Oct 20, 2018

We are now halfway through the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller Contest and we’ve got just over 300 orders for 400 books keeping “Gumshoe Rules” in first place. Thank you to everyone who has ordered a copy!

“Gumshoe Rules” is intended in part as an homage to classic noir writers including Raymond Chandler, Lawrence Block,  James M. Cain and John D. MacDonald. There are also several modern writers who have been a big influence: Ian Rankin, Anthony Horowitz and Philip Kerr. I consider Kerr’s “Berlin Noir” to be one of the greatest noir series every written. His Bernie Gunther series is probably the biggest inspiration I have for writing “Gumshoe Rules.” That said, there is a a dark supernatural twist in my book (think Stephen King) that goes beyond traditional noir.

There are two excellent books that I wanted to share. Christopher Huang who is also in the Mystery & Thriller Contest is publishing his second novel “Cat’s Paw.” I’ve ordered this book based on the strength of his first novel. For fans of English mystery writers like Agatha Christie, P.D. James, this will be a real treat. If you want to do your good deed for the day, buy his book. I guarantee you will enjoy it.

For those interested in true crime, I recommend a non-fiction book published by Inkshares “Death As A Living” by Doyle Burke and Lou Grieco is a memoir of a 30-year homicide detective who shares his secrets about his most horrifying cases.

I am grateful for everyone’s support of this book. But I have one more request. If I can ask all of you who have backed this project to send an email to 1 person that you know who might be interested. Perhaps it’s colleague who is a fan of murder mysteries or a family member who always wanted to write a novel. If we get a 25% success rate, that would have a big impact on this project and get me to the finish line so I can get back to writing.  

Send them a link to:  https://www.inkshares.com/books/gumshoe-rules  With your help I know we can get this project fully funded and ready for publication. Everything comes to a close in 30 days (November 21) so if you can send an email today, it is greatly appreciated. 

Thank you for all of your support!
--Z.Z. Traver
PS. I got to meet horror author Joe Hill at a reading from his latest book “Strange Weather.” When I told him I was working on my first novel he wrote some very kinds words of encouragement.