Robin Spano's Blog, page 2

The Next Big Thing

Authors everywhere are participating in the Next Big Thing. It’s an ongoing interview that works a bit like chain mail. You get tagged, you answer 10 interview questions about your work in progress, and you pass the baton to 5 more writerly friends. This week I was double-tagged byJulia Zarankinof Birds & Words blogging fame [...]

5 things I Love About Bouchercon

When my publisher suggested I go to Bouchercon in 2010, a crime writing conference with just shy of 2000 people — all strangers — I was petrified. I knew I had to go — no point jumping into a career half-heartedly — but it sounded about as much fun as starting a new school where [...]

The Cover – Death’s Last Run

THANK YOU for all the feedback from the blogosphere and social media. Outside eyes really helped make this cover rock. ECW Press is running with this cover for now, and may fine tune later. Feel free to add your 2 cents if there’s something you’d fine tune.

Anyway, I love it even if nothing changes. The guys at Cyanotype (the design company) are so creative and funky and they nailed the spirit of this book in an image, which is damn hard to do.

Cover Art Feedback

Yay! It’s time to nail down cover art for this novel I’ve been pouring my soul into for the past year and a half. I would love your help with suggestions.

Here are the first two suggested covers.

Neither one pops for me, but I love the concept, the originality, and like the covers for both Death Plays Poker and Dead Politician Society, I feel like the artist understands the book and can communicate it with images profoundly well.

The challenge: I’d like to give my publisher good feedback on what to change – not just based on my opinion, but on how it would hit readers looking at the book for the first time. Anything and everything is helpful, including:

Which do you like better?
What color scheme would you suggest?
Which images do you like and which rub you the wrong way?

Thanks in advance!

When Life & Art Collide

The saddest thing in my life right now is how far away I live from my 10-month-old nephew. I crawl his pictures every day on Facebook and long for the next chance I get to pluck him into my arms and chat with him (me in English, him in Theo-syllables, which will no doubt soon turn into English).

This morning, I found that longing writing itself into my work in progress – a techno thriller where I needed to add a moral dilemma for the protagonist. Megan is thousands of miles from home, off on a mission to save the world from certain destruction (or something) when her enemy kidnaps her nephew and carries him off to an undisclosed location. Collateral – they’ll return her nephew to safety if Megan turns herself in. And if she turns herself in, they will kill her.

So does she save the world or save her nephew? It would be an easy call – her nephew is the most compelling answer – but if Megan doesn’t save the world first, she’s not leaving things in such good shape for her nephew’s future.

In the middle of writing the scene, I received an email from my sister with this photo attached:

Little Theo had pulled my first novel from the bookshelf and was chewing on it. (As my husband immediately quipped, “a book you can sink your teeth into.”)

If this email had come at any other time, I would have thought, Aww, that’s cute. He likes the bright yellow cover. How many other books has he pulled out and chewed on?

But it wasn’t any other time – this arrived in my inbox right when Theo was inspiring my writing.

I don’t want life to directly imitate art – especially not while writing a thriller – but these moments when life and art collide are fairly magical. They make up for the long hours of hair-pulling angst that is most of writing a novel. They make me think that even if I scrap this project (an important option to keep with any work in progress) it’s the right thing to be writing right now.

SPOILER ALERT: The nephew in the book is going to be just fine.

Free Friday – Aftermath & Observations

People don’t appreciate  free things.

This is obviously not universally true, but it’s something I observed when I worked with my husband in his bar. Sometimes, we’d buy a customer a drink. Yes, there are customers who appreciate it – including several I’m still friends with, five years and three thousand kilometers away. But in most cases they secretly believe they deserve that drink, maybe for all their previous patronage. They think maybe the regular price is inflated – it must be, if you can afford to give drinks away free. A few rounds go by and they wonder where their next free drink is. They expect it, feel ripped off if you don’t buy them another one.

Many people seem to intrinsically believe that whatever the price, you get what you pay for.

So it’s been interesting watching the reader reviews come in after Nook’s recent Free Friday promotion.

Before this promotion, Dead Politician Society had 6 reader reviews on Barnes & Noble. Now it’s over 250 and climbing each day.

Some of these are scathing. Lots of 1-star reviews complaining about the foul language and overt sexual content. (Amusing to me, since there’s no sex on screen whatsoever.) One person complained because there are two lesbian characters. (A review I liked a lot, because it felt like an advertisement for the open-minded reader to interpret as they like.) Several 1- and 2-star reviews saying “you get what you pay for,” then going on to make statements about the weak writing and flat characters and no wonder the book was free.

Several 3-star reviews came in, saying it was a fun, quick read – some were keen to follow the series, others less so. These felt fair – no book is going to be a hit for every reader. There were some interesting comments that I can take as suggestions for future writing – like the fact that Clare is never in real peril was a drawback for a few readers, so I’m playing around with creating more tension in the current book in the series.

