New Book(s) Coming from Windsor Hill Publishing

PRE-ORDER CHICAGO SWING

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During the next few weeks I will be posting a new crime thriller on Amazon. Called Chicago Swing, this is the first in a new series featuring Chicago in 1933 and the battles one detective, Tony Alfano, has with crime in his city. It is spring in the midst of the Depression and the opening of the Century of Progress World’s Fair is just a few weeks away. A new American president has been elected, a new mayor has replaced the assassinated Mayor Cermak and now a bomber is terrorizing the city. The mayor assigns Alfano the task of finding the bomber before the fair opens.

For police detective Tony Alfano, it was a typical Chicago morning: five bombings of businesses throughout the Loop the previous night, 200 pounds of missing dynamite, and one dead man in an alley off Washington Street. Is it the Outfit, the Mob, Bolsheviks, or the unions? In the dark speakeasies and nightclubs of Chicago’s underworld, Alfano treads the sharp edge of sanity and delusion, praying that it’s just mob vengeance and not Chicago politics.

In Depression racked Chicago, three people crash against each other, each hoping for answers, vengeance, and salvation. Alfano has seen it all in his twenty years on the force, but this is brutally different. And a corrupt mayor demands answers before the gates to the Century of Progress World’s Fair open in just a few days.

Later in the summer I will be releasing a new World War II thriller titled This Face of Evil. Exciting stuff. Check out the preliminary artwork below and let me know what you think. Look for information here and on Facebook, if you are not following me, go to Gregory C. Randall on your Facebook site and like me, friend me, or whatever you do to follow my work.

I am also updating the cover art for the award winning period novel, Elk River. It needed a little freshening to give it a now happening jive. After all, it is an edgy young adult story and a raven always means edgy. So look to the right side (scroll down) and compare the covers. In the next few days these new books will have their covers posted on this blog.

And follow me on Facebook.

More later . . . . . . . .

Book Clubbing

Today was one of those delightful days where you get to discuss your books, the reasons for your characters, why you write the way you do, and above all what excites you about writing. I sat down for a discussion and tasty lunch with seven of my fans at their monthly book club meeting. It’s also fun when they are all women and you are out numbered eight to one (my wife and muse also attended). This was the second time I’ve met with this group, the first was soon after the release of 12^th Man For Death (Book Four).

Every author must cultivate the local book clubs to both develop a solid following of loyal and local readers as well as practice the fine art of self-promotion. In today’s marketplace it is all about self-promotion and never passing up the chance to talk about your books and the business of publishing.

I am always surprised by the questions. By the second visit we are past the questions about how long does it take to write a book (I really haven’t a clue) and where do you get your fanciful ideas (ask Johnnie W. Red). The questions now are about the characters and story. Why are they doing this or that at certain parts of the story? Why did you choose Rotterdam? Is that bar in Lafayette the one you were thinking of as Geno’s? It is enjoyable to listen to readers talk about your characters in the second person: Is she going to do this in the next book? She really should fall for Clive Barrington (now that was a new one – got me thinking). Did you know that Bobby Gillis is exactly like a friend of mine?

I am grateful when they suggest new story ideas for my characters; they get me thinking about what my audience wants. I am also surprised when they want to discuss the business of publishing – especially self-publishing. What is POD? How are ebooks created? Are printed books going away? I discuss covers and ask what they like to see. What kinds of books interest them? To be honest, the scheduled two-hour talk and lunch quickly went to three hours.

What was really fun was that these seven women had read most of the books in the Sharon O’Mara series (5 total). They even remembered parts of the books (and secondary characters) I’d forgotten. One even read parts of my book she liked to the group. That was a wonderful first.

Book clubs are so, so clubby. We sit in civilized living rooms, with iced tea or coffee, with no time limits or limitations on the subject matter. The relaxed atmosphere (instead of tables and audiences with monitors and clocks on the wall), allows for a more thorough two-way understanding between the author and the reader. We both come away with a better understanding of the writer’s craft and the expectations hidden in a good book.

If I could I’d meet with two or three book clubs a month, they are that much fun. If you or you know someone who would like to book me for a session and/or lunch send me an email at rpd@lmi.net or windsorhillpub@lmi.net.

More later . . . . . . . .