Sam Wiebe's Blog, page 2
June 25, 2018
Cut You Down
Have you checked out Cut You Down? Here are what the reviews say:
The Georgia Straight: "Wiebe sharpens his prose to a point."
Dead End Follies: "Sam Wiebe is a master of tone and atmosphere."
Cemetery Dance: "Recommended for noir fans."
https://www.amazon.com/Cut-You-Down-Wakeland-Novel/dp/1681440237/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1529960984&sr=8-5&keywords=cut+you+down …
May 29, 2018
Mystery Writing Masterclass: Crime in the Suburbs; Crime Fiction and Fact
Registration for the Mystery Writing Masterclass is filling up nicely!
If you've always wanted to write crime and mystery fiction, this is the class for you!
June 9th at SFU Harbour Centre, EJ Safarik Sr Conference Room, 10-2:30.
see samwiebe.com/seminars for details, or buy tickets at:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mystery-...
Also upcoming: an event at Book Warehouse Main Street on June 12th with Charlie Demers and Michelle Kim.
On June 13th, I'll be giving a talk at the Vancouver Police Museum on "Vancouver Crime Fiction and Fact."
May 14, 2018
Mystery Writing Masterclass Seminar
June 9th I'm running a "Mystery Writing Masterclass" at SFU Harbour Centre (Downtown Vancouver) from 10-230. Registration is open now. Details below.
Mystery Writing Masterclass with Sam Wiebe
Have an idea for a mystery novel? Mired in the middle of a tough first draft? Wondering what revisions will make your work publication-ready? Then this is the class for you!
Join acclaimed author Sam Wiebe for a seminar focused on novel writing, with special emphasis on the crime and mystery genre. Topics include developing ideas, creating characters, fine-tuning plot, and revising your work for submission. Suitable for beginners to intermediate writers, and applicable to all genres of narrative fiction, this fun and interactive masterclass is based on materials developed from Sam’s residency at the Vancouver Public Library.
We’ll cover:
Where to find ideas, and how to develop them
Creating your detective, suspects, and killers.
Writing an opening that hooks readers
Planting clues and red herrings
Plotting and structuring your novel
Common errors and how to fix them
Revising and submitting your work like a pro
Course booklet and pencil provided. Registration limited.
Sam Wiebe is the author of three critically acclaimed novels: Cut You Down, Invisible Dead, and Last of the Independents. He has won the Arthur Ellis Award and the Kobo Emerging Writers Prize, and has been nominated for the Shamus Award and the City of Vancouver Book Award. He’s the editor of the forthcoming anthology Vancouver Noir, and has published short fiction and articles in various publications. Wiebe was the 2016 Vancouver Public Library Writer in Residence, and has given lectures and seminars internationally, including the Write on the Sound conference and ThrillerFest New York. He holds an MA (English) from SFU. Visit samwiebe.com for more information.
UPCOMING SEMINARS
Saturday, June 9th, 2018
10:00 am – 2:30 pm,
SFU Harbour Centre, EJ Safarik Conference Room,
DATE: June 9th, 2018,
TIME: 10:00am-2:30pm
DURATION: Four hours with two short breaks.
LOCATION: EJ Safarik Sr Conference Room, HC 2235
Simon Fraser University Harbour Center Campus
515 West Hastings St, a three-minute walk from Waterfront Station
FEE: $115
Materials Provided: Booklet with course content, paper and pencils.
April 5, 2018
Seattle Event, Reviews, What am I Reading
March was a very difficult month. I had to cancel and reschedule several events, and it's taken me this long to get back into things. But I have some good news to share
My event at Third Place Books in Seattle has been rescheduled for Thursday May 17th, 7pm, at the Forest Park location. I'll be in conversation with Brian Thornton, author, editor, former President of Mystery Writers America's Pacific Northwest chapter, and all-around great guy. It should be a terrific night.
My books are available at Third Place right now, in person or on their website: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/searc... .
If you're looking for a free ebook, follow the link and pick up Hollywood North, a free Wakeland story available on their Kobo page.
A couple of new reviews I'm happy to share:
Col's Criminal Library gives CUT YOU DOWN 4.5/5, saying "Wiebe serves up another compelling, edge of the seat tale."
Unnerving Magazine says "CUT YOU DOWN has thrills and suspense, emotion and grit. Quality read."
For all reviews, go to my Cut You Down page.
If you get a minute, please review the book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indigo, or any other booksellers' site. It helps authors.
OK, enough business. What am I reading these days?
Honestly, I've read very little over the last month. I did watch the first season of Hap and Leonard, which does credit to Joe Lansdale's book series. I read the second novel, Mucho Mojo, and am working on the third, the Two-Bear Mambo. I also read Sheena Kamal's follow-up to her excellent debut The Lost Ones, which is called It All Falls Down. It's even better than the first. There are a lot of great crime books coming out soon, including Jennifer Hillier's Jar of Hearts, Owen Laukkanen's Gale Force, and Charles Demers's Property Values, which I was happy to blurb.There's a wealth of great writing out there.
March 21, 2018
Hollywood North
"Hollywood North" is out, published by Quercus USA, March 2018.
This is a FREE e-book that features Dave Wakeland investigating the disappearance of a poet-turned sitcom writer. "Hollywood North" includes an excerpt from CUT YOU DOWN.
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March 19, 2018
The CUT YOU DOWN Reviews are In, plus new article
My article "Expect No Mercy: Crime Fiction and Gentrification" is live over at Crime Reads. I've gotten great feedback on it so far, and I feel like it lays out some of the things I'm going for in Cut You Down.
Speaking of which: several rave reviews have come in for Cut You Down. Due to circumstances I haven't posted them before today, but they've been a small bright spot in a gloomy couple of weeks.