But in the midst of the rubble, Clare gained some real new fans. Some 4-star and 5-star reviews from readers who were

stoked to follow Clare into Death Plays Poker. (As was evidenced by the dramatic jump in Nook sales for Death Plays Poker, which continues even now.) I got fan mail from strangers – I checked; they’re not related to me – telling me they were up all night because they couldn’t put the book(s) down.

That felt amazing – it’s the kind of feedback that fuels creativity, eggs me on in the middle of the night when I’m wondering why I’m even bothering.

So I’m glad to have weathered the negativity (as much as it can batter you around on days when you’re not feeling strong enough). Because ultimately, book promotion is about sending your book out in to the world and hoping it makes the connections it’s meant to, with readers who get it, who love it and want more.

I appreciate Nook – even though they ran this promotion for free, ha ha. I got way more than I paid for.

 

New Canadian Authors Set for Lower Mainland Crime Spree

We’re calling it The Crime Tour: Three Hip Chicks & One Old Fart – a chance for Vancouver and Lower Mainland mystery lovers to talk crime fiction with four up and coming Canadian authors this June.

The Chicks are Hilary Davidson, Deryn Collier and Robin Spano (that’s me). The Fart is Ian Hamilton. Needless to say, Ian came up with the name.

We take our rage out on the page – which is likely why we’re so friendly in real life. Whether you’re an aspiring writer looking for inspiration or you love books and are intrigued by what goes into their creation, we hope you’ll come away from these events having learned something. We also plan to make each event a load of fun.

The authors will all be staying in my home for the duration of the tour, which we think is going to add to the events. We’re already friends, but we’re going to get to know each other even better. We won’t have cameras in the house though – we’re not ready for reality TV. Well, maybe once the wine starts flowing…

Crime Tour events are booked in venues from Burnaby to Squamish. They are:

 

Real Vancouver Crime

Sunday, June 17th from 2-5 p.m., W2 Woodwards

Join Sean Cranbury of Books on the Radio as he hosts The Crime Tour for an afternoon of readings in a funky underground space on Vancouver’s Lower East Side.

This event is free and open to the public. Books will be available for sale on site.

 

Murder in the Woods

Monday, June 18th from 6:30-8:00 p.m., Squamish Public Library

The Crime Tour travels up the Sunshine Coast for an evening of chatting mystery and writing in the wooded beauty of the Sea-to-Sky highway. This event is free and open to the public. Books will be for sale on site by Armchair Books.

 

Meet and Greet at Chapters

Tuesday, June 19th from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Chapters (Robson & Howe)

Come down to Chapters on Robson & Howe to meet and visit with The Crime Tour authors and get your books signed. Books will be available for sale/signing.

 

A Mystery Evening to Die For

Tuesday June 19th from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Richmond Public Library Brighouse (Main) Branch.

Join up with The Crime Tour for a full evening of author readings, a panel discussion on the writing process and a lengthy Q&A. Books will be available for sale on site from Dead Write Books.

 

Triple Threat: Chicks Who Solve Crime!

Thursday June 21 7:00-8:30 p.m., Burnaby Public Library, McGill Branch

Join The Crime Tour chicks for a fun, all-female night of mystery readings and discussion in Burnaby. Books will be available for sale on site from Dead Write Books.

 

The Authors:

Hilary Davidson’s debut, The Damage Done, won the 2011 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. It also earned a Crimespree Award and was a finalist for an Arthur Ellis and a Macavity award. The sequel, The Next One to Fall, was released in early 2012. Says the Los Angeles Review of Books: “Her voice is a fresh and welcome addition to the noir landscape.” www.hilarydavidson.com

 

 

Ian Hamilton’s first novel in the Ava Lee series, The Water Rat of Wanchai, was chosen by Quill and Quire as one of the top five novels of 2011 and was nominated for a CBC bookie award for best crime/mystery of the year. It is currently in the running for an Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel. The fourth book in the series, The Red Pole of Macau, will be published this fall. Says The Toronto Star: “Ava Lee is unbeatable at just about everything…She’s perfect. She’s fast.” www.ianhamiltonbooks.com

 

Robin Spano’s undercover protagonist Clare Vengel has been described as a “slightly slutty grown up Nancy Drew.” Spano has been dubbed one of Canada’s Hot New Crime Writers by Crime Fiction Lover. She has fast developed a loyal following with her “smart, stylish and sharp” writing in Dead Politician Society and Death Plays Poker. www.robinspano.com

 

 

Deryn Collier is the newcomer in this group. Her just-released first novel, Confined Space, was nominated for an Arthur Ellis award for best unpublished crime novel. Set in rural BC, Confined Space has been called “superbly written, densely layered, and marvelously suspenseful” by New York Times bestselling author Julia Spencer-Fleming. www.deryncollier.com

 

How To Get Blog Reviews

A few writers have asked me recently for advice about how to get their books reviewed on blogs. I’ve found myself copying and pasting the same advice from email to email, so I thought it might be helpful to post it here, for more new writers to see.

