Tim Tigner's Blog, page 4
September 23, 2015
Back beside The Girl On The Train
A couple weeks ago, COERCION appeared beside THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN on Amazon's Best Seller List at the same time my wife Elena was reading it beside me in bed. I did a cutsie Facebook post on this, and enjoyed my moment next to Paula Hawkin's sunshine.
Today, I woke up next to TGOTT again. This time on LAZY DAY BOOKS weekly review. This week's COERCION followed last week's TGOTT. Both were very thoughtful reviews, so my hat's off to the team at LAZY DAY BOOKS, and to fate for bringing us back together. You can check them out here.
The contrast in these reviews got me thinking about the difference between "good" and "my style." As an author, I read a lot of reviews, and find that people frequently confuse those two. Since authors bleed when we hear "bad" or see small numbers of stars, please consider whether what your really mean is, "not my style" and skip the review.
Why critique a book that wasn't intended for you? I'd likely give almost any teen-dystopian-lesbian-vampire-romance 1 or 2 stars based on my style, but that's not helpful to the intended audience, and it hurts the author, which you don't want to do. In my experience, even T-D-L-V-R authors tend to be pretty nice.
As for TGOTT, I'm looking forward to our next encounter. I read somewhere that these things tend to happen in threes.
BAck Beside The Girl on the Train
A couple weeks ago, COERCION appeared beside THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN on Amazon's Best Seller List at the same time my wife Elena was reading it beside me in bed. I did a cutsie Facebook post on this, and enjoyed my moment next to Paula Hawkin's sunshine.
Today, I woke up next to TGOTT again. This time on LAZY DAY BOOKS weekly review. This week's COERCION followed last week's TGOTT. Both were very thoughtful reviews, so my hat's off to the team at LAZY DAY BOOKS, and to fate for bringing us back together. You can check them out here.
The contrast in these reviews got me thinking about the difference between "good" and "my style." As an author, I read a lot of reviews, and find that people frequently confuse those two. Since authors bleed when we hear "bad" or see small numbers of stars, please consider whether what your really mean is, "not my style" and skip the review.
Why critique a book that wasn't intended for you? I'd likely give almost any teen-dystopian-lesbian-vampire-romance 1 or 2 stars based on my style, but that's not helpful to the intended audience, and it hurts the author, which you don't want to do. In my experience, even T-D-L-V-R authors tend to be pretty nice.
As for TGOTT, I'm looking forward to our next encounter. I read somewhere that these things tend to happen in threes.
September 8, 2015
Books Chatter and so did I
Ever wonder what goes on behind the fiction? Flora at Books Chatter just published an in-depth and insightful interview we had a lot of fun with. It includes everything from music to a bedroom scene. She also did a lot of homework, including digging up the 2013 photo below (no, I'm not wearing makeup!) My beret's off to her for doing such a great job. Check it out,
September 2, 2015
Dining with the Stars
I had the privilege of dining with some of my fellow Thomas & Mercer authors last night. Listening to Blake Crouch describe filming Wayward Pines with M. Night Shyamalan, and Barry Eisler discuss branching out from his John Rain series to do a standalone, were a couple highlights. There were many others. What a great crowd!
Today we're filming for "Kindle's Most Wanted" which should be a blast. After getting a couple glasses of wine in the producers last night, they don't see so intimidating...
Visible here from left to right are: James Hankins (The Prettiest One), Blake Crouch (Wayward Pines), Marcia Clark (Blood Defense), Barry Eisler (John Rain Thrillers), Matthew FitzSimmons (The Short Drop), Marcus Sakey (Written in Fire,) and me.
August 29, 2015
Going to Hollywood!
I'm headed to Hollywood on Tuesday at my publisher's invitation to make promotional videos. Looking forward to getting those posted.
That will be my second trip in a week. My wife Elena and I (can you believe she's a math professor?) just got back from the Premiere of ALWAYS at Hollywood's iconic ArcLight Cinemas. My grad-school roommate, Eric Mark, produced and starred in this modern Asian Romeo & Juliette. Odd that we went to the school ranked #1 in Finance (Wharton) and then ended up as artists. You just never know what life's going to bring! But if if happens to bring you to ALWAYS, I'm sure you'll enjoy the show.
August 24, 2015
Audiobooks are Coming Soon!
I'm thrilled to announce that Dick Hill, the voice of Jack Reacher and Nathan McBride and Moses (no kidding, Dick also narrates the Bible) will be narrating FLASH and BETRAYAL. Appropriately, they should be available by Thanksgiving.
