Pre Pub Book Buzz -- The Anniversary Man by R.J. Ellory

So this is a sort of pre-pub post. Sort of because UK author R.J. Ellory already has seven books out in the UK, including the one I'm posting about today.

Ellory's American debut, A Quiet Belief in Angels, was released in the States just last year. Anniversary Man will be his second book published here (and hopefully the others are coming soon). Originally released in 2009, The Anniversary Man is a brilliant and disturbing look into the world of serial killers.

You'll recall that I was totally blown away by A Quiet Belief in Angels when I read it last September (post here), and The Anniversary Man proves what I'd suspected, that everything I loved about Quiet was no fluke. Like Quiet, Ellory (did I mention he's from the UK?) has once again chosen the US as his setting. Not that it matters except to point out that others have mentioned how convincing he is with his "foreign" settings. Personally it came as no surprise to me. If you've read A Quiet Belief in Angels, not only was that set in the United States, but it began in 1939 in a rural farm town. Ellory's a massive talent whose research appears impeccable. His careful plotting and his obvious care for settings, not to mention his phenomenal characters, have catapulted him to the top of my Must Read list. I'll guarantee that I'm not alone in this. I really can't wait to read more from him.

The Anniversary Man begins with John Costello, a sixteen-year-old kid in the throes first love. When he and his girlfriend are targeted by the Hammer of God killer in 1984, John is the only survivor. The killer is captured and imprisoned, where he commits suicide. Now, John has grown up and learned to deal with his tragic past, as best he can. But the one thing that plagues his mind is the question Why? Why him? Why Nadia? Why do serial killers do what they do? He's made himself an expert on serial cases, which comes in handy at work: he's a crime researcher with one of the NY papers. So it is John who first catches on when a copycat serial killer strikes the city. The killer is taunting authorities by copying scenes from some of the most prolific and famous serial cases in US history. The case lands in Detective Ray Irving's lap. Together, they must work to find the killer before it's too late. But with no real pattern, no way of determining which killer will be copied next, and no way to warn the massively populous city (and a police department that would rather keep a serial case under wraps that scare the public), John and Ray are truly under the gun.

Mystery/suspense/crime fiction readers should all be running out to buy Ellory's work. I believe that Overlook, the publisher who's introduced us to Ellory, has plans to publish at least one more of this books here in the states. I'm hoping for the whole backlist, and any future projects as well before all is said and done.

The Anniversary Man is set for release on June 10.

Handselling: 'This Simple, Physical Gesture Can Change Lives'

This was a piece today in Shelf Awareness that I thought I would share with you guys. I know I've been MIA this week (just taking a little blogger vacation). I'm back and I've got some summer read recommendations and some reviews to post here for you all.

Handselling: 'This Simple, Physical Gesture Can Change Lives'

I love, love, love this article. Handselling, to me, is such an important part of bookselling and I think it's going by the wayside with all of the big box stores. I've lamented the fact before, but in my day (oh, so very long ago -- 4 years to be precise, tee-hee) my coworkers and I, for the most part, were all readers. We all had our favorite genres. We knew if someone came in looking for a sci-fi/fantasy read who we should send them to. We know who to go to if a customer had a question about a science book. We knew who could help our customers find what they were looking for and make other suggestions.

It's an industry that thrives on word of mouth. It's an industry where I think there's a market for just about every book released if only you can get it into the right customer's hands. It's a market that shouldn't lose the intimate connection that readers have with one another. Bookstores should cherish their good employees. Rather than cutting long timers' hours because they've capped out on salary and eliminating full time positions so you can cut overhead cost, you should hire people who love the product and can share that love (I know I sound super hokey, but it's true) share that love with customers who are outwardly seeking it.

Book readers love book suggestions (for the most part). Half the fun for us is discovering something new. Knowledgeable booksellers can play a pivotal role in whether a customer walks away happy. And I'll say that lazy, unknowledgeable booksellers can immediately turn a customer off of your store.

