Movie Review and Contest

In continued celebration of Louisiana Longshot's release, I'm having a drawing for a $50 egift card to BN or Amazon - winner's choice. Just drop by my Facebook author page and leave a post on the $50 egift card contest post at the top of the page. Be sure and Like the page while you're there, if you haven't already.

In other news, the print version of LL is now available at Amazon. It should push to other sites over the next couple of weeks. If you're a bookstore owner or buyer, you can register as a reseller through Createspace and purchase the books at a discount for your business.

Now, for the movie review: I saw the new Spiderman flick last week. I think it's the best version yet. For those that haven't seen it, it's not a continuation of the other movies. This is a reboot - meaning it takes you back to the beginning. This version had Peter Parker infected by the spider while still in high school and covers his first love Gwen Stacy. The actors were fab, but then, I love Emma Stone.

So, if you're into the superhero remakes, this one is definitely worth seeing.

And I've already made reservations for the upcoming Batman movie. Love me some Christian Bale. :)

Have you seen anything good lately?

Deadly DeLeon

Guest Blog: Allison Leotta

Today I'm hosting a really exciting special guest. I met Allison Leotta at a booksigning at Turn the Page bookstore, where we both signed alongside such big names as Nora Roberts, Robyn Carr, and Elizabeth Boyle. (I think Allison and I were the only ones with only one book out. LOL)

She is a former federal sex crimes prosecutor who is now a legal thriller author. She also runs the Prime Time Crime Review, which the American Bar Association calls one of their favorite legal blogs. Her debut novel, Law of Attraction, was absolutely incredible, and I'm looking forward to digging into the follow-up, Discretion, this weekend.

But don't take my word for it. David Baldacci calls it "a first-rate thriller" and Lisa Scottoline says it's "fast, fresh, and addictive." The Providence Journal calls her "a female John Grisham."

Not only can she craft some killer fiction, but she's smart and gorgeous. If she wasn't so darn nice, I'd probably hate her! LOL (Sorry, Allison...it's the truth. J)

____________________________________

Thanks for having me here on Killer Fiction!  Can I get a nickname for the day?  Maybe Allison “Legal Tender” Leotta? 

I’m excited that my second novel, DISCRETION, came out on Tuesday!  Like my first, LAW OF ATTRACTION, this book is based on my former job. For twelve years, I prosecuted sex crimes and domestic violence as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C.   DISCRETION focuses on the sex trade and centers on the mystery of an escort’s death in a congressman’s office .  In writing the story, my challenge wasn’t finding real-life material, but deciding how to explain details that might be shocking for readers to hear.

             As a prosecutor, I saw the cases the press would glamorize – high-end escort services like the “D.C. Madam” and New York’s “Millionaire Madam.”  But I also saw that both high-priced call girls and low-rent streetwalkers were among the most vulnerable of women to being raped, assaulted, and murdered.  I wanted to understand the lives of these madams and their employees: why so many college girls choose such a high-risk route, the secret lives they have to juggle, the dangers they face every time they meet a client.

            The case of the D.C. Madam particularly interested me.  She operated a high-end escort service catering to politicians, diplomats, and wealthy businessmen in the nation’s capital.  My office prosecuted and convicted her, but before she was sentenced, she committed suicide.  There were plenty of people – wealthy, powerful men – with an incentive to shut her up.  My sensible prosecutor side dismissed such speculation, but the crime novelist in me wondered if someone might have killed the madam, and how it might have been done.

            About the same time, I visited the U.S. Capitol and walked through the Rotunda, where famous oil paintings of America’s birth cover the walls.  In the paintings, hundreds of men are portrayed – but I saw only four women.  Of the four, two are naked and on their knees.  I started thinking about the sexual power dynamics that have surrounded our country from its founding, and which still surround us today.  I started formulating the ideas that became DISCRETION.  Those paintings in the Rotunda became part of my first chapter.

            In researching DISCRETION, I drew on my experiences working with sex workers within the criminal justice system, and former sex workers who now serve as victims’ advocates, helping others leave the business.  I also spoke with additional law enforcement officials and social workers to view different angles of the sex trade.  I was gratified by the candor with which people talked to me about the facts, the fantasies, and the fetishes that are serviced, and the methods that are employed in this often cut-throat business. 

            There were definitely chapters I didn’t let my dad read!  But in order to portray the sex trade as it really is, I felt that I had to deliver some of the authentic real-life details. 

Thanks, Allison! 

