Libby Fischer Hellmann's Blog, page 5

February 2, 2020

Georgia Davis Boxed Set of Four — 99¢!

Hi, everyone. I have a VERY special promotion that just started, and I hope you’ll take advantage of it!


 


Georgia Davis Box Set

4 of my 5 Georgia Davis PI thrillers are now in a Boxed Set for just 99¢!!


The promo starts today and will go through February 9th, so it’s only this week. The silver lining: You’ll have 4 great novels to read through the icky month of February! You can find it at your favorite retailer, and here’s a universal link to get you there.


Want a snapshot description of all four stories? Read on…


EASY INNOCENCE (2008):

Winner, Best PI Novel, Readers Choice Award

Freshly-minted PI Georgia Davis investigates the murder of a high school girl and finds out how far teen girls will go for approval from their peers.


DOUBLEBACK (2009)

“Great Lakes Great Read” Autumn Pick, 2009 Great Lakes Bookseller Association

PI Georgia Davis and Ellie Foreman team up and criss-cross the country after the kidnapping of a young girl triggers a series of more deadly events.


TOXICITY (2011) Winner, Best Suspense, Readers Choice Award, Love is Murder Conference.Ten years before Easy Innocence, three bodies turn up in quick succession—all of them dumped in waste disposal dumpsters or landfills. Officer Georgia Davis, her boyfriend detective, and his partner team up and find much more than they bargained for. “The Georgia Davis series may just be one of the best crime thriller series being written today.” Seattle Post-Intelligencer


In NOBODY’S CHILD, nominated for a Shamus, a Daphne, and the Chicago Writers Association best book of the year, Georgia discovers a half-sister who’s in big trouble. But rescuing the girl will bring Georgia back to confront an old enemy. ““Thrilling…Hellmann ratchets up tension with every chapter.” Publishers Weekly


Btw, if you buy the set, let me know in the comments section of the pinned post on my  Facebook Author Page. Just say, “I bought it!” so I can personally thank you, even if it takes me months.


Have a great week, and I hope Georgia makes it even better!


Warmly,


Libby


The post Georgia Davis Boxed Set of Four — 99¢! appeared first on .

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on February 02, 2020 20:46

January 15, 2020

Goodreads Giveaway — Win 4 Georgia Davis PI Thrillers!

Starting 2020 off with a bang, I’m giving away 10 copies of the Georgia Davis PI Boxed Set of FOUR (recently upgraded from three) via Goodreads! Hope you’ll enter for the chance to follow the Chicago private detective through her first four cases. (HIGH CRIMES, btw, is #5, but it’s not in the set.)


Here’s more Info, where you’ll also find a short summary of each thriller.


 





.goodreadsGiveawayWidget { color: #555; font-family: georgia, serif; font-weight: normal; text-align: left; font-size: 14px;
font-style: normal; background: white; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidget p { margin: 0 0 .5em !important; padding: 0; }
.goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink {
display: inline-block;
color: #181818;
background-color: #F6F6EE;
border: 1px solid #9D8A78;
border-radius: 3px;
font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;
font-weight: bold;
text-decoration: none;
outline: none;
font-size: 13px;
padding: 8px 12px;
}
.goodreadsGiveawayWidgetEnterLink:hover {
color: #181818;
background-color: #F7F2ED;
border: 1px solid #AFAFAF;
text-decoration: none;
}


Goodreads Book Giveaway



The Georgia Davis PI Series by Libby Fischer Hellmann



The Georgia Davis PI Series



by Libby Fischer Hellmann




Giveaway ends January 31, 2020.



See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.





Enter Giveaway





Thanks for entering, and I’ll see you soon!


The post Goodreads Giveaway — Win 4 Georgia Davis PI Thrillers! appeared first on .

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on January 15, 2020 12:36

November 30, 2019

CAPITAL PARTNERS, A Short Story, FREE!


Time to settle in with cocoa or your beverage of choice and enjoy 22 Thriller Short Stories, all of them FREE Here! My contribution to the group is Capital Partners, which I liked writing so much I expanded it to a screenplay pilot! Join us for some holiday escapes written by some of the best thriller writers in the biz.


Enjoy!


Just Click Here


 


The post CAPITAL PARTNERS, A Short Story, FREE! appeared first on .

 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 30, 2019 17:24

October 15, 2019

Bucks County Book Festival

I was delighted to spend Sunday, October 13, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania at the Bucks County Book Festival. I’d never been to Doylestown, despite having gone to college at Penn in Philadelphia, only an hour away, and boy was I surprised. It’s a charming town and the people are lovely, too. I had a great time and even sold some books. Thanks, Doylestown!


 


The post Bucks County Book Festival appeared first on .

