"Covers can make or break a book. The fact is, we do judge books by their covers. This is the second in a series of posts examining the strategies, concepts and creative process behind the repackaging of the Hector Lassiter series into bestselling, uniform editions for Betimes Books." - Craig McDonald Read more: http://craigmcdonaldbooks.blogspot.ie/2014/11/cover-me-2-toros-torsos.html
Craig McDonald: Cover me #1 – One True Sentence
"One True Sentence" originally appeared from St. Martin's Minotaur in February 2011. In original publication sequence, it was the fourth Lassiter novel to see the light of day. Its cover and packaging was radically different from the three titles that preceded it, and that embodied a growing concern I had as my Lassiter books went … Continue reading Craig McDonald: Cover me #1 – One True Sentence
The Hector Lassiter series #1 Kindle bestseller in Australia!
During a Kindle Daily Deal promotion, all five published Hector Lassiter novels on the Movers & Shakers page: And after the promotion ended, at full price -- before "Gone Girl" and the new Michael Connelly novel!
Reaching Readers in Missouri
Book Trailer for THE RUNNING KIND by Craig McDonald
Watch the book trailer for THE RUNNING KIND by Craig McDonald here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irdHeJOJC5g
CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN WITH ‘THE GREAT PRETENDER’ by Craig McDonald!
Celebrate Halloween with Orson Welles, Hector Lassiter, Black Magic and Nazis in THE GREAT PRETENDER http://craigmcdonaldbooks.blogspot.ie/2014/10/celebrate-halloween-with-great-pretender.html
German translation rights to Sam Hawken’s novel LA FRONTERA
German translation rights to Sam Hawken's novel LA FRONTERA have been acquired by Polar Verlag for publication in September 2015. Congratulations to Sam!
Hadley Colt and Craig McDonald in a conversation about the challenges of writing about writers
We asked Craig McDonald, author of the Hector Lassiter series and also of two books of interviews with American and European crime novelists, to interview the mysterious Hadley Colt, author of PERMANENT FATAL ERROR. They each have new novels centered by authors and informed by the craft of fiction writing. Hadley and Craig engaged in … Continue reading Hadley Colt and Craig McDonald in a conversation about the challenges of writing about writers
ONE TRUE SENTENCE: The Vince Keennan interview with Craig McDonald
“Cities, Bars, and Crime” by Kevin Stevens
These days, big cities go out of their way to proclaim their cleanliness and safety. New York, LA, London, Paris…the city fathers of each note regularly how, compared with a few decades ago, their metropolises are much better to visit and live in. Crime rates have fallen. The cops are friendly. The streets are litter-free. What vice there is is socially acceptable or decidely unseedy. And who’d have it any other way?
Well, readers of crime fiction, perhaps. Crime novels and cities go together like guns and ammo. And traditionally, dirty, unsafe streets with heavy fog and crumbling neighborhoods not only create atmosphere but plot opportunities as well.
But fiction moves with the times. And these days noir is as much a state of mind as a physical phenomenon. The twenty-first century urban landscape is slick and anonymous, at least in the developed world, and writers now look to these characteristics – while not…
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“My Literary Neighborhood” by Kevin Stevens
There ought to be a room in every house to swear in. Mark Twain
I live near Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass, in a “Harlow buidling.” These beautiful brick structures were designed by Hamilton Harlow in the early decades of the twentieth century and were designed to blend in with the features of Harvard University buildings – red brick, elegant ironwork, and leaded glass windows.
It’s a cool neighborhood. A really cool neighborhood for a writer, partly because so many famous authors lived nearby. Two doors up from my building is where William Dean Howells lived in the 1870s, when he was editor of the Atlantic Monthly.
There is a great story in Justin Kaplan’s biography of Mark Twain which details Twain’s visit to this house in April, 1876, and the ill-fated attempt of Howells and Twain to get to Concord by train for centennial celebrations presided over…
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Publisher’s Weekly praises Craig McDonald’s new novel FOREVER’S JUST PRETEND!
Publishers Weekly on FOREVER'S JUST PRETEND: "Entertaining...a must read for series fans and a solid introduction for new readers." http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-9926552-9-7
Craig McDonald about his participation in the Iowa City Book Festival
Craig McDonald at Iowa City Book Festival!
Craig McDonald's books next to James Ellroy's at their joint signing at Iowa City Book Festival last night.
HOW I CAME TO WRITE “ROLL THE CREDITS”
Craig McDonald about writing "ROLL THE CREDITS" (AKA HECTOR LASSITER & WWII). A fascinating insight: http://craigmcdonaldbooks.blogspot.ie/2014/09/how-i-came-to-write-roll-credits-aka.html
“The Great Pretender” and “Roll the Credits” now available as e-books!
THE GREAT PRETENDER by Craig McDonald available here: getBook.at/TheGreatPretender_eb ROLL THE CREDITS by Craig McDonald available here: getBook.at/RollTheCredits_eb
THE (IM)PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY by Craig McDonald
Retcon. That’s a relatively newish term that’s a contraction for “retroactive continuity.” Typically you’re going to run into this when a long-running print or film series reckons it’s time to inject fresh blood or your lead actor has to be recast. Take the current Bond flicks as voguish example: Daniel Craig enters as a tyro, … Continue reading THE (IM)PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY by Craig McDonald
Book Trailer for ROLL THE CREDITS by Craig McDonald
Watch the book trailer for ROLL THE CREDITS by Craig McDonald here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQv1zTw0Ksw
Excerpt: Roll the Credits
FRANCE: 1940 In the old days, if a horse stumbled three times you shot it in the head. As far as I was concerned, our driver had just made his second stumble. Well, arguably it was his third if you counted a certain slip of the tongue earlier in the late-morning. I’d wondered at Billy’s … Continue reading Excerpt: Roll the Credits
Excerpt: The Great Pretender
1 THE STRANGER “Perception is reality, that’s how the saying goes, isn’t it, Hec?” Hector Lassiter, novelist, screenwriter, and for the moment, literary executor, looked down at all the chilly pedestrians scurrying through the autumn wind tearing along Fifth Avenue. The fierce wind made eyes water and noses run down there. Up here the wind cut to bone. He … Continue reading Excerpt: The Great Pretender
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