Lori Perkins's Blog, page 20

Christian Reality TV Star Goes to 'Sex University' in Ripped-from-the-Headlines Novella "Christian Mingle"

"Louisa Bacio has some scorching hot lessons to teach at Sex U! Erotica as funny, sharp, and intelligent as we wish all our college classes could've been."

-- Cecilia Tan, author of The Siren and the Sword, the Magic University series

Sometimes you need to experience what’s wrong in order to find out what’s right.

New York, New York (September 30, 2015) – In a ripped-from-the-headlines novella, Riverdale Avenue Books author Louisa Bacio has sent a fictionalized version of the wife of a scandalous Christian Reality TV star to her ‘Sex University,’ where she will explore her options after being publically humiliated by her cheating husband.
As scandal after scandal piles up and her husband’s caught cheating, Jody Druger hides at the last place the non-reality TV shows expect: Sex University.

While fighting through her bedroom inhibitions, Jody learns who she really is and forges plans for an independent future, discovering new pathways toward pleasure in the process, a truly religious experience.

Author and feminist professor Louisa Bacio explained what inspired her to write the story. “We still live in a society with a double standard when it comes to sexuality. Men are forgiven for their indiscretions. Women tend to be either victimized or villainized. Christian Mingle is a fictional erotic account of a woman taking back control of her life.”

The Sex University series, published by Riverdale Avenue Books, features a fictional school in San Francisco where students go to learn about their sexuality. The series opener is Summer School, followed by Physical Education, to be published in October.

About the Author
A Southern California native, Louisa Bacio can’t imagine living far away from the ocean. The multi-published author of erotic romance enjoys writing within all realms – from short stories to full-length novels.

Bacio shares her household with a supportive husband, two daughters growing “too fast,” and a multitude pet craziness: Two dogs, five fish tanks, an aviary, hamsters, rabbits and hermit crabs. In her other life, she teaches college classes in English, journalism and popular culture.

Oct. 2 Publication Party for 25th Anniversary Edition of Bi Any Other Name

Join us on Friday, October 2nd for the publication party for this classic anthology with readings from the text by:

Sheela Lambert, founder of the Bi Writers Association and Editor of Best Bi Short Stories (Circlet Press)

Paul Nocera, Faciliator at BiRequest and noted NYC Naked performance artist

Selina Fyre (and Martin) of Pleasure Salon and sex blogging fame

AJ Walkley – (author of Queer Greer)

Ron Suresha – (author Bears on Bears: Interviews & Discussions, and editor at Bear Bones Books – Lethe Press)

JR Yusseff – (local blogger and author, Double Consciousness)

Anne Herendeen – (author of Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander)

Alex Gross – out of exile, 80-something, expert on Chinese sexualities..

Darcy Gorka – local budding playwright

People’s Lounge, 163 Allen St., 7:00-9:00 p.m. FREE

As always, we will have our dirty word raffle where viewers can win a digital copy of the book.

RAB Publishes Bi Any Other Name 25th Anniversary Edition

Riverdale Avenue Books Releases
Bisexual Classic on September 23rd
Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out
25th Anniversary Edition
Celebrate International Bisexuality Day

Then: Bi Any Other Name is one of the most comprehensive, well-edited anthologies I have ever read. It may be deemed the Bisexual Bible. - Lambda Book Report, 1991
Now: I am part of the generation that came of age when Bi Any Other Name was already in print. This groundbreaking anthology gave me the language, courage and sense of community I needed as a young queer woman. —Daisy Hernández, A Cup of Water Under My Bed

New York, NY – September 23, 2015 – The 25th anniversary edition of Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out by Lani Ka’ahumanu and Loraine Hutchins was published by Riverdale Avenue Books on International Bisexuality day 2015. This groundbreaking anthology rode a wave of grassroots organizing and catalyzed a national movement for bisexual identity, justice and equality. The coming out stories of women, men, transgender bisexuals, teenagers to octogenarians, from many different cultures and family arrangements reflect the many ways bisexuals embrace life. This book was on Lambda Book Review’s Top 100 GLBT Books of the 20th century and in 2007 a Mandarin translation was published in Taiwan. The new introduction updates readers to the enormous cultural changes of the past quarter century.
About Co-editors:
Lani Ka’ahumanu is often regarded as the strategic political architect of the U.S. bisexual movement. She has a 40+ year career instigating and mobilizing social justice actions, campaigns, street theater and cultural events while challenging bisexual invisibility and ignorance within the HIV/AIDS and health industries. She co-founded the first bisexual feminist political action group BiPOL [1983], San Francisco Bay Area Bisexual Network [1987] and BiNet USA [1987].
Loraine Hutchins is a 4th generation Washingtonian who co-founded BiNet USA and Washington, DC’s AMBi – the Alliance of Multicultural Bisexuals. She is a youth advocate and independent scholar who helped build the communications and development capacities of many social justice non-profits. After earning her doctorate in Cultural Studies, Hutchins teaches multi-disciplinary health, sexuality, gender, and women’s studies courses at Maryland’s Montgomery College.

