ONE WEEK TO GO until the official Launch Event for "The Animal in Man: Violent Mind" at the Book Cellar in Chicago! 

I’m hoping we can pack the house and get a little mini-reunion going for my old Gage Park High School kids and their favorite English teacher. (...did I say ’kids’? You guys’re like 24 now. Holy chr...) Of course, all my friends, family, and fellow sci-fi/fantasy nerds are welcome as well!!  SEE YOU THERE!!

Here is the info: Thursday, Nov. 1, 7:00-9:00 PM at... 

** I do want to inform the original backers (during the contest three years ago) that due to a delay in printing the demand for the books, you unfortunately won’t be receiving your signed copy in your mailbox before this event. I utterly regret this circumstance. I have been assured by my publisher that the copies for the Book Cellar event will be there on time. I am very sorry. I’m flying out to San Francisco to sign YOUR copy of the book as soon as they can print more. I will totally understand if you come out to the event and don’t buy one (another one) because you already have one on the way. **

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.  

Dear friends and followers,

We’re at the three week mark for the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest, with 71 readers counted and 102 pre-orders. We’ve still got some distance to go, and about five and a half weeks to make it in. There’s been an issue in the past couple of weeks of orders not being processed as expected, so please check to see if "Cat’s Paw" is listed on your account bookshelf under "Purchased". I make sure to send out thank you emails during this pre-order process, so if you think you’ve ordered but received no thanks from me, that’s usually a sign that something’s gone wrong somewhere.

Meanwhile, there is also the Inkshares Horror contest, with its own host of entries. The one that’s caught my eye at the moment is "Ereshk", by Frederick Street which pits "an alcoholic ex-cop, a washed-up arms dealer, and a fugitive stripper" against a mysterious cult. I guess I’m attracted to it because it borders on being a crime story, and, well, you know me and mysteries.

I was recently in touch with J. T. R. Russell, author of "Wake Up Call", which was returned to draft mode after its initial campaign a year and a half ago. I remember being disappointed then, as I was looking forward to this story. I thought it had a certain Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams quality about it -- perhaps it reminded me a bit of Adams’s "The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul". Not to worry: Russell apparently still has plans for the book, and I would recommend following it in case he opens up a new campaign or does anything else with it.

In the meantime, keep reading, and have fun.

Greetings Supporters of Crow’s Gambit,

I know you have been waiting for an update and I now have something to report. I just submitted the full draft to my development editor. I am excited, relieved, and nervous all at the same time. In about three weeks I should get back lots of advice and suggestions. At that point I will spend a few weeks probably completely rewriting it. Then we go in for line editing.

Thank you all for your continued support.

PT