From the New York Journal of Books: “A wonderful setting and likeable characters, lots of action and subtle humor will have readers calling for more stories featuring David Wakeland.”
From Killer Nashville, where it was a Book of the Day: "Sam Wiebe has built a reputation for creating PIs who seem straight out of the pulp fiction classics. Cut You Down will only add to it."
From JessicaMapReviews: "The writing was great and I loved the rough around the edges Wakeland. I can’t wait to see where Wiebe takes him next!"
From Steve Aberle: "A a first-class story...a compulsory P.I. novel of the best kind."
If you've read Cut You Down, please leave a review on Amazon, Indigo or Barnes and Noble, and help spread the word. And if you haven't read it yet, give it a try.
March 12, 2018
3.12.18
It was unexpected, but peaceful. He was a warm and genuine person, and I have a lot of great memories. That's some comfort.
Because of this, I've cancelled several book events, including tonight's talk with Brian Thornton at Third Place Books in Seattle. I hope to reschedule these at some point in the future. Apologies to those organizing or planning on attending.
Thanks to the people who've reached out--if we don't get back to you immediately or individually, I hope you'll understand.
My dad's memorial service is this Friday, 1-3, at Seaview Fellowship Hall in South Surrey/White Rock.
March 2, 2018
Vancouver Noir announcement
Thrilled to announce that Vancouver Noir, the anthology I edited for Akashic Books, has a release date of November 2018!
Vancouver Noir features new stories from Timothy Taylor, Sheena Kamal, Nathan Ripley, Yasuko Thanh, Carleigh Baker, Dietrich Kalteis, Linda Richards, Robin Spano, Nick Mamatas, RM Greenaway, Don English, SG Wong, Kristi Charish...and yours truly. The astonishing cover art comes from the great Mel Yap.
From the introduction:
"You might wonder what shadows could exist in Vancouver, rain-spattered jewel of the Pacific Northwest. Nestled between the US border and the Coast Mountains, the city's postcard charms are familiar, even to those who've never been here, thanks to the films and TV shows shot in Hollywood North: The X-Files and Deadpool, Rumble in the Bronx and Jason Takes Manhattan. Vancouver is the so-called City of Glass. A nice place, in any case, and much too nice for noir. Looked at from afar, Vancouver may seem idyllic.
But living here is different--cold and baffling and occasionally hostile. While outsiders focus on high-test BC bud, locals see a heroin crises: Vancouver is home to the first legalized safe injection site in North America, now heavily taxed by overdoses resulting from street drugs cut with fentanyl. It's ground zero for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, a nationwide catastrophe involving the deaths and disappearances of hundreds of marginalized women. Money and status trample culture and community.
If Vancouver is a city of glass, that glass is underneath our feet."
VANCOUVER NOIR is out November 6th, 2018. Pre-order yours today!
AMAZON US AMAZON CA INDIEBOUND AKASHIC
February 20, 2018
Upcoming events, AMA, and Reviews
The reviews for CUT YOU DOWN have been tremendous. In addition to a starred review from Publishers Weekly, Here are a couple others:
Mystery People named CUT YOU DOWN one of its February picks, calling it "a fresh spin on the tough yet emotionally vulnerable private eye."
Susan Hoover on Reviewing the Evidence says, "CUT YOU DOWN is an edge of the seat thriller. I held my breath through the last fifty pages...Sam Wiebe has done a great job of scaring the pants off the reader."
It's also on the cover of Publishers Weekly this month.
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This is going to be a busy spring. Next week is the Galiano Island Writers Fest, where I'll be the guest for a live taping of the Well Reds podcast, hosted by Charles Demers. That's on Sunday at noon.
March 6th I'll be at Book Warehouse on Main Street, along with Dietrich Kalteis, Eve Lazarus, and Kate Bird, for an event called Vancouver Crime, Fact and Fiction.
March 9th I'll be down in Olympia, Washington, at Orca Books. And on March 12th I'll be at Third Place Books in Seattle, in conversation with Brian Thornton. Here's the Facebook event page for that.
Please check the Events page for all upcoming events. 
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If you read CUT YOU DOWN, please take a moment to review it, especially on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Indigo. Reviews help make a difference for authors. Thank you.
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Finally, I did an AMA for Urban 13. I closed it early, technology not being my strong suit, so we're doing another one March 2nd. But the video of answers is below. Thanks to everyone who participated!
February 13, 2018
CUT YOU DOWN launches!
Today is the day the second Wakeland novel, CUT YOU DOWN, arrives in stores. Here's how you can order it:
Amazon (US) Amazon (CA) Chapters/Indigo Barnes & Noble Book Warehouse Indiebound
The book has garnered incredible reviews so far, including a starred rave review from Publishers Weekly. Here's the synopsis:
No one knows what happened to Tabitha Sorenson, a brilliant but troubled college student who vanished in the aftermath of a scandal involving millions of dollars in school funds Hired to find the missing girl by her professor (and admirer) Dana Essex, private investigator Dave Wakeland is tossed into a world of suburban gangsters, corrupt authorities, and a contract killer with an unhealthy fondness for blades--all of them ready to guard their secrets at any cost.
Aided by Sonia Drego, a police officer and former lover with dangerous secrets of her own, Wakeland's world is upended when the investigation takes a deadly turn. Suspecting he may have been played for a rube by the woman who hired him, the young PI crosses borders--and lines--in his hunt for a sadistic killer, a journey of discovery that takes him from the back alleys of a rapidly modernizing Vancouver to the wilds of Washington State to a disorienting suburban sprawl, where nothing is as it seems.
CUT YOU DOWN is available in hardcover, e-book, audiobook, and trade. Give it a shot. 
Amazon (US) Amazon (CA) Chapters/Indigo Barnes & Noble Book Warehouse Indiebound