What do you think?  When researching a book, are there details you find too shocking too write about?  Are there times a writer should gloss things over a bit to protect their readers’ sensibilities?  Or should you just edit out the chapters you let your parents read?  J For the non-writer, purely readers out there...do you want to read the unvarnished reality, or would you rather authors gloss over some of the details?

Win a Kindle For Your Kids!

Do you love your Kindle? Do your kids love it, too?

Stop handing it over for them to borrow -- win them one of their own!

Through TOMORROW, July 7, a group of 27 indie Yound Adult and Middle Grade authors are running the Kindle INDIEpendence Day contest! We're giving away a grand prize of a Kindle Fire, preloaded with 27 MG and YA e-books. But wait! There's more! First prize is a basic Kindle, also preloaded with the e-books. And runners up will win e-books! Don't delay -- enter today!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Biggest Parental Sacrifice To Date

Recently my son (who recently turned 13) was accepted into a school that seems like it will be absolutely fantastic for him. The school is for what is called "twice exceptional (2e)" students. That's a clever way of referring to gifted students who have learning disabilities. It's very hard to find a program that addresses a learning disability without dumbing down the academic curriculum but this school has developed a stellar reputation for doing just that over its short fourteen years of existence. My son is as excited about it as I am. I really think this school will be a blessing.

...but maybe not a blessing for my pocketbook. It's going to cost me over $34,000 a year. It's an intimidating sum and there simply was no way I could pay for it by just writing books even though my first self-published novel (Vanity Vengeance & A Weekend In Vegas) is doing pretty well (thank you!!) as are my other books published by Mira/Harlequin, particularly the audiobooks (thank you again!). In the fall I will be shopping a pilot along with a television/film production company who's interested in working with me and I've been told that I'm first in line to write the pilot script for a show that is currently being considered by a studio. Oh, and I just landed a three book contract with Simon & Schuster for an erotic fiction trilogy AND audible.com contacted me and is working with me to produce my self-published novel as an audiobook (due to the popular demand of their customers). So that's all good....buuut...$34,000 a year???  And I don't know if anything will come of the Hollywood stuff. I don't know how the Simon & Schuster books or the audiobook will ultimately sell. I'm also a single mom. I'm exclusively responsible for keeping a roof over our heads, buying us healthy groceries, paying for our health insurance, filling up the gas tank and so on and so forth.  Tacking on over thirty grand onto all the rest of it is a serious hardship.

But we've tried other schools, A LOT of other schools and this is the first one that I've seen where I thought, yes, this can get him where he wants to go and give him the opportunities he deserves.  So I decided that in addition to everything else I would try my hand at selling luxury cars. I'm not going to tell you what dealership hired me or what kind of luxury cars I'm selling because they're very protective of their brand and I think they have mixed feelings about having it mentioned in the same blog as a plug for an erotic fiction novel.  That said they are FUN cars to drive and so very, very pretty so if you know someone in the LA area who wants to buy/lease a fun, pretty car from an erotic fiction novelist (and really, who doesn't) by all means email me through Facebook or direct message me through Twitter and I'll give you the 411.

Obviously car sales is a full time job, as is writing. This summer I sent my son away to various summer camps and to hang out with family members who live out of town so I can work without worrying about him sitting home alone or getting into trouble. He's having a great time but damn do I miss him. Today it's the 4th of July, the first 4th of July I've ever spent without him. I purposely didn't make plans with friends for the afternoon so I could work and I actually got a lot done and I even think I'll meet my August 1st deadline for the first of the erotic fiction novels. But now, as I sit at home, I miss him so much it literally hurts. I did talk to him on the phone. He's going to be watching the fireworks with my brother and some of his cousins whom he hasn't seen for ages. He misses me but I know he'll enjoy the quality time with his uncle and peers. I also know that all this work is forcing me to do what I should be doing anyway....letting go a little bit. He's a teenager. Even if I'm working less next year there's a chance he'll want to spend the 4th of July with friends. I've been by his side for the vast majority of his life and that was appropriate for his younger years. But the very fact that I'm having a harder time with this than he is tells me that he's ready for more space and he's able to deal with having a mom who has to spend a lot more time working.