I can so easily see how this industry can benefit from a huge boost in something as simple as talk. But if you shop at a big box store these days (and in many cases, this is your only option because this is the only store in your area) you're really missing out on one major aspect that the big box stores are not delivering: handselling. It's an integral part of the book business and if it stops altogether (I can't walk into my local *Big Box* and get a suggestion on a book), the impact would be huge. The impact on readers, potential readers, publishers, and bookstores would be astronomical.

I could go on for days on this, but personally have seen how much even one book can benefit from handselling in a store. I've seen how readers benefit from it (and obviously the article above stresses that), and I've seen how the booksellers and the store benefit from it. It gives you a good feeling to know that you may have turned someone onto something new and ultimately it increases sales for your store, it increases sales for the publisher, and it increases sales for the author. It's a win win situation any way you look at it.

A Passage Update

So my extended holiday weekend is almost over and of course I set my sights too high for reading goals. That was to be expected, though.

I'm about halfway through Justin Cronin's The Passage as we speak and I'm totally loving it. In truth, I didn't devote my whole weekend to it as planned. We bought a grill Friday night -- I say bought, but in reality we'd saved some reward points and coupons so that even in our budget crunched state we could buy the thing. Now it'll be another three years before a splurge buy!

So we grilled steaks on Friday and I rounded out the evening with an IFC movie called The Disappeared, which actually turned out to be pretty good. Then we spent Saturday at the Boulder Creek Festival and grilled for dinner again, this time hamburger patties that we served up with mac and cheese, broccoli, and grilled bananas ('cause Mike's going grill crazy). We watched a crazy hail storm that evening and then It's Complicated.

Yesterday I did spend most of the afternoon reading, but then took a break to fix chicken tacos for supper and watch the first episode of the Syfy movie Tin Man. Mike thought it was a little cheesy but I really enjoyed it. Two more eps to go.

And here we are on Memorial Day. I made us breakfast and checked out the launch of Cooking Channel and am back to The Passage. It's completely amazing. I mean completely amazing. Whatever you think you know about this book, whatever you think you expect, well... all I can say is that you should prepare to be blown away.

It's post-apocalyptic. It's vampires. It's crazy intricate world building. It's quite a read!

I've got onions pickling for potato salad (just one version I make, inspired by the potato salad we had at The Salt Lick in Austin last summer -- you pickle the onions and then you mix BBQ sauce, mayo, mustard, and vinegar into the potatoes. Yum!) and hot dogs planned for the grill this evening. Possibly grilling up some romaine lettuce for salad, too. (Try it, pop the whole romaine heart or the individual leaves on the grill with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and it's wonderful!)

Hope you guys are enjoying your day off, if you have a day off. And if you're working today, I hope you at least get some down time this evening to kick back and relax.

New Releases 6/1/10

Some of the new titles hitting shelves this week include:

Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress by Kyra Davis -- fifth in the Sophie Katz series

Justice in June by Barbara Levenson

Captivity by Deborah Noyes

Little Town, Great Big Life by Curtiss Ann Matlock

Damaged by Pamela Callow

Procession of the Dead by Darren Shan

The Dead Lie Down by Sophie Hannah

Lightborn by Alison Sinclair

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stefanie Meyer (June 5)

Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton

The Burning Wire by Jeffery Deaver -- Lincoln Rhyme #9

The Rule of Nine by Steve Martini

My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

Never Wave Goodbye by Doug Magee

New on DVD:

Alice in Wonderland

Wolfman

New reviews at Bookbitch.com:

Vows, Vendettas and a Little Black Dress

Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart

Pre Pub Book Buzz -- So Cold the River by Michael Koryta

Morning, everyone! How's the weekend treating you so far? I promised you a super cool pre-pub post this morning and here it is. Whenever I see a lot of really great hype around a book, especially from authors I love and respect, it always worries me just a little bit. I've been on the side that hears all the hype and then is disappointed by the book. I've also been on the side doing the hype and then hearing disappointment from others. It's a really fine balance for some books. I don't think this is one of them.

