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.
I don’t send it out. Instead, I write a new crime novel.
It’s fast. It’s slick. It’s got a great bad guy and a hero that you just want to drink a few dozen beers with.
I don’t send the book out. I’m starting to feel like the crime fiction version of Emily Dickinson – jamming poems into shoeboxes.
I stack the new mystery manuscript on top of the thriller manuscript, which is now sitting on top of the other two mystery manuscripts.
The blank page beckons again. I return, a slave who simply cannot live without her master’s lash.
I complete a brand-new mystery. It features a Los Angeles area private investigator with a sarcastic sense of humor, a family of comedians, and a penchant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Her name is Mary Cooper and I fucking love her.
And then the Kindle arrives. EBooks begin to sell.
I thought about the quote from the famous author. Objective industry insiders had seen merit in my book. And I decided I would e-publish.
I take DEATH BY SARCASM off the top of the pile. I like the book. I like the character. It’s marketable. How many millions of people either have a sarcastic sense of humor, or have a loved one who does? It’s the perfect gift for that special, sarcastic someone in your life.
DEATH BY SARCASM goes live. As of right now, it’s in the Amazon Top 10 for hardboiled mysteries, and mysteries with women sleuths. It’s ranked about #50 in Amazon’s Top 100 Mysteries.
The next book, the one sitting on top of the thriller, was a mystery called DEAD WOOD. It’s set in my hometown of Grosse Pointe Michigan and features a private investigator who is unlike any other p.i. you’ve read. Throw in an ex-con on a rampage, and a mysterious hired killer, and it’s a slam-bang ride.
I sent DEAD WOOD out for blurbs. Here’s what came back:
“Dead Wood is a fast-paced, unpredictable mystery with an engaging narrator and a rich cast of original supporting characters.” –Thomas Perry, Edgar-winning author of The Butcher’s Boy.
“From its opening lines, Dani Amore and DEAD WOOD recall early James Ellroy: this is the first new private eye novel in a long time that just swept me along for the ride. Amore is definitely one to watch.” — Edgar-nominated author Craig McDonald
“Dani Amore’s writing reminds me of the great thriller writers — lean, mean, no nonsense prose that gets straight to the point and keeps you turning those pages.” –author Robert Gregory Browne
“As gritty as the Detroit streets where it’s set, DEAD WOOD grabs you early on and doesn’t let go. As fine a debut as you’ll come across this year, maybe any year.” –author Tom Schreck
DEAD WOOD went live a few weeks ago. Sales are steadily growing.
Next up is a thriller, and then the sequel to DEATH BY SARCASM. Hey, when someone tells you why shouldn’t do something, sometimes, it’s the perfect reason you should.
Many thanks to Dani for visiting the blog today! Want to know more? You can find her here:
DEATH BY SARCASM:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Smashwords
DEAD WOOD:
Barnes & Noble
Amazon
Smashwords
Website: daniamore.com
Twitter: @authordaniamore
Email: dani@daniamore.com
DEAD WOOD book trailer:
http://www.vimeo.com/28528987
Support Dani’s Kickstarter project here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/daniamore/crime-novel-murder-with-sarcastic-intent
Dani’s Independent Author Network page:
http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/dani-amore.html