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 15, 2019 16:58

October 12, 2019

I Never Thought I’d Say This, But… (part 1)

We need to get rid of social media. It was a good idea but it’s ruining our brains, our behavior, and our society. This…from an addict who’s online ALL day.


I didn’t always feel this way. In the beginning social media had so much promise: an instant way to communicate fluidly and fast with the people you love, people you’ve lost touch with, friends and family. It was also a way to educate ourselves by reading articles on every subject you could imagine. I especially loved Twitter in the beginning. Every tweet had a link to an interesting article. I remember telling people I’d never felt so well-informed.


But then the rot set in.


Social media drives fake news 


These days Social Media sits at the apex of an ongoing “fake news” battle, perpetrated by you-know-who. Unfortunately, it has completely changed the way the world’s news is or isn’t reported. It’s hard to know who’s telling the truth, and trusted media giants like the New York Times is coming under public scrutiny. At the same time Fox News has plumbed new depths of untruth, so deep, in fact, that Shep Smith, who had been with Fox since its inception 23 years ago, just resigned.


52% of US adults consume the news via Facebook 


Just a few days ago Tech Crunch reported on a survey from the Pew Research Center. It looks like 52% of American adults surveyed this summer get their news solely from Facebook, the most popular social platform. YouTube was second and Twitter third, at 28% and 17%. In fact, 88% of all responders say social media such as Facebook has ‘at least some control’ over the news we see.


That should worry everybody. If 88% of users think Facebook controls the news in some way, more than half use it as their personal news channel. Come on. That’s nuts. By its own admission, Facebook is not a newspaper, magazine, or news channel. Where on earth are our heads at?


Social media ads manipulate what we see


But content is only one of the culprits in manipulating public opinion. In September 2019 social media advertising came under the spotlight. It turns out that since 2016, and likely before, interested parties can rewrite news headlines to suit their own political agendas and upload them as ads on social media. They look like news, they read like news, but they’re ads. NOT NEWS. In fact, chances are If you only read news headlines, not the actual stories that follow, you will have been influenced without realizing it.


Lonely and Depressed Kids


There’s more. We’re now starting to assess the impact of social media on teens and kids. The New York-based Childmind website contains some disturbing insights about kids and social media. It looks like there may be a link between social media and depression. A number of studies show that teens and young adults who spend the most time on social media report a 13-66% higher rate of depression than those who spent the least time on networks. Bear in mind this is a correlation, not causation, but there are clear warning signs emerging.


It could be the result of smartphones. Smartphones arrived in 2007 and by 2015 more than 90% of teens and young adults owned one. The rise in depression we’re seeing correlates neatly with the rise in smartphone use, when matched year by year. Are the machines making us unhappy? Or the content on them? Like bullying, insults, and messages designed to hurt.


Over the past twelve years, young people spend less time connecting with peers face-to-face, more time connecting electronically, and they do it mostly via social media. Experts say electronic interactions are less emotionally satisfying than the real thing, ironically leaving our young people socially isolated, missing the deep, empathic communications that make humanity what it is. In the words of Alexandra Hamlet, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, “The more superficial it is, the less likely it’s going to cause you to feel connected, which is something we all need.”


More coming in a few days… for now, though, let the comments fly. I’ll respond. Thanks.


The post I Never Thought I’d Say This, But… (part 1) appeared first on .

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on October 12, 2019 06:16

September 21, 2019

Fire Road


You can’t be an American without having strong feelings about the Vietnam War. One of the most extraordinary images from it, and one of the world’s most shocking depictions of the impact of violent conflict, is an image that, once seen, is never forgotten. It’s the famous heart-breaking photo of the eight year old “Napalm girl” running down the fiery road crying,


The little girl, Kim Phuc Thi, wasn’t expected to survive. She did. And the next 20 years were horrifying for her. She suffered through 17 surgeries, excruciating pain, skin that was grafted many times, and thick scars that, to this day, still cause her pain. Medics told her she couldn’t get married or have children, and then after the war, the Communists used her for propaganda purposes, with interpreters changing what she said to match Communist talking points. Kim felt alone, isolated, hopeless, and ultimately suicidal.


Kim and her family lived in the village of Trảng Bàng in South Vietnam. On June 8, 1972, South Vietnamese war planes dropped a napalm bomb on the village, which had been infiltrated by the Viet Cong. When a Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilot mistook the group of fleeing people Kim was with for enemy soldiers and diverted to attack, their bombs killed two of Kim Phúc’s cousins and two other villagers. Kim suffered third degree burns from the napalm.


Kim eventually wrote a book of her own about her experiences called Fire Road, telling the true story of how she found Jesus Christ, whom she sees as the Savior who personally understands and cares about her pain. She reveals the details of a life changed in an instant.


