TELL US ABOUT THE KANGAROO

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Kangaroo? You'll see in a minute.

But I was looking through all the books we talked about yesterday--and it's so fascinating to see what a range there is! From Liz Mugavero's  fun cozy KNEADING TO DIE to the Susan Elia McNeal's smart

historical adventure HIS MAJESTY'S HOPE to Debs police procedural THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS to the oh-so-contemprary struggles in Jon McGoran's DRIFT to the downright creepy insidious nightmare-inducing NOS4ATU by Joe Hill.

Which is what I'm reading right now. And I almost..don't want to. It's so creepy--not gory-creepy, but shiver up the back creepy, that reading it at night is not quite..comfortable.

Which is the whole point.  It's scary good.

So you know how much we love to introduce you to new authors--Colby Marshall has a thriller THE TRADE coming out any second now--and her debut CHAIN OF COMMAND now on sale! And she says: Be very afraid. That's the whole point.

SCARY GOOD!

     Colby Marshall

I have a confession to make: I am not fearless.

When you write about and read about all things terrifying, it’s easy to pretend you have it so together that nothing scares you, but the truth is, one of the reasons I write about the creepy, frightening side of the human race is because it does scare me.  So do kangaroos.  I was kicked by a beast of one of those once, but I think that’s another story for another time.

While researching for books, I consult with a forensic psychiatrist on different motivations a killer in a specific novel might have. Usually, when I explain my scenario to him, he references his own real-life cases to explain to me why the diagnosis of a particular mental disorder or personality disorder may fit the character in question. Stories I write tend to start with the seed of a true crime article or book I’ve read somewhere along the line. The tiny spark lit by the article will then ignite in my mind, where I twist it into something that could actually happen and maybe even does.

Trust me, this makes for some unsettling moments.  At least when a kangaroo kicks you, you know the face of the evil you’re facing. When your imagination is wild, you can work yourself up pretty well. I tend to lock my bedroom door behind me at night, even when all of the doors of my home are locked, too. I’m not paranoid…much…but I’m aware of the how my characters are often oblivious, too, right before something bad happens to them.

So if what I write or read is truly scary, then why read and write about fear and things that could really happen? Happily-ever-after and bubbly, fluffy fairy tales would be so much more fun, right?

BONK!

I think people do need happily-ever-after, and I think they need fluff, too.  But that said, I think fear is needed, too.  Fear is a reminder that for every time there's something of which we’re afraid, there’s a brave soul inside willing to combat the apprehension. Sure, we love the adventure and thrills we’re greeted with per minute in these types of books, but we also love the characters we root for.

 We find ourselves pulling for the good guys to win, because we see the parts of us in them that won’t give up. 

In characters who fight for the good in any story, we recognize a little bit of ourselves: the parts of us we have to believe could survive, could stand for justice, and could rage against the evil in our society if we were faced with the scenarios our favorite characters are.

In other words, through fear, we find hope.

Do you write or read scary books? Why or why not? Is there anything so scary you’ll shy away from reading or watching?  A signed copy of my new book, THE TRADE, which comes out June 11--to one lucky commenter!

HANK: All together now: TELL US ABOUT THE KANGAROO!

**********************

 Writer by day, ballroom dancer and choreographer by night, Colby has a tendency to turn every hobby she has into a job, thus ensuring that she is a perpetual workaholic.  In addition to her 9,502 regular jobs, she is also a contributing columnist for M Food and Culture magazine and is a proud member of International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

  She is actively involved in local theatres as a choreographer as well as sometimes indulges her prima donna side by taking the stage as an actress.  She lives in Georgia with her family, two mutts, and an array of cats that, if she were a bit older, would qualify her immediately for crazy cat lady status. 

 Her debut thriller, Chain of Command is about a reporter who discovers the simultaneous assassinations of the President and Vice President may have been a plot to rocket the very first woman—the Speaker of the House—into the presidency.  Chain of Command is now available, and the second book in her McKenzie McClendon series, The Trade, is due for publication by Stairway Press in June 2013.   

Chain of Command is now available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, iBooks, Kobo, other major e-readers, directly from the publisher at StairwayPress.com (free shipping), or in select independent bookstores.

Watch the official book trailer for Chain of Command here: http://tinyurl.com/auye6bb.  

The Trade (due out June 11, 2013): Stolen lives…

Reporter McKenzie McClendon is on the trail of her next hot story, tracking a sadistic serial killer known as The Cradle Robber. This brutal murderer preys on pregnant women, slicing their infants from their wombs, leaving the helpless women to die while he disappears with their babies.

Aided by former Navy SEAL Noah Hutchins and a clever FBI data specialist, McKenzie races to unravel the web of lies, drawing dangerously closer to the ruthless, brilliant surgeon at the heart of the maze. With a child’s future hanging in the balance, the lives of five people careen toward a terrifying collision. It’s up to McKenzie to discover which key will unlock the puzzle, and which will get her killed.

The Trade is currently available for pre-order on stairwaypress.com with free shipping, and until it’s release date on June 11, you can pre-order The Trade together with a copy of Chain of Command and get BOTH for only $19.99 (over $31 separately)!  Will be available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBooks, Kobo, and other major e-readers June 11, 2013.

Watch the official book trailer for The Trade here: http://tinyurl.com/lqjcb8v  You can learn more about Colby and her books at www.colbymarshall.com 

I've Got A Little List!

