Jeff Abbott's Blog, page 2
July 5, 2011
No Rest for the Dead
Twenty-six authors, one mystery. All for a great cause.
NO REST FOR THE DEAD is a new "serial novel" — meaning that a different writer wrote each chapter. All proceeds benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
I wrote a chapter, and some of crime fiction's biggest names are involved: Lisa Scottoline, Marcus Sakey, Diana Gabaldon, Sandra Brown, Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, J. A. Jance, Peter James, Alexander McCall Smith, Kathy Reichs, R. L. Stine, and many more. It's getting great reviews and has already sold into five languages.
NO REST FOR THE DEAD hits stores today, July 5th, so if you want a good read for a good cause, get a copy today.
July 1, 2011
Amazon and Associated Press and Adrenaline
Could I have worked another A into that title?
Amazon names ADRENALINE one of its Best Books for July, with a wonderful review.
And another rave review comes from The Associated Press, which means this review will likely run in many different news sources (here, at ABC News Entertainment). It's been a good morning!
June 30, 2011
Pub Day for PANIC: ULTIMATE EDITION
In the UK and Ireland, it's publication day for Panic: Ultimate Edition. Earlier I posted a blog entry with video of me talking about the book.
It was one of my most interesting experiences as a writer to "reimagine" one of my personal favorites (among my books) for a new, younger audience. It was–and this might sound strange–very re-energizing. It was different than writing one of my other thrillers, to put myself in the shoes of a kid and imagine what it would be like to face incredible dangers. I had so much fun writing this book (I know you've heard that before, but it's really true) that it was a joy each day to sit down and work on the project.
I would love to do another young adult novel and have been giving it serious thought, so maybe PANIC: ULTIMATE EDITION is the start of something new for me. We'll see.
June 29, 2011
Is Your Adrenaline Pumping Yet?
LOTS has been happening with ADRENALINE as it starts to hit stores this week, so let me share a few links with you.
The book got a starred review from Publishers Weekly. And PW did an interview with me. Today Entertainment Weekly lists ADRENALINE as their Book Pick of the Day, and gave it a great shout-out in their July 1 issue (as of today still on newsstands). USA TODAY picked the book as one of its summer spy reads. And a terrific ad ran for the book in the New York Times book review section. The TV ad will start running on Friday (but I'll post that separately).
BookPage gave the book a great review, as did the Columbus Dispatch. The Austin Chronicle and the Palm Beach Post (two very different papers!) picked ADRENALINE as for their summer reads list, as did McClatchy Newspapers such as the Sacramento Bee and the Los Angeles Daily News.
My tour dates (only in Texas this time around) are here on the News page. Please note that the indie stores are happy to ship you a signed book if you can't make it to the signing. My first signing for the book is tonight at 7 at Austin's own BookPeople, and they've written a wonderful blog entry about me.
Thanks for your tremendous support!
June 27, 2011
My Video Confessions of PANIC: ULTIMATE EDITION
Here's a video of me at one of the locations in Austin featured in PANIC: ULTIMATE EDITION — my young adult novel hitting stores in the UK and Ireland on Thursday.
June 23, 2011
Sam Capra's Cocktails: The Mila
Here's this week's Sam Capra's Cocktails video, showing how to make a Mila. This cocktail is named for Sam's partner in adventure in Adrenaline. Mila's favorite drink in the book is Glenfiddich Scotch, and this pairs its smoky flavor with a sweet and spicy mix. My wife invented this cocktail, and it's her favorite. Cheers!
June 17, 2011
Sam Capra's Cocktails: Sam Capra Cooler
Here's the first entry in my new drink of the week video recipe series–the Sam Capra Cooler. Each week I'll show you how to make either a classic cocktail or a new drink inspired by Sam Capra's bars around the world. The Sam Capra Cooler is a light, refreshing drink perfect for the heat of summer. Cheers!
June 13, 2011
The Sam Capra Store Is Now Open
My wife and I have created a store where you can buy T-shirts inspired by Sam Capra's stylish bars: The Adrenaline nightclub in London and The Last Minute cocktail bar in Manhattan. The store is here. Below each logo it reads "A Sam Capra Joint". The logos were professionally designed by our talented friend Jessica Phillips of Phillips Creative. There's also a Sam Capra T-shirt with Sam's unofficial motto: Bars and Adventure Worldwide. And for you who want to be bad guys, a Nine Suns T-shirt is coming soon. . . no need to get a tattoo.
This was a fun project to do, and just a way to share Sam's world with readers. Enjoy!
June 9, 2011
Three Books, Three Weeks, Two Countries
Today starts a very exciting three weeks for me — I have three books coming out in the next three weeks, in two countries. I know this can be confusing but here's the breakdown:
Today, June 9th, The Last Minute comes out in the UK from Sphere/LittleBrown. This is the second Sam Capra novel. (My novels come out in the UK before the US as I changed publishers in the US. Maybe this will change in the future, we'll see.)
On June 30th, my first young adult novel, Panic: Ultimate Edition comes out in the UK from Atom/LittleBrown. This is a "re-imagining" of my thriller Panic, with Evan Casher recast as a 16-year old school boy. It's a retelling of one of my most popular books, rewritten for a new audience. But I hope if you enjoyed the adult edition of Panic, you'll like the Ultimate Edition as well.
The very next day, July 1st, Adrenaline, comes out in the US from Grand Central. Adrenaline is the first Sam Capra novel, introducing Sam as a CIA agent with a perfect life — who loses it all in a single shattering instant and must battle incredible odds to find his family. Adrenaline got a Starred review in Publishers Weekly recently, and I'll be touring in Texas in July. It will also be available as an ebook, on Kindle, Nook, and iBookstore, and there will also be an enhanced ebook edition for the iPad, with additional exclusive content.
So that's the next three weeks–the busiest release time I've ever had as a writer. Thanks for your support!
May 12, 2011
A Summer Reading List for My Kids
My 9 and 12-year-old sons are pretty good readers. I do let them pick what they'd like to read (Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series and Suzanne Collins's Gregor books are favorites), but I also sometimes introduce books to them that they might not immediately pick up. Example: one of my favorites, A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle. My oldest balked at it after reading the first chapter, but I encouraged him to stay with it, and now it is one of his favorites.
I'm putting together a summer reading list for my sons–books that I want to encourage them to try. What are some of your favorites for the 9-12 range?