Of course I'll still be there for all his special events (school plays and whatnot) and I'll drop him off and pick him up on his first day of school for as long as he's okay with that. I'll be there whenever he needs me. But what he really needs right now is a good education and the opportunities to have the independence and success that he is clearly craving. And like the immigrants I descended from I'm showing him, through my actions, the value of a strong work ethic. I'm doing everything I said I would do. My self-published novel is selling, Audible.com actually kicked in money just to encourage me to make it into an audiobook, Simon & Schuster approached me about the erotic fiction idea and gave me a rather nice offer to write the books, the Hollywood production company I'm working with is enthusiastic about my work and has made shopping it a priority and I got a job at one of LA county's most reputable and prestigious dealerships selling some of the most sought after luxury cars despite having no experience in the industry at a time when unemployment rate in LA is at 11.4%.

So yes, I miss my son, a lot. I wish I could spend more time with him but I also know I'm doing what's right for him. Sometimes the sacrifice you need to make for your child is the sacrifice of some of your time with him.

It's hard to prepare yourself for all the challenges the job of being a parent comes with. And yet of all my many, many jobs it's the one that I love most. Even when it's hard.

--Kyra Davis

Happy Fourth of July, Minions!!!

Enjoy your Fourth!

With Patriotic Love,

The Assassin

All About Holidays, Big Sales and a New Contest

UPDATE:  Great news, guys!  Because so many of you reminded me that you were out of town celebrating the holiday, the contest deadline has been extended to July 17th. 
***

FIFTEEN PEOPLE WHO BUY ONE OF THESE BOOKS WILL RECEIVE A FREE E-COPY OF ONE OF MY CRITIQUE PARTNERS' BOOKS.


So, tomorrow is the Fourth of July. For a lot of people that means celebrating our nation’s independence with family barbeques, patriotic parades and inspiring firework displays. I love all that, but there’s another tradition here in the states of celebrating holidays.

Shopping.

And by that, I mean serious shopping—especially at all those Buy One, Get One Free sales.

 You would think I would have inherited a love for those BOGO sales from my mother, who I think has won awards for top holiday shopper of the year. Yup, she tried to make a shopper out of me. But I have to confess that I bring shame to this patriotic holiday custom. I blame it on the fact that I’m short and too nice. Mom once told me that I had to use my shortness and just crawl between people’s legs to get to the sales table, but I just couldn’t do it. And honestly, I think the last time I bit someone, elbowed someone, or grabbed a handful of someone else’s hair, I was still in diapers.

Seriously, I’ve seen my meek, church-going mama turn a day at the mall into guerilla warfare. Armed with elbows, heavy purses, and an Alabama attitude, she hits the sales. And when I say Alabama attitude, I’m not talking about the southern humble demeanor of a lady from the heart of Dixie. I’m talking pull out a can of whoop ass attitude. If you don’t want to be snatched bald, don’t you dare get between her and that last pair of size seven pumps. I mean, seriously, she’s my mama, and she loves me with all her heart, but I wouldn’t even come between her and a sales table.

In honor of the July 4th holiday, I’m holding a BOGO contest here at Killer Fiction, only without all the drama. My mama isn’t even invited. LOL. I’m not even going to bring my can of whoop ass. In fact, it’s downright easy to play, and fifteen lucky people will win a copy of an e-book by one of my critique partners. Here are the rules:

1. Buy one of the e-books listed below from Amazon. You can choose between Murder, Mayhem and Mama by Christie Craig (I hear she’s a pretty good writer) or one of the books by my critique partners: Zombie Confidential by Suzan Harden, Can’t Fight the Feeling by Faye Hughes, The Secrets on Forest Bend by Susan C. Muller, or Border Heat by Teri Thackston. 
2. Leave a comment in the Comments section of this blog. It doesn’t matter what you write—tell me about your plans for the Fourth, or your favorite BOGO shopping story or even just say hi. The important thing is that you leave a comment of some kind. 
3. \Send an email to me at Christie (at) Christie-Craig (dot) com. (Make sure you convert that address to proper email format. You can also send me an email by visiting my website www.Christie-Craig.com and clicking on the link.) In the subject of the email, type BOGO. In the email, tell me which e-book you purchased. No need to provide proof of the sale. This is all on the honor system. If you already have purchased any of the other books on this list, let me know, so I don’t send you a copy of one you already have.

That’s it. I’ll choose fifteen winners at random and give each one a copy of an e-book by one of my critique partners. (Don’t worry; I won’t give you the same book you bought. And, sorry, I get to choose the book I send you.)

The deadline to enter is 11:59 pm on Thursday, July 5th, Central Time Zone. I’ll email the winners and post the list on top of today’s blog on Friday morning.