 

Step One: Figuring out which blogs you should approach

I use the following criteria:

1. The blogger’s voice/style. If I like the way they write – if it makes me think the two of us would get along well over coffee, that we’d have lots to say to each other and have great conversations – I’ll approach them. You can tell this by reading their reviews – especially of books you’ve read too.

2. How many comments does each post receive? If the posts get few comments, the readership/engagement is likely to be low. If each post gets over 10 comments, my interest is more piqued. Over 30, I’m hitting it for sure.

3. Number of registered followers. Not all blogs have this, but on some you can see how many people are networking with the blogger. Over 300 is good. Over 1000 is great. Similarly, you can follow the blogger’s link to their Twitter account and see how big their following is. Over 1000 is good. Over 10,000 is phenomenal.

4. Awards on their page. These awards are passed from blogger to blogger, and basically they don’t mean anything about quality. But they mean that the blogger is a good networker. Often, one great blog review will lead to a few more if other bloggers’ interest is piqued.

5. Review policy. Most book bloggers have this – it’s a page on their site where they say what kind of books they like to read. You want to make sure yours is a good fit.

 

*Note: You don’t need the blog to meet all these criteria. Personally, I find #1 & #5 the most important. But I do look at the rest.

 

Step Two: The Approach

Once you’ve decided you’d like to approach a blog, I find a simple formula works. Send an informal email where you:

(a) compliment the blog

(b) suggest your book for their review

(c) let them know you’re available for an interview or guest post even if they don’t have time to read your book

The compliment should be sincere (you’re approaching blogs you like, after all) and specific. Basically, you’re letting the blogger know that this isn’t a form request, that you’re querying them specifically.

 

Step Three: The Follow-Up

Stay in touch with the blogger. Connect on Facebook and Twitter. Value your relationship with them – consider them an amiable colleague. These people are the publicity of the future.

Now in Audiobooks

It's a funny thing, hearing your words read aloud by someone else. Kind of like hearing your own voice on tape, but a little less freaky.

I'm stoked to announce that both Dead Politician Society and Death Plays Poker are now available as audiobooks from Audible.com.

I got really lucky with the reader. In fact, listening to Erin Moon's renditions of the Clare novels is giving me tips for when I next have to do an author reading.

These books are not easy to read from. They're written mainly in dialogue, so basically a reader has to perform a one-man play. I often default to the prologue of Death Plays Poker – which has no dialogue – when I'm in a situation that calls for me to read. (Either that or I butcher the dialogue and laugh at myself a lot.)

Erin Moon, however, is a master of the one-woman radio play. She does Mickey Mills' South Boston accent like a pro, she nails T-Bone's Texas drawl, she gets Cloutier's deep grunting voice down just like I imagine it.

She also gets Clare. She understands her sarcasm, her insecurity, her take on life. She reads the words the way I meant them.

I don't often listen to audiobooks – my attention span is way too short; I'd get lost and have to press rewind all the time – but I'm excited that these are so well-made.

Here are some links to the books on Audible. If you'd like to listen to a sample for free, press the green arrow under the book cover.

Death Plays Poker

Dead Politician Society

 

Free Friday at Nook

So stoked that Nook chose Dead Politician Society to feature in its Free Friday promotion.

The deal: If you have a Nook (or a phone, tablet, or computer with the Nook app), you can download Dead Politician Society free for the next two weeks.

Why am I so happy to be giving away a book I slaved over?

1. Because it's the 1st in a series, and I think like a crack dealer. I want people to meet Clare and be curious enough about her next adventure that they simply must get their hands on Death Plays Poker.

2. Because of the buzz. This morning, more people are talking about the book – some have already read and reviewed it. The best way to sell books is through word of mouth – a friend tells a friend about a book they enjoyed. So the more people talking, the better. (Even the person who gave it a 1 star review because of the foul language is a conversation starter and fine by me.)

3. Because I'm honored that Nook chose mine from the pile. They feature one book a week, and I'm thrilled for Clare to have piqued the right person's interest. I love their mini-review, where they say, among other things, "readers will root for Clare as she finds an idiosyncratic way to track down the killers."

They also asked me to recommend a book I liked. It was hard to narrow it down – I've read some great crime fiction lately from Ian Hamilton, Hilary Davidson, Chevy Stevens, Sandra Brannan, Nora McFarland and more. In the end, I chose Lisa Brackmann's Rock Paper Tiger because her protagonist reminds me a bit of Clare, so I figured it made a good "recommend" on the same page that featured DPS. The book is quirky and original, and I learned from it as a writer.

To download Dead Politician Society free, here's the Nook page.

Also, just found out it's free at iTunes also. Not sure why or for how long, but cool with me.

Happy reading!