Terry Ambrose--To Be or Not to Be

DEBORAH CROMBIE:  Terry Ambrose is a frequent commenter and a good friend here on JRW, so it's our treat to have him on the front side of the blog today! In his latest novel, CON GAME, an investment broker who is running a pump-and-dump stock scam is found dead in his downtown L.A. condo the morning after Roxy Tanner cons him out of $2.6 million. A man Skip Cosgrove once helped put behind bars is back for revenge. The would-be killer has disappeared somewhere deep in the Oceanside drug world and vowed to return, but when?

With the cops closing in on Roxy, a killer on the hunt for Skip, and neither sure they can trust the other, the last thing they need is a complication. Or is it?

Of course they do, but you have to read the book to find out just what that complication is! CON GAME is a cracking, fast-paced read, and here's Terry to tell us how he decided which route to take in publishing his sixth novel.

TERRY AMBROSE: I’ve been writing for more than twenty-five years. It all started when things became overwhelming at work and I needed an outlet. Quite frankly, that first book was terrible. Bad dialogue. Cardboard

characters. Predictable plot. Did I mention bad dialogue? Well, you get the idea. The thing is, when I had completed my very first Great American Novel, I realized that even though the book stunk, I felt better.

With my epiphany that writing could help keep me sane in hand, I began trudging along the writer’s path. I did the usual stuff—found a critique group, read writing resources, and hired an editor when I’d completed the next book. This was more than twenty years ago, so there was no Amazon or CreateSpace and e-books were still quite the novelty.

Over the years, I’ve learned a few things about myself. I always thought I could handle the rejection letters (yes, that’s how long ago it was!) from agents. I never adopted the “rejected and proud of it” mantra, so I found myself growing weary of the ups and downs and would eventually move on to the next project to start the cycle over again.

About three years ago, a friend of mine in San Diego Sisters in Crime told me he was going to try self publishing through Amazon. As he put it, he had no idea whether anyone would even want to read his book, but was determined to try. He started out by testing the waters with this increasingly popular Amazon program—free Kindle books. Andrew E. Kaufman rode that wave right to the top. In retrospect, that was probably my biggest “My Bad” moment. I had a book ready to go, but didn’t enter the market because I was still holding out for the traditional model.

When my chance to go with a small press came around about a year later, I decided it was time to stop standing on the sidelines and make a move. Right or wrong, I’d written six novels (let’s make that five—the first really should get a pass). I decided to self publish “Photo Finish,” the first in my McKenna Mystery series, a few months before “License to Lie” would come out from the small press.

I went from the unpublished category to having two books in the market within the span of a few months. Everyone knows that indie authors make far more per book than traditionally published authors. However, other lesser-known differences soon became apparent. For instance, as an indie author, I knew almost immediately how many books I’d sold. The publisher, however, had no such reports. I also discovered that each publishing alternative gave me access to promotion opportunities that might not be available to the other.

Was one method better than the other? While many would disagree with me, I don’t consider either inherently better, just different. For those who have the expertise or want to maintain total control, the indie route is great. For those who don’t want to be bothered with finding, selecting and paying for services related to getting that masterpiece to market—traditional is the way to go.

After watching the sales for “License to Lie” languish for a year despite some great blurbs, excellent reviews, and my best efforts to raise the profile of the book, I saw that it was going nowhere. In short order, the sequel, “Con Game,” would be on the market and if the series was going to do anything other than take up virtual shelf space on Amazon, I needed to do a full reboot.

I bought back my rights for “License to Lie” to publish it independently. This allowed me to reformat the book, change the metadata, and position it within a smaller sub genre so it might appear as a bigger fish in a smaller pond. We’ll see what happens going forward, but “License to Lie” is on a Kindle Countdown deal from May 4-10.

I’m not saying I’d never go back to a traditional publisher. Quite the contrary, I still view each publishing avenue as having distinct advantages and disadvantages and the right contract with the right publisher is still my dream. However, I’m now much smarter about the risks and rewards of each opportunity and will hopefully make the right business decision when it’s time. Rather than looking back and playing the what-if game, I’d much rather look forward and ask that same question. Of course, if foresight were as good as hindsight, what a wonderful world this would be.

Let’s talk about those opportunities that come along in life. Is there one you missed that you particularly regret? Or, what about the time you made the right choice and later asked how you got so lucky?