Michael Koryta seems to be establishing himself as a jack of all trades in the fiction genre. Kind of like Dan Simmons, who is one of the authors praising Koryta's latest, So Cold the River (note: Koryta has yet to tackle sci-fi, so we'll see). Koryta is the author of four Lincoln Perry mysteries and the standalone thriller Envy the Night. He has won the St. Martins Press/PWA Best First Novel, been nominated for and Edgar, and a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best Mystery/Thriller. Now he's trying his hand, very successfully I might add, at a gothic ghost tale set in Indiana. Simmons compares the book to King's The Shining. Michael Connelly says, "Guaranteed to put the cold finger down your spine." And Dennis Lehane called So Cold the River, "An icy, terrifying winner...."

This creepy read begins with filmmaker Eric Shaw, a man who's pretty much ruined his career in Hollywood before it even began. Now he's making a living doing wedding videos and photo montages for funerals. When he's approached by Alyssa Bradford to make a video about her father-in-law and his childhood in West Baden Springs, Eric thinks this is finally his chance. No one in the Bradford family knows much about patriarch Campbell Bradford, but they do know that he grew up in West Baden Springs. They also have a strange bottle of Pluto Water that the man's been carrying around all these years. With the bottle as a lead, Eric is sent to West Baden where he's put up in the opulent West Baden Springs Hotel. The bottle of water, always cold, becomes frosty and sparks Eric's curiosity. But when Eric decides to take a small sip of the mineral water, everything changes. That one action creates a connection between Eric and events that have long since been buried. Now Eric must uncover the secrets that surround him, or possibly die trying.

I ate up this book! I devoured it last week and loved every single second of the experience. The way the tale unfolds is completely captivating. And many aspects of this book are grounded by a real setting. West Baden Springs Hotel exists and looks to be every bit as magical as Koryta's version in the book. The Lost River is real. Even Pluto Water is real, though I doubt Eric's experience has ever been documented. Just a completely amazing read and definitely one of the best I've had the pleasure of reading so far this year.

So Cold the River hits shelves on June 9, so be on the lookout! This is one summer thriller that will give you chills even on the hottest days!

Mr. Shivers Winner!

Alright readers. It's time to announce the winner of Robert Jackson Bennett's Mr. Shivers! By random number generator, the winner is:

Jennifer

Congrats, Jen! And thanks to everyone who participated. I have some more giveaways coming soon. Just keep an eye out here for them!

Thanks for reading!

It's a Holiday Weekend!!!

Yay! Long weekend means no Monday! I hate Mondays. They're the worst day of the week. The only day that comes even close is Sunday. Why? I mean, Sunday is the weekend, right? But I usually spend Sundays with the knowledge that yet another weekend is coming to an end and another Monday is on its way soon. Once you get past Monday everything gets better, but ugh. So a long weekend with a Monday off is always the best!

And how will I be spending my weekend? Tackling the TBR of course! In the stack for this week is the highly anticipated The Passage by Justin Cronin -- I've been waiting for this book to come out for two years and I swear I did a dance when the review copy arrived. SWEETNESS!!!

Another one in the stack for this weekend is Sarah Pinborough's latest A Matter of Blood, book one in the Dog-Faced Gods series. This is a UK release that Cynthia over at High Crimes ordered in for me. I haven't seen a US release date on it yet and I love Pinborough, so I splurged.

I also have a stack of review stuff for this week including the latest R.J. Ellory release, The Anniversary Man, and S.J. Bolton's Blood Harvest. We'll see what I can accomplish in three days, though. The Passage is a hefty one, but if I can, I plan on tackling Jennifer McMahon's Dismantled this weekend as well. I know, I know! I always try to squeeze in too much! What can I say. I have high expectations of myself.

Hope you all have a great weekend! I've got an awesome pre-pub post tomorrow and I'll be announcing the winner of Mr. Shivers, too.