Ready for the New Year? I am excited about what this year
will bring our way. New books to read. New publishing opportunities. New
friends. Let me share a little of what might be coming up.
Let’s start with reading. Now, I know some of you still
prefer the traditional print novel where you can feel the texture, smell the
print, and use that ol’ bookmark between the pages to signal just where you
left off the next time you pick up that book. I still like the print version
myself, although if I choose to buy a hardback novel for my library shelves,
most likely it will be a Costco special of one of my favorite authors.
Otherwise, it is eBooks for me. Everyone has their preferences.
For
the less traditional folks, let’s talk about digital copies for a moment. Recently,
my first Kindle reader bit the dust when my daughter accidentely leaned on the
face of the reader and cracked the cover. I tried to read my digital books on
my Samsung tablet, which was nice but not quite the same—particularly as I
tried to categorize my novels and books for easy retrieval. So, I ordered the Kindle
Paperwhite and just got it set up a week ago. Wow! Easy to read, the size of a
paper back novel that easily fits in my pocket, and easy to organize the
hundreds of novels and non-fiction books I have lingering in my Kindle Cloud in
Amazon’s digital sky. I won’t bore you…uh, am I too late…with all the reading
features, but I am once again a very satisfied reader
No matter your reading choice—Kindle, Nook, iPad,
Kindle Fire, Kobo or print—there are marvelous opportunities in store for you.
The publishing world is changing—for readers and authors.
Here on Hook’em/Book’em, we have a lot to look
forward to over the coming year. For example, one of my favorite authors, Dean
Koontz, promises to return for a visit later this spring after his next
novel is put to bed. And I hope that such authors as John Lescroart, James
Scott Bell, and Tess Gerritsen, among many others—will rejoin us throughout the
year to tell us what is happening in their corner of the publishing world.
I would like to expand our coverage of new and
independent writers who are emerging among the ranks of authors that readers
might want to know about. As the eBook world continues to find its place in
this publishing environment, new indie writers and indie publishers are rising
to prominence in this wild west frontier of the new digital age. What was true
in 2009 is old news, and might not work in 2013. Join us as we learn about these
changes coming up in the not-so-distant future.
I need to get back to our friends in law enforcement
and the intelligence world to find out how fiction and reality come together in
mystery/suspense/thriller novels. Everything from border searches to predator
drones, from human trafficking to forensic science, will be examined through
the eyes of my experts in the military, law enforcement, and the intelligence
community. As I started to jot down ideas for a Gerrit O’Rourke sequel (release
in 2014) I was interested in the predator drone technology and how that impacts
our world today. After I finished my latest novel, Fatal eMpulse (A Gerrit
O’Rourke Novel), I came across sources and information about the on-going war
on terror that I thought might interest readers here on Hook’em & Book’em.
Which brings me back to my roots—law enforcement. I have been
editing the final changes to Broken
Allegiance (A Tom Kagan Novel), which will be released in 2013. This police
procedural focuses on the struggle between gang officers and gangsters going on
throughout our nation. This novel deals primary with the notorious Nuestra
Famila prison gang in California, but its tentacles—like those of many prison
gangs—extend into every state and federal institution throughout our nation,
and on the streets of every city in American. As I edited this novel, it rekindled
my desire to rejoin my friends in law enforcement and share with you some of
the insight and work experiences cops face today.
Coming back to law enforcement issues is like coming
home after a long trip abroad. In my last two international thrillers, I and my
readers traveled all over the world and landed in some pretty exotic and
dangerous locations. But now, it is time to come home. The Tom Kagan novels
(yes, there will be more than one) and our friend, Travis Mays, will be joining
us again as they travel through the twists and turns of investigations into murder,
drug trafficking, and political corruption. After Broken Allegiance, I plan on putting together a sequel to Revenge, titled Blood Quantum (A Travis Mays Novel). Travis Mays and his
girlfriend, Jessie White Eagle, and her father—Frank, chief of the Nez Perce
Tribal Police—once again join forces over one of the hottest issue facing the
Indian nations today, a concept called blood
quantum. After two long years, I and my readers get to travel back to this
beautiful Idaho reservation along the Clearwater River. Travis and his friends
find themselves in trouble once again as tribal and BIA politics erupt in
murder and deception.
Come with us as we explore—on Hook’em/Book’em—all of the above ideas and opportunities as well
as try to keep up with changes exploding within the publisher world.
Here are a
few topics:
- Expansion of digital inroads by traditional publishers.
- New developments and opportunities within the indie publishing community.
- Social networking, publicity and marketing.
- Finding out about some of the new and promising authors emerging in this ever-changing community of writers, readers, and publishing outlets.
I trust that something mentioned above will pique your
interest. And, I welcome any other topics of interest that our readers might
want to explore. This coming year is going to be exciting. I hope to be able to
share some of that with you here on this blog. Thank you for your faithfulness
to to Hook’em/Book’em. Happy
New Year!