Summer tour

Okay, more like out and about around town, but still. I'm working on a trip to do a signing later in the summer/early fall, but there is nothing yet to report. If it happens I'll be very psyched.

But starting this weekend I'll be around a lot. This Sunday is, of course, Noir at the Bar once again at Mandrake on La Cienega at 8:00. I'll be reading from Criminal Economics, my limited edition novel. (Details in the post below on how to order)
I'll have a few to sell, but not as many as I'd like. Seems I sold the first batch a little too quickly. Nice problems to have. I doubt I'll ever get through all 100 copies (which is why I didn't order all 100 at once) but it's nice to see the first box of books nearly empty. I'm even having to hold a few back from shipping to wait for my next delivery. I could have gotten them here in time for the weekend but for $117 in shipping and, um, no thanks.

But thank you sincerely to everyone who has ordered one so far. Hope you enjoy the book. I'd love to hear what people thought about it. No pressure to write an Amazon review or any of that crap I hate groveling for. Just drop me a note if you like it or if you did not.

But even before that, on Saturday the 25th, I'll be at the El Segundo library hosting an event with author and former LAPD interrogator Paul Bishop about the art of interrogation. 
Paul, as many of you know, is the co-mastermind behind the FightCard series, as well as a prolific author of many novels. We'll be talking about his experience as a 35-year veteran of the LAPD and a master interrogator, a skill which I'm lucky to say I've seen in person. It'll be a great event so you should come to the El Segundo library at 10 am and check it out. It's free. And refreshments will be served!

Afterward we can all wagon-train down to Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach and see Dennis Palumbo sign his new novel, too.

On June 2 I'll be at the El Segundo author Fair. This is a great little book gathering in an idyllic little town square and I'm honored to be included. Other mystery authors will be there like Tim Hallinan and Rochelle Staab as well as authors of all kinds of other books. Come on down! I'll be signing books from 1:30 -2:30.

Then (whew! told you I'd be around) at the end of June is the California Crime Writers Conference in Pasadena. I'll be appearing on a panel on Sunday with Paul Bishop again, Gary Phillips and Seth Harwood. Our topic is How To Hardboil (or Noir) Your manuscript. Sunday at 10:30. Check it out! The conference is sold out so I'm hoping to have a full house.

So, that's it for now. I'm almost done with all my side projects and favors so I can finally begin the new novel and truly focus on nothing but. Well, if I hadn't agreed to talk on some night work at my regular job. I need the dough! It costs a lot to be a struggling writer.

Hoods, Hot Rods & Hellcats!

Look at that up there. Ain't it pretty? I've got a story in this collection spearheaded by Chad Eagleton and I'm damn proud to be involved. We all are. So much so that we're asking for the dough up front via Indiegogo (Kickstarter for the cool kids)

The page can be found HERE where you can see Chad give his pitch and read about all the extra goodies you get depending on how much you kick in, all in addition to the book of course. That's the real prize here.

Dig this:

There's murder and robbery, shootouts and knife fights, car chases and drag races, good girls and bad girls, and a lot of troubled men. Hoods opens with a brilliant introduction from counterculture icon Mick Farren, then busts you in the mush with eight lengthy tales from Eric Beetner, Chad Eagleton, Matthew Funk, Christopher Grant, Heath Lowrance, David James Keaton, Nik Korpon, and Thomas Pluck.

A young woman constructs her murderous identity from her father's stash of lurid paperbacks.

A hot rod mechanic's relationship with his troubled wife redlines when his brother returns home from the War.

Passing through a small town, a former Marine finds his girl and a whole lot of trouble.

A pair of brothers on a robbery spree cut a bloody swath through the Southwest until they encounter a little girl with a stuffed rabbit.

A young boy discovers just how far he'll go for rock 'n' roll.

A lonely girl and an emotionally scarred vet face a beachside showdown with a violent motorcycle gang.

A teenager follows the girl of his dreams into a high-octane nightmare.

Two generations of men named Jake obsess over a girl named Cherry.

So get on the ball, time's a-wastin'. Throw down and hold on for the ride.

Limited Edition - updated

Well, I followed through with my weird little idea. I have almost zero idle time, so if idle hands are the Devil's playthings, I'd hate to see what I did if I had real free time. I'd probably be a very prolific arsonist or something.

But until that time comes, I've printed off a limited run of my novel Criminal Economics. The first batch has arrived (see below) and this is 25% of all the copies of this edition that will ever exist in the world. Once I reach 100 copies printed, it goes back in the vault. The book will hopefully come out for real someday, but I hated to see it languish while I pushed some other, newer books ahead of it in line. But even if it gets a full publishing treatment, it won't look like this one.

How do you know you have one of the special editions? All 100 will be hand numbered and signed. By me, I should specify, though if you want my daughters to draw you a picture in one I can talk them into it. That picture below is of the title page where each one will be customized.

How do you get one? Directly from me is the only way. I'll be debuting the new baby at Noir at the Bar this May 26th where I'll be doing a unique reading summarizing the whole book. You'll just have to be there if you want to see that.

UPDATE: BECAUSE OF MY UNDERESTIMATION OF THE US POST OFFICE, I NEEDED TO ADD $1 TO THE SHIPPING COSTS. SORRY ABOUT THAT.

If you can't make it out there or to Bouchercon in the fall where I'll bring a few, but only as many as my luggage will allow, you can order them up directly. Payments through Paypal to ericbeetner (at) gmail (dot) com This one-in-a-hundred edition is only $10, plus $3 shipping if you live anywhere I won't see you in person sometime soon. This isn't really for profit, just to cover my costs. I did it for the love, people.

I'd like to thank R. Thomas Brown for his help in getting this edition ready and looking as good as it does. Also to Brian Lindenmuth for being patient with me as I decide what to do with this crazy novel, and to the Nerd of Noir for reviewing it early for me without a publication date or even any promise of it coming out at all. 

So there you have it – your chance to get a collector's item. Of course this is all predicated on my getting a long track record of publishing and living to a ripe old age when a limited edition of mine might be worth something, so I'm not making any promises this will get you anything more than a quarter at a garage sale in twenty years, but I happen to think it's a pretty fun book too.

The plot blurb is below or go read that Nerd of Noir review above. I'll warn you, it's pretty crazy, violent, and contains the single most vile thing I've ever written. If you know me, you know that's something.

So move quickly. Once they're gone, they're gone.