As an avid audiobook reader who runs, drives, and does chores connected to earbuds, I've literally listened to Dick's myriad voices for thousands of hours. Nobody does a better job of capturing emotions or switching seamlessly between male and female leads. I can't tell you how excited I am to hear Dick bring my creations to audible life. I hope you are too.
August 11, 2015
ITW Author Roundtable
Join me on the International Thriller Writer's website this week for an author roundtable discussion of the importance of setting. We'll be sharing our perspective on this aspect of the creative process and responding to reader Q&A through Sunday. Hope to see you there.
July 31, 2015
Author Interview in The Big Thrill
I was snugging a green beret onto my crew-cut scalp when I heard the report: The Berlin Wall, Tom Brokaw announced, has fallen.
I’d just completed years of military training. I’d parachuted into stormy swamps, memorized Soviet battle plans, and “learned Russian so you didn’t have to.” Then the enemy my generation had grown up with, and the career for which I’d sweat and bled, crumbled on the six o’clock news.
What are you going to do now? Mom asked.
I went over to the dark side. I moved to Moscow. The Wall had fallen and then the Curtain—let the pillaging and plundering begin! Of course it was the locals now known as oligarchs who ransacked Russia by the billion. I did OK, landing a corporate gig peddling Western medicine.
Years passed—tough perestroika years—and my sworn enemies morphed into best friends. I came to understand that defeat had cost them more than jobs and traditions. The collapse of the Iron Curtain had also crushed their pride. They’d been a superpower one day, and destitute the next. Talk about a tough pill to swallow.
I tried to imagine how I’d react, if American pride became an illusion. I thought about how hard I’d fight to prevent it. With clenched fists, I vowed that I’d use everything I had learned, every tool at my disposal. Then I put myself in my new friends’ shoes, and asked:
How could I have prevented the fall—if I had the resources, determination, and cunning?
COERCION is the story of one prescient man’s attempt to save his sinking nation. It’s the story of KGB guile coupled with devious invention, and the moral compromises that come into play during extended covert operations.
Set in 1990, between the Berlin Wall’s collapse and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, COERCION plunges the reader into the world of Cold War espionage as experienced by both perpetrators and victims. It rips open a conspiracy that could have been, exposing one hero as he first falters, and another as he ascends.
What was your goal in writing COERCION?
In Eye of the Needle, Ken Follett told a plausible tale of how WWII could have ended very differently. By writing his first espionage thriller from multiple perspectives, Follett added sympathy, depth, and complexity to his clever historical twist. I wanted to do the same for the Cold War.
Where does fact end and fiction begin in COERCION?
The scheme concocted by KGB General Vasily Karpov in COERCION was tactically sound and mechanically plausible in his era. In fact, his core strategy was widely deployed by the KGB, just not as effectively. Of course Karpov benefits from the author’s 20:20 hindsight—and a novel diabolic device.
What’s to prevent Putin from adopting Karpov’s plan?
Nothing. I almost wish he would. Not the part of the story that led to the title, but the core strategy of creating an economic superpower through manufacturing might and innovation. The people of Russia deserve it. Post-perestroika, Russia’s government has behaved more like Saudi Arabia’s than America’s, relying on natural resources to pay the bills, rather than building a stronger nation.
What differentiates your novels from the other thrillers on the shelves?
I chuckle at this, because I work so hard to mimic authors like Ludlum, Flynn, and Clancy. But of course that’s stylistic. My novels all center on a plausible invention that’s rocking the world of both its users and its victims. This tactic allows me to explore philosophical questions pertinent to modern society in an entertaining manner, with fresh plots, and unpredictability. Along with introducing new friends, my goal is to feed my readers’ intellectual curiosity, while breathlessly taking them someplace they’ve never been.
*****
#1 New Release
Making a dream come true, COERCION scored the top slot among New Releases in Espionage Thrillers during its debut month. These little orange badges Amazon awards are like combat ribbons, trivial symbols of tremendous efforts. Thanks to all of you and my team at Thomas & Mercer for your great feedback and kind support!
July 8, 2015
Meet the Author
A quick callout to Amazon Vine Voice and Hall of Fame Reviewer Michael Gallagher for featuring me on today's Meet the Author post, at Free Kindle Books & Tips.
It's a good time to check out Free Kindle Books & Tips, as Michael is currently giving away a Kindle Paperwhite to new subscribers. You can't beat free books and a free Kindle. Sign up here.