Terry Ambrose started his business career as a skip tracer and bill collector. He’s been writing mysteries and suspense novels for more than 25 years, but only recently became serious about publishing. His debut mystery, “Photo Finish,” was a 2013 San Diego Book Awards Finalist. In addition to writing fiction, Terry also writes about real-life scams and cons, profiles authors, and does book reviews as part of the featured content at terryambrose.com. 

DEBS: Before we get to Terry's interesting question, a bit of JRW news: Kathy Reel is the winner of Karin Salvalaggio's Bone White Dust!  So, Kathy, please email me your mailing address at deb at deborahcrombie dot com--you know the drill:-) And congratulations!

Beware the Holiday Temptation!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Here in Boston, we’re celebrating the Red Sox today. In other news, I’m still deciding what to do with all the post-celebration leftover Halloween candy (toss it?) and contemplating the celebration of Thanksgiving, which is astonishingly imminent.

But our dear Terry Ambrose (a true friend of the Reds!) is already (sigh) focusing on the celebration of another holiday. The name of which I will not say, because I cannot even bear how unprepared I am.

But Terry is here to protect us.

                 Beware the Snake Oil Salesman

                                  By Terry Ambrose

 

It’s just way too early to be thinking about the holidays, right? I guess not. Already I’ve seen Christmas ads, movies, decorations and more. Sheesh. You’d think the happiest time of the year was right around the corner—oh wait, it is. In fact, just last week (yes, before Halloween) I saw a woman mailing gifts to her brother and sister—a picture of an antique car for him, a cushy lap robe for her. What was really interesting to me was that the woman told the postmaster that her sister is a nun in an area where there are no medical services and so she, who just happens to have nursing training, doubles as the area doctor. Talk about altruistic. That kind of dedication—working tirelessly for years with no monetary compensation—seems like it’s way above my pay grade. I admit it—money matters. While I’ve never “hit the big time,” I feel like I work hard for every dollar I bring in. You probably do, too. And that makes being able to do something nice for others at this time of year a bit more special.

Oddly enough, the holidays not only bring out the best in people, but the worst. Just when we should be filled with joy at being able to give to others, along comes the guy I’ll call the Snake Oil Salesman. We get this guy’s emails every day. We see his websites—and they’re perfect replicas of the real thing.

The Snake Oil Salesman is the scammer who makes it difficult to know whether we’re buying real Swarovski crystal or a cheap Chinese imitation. Worse than that, he’s the guy who makes us wonder if we’re giving to a charitable cause or a personal one. As a former identity theft victim and someone who writes about scams and cons in fiction and real life, I tend to be especially cynical of online solicitations, special offers in the mail, or telemarketers. So, with the holidays approaching, my cynic meter crawls into the red because I know that the scammers and con artists will be working overtime to ensure that they have a happy holiday season—at our expense.

I can almost hear the sounds of the season: bells ringing, songs about merry times—and my telephone jangling away with the next guy wanting to sell me something I can’t live without. Or maybe he’s just trying to get me to give to a cause I’ve never heard of before. 

Charitable donation requests are already decorating mailboxes and email accounts, and soon people dressed in red will stand outside of malls and grocery stores ringing bells. Studies show that half of charitable donations are made between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. What many people don’t realize is that, depending upon which charity you give to, those charitable contributions may not make it to the intended recipient. Instead, they might be going to a Snake Oil Salesman.

Did you know that within hours of the Boston Marathon explosion there were websites, both legitimate and fraudulent, set up to solicit donations? The same thing happens during the holidays. So what’s a “good” person to do to avoid lining the pockets of a “bad” person? Here are three simple suggestions to help avoid being taken by “that guy.”

•              Check out businesses and charities with the Better Business Bureau at bbb.org.

•              Online scammers create great fakes websites and emails. Don’t be fooled by good artwork, perfect logos or a slick website. The good scammers can perfectly duplicate a website or email.

•              Never succumb to pressure. Pressure is the con man’s friend. It’s certainly not mine, nor is it yours. I’ve come to the opinion that if someone thinks they need to force me into a quick decision, the safest thing to do is walk away. 

Do you have examples of when you have—or just missed—falling for the Snake Oil Salesman? Do you have special tips to pass on to others? 

HANK:  I bet I’ve missed real emails—because the ones that look too fishy, I simply delete. So good question, Terry!  Have you ever gotten ripped off. Reds? Or—almost? (And Terry, what happened to you?) 