Like I said, what could be easier? So here are the e-books, and best of luck!

Murder, Mayhem and Mama
Christie Craig

Cali lost her mom to cancer. Detective Brit Lowell lost his partner to murder. Now he's in the mood to take down some dirtbags and Cali's ex just happens to be a dirtbag leaving a trail of dead bodies behind him. Can Brit trust this beautiful woman to help take down her ex? Can Cali look past this sexy cop's hard exterior to trust him with her heart? Can life get any crazier when Mama starts meddling from the grave? Only one thing is for sure--none of it will matter, unless they catch a killer before the killer catches them. REMINDER: This book will NOT be included in the giveaway.

Amazon

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Zombie Confidential
Suzan Harden

For undead tabloid reporter Samantha Ridgeway, photographing movie star Josh Williams should have been an easy assignment. But instead, she discovers his corpse. To make matters worse, his ghost swears to haunt her for eternity if she doesn’t help him prove he didn’t OD. The more she digs, the more Sam believes there are twists to Josh’s story he doesn’t realize. Now, she just has to catch the killer before he targets his next victim—Josh’s three-year-old son.

 Amazon

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Can’t Fight the Feeling

Faye Hughes

 When Morgan Tremayne, heiress and only child of famed Southern writer E.J. Tremayne, discovers her quickie Costa Rican divorce six years ago from hunky English Lit professor Justin Stone didn't take, she decides Fate has given them a second chance at love. And Morgan fully intends to do everything in her power to convince Justin of the same. Lucky for her, she’s got seven days to accomplish her goals . . . seven days to remind him of how good they were together . . . seven days to make him fall in love with her again. NOTE: This is an updated and enhanced version of the original Loveswept classic and the first book in the new Circle of Friends series.

 Amazon

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The Secrets on Forest Bend

Susan C. Muller

While tracing a WWII gun used in several homicides, Homicide Detective Adam Campbell stumbles across a crooked cop, an intriguing woman and a vengeful ghost. Can he stay alive long enough to bring down the cop, win over the woman, and destroy the ghost?

 Amazon

***

Border Heat

Teri Thackston

Murderous drug runners, a wildfire in the Texas desert and the President's runaway daughter…Game Warden Shannon Walker didn't sign up for any of this. Add a sexy Secret Service Agent from her past, unexpected betrayal and a desperate escape into the desert, and the border becomes hotter than Shannon can handle.

Amazon

RUBBING ELBOWS by Diane Kelly

A few years ago, there was a popular self-help book called “The Secret” that encouraged people to think positively and visualize themselves achieving their goals and dreams.  Though I thought it was a great concept, I was afraid to visualize myself achieving my dream of becoming a novelist because I feared that even an imaginary sense of success would make the reality of trying to break into publishing all the more frustrating.

Once I signed my first contract with St. Martin’s Press, though, I visited a bookstore and wandered into the mystery section to see where my books would be placed on the shelf once they were published.  This might sound silly, but even with signed contracts in place I could hardly believe my dream was actually coming true! 

I ran my eyes over the authors whose last names ended with I and J, finally coming to the K section.  Scanning the shelves, I finally found it.  The place where my books would be.  Right next to bestselling author Jonathan Kellerman. 

Woo hoo!  That's some primo real estate!

It was thrilling to think I’d be rubbing elbows with such a well-known author.  Well, maybe not rubbing elbows exactly, but my covers would be rubbing up against his covers.  Maybe my novels and his novels would fall in love and create some children’s books together.  I can only imagine the titles – Death, Taxes, and Deception in Friendly Frog’s Tadpole Pond.  Death, Taxes, and Compulsion as Koala Goes to Kindergarten.  Death, Taxes, Rage, and the Fuzzy Wuzzy Caterpillar.

I was recently in contact with my fellow St. Martin’s author, Gina Robinson, and she happened to mention that her books are shelved next to Nora Roberts’ books.  My mother had a saying – “You’re only as good as the company you keep.”  Well, if that’s the case, my books and Gina’s are in some pretty good company!   

Do you have a goal or dream that you’ve visualized yourself achieving?  Did the positive thinking help you feel more confident?  What do you think of these techniques – are they mere bunk or are they helpful? 

DEATH, TAXES, AND EXTRA-HOLD HAIRSPRAY, book #3 in Diane Kelly's IRS Special Agent Tara Holloway Series, is now available!  Read an excerpt here:  Extra-Hold Hairspray Excerpt