Indianapolis, I not only met Ali Karim, a twitter buddy for whom I have the highest regard, but two of my writing idols, David Liss and Sue Grafton. I walked away from that conference higher than a kite, and it wasn't because I'd spent too much time in the hotel bar.

I could go on and on, but I won't.

Social media (primarily Facebook and Twitter, and to a much lesser extent, this blog and other websites) have all been important in my journey to publication. They are, in many ways, crucial to getting published, and I could quite easily argue they're all you need (well, besides a kick ass book and some luck).

But I need the personal contact too. I need to be able to sit at the hotel bar and geek out and be a fan girl and talk incessantly about books and writing to like-minded people until my voice gets hoarse. I love doing it online, but that personal contact, however infrequent, strengthens the common bond we all have: a love for books.

And now, if you'll pardon me, I need to go pack for Bouchercon 2011. See you there, my friends.

Looking for a Few Good Writers

Posted on Categories Books, Question o' the Day, Writing, Path to Publication, Author Interviews, Inspiration3 Comments on Looking for a Few Good Writers

Hey Author Friends:

I have a few features on my blog that I've been ignoring for far too long, and now, with your help, I'd like to put a little more effort into them.

I'm looking for authors (mainly crime fiction, but I'll consider others as well) to contribute to "Path to Publication," "Author Interviews," "Question o' the Day," or any other topic you might like to guest blog about. This blog is kind of geared toward aspiring authors, so anything in that vein would be great. I'd especially like to beef up the "Path to Publication" section because everyone loves a good success story, don't they?

The only caveat is I reserve the right to refuse if I don't think your content is right for my audience. Oh, and I don't get paid, so neither do you, except in all those book sales your presence on my blog might generate. I may add more caveats if I find I get too many requests or something like that. We'll see.

Anyway, I like to promote authors whose work I like. So that's what the purpose of all this is, as well as to give readers some content that informs, inspires, and/or entertains.

Contact me here in the comments, on Twitter, or on Facebook if you'd like to participate.

My Life as a Book

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Pop Culture Nerd posted this on Facebook today and I couldn't resist. The object is to fill in these autobiographical statements using only titles of books you've read this year (2011).

I grew up in: Calabama (Steve Brewer) 

Now I live in: L.A. Noire (Megan Abboott, Lawrence Block, Duane Swierczynski, et al)

Weekends at my house are: In the Garden of Beasts (Erik Larson)

My ex was: The Cold Kiss (John Rector) 

My superhero secret identity is: Queenpin (Megan Abbott)

You wouldn't like me when I'm angry because: (it's not) Fun & Games (Duane Swierczynski)

I'd win a gold medal in: A Drop of the Hard Stuff (Lawrence Block)

I'd pay good money for: Dope (Sara Gran)

If I were president, I would: (say) Heads You Lose (Lisa Lutz & David Hayward)

When I don't have good books it feels like: The End of Everything (Megan Abbott)

Loud talkers at the movies should be: (banished) In the Living Room of the Dead (Eric Stone)

Hey, that was fun! Leave your own answers on your blog (send me the link) or in the comment section.

 

 

 

I’m Possessed!

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Gretchen McNeil's debut novel, POSSESS, comes out on August 23, and to celebrate, I got a new tattoo:

Possesstatpic

Wanna see a close up?

Tat_closeup

Okay, so maybe the tattoo is just temporary. I love Gretchen, but not that much. The tattoo is the one sported by Bridgit Liu, the protagonist in POSSESS.

About POSSESS:

Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, but the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear.  Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.

Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession.  But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons.  Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king.

Check out the kick-ass trailer:

 Mark your calendars, boys and girls. POSSESS comes out on August 23, 2011 and I promise you, it's a book you're not gonna want to miss. 

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