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“Kauai Temptations” is Terry’s new McKenna Mystery and it’s about what happens when the search for an identity thief takes a wrong turn. Wilson McKenna’s bank tells him he’s written $4,000 in bad checks on an island he’s never been to. That makes him one unhappy haole. Things get worse when he’s nearly arrested for impersonating himself and the woman who trashed his credit turns up dead. Before he knows it, McKenna’s up to his ‘umi’umi in hot lava.

Find “Kauai Temptations” on Amazon.com or learn more about it at terryambrose.com.

You Belong In A Zoo

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: You know I love cool numbers, right? I always see when it's 11:11 on the digital clock.  (Jonathan and I have a deal to think of each other when we see it.) I always see 12:34. Dates are interesting, too. When it was 11:11 on 11/11/11? I mean, that was neat.  This year, we'll have 11/12/13, but that's another blog. 

SO to have a birthday on a fun date, that makes an already special thing even better. (Yes, I still like birthdays, I just don't think of them as chronological. It's like--Hank Day. Not about getting older. which is yet another blog. )When we  were growing up, we used to lobby for birthday WEEK, which Mom, sadly, never bought in to.  Our family's birthday thing was the honoree got to pick whatever they wanted for dinner.

So our dear Terry Ambrose, friends of the Reds has a birthday--today! On 1/11. NIce. even nicer, he has a gift for YOU. Read on. 

YOU SAY IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY
by Terry Ambrose

This blog appearance is something of a surprise party. When we set this up, I didn’t realize what day “January 11” was. Then, a day or so later, it hit me. Today is my birthday! 


And that’s not as in going to a restaurant and fudging the day by a few days just to get the free dessert. No, today really is the day.

Once I’d connected the dots, my thoughts immediately went to “what could make this a fun little celebration?” It would be hard to top my favorite birthday, which was a few years ago when we spent time on Kauai for three weeks in January. Now that was birthday in paradise! And, there is a downside to virtual parties. Wee can’t do cake and ice cream. Alcohol is out. So are the spankings. However, I can share some really unusual birthday traditions from around the world with one caveat: I haven’t experienced any of these traditions firsthand…thank goodness.

On Yahoo Voices, I found a 2008 post from Ayanna Guyhto about birthdays in Germany for men who have reached the age of 30. “According to custom, these men are made to sweep the steps of City Hall. Upon finishing this task, the birthday ‘boy’s’ friends toss in some more dirt and rubble to ensure that passing females will see him and know that he keeps a clean house.” Are you kidding me? I can just see his friends cheering and jeering. “The other end! It’s not a pool cue!” What if his arms get tired? Does that make him look like a weenie and blow the whole deal?

On the “Divine Caroline” blog in 2010, Kathryn Williams posted about parents in Lucerne, Switzerland who hire an evil clown to “stalk, harass, and eventually smash a pie in the face of their beloved birthday boys and girls.” This custom would appear to be a bit more popular than expected because you can find these clowns (no pun intended) on the Internet. There’s one who will even stalk your kids for a week. And, of course, I’ve got questions about this whole clown thing. What if the kid’s been good? Do they still do this? What if Johnny is always in trouble? Will the clown consider going on retainer?

Have you ever wondered where the birthday spanking tradition came from? Williams also reported that “In England and Ireland, kids receive ‘the bumps’ on their birthday, which sounds like an STD but is actually a lot more fun. Friends and family lift birthday boys and girls by their arms and legs, raise them into the air, and then plunk them down on the floor, once for each year they’ve lived.” Right. Try explaining that one to Child Protective Services.

There’s even an entire industry built around “unusual birthday gifts.” It seems that everyone wants to give a present that no one else will have. These gifts include things like T-shirts with clever sayings like “Authentic Vintage” and the year of the recipient’s birth. So, tell me, Reds, how many of you would wear one of those Tees?—that’s what I thought.

Celebrating birthdays is different around the world, but it seems that the giving of gifts is somewhat universal. And since the Reds were so kind as to host me on “my day,” I’d like to give something back. I’m giving away a free book to some lucky commenter. Choose either my new release, “License to Lie,” or “Photo Finish.” And, pick either Kindle or softcover. It’s your choice. Just leave a comment to enter and on Monday, January 14 we’ll pick a winner.

HANK: So, Red readers, let’s hear from you. Do you have unusual birthday traditions or customs? How do you like to celebrate those annual milestones?  

And happy birthday, dear Terry!


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You can find out more about Terry Ambrose and his novels, License to Lie and Photo Finish, at terryambrose.com. Find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter as @suspense_writer.