Hank Phillippi Ryan: Summertime! And soon…the summer reading lists will be out! But hey, why wait for the Times or the News or People--when we have the Reds? What are you reading--right now? (Come on, be honest.) and what're you reading next?

I'll admit it--I'm reading Dan Brown's Inferno. And okay, fine, it's a page turner. Irresistible! I'm also reading Joe Hill's NOS4ATU. Which is creepy as pie and just as delicious.  And Bruce DaSilva's new PROVIDENCE RAG. He's good! Sort of if Spenser was a reporterand lived in Rhode Island.

 Next is Jon McGoran's DRIFT. Or maybe ...Susan Elia MacNeal’s HIS MAJESTY"S HOPE.(She’s so terrific. I am hooked on her books!) And Catriona McPherson has a new one, AS SHE  LEFT IT. Sigh. And I SHOULD be writing!

 How about you?

LUCY BURDETTE:  I'm reading a romance by Nancy Herkness called TAKE ME HOME. It's about a woman who goes home to West Virginia from NYC and finds both a "whisper horse" (a horse who will listen to your troubles) and a romance with a sexy vet. It's light summer reading that seriously sizzles....

 And next up, KNEADING TO DIE, by our friend Liz Mugavero. And after that, Erica Baumeister's THE LOST ART OF MIXING. But really, seriously, need to be finishing MURDER WITH GANACHE...

HANK : Oh, me, too. (and Lucy, I cannot wait to read it!) LOVE Liz Mugavero!   Ah, I’m at 50,000 words—hurray! Of a book that has no title, boo. Soon, I’ll be coming to you to ask  for advice. How can you write a book that has no title? Well, I secretly  have one. (Is it: The Last to Lie? One False Move? No Good Deed? As Good As True? What do you think?)

Rhys is en route from London, Julia has a big deadline, Ro is doing something glamorous,  and Hallie’s writing, too, I know…and she’s just back from vacation.

HALLIE EPHRON:     My TBR pile is topped by Jess Walter's "Beautiful Ruins" -- I'm a huge fan since he blew me away with Edgar winner "Citizen Vince." Like Roberta I'm behind on my

deadline so reading for pleasure is on the back burner--temporarily at least. 

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING:  Hallie, I'm so happy to be (temporarily) able to read for pleasure! I'm still recovering from the Best Novel Edgars, and as such, I've been reading a lot of romance, womens fiction, etc. I just finished the latest Nora Roberts stand-alone, WHISKEY BEACH. Always a good read. When you're in a Nora mood, nothing else will suffice. 

I'm also backtracking to read Lee Child's THE AFFAIR; after I bought it in 2011, Ross grabbed it off my pile and read it and for some reason, I never got back to it. I want to catch up before NEVER GO BACK lands at the beginning of September. A couple of summer books I'm REALLY looking forward to laying hands on: William Kent Kruger's TAMARACK COUNTY and Paul Doiron's MASSACRE POND. Both faves of mine in the "Rugged men sleuthing in places that can kill you" genre. Seriously, I may have to hit up their editors for Advance Readers Copies.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Whew, Julia, now I feel a bit better (grovel, grovel) about admitting the fact that until now I had never read a Lee Childs' novel. Not a deliberate oversight--I've had two in my TBR pile for donkey's years-- just too many books... Anyway, I'm reading the very first Jack Reacher, KILLING FLOOR, while alternating hitting myself on the head for not having read ALL of them sooner.  Halfway through, I could write a dissertation on Reacher as the iconic hero in literature, but suffice to say it's a cracking good story.

Also part way through the 75th anniversary edition of THE HOBBIT (a birthday gift from a friend,) which I hadn't reread in years. And THE HOBBIT: THE CHRONICLES, a gift from my publisher--a fabulous coffee table book on the art and design in the film. Then a good bit more non-fiction: THE POSSIBILITY DOGS by Susannah Charleson (out yesterday!), THE TRAIN IN THE NIGHT by Nick Coleman (a book about music and hearing loss,) and THE MURDER ROOM, by Michael Capuzzo. Then more fiction; a galley of MIDNIGHT by Kevin Egan, who will be my guest on JR in July. And somewhere there is a new Jo Bannister novel, if only I could find it... I think we will all be buried in books...

(Oh, and I LOVE William Kent Krueger, so the new one is going on the pile, too.)

RHYS BOWEN:  I'm on a plane as you read this, finishing up Deb's No Mark Upon Her, which I had had on my Kindle for a year and never had time to read. I was interviewed by a woman who belongs to Leander Club so that was fun. And I'm no longer sure what lurks in the TBR pile at home. I know I have to blurb Hannah Dennison's new one, and definitely want to read Catriona's (she'll be our guest next week) and the latest Kate Morton is waiting for me and I confess, I'll have to read Dan Brown as I was just in Istanbul.

LUCY BURDETTE:  Could I just say that I was on the Edgar committee that chose CITIZEN VINCE as best novel that year? I was very proud of that one!

HANK: See, Lucy/Roberta? You know your stuff!  It’s very gratifying to be on that committee—ours picked Mo Hayder’s GONE. A fabulous book! I smile every time I see it in a bookstore.

So how about you, Readers? Tell us your then, now, next! We’d love to hear what you’re reading! There are SO many wonderful books!

(And yes, indeed! One lucky commenter wins the ARC of THE WRONG GIRL!) Yesterday's winner: Katie Baer! Email me h ryan at whdh dot com with your address!