We are thrilled to share another wonderful new review for a 'backlist' title - a proof that great books don't have a 'use-by' date! REACH THE SHINING RIVER by Kevin Stevens in NB Magazine Stevens has written a grippingly sinister murder mystery that oozes menace and violence. Reach the Shining River captures the deeply corrupt … Continue reading “An intelligent novel that twists your gut.”
A tribute to Aretha Franklin
As a small tribute to Aretha Franklin, this excerpt from Reach the Shining River, a novel by Kevin Stevens, writer and jazz connoisseur: "A full house was tough on the nerves but easier to gather and please. If you knew what you were doing, and Arlene did. Had known from the beginning when, eleven years … Continue reading A tribute to Aretha Franklin
A review of REACH THE SHINING RIVER by the winner of our Christmas Prize Draw
"'It was Wardell found the body.' Kansas City, 1935. Emmett Watson, a county prosecutor of Irish decent, is married to Fay, a high society woman, who is the daughter of one of the movers and shakers in the city, and unhappy in her marriage. At a closed-door meeting with his father-in-law, and other high rollers, Emmett is … Continue reading A review of REACH THE SHINING RIVER by the winner of our Christmas Prize Draw
Christmas nostalgia : Our authors about the best book gift they have ever received (Part 2)
Patricia Ketola, author of Dirty Pictures One Christmas, when I was about ten years old, I received a copy of R. L. Stevenson's Treasure Island. The book was an unusual choice for a little girl, but I was so thrilled by the marvellous tale of adventure that I could not put it down. Jim Hawkins and … Continue reading Christmas nostalgia : Our authors about the best book gift they have ever received (Part 2)
Christmas Prize Draw!
Vote for your favourite Betimes Books cover for a chance to win a print copy of one of our books! The Prize Draw is open to people aged 18 and over who provide their email address by voting for their favourite cover and would be happy to provide their postal address if they win. Please … Continue reading Christmas Prize Draw!
E-book rights to Kevin Stevens’ novel “Reach the Shining River” licensed to Endeavour Press
Following on from the success of "Francesca" by Donald Finnaeus Mayo, we are delighted to announce the new release of the Ebook edition of Kevin Stevens' novel "Reach the Shining River" by the UK's leading independent digital publisher, Endeavour Press. It is now available for order on Amazon here. Our own trade paperback is also … Continue reading E-book rights to Kevin Stevens’ novel “Reach the Shining River” licensed to Endeavour Press
REACH THE SHINING RIVER: “Lover man”, excerpt & soundtrack
Bill Call leaned over his coffee, peering at Arlene. “When was the last time you saw Eddie?” Without answering him or even excusing herself, Arlene rose and went to the bathroom. She locked the door, splashed water on her face, and sat on the toilet. On the back of the door was a framed photograph … Continue reading REACH THE SHINING RIVER: “Lover man”, excerpt & soundtrack
New cover art for REACH THE SHINING RIVER
Cover art: Keith Mallett Cover design: JT Lindroos We hope you would agree that this is a striking new cover for Kevin Stevens' novel REACH THE SHINING RIVER, with its soundtrack of jazz and blues. The lady on the cover is, of course, Arlene Gray, wonderfully described in this reader's review: "Arlene cleans hotel … Continue reading New cover art for REACH THE SHINING RIVER
Australian promotion for REACH THE SHINING RIVER by Kevin Stevens
Australian readers, don't miss Kevin Stevens beautiful historical crime novel REACH THE SHINING RIVER for only 0.99 AUD: http://www.amazon.com.au/REACH-SHINING-RIVER-Kevin-Stevens-ebook/dp/B00JYBISXM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1429692688&sr=1-1&keywords=Reach+the+Shining+River “Not only a solid murder mystery, but equally a colourful and thought-provoking study of a moment in time. With the rhythm and cadence of the prose, echoing the blues soundtrack that underscored the whole book, Stevens … Continue reading Australian promotion for REACH THE SHINING RIVER by Kevin Stevens
Willow Weep for Me
"By the time the singer appeared, the house was full. Arlene Gray stepped elegantly on the stage and approached the microphone, one hand moving in time with the music, the other resting against the curve of her hip. There was warm applause. Light-skinned and full-figured, she wore a black, strapless sheath with sequins that sparkled … Continue reading Willow Weep for Me
Kindle edition of GIFTS free this week!
Christmas is not always magic but good books always are. Whether you love or hate Christmas, you might enjoy a good story. Our collection GIFTS: NINE BITTERSWEET CHRISTMAS STORIES is free on Amazon this week: getBook.at/FREE_GIFTS
GIFTS on www.BookDepository.com
A limited print edition of GIFTS is now also available here: http://www.bookdepository.com/Gifts-Betimes-Books/9780992967444 Free delivery worldwide!
Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Kevin Stevens
From “The Return of Eddie Sloan” by Kevin Stevens: “She checked on Wardell. He was fast asleep, dreaming of sugar plums. All the doors were locked. The backyard was deserted and the thin cover of fresh snow showed no footprints. In the parlor, the Christmas tree stood lightless and lonely, the angel on top askew. … Continue reading Excerpt from Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories by Kevin Stevens
E-book edition of GIFTS: Bittersweet Christmas Stories is here!
Our Christmas collection "Gifts: Bittersweet Christmas Stories"from all Betimes Books authors is now available as e-book for only 0,77£/0,99$ here Read it in PDF format here or contact us to receive a free PDF or Mobi copy of GIFTS! For a print collector edition, click here!
Reaching Readers in Missouri
There is no friend as loyal as a book. Ernest Hemingway
Last week I gave readings of Reach the Shining River at two different venues in St. Louis, Missouri: to staff and students at Fontbonne University, and to Saturday Writers, a writing group in St. Peters, Missouri, which is also a chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild. Both audiences were interested and well-informed, and both events reminded me how important it is for writers to leave the lonely confines of the desk on occasion and engage with others who love to read and write fiction.
Of course, it was challenging to talk about my novel with people who know its setting much better than I do. Reach the Shining River is a Missouri novel, set in Kansas City, and though I have visited KC and St. Louis many times, I have to be careful not to assume…
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“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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Raven Crime Reads about Kevin Stevens’ novel REACH THE SHINING RIVER
"Not only a solid murder mystery, but equally a colourful and thought-provoking study of a moment in time. With the rhythm and cadence of the prose, echoing the blues soundtrack that underscored the whole book, Stevens easily achieved that balance between crime fiction and literary fiction due to his exceptional characterisation and engaging prose." Full … Continue reading Raven Crime Reads about Kevin Stevens’ novel REACH THE SHINING RIVER
Excerpt: Reach the Shining River
1. It was Wardell found the body. He was walking along a cutbank north of town, snapping heads off cattails with his cane pole and checking the river for sunfish. The corpse lay face down in the mud between the railroad tracks and the river path. A man, hard to say what age. His jacket … Continue reading Excerpt: Reach the Shining River
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