I’m Jewish, of course, but I couldn’t be cynical about her transformation. The trajectory of her life dramatically changed. She became forgiving, she found acceptance, and she turned her wounds into something positive. These days Kim is a UNESCO Ambassador of Peace and an evangelical missionary of sorts, and she speaks to audiences around the world. Despite what the doctors said, she did get married, and has two sons. In addition, over the years, Kim converted her entire family to Christianity.


She’s begun a new treatment from a doctor she met who’s has been able to open up her skin follicles to relieve the pain – terrible pain being what happens when your hair follicles are burned and your body can’t sweat. In fact, Kim, a Canadian citizen, is wearing short sleeves for the first time in her life.


I highly recommend this memoir. It’s beautifully written and a fast read. My only quibble is a familiar and age-old spiritual, perhaps, philosophical one. In an era such as the one we find ourselves in, where our leaders are doing their best to destroy democracy, corrupt the system, and break the law, how long can we hang onto the idea that the human race is naturally good, led by a virtuous god? Kim survived a war and spent most of her her life paying for that survival with constant pain and suffering. And yet wars keep happening and evil persists.


I remain skeptical.


The post Fire Road appeared first on .

2 likes ·   •  2 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on September 21, 2019 15:29

September 12, 2019

It’s a Date! — Indie Authors and Libraries

Getting into libraries is the toughest part of being an Indie author. There are a number of reasons why. One is the fact that indie authors can’t easily contact librarians on a national or state basis. Another is the system of selling and distributing books to libraries, although that’s slowly changing. But the biggest reason is the perception that a self-published author is writing sub-standard “stuff” (replace the noun with the deprecating noun of your choice). In fact, some libraries bar their acquisitions people from buying self-published books.


Happily, some library systems, helped along by Library Journal, are trying to address that problem. My state of Illinois, for example. The Soon to Be Famous Illinois Author Project, is in its sixth year of finding, recognizing, and promoting indie fiction by Illinois writers. I am delighted, by the way, to have been chosen as a semi-finalist in this year’s program, for my World War Two book, War, Spies, and Bobby Sox.



Here’s how the program works. Volunteer judges from libraries across Illinois read an evaluate novels submitted by indie writers. They winnow the submissions down to twenty five semi-finalists, and announce the winners in late October. Prizes includes cash, statewide recognition and exposure, and the chance to compete for a national prize via the Indie Author Project.


Libraries are powerful allies for both writers and publishers. Library Journal, one of the project partners, is a bellwether for quality reads, and if LJ sanctions a title, it’s apt to be carried by many libraries. That’s why this is such a promising program. Not only can efforts like STBF become a source of fresh, quality reads for patrons, but it means that a vital part of the publishing world is taking a step toward “getting to know” indie authors.


It’s not totally altruistic. Because the Big Five’s policies for library ebook purchases are becoming more restrictive, libraries have their own reasons to explore new sources of reading material. All this is taking place in a quickly changing landscape where more libraries than ever are proactively advocating for their patrons. Many self-published books are popular, and libraries see an untapped treasure trove of new material for their patrons.


So, whatever the reasons, indie authors are the beneficiaries, and that’s a great step forward.



In fact, I consider STBF a “first date.” Will it turn into a full-blown love affair? Who knows? But STBF has already inspired sister competitions in thirteen states! The more libraries harness their considerable collective influence to help indie authors succeed, the better for them, their patrons, and the wider publishing scene.


The post It’s a Date! — Indie Authors and Libraries appeared first on .

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on September 12, 2019 07:45

September 6, 2019

The Universe is Laughing

Have you noticed that life doesn’t always accommodate your plans? Things happen over which we have no control, sometimes no explanation. Back in August, I finally decided to get organized. My assistant and I created an annual promotion calendar. We carefully chose two books and audiobooks to feature each month. We started in on the plan September 1. It is now September 6, and the entire month has been totally upended. Happily, three unexpected pieces of good news have disrupted our carefully choreographed calendar, and those are what I want to tell you about today. But I do suspect that the universe is laughing at me.


Overdrive Sale — 50% Off




The first piece of news I did know in advance but forgot about until after we’d put together the calendar. Fortunately, it goes through the month of September. If you are a librarian, or you know one, I hope you’ll let them know that ALL my ebooks and audiobooks are 50% off on Overdrive this month. That means a lot when library budgets are tight, and I do hope librarians and readers will check out the deals. Many librarians think my work appeals to readers (I love you, librarians) so this is a great time to stock up. As I said, if you’re not a librarian, feel free to spread the word to them.


ALA & SINC Historical Fiction, September Pick



I just found out that the American Library Association has selected War, Spies, and Bobby Sox as one of their September picks from their Sisters in Crime: Historical Fiction collaboration. WS&B is a set of three novellas set during World War Two at home. The stories feature women who find themselves doing things they would never have imagined , had there not been a war raging. I’m proud to say WS&B won the Silver IPPY medal in the Military/War category in 2017. It was shortlisted for a couple of other awards, so I hope librarians will want to add it to their reader collections. (Remember, you can get it at half price from Overdrive all month!) And readers, you can request it from your library. It’s perfect for groups and Book Clubs. Available in ebook, print, and audiobook.


The Three Tomatoes



Finally, The Three Tomatoes, the “Insider’s Guide for Women Who Aren’t Kids” (Love that, btw), selected two of my thrillers for their Fall Reading List. Included are short reviews of SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE and HIGH CRIMES. Check out the reviews here… and… yes, you can get them at half-price on Overdrive all month! Again, both are perfect for book clubs and group reading discussions.


Of course the two books we chose to promote this month aren’t any of the above. And I doubt we’ll even get to them this month. Oh well, flexibility is a gift, right?


Talk Soon.


The post The Universe is Laughing appeared first on .

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on September 06, 2019 06:58

August 12, 2019

Audio Week… because why not?

Welcome to Audiobook Week. I mean, it is August, so the alliteration works, right? Actually, it happens that I do have some special things going on with  my audiobooks this week, and I wanted you to know about them.


Today (and every day if you haven’t joined Audible.com) you can get your first audiobook FREE… and I’d love to help you join by telling you about one of my favorite Georgia Davis books, TOXICITY.



TOXICITY, the 3rd Georgia Davis thriller is a prequel to the series, set when Georgia was still a cop in the Chicago suburbs. In this story, you’ll meet Georgia when she and Matt Singer, already a detective, were an item. The crimes they’re investigating turn out to be those of a serial killer, and the police are stumped.  Because Georgia is still a uniform (and a woman), her work on the case takes a back seat to Matt and John Stone’s, but eventually her instinct proves to be indispensable to solving the case.


Derek Shetterly and Beth Richmond are my fabulous narrators, and here’s a sample of Derek in the first chapter.


Remember, if you’ve been thinking about getting into audiobooks, this is a FREE, painless way to start. I listen to more than half my books on audio these days — on long car rides, when my eyes are tired late at night, on walks, or even doing housework — you’d be surprised how time flies! I love them.


What’s the most imaginative way you can think of to listen to an audiobook? Let me know in the comments



Hope you’ll try TOXICITY.


 


The post Audio Week… because why not? appeared first on .

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on August 12, 2019 12:12

July 28, 2019

What I’m Writing

Hi, all. I know it’s been forever since I’ve blogged– I guess I didn’t have much to say. But I’d like to fill you in on my current WIP (Work in Progress), otherwise known as the “blankety-blank manuscript.”


When I started writing over twenty years ago, I challenged myself to actually finish a novel. I did, but it was pretty awful – so bad, in fact, that I keep it under lock and key. Since then, I try to challenge myself with every story I write. Whether it’s the setting, the time period, a character, or the situation, I need to feel a little spark in my gut that tells me, yes, this is the story you should try. I say “try” because even now, I’m not at all sure I’ll succeed. But as long as I feel passionate about a story, I keep at it.


That’s why I’m writing my first non-mystery. It will still have plenty of suspense, but it’s essentially a story about two Vietnamese sisters trying to cope during the Vietnam War and the years afterwards. The sisters are estranged through most of the book, and I tell their stories separately. One becomes a bar girl at a nightclub in Saigon; the other fights for the Viet Cong. At the risk of taking on hubris, I think of it as a Vietnamese Nightingale.


Why Vietnam 50 years after the fact? Mostly because we Americans still see the war through our own lens: the draft, the anti-war movement, the hippies, Agent Orange, Nixon’s election. But what about the other side? How did the Vietnamese see it? What were the repercussions on them, during and after when the Communists took control?  I wanted to explore it through their lens, particularly since so many Vietnamese ended up in the United States themselves. Btw, I already had the idea for the story, but then I saw this painting in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) city. I had to get it; I think it could be part of the cover, don’t you?



Don’t worry — this isn’t a political book by any means. Many of you know I often gravitate to writing about women who have run out of options. Who are up against the wall and have to do whatever they can to survive. This is one of those stories. The two main characters face almost unsurmountable obstacles from the first chapter on. It’s an adventure story, a character study; hopefully it will tug at your emotions.


I’m about 150 pages into the manuscript, and I hope to finish a first draft by the end of the year. Maybe it will be out in 2020…maybe in 2021. Not sure yet. I’ll keep you posted. Would you like to read an excerpt? LMK, and I’ll post one soon.


The post What I’m Writing appeared first on .

1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on July 28, 2019 11:27