# # #

What They Are Saying about This Classic Title
When I was young, I was hurt by political ringmasters who said they wouldn’t talk, sleep or work with me because I was “bisexual.” Now that I’ve talked, worked and slept with them all, I know their secret. They desire what they condemn. The bisexual community was waiting for this classic long before its publication. Read it.”
Susie Bright, sexpert
To say that Bi Any Other Name is a “classic” in the field of sexuality studies is, in many ways, to miss its true importance. It was -- and in many ways still is – a “classic,” but also “the only one of its kind.” Bi Any Other Name remains one of the only texts that situates bisexuals *speaking for themselves*within a rich intellectual context. It models an approach to bisexuality in particular, and sexuality in general, that has few antecedents and fewer rivals. It is, quite simply, an indispensable text.
Jonathan Alexander, Ph.D., co-author, Finding Out: An Introduction to LGBT Studies
The LGBTQ movement still fails to enlist the power, voice and leadership of millions of bisexual people. This essential and compelling book argues against erasure, and powerfully evokes the liberatory power of bisexuality and bisexual activism through engaging stories, original theory, vivid history and analysis. Bi Any Other Name presents moving testimony from scores of bisexual organizers and innovators who remain the LGBTQ movement’s most visionary leaders. This is a must-read book for anyone working for social justice.
Urvashi Vaid, Irresistible Revolution: Confronting Race, Class and the Assumptions of LGBT Politics.

Bi Any Other Name is a must read for those in and out of the bisexual community. The anthology is pertinent in a time where bi voices are all but unheard in reflecting the diverse experiences of the bisexual community.
Eliel Cruz, The Advocate, Mic, and Religion News Service

This book is a touchstone, a declaration, a call to (loving) arms, and a wake-up call. This is the book you read from cover to cover, over and over, internalizing and savoring its insights like fine wine: aged to perfection, transporting you back to the start of the movement, and carrying you forward. This is history – on the move.
Gary North, Co-founder: BiNet USA

As leaders in PFLAG for the past 25 years, the issues addressed in Bi Any Other Name have become increasingly familiar to us and to our chapter members through our monthly meetings. The timing of this new edition is excellent. The book will be accessible to younger generations and their families with current, important information.
Julia and Sam Thoron

While much has changed for LGBTQ youth over the past 25 years – their need
to connect and learn about others like them has not. Bi Any Other Name is an amazing
resource to help bisexual youth – who sometimes face challenges in finding a home in a community which tends to focus on its gay and lesbian members – truly understand that they are not alone. Considering recent events and the reality that there are still not nearly enough publications out there for bisexual youth – an update to this book is both timely and helpful in our movement’s efforts to support and engage LGBTQ youth.
Greg Varnum, Executive Director, National Youth Advocacy Coalition
In the two and a half decades since Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out was originally published; one of the most remarkable changes has been the alignment of bisexuals and the transgender community. Yes, both groups challenge gender/sexuality binaries, but we share something even more basic: we refuse to give up parts of ourselves to make other people comfortable. This is both our greatest strength and what makes us most threatening to others: our existence reminds people of what pieces of themselves and their loved ones that they may have sacrificed, and asks them whether those sacrifices are worth it. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out shows both how far we have come in two decades, and how far we still have to go.
Loree Cook-Daniels, FORGE, Transgender Aging Network

Since 1991, Bi Any Other Name has been part of the adventurous, exhilarating and exhausting life/lust/love trips of many bisexuals around the world, including academics and activists. In 1991, I was an Australian lecturer/student embarking on a PhD into cultural, gender and sexual diversities. BAON dared to name and proclaim that all those identities did co-exist, could mean multiple things to many, and were “hidden in plain sight”. Since then, BAON has never left my Uni bookshelves, always ready to be referenced in my own work and shared with students, and many more who confidently proclaim their bisexuality.
Dr. Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli
School of Health and Social Development
Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia

Bi Any Other Name continues to be incredibly relevant, which is a testament to the thoughtfulness of the writers and the breadth of material included by the editors. But it also reflects how relatively little has been published about the lives of bisexual people in the intervening years. The experiences of bisexuals continue to be ignored or marginalized in many discussions of sexuality and gender. A growing number of cisgender lesbian and gay activists and scholars have (finally) begun to recognize the importance of including and acknowledging trans people in their communities, movements, and research, but in the process, many have skipped over the “B” in “LGBT.” BAON can again serve to challenge the silencing of bisexual lives and be an inspiration for another generation of bi, pan, and sexually fluid people.
Genny Beemyn, Ph.D.
Director, the Stonewall Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst:

For many of us, this anthology was the first bi community we ever knew. This book saves and changes lives, and I wholeheartedly recommend that you invite it into yours. Hutchins and Ka’ahumanu are as insightful and honest today as when their groundbreaking Bi Bible first appeared.
Margaret Robinson, PhD
Researcher in Residence in Indigenous Health
The Ontario HIV Treatment Network
Affiliate Research Scientist.

"Anthologies can change people's lives. I know because they have changed mine. They provide us with opportunities to have a symphony of experience wash over and through us, saturating our every pore with wisdom born of lives, diverse and full. Bi Any Other Name, published in 1991 is such an anthology. Now in ebook form so that a new generation of readers can submerge and be the better for it."
Dr. Herukhuti
Founder, Center for Culture, Sexuality and Spirituality

Bi Any Other Name has had such a profound impact on bi politics and bi people. In the early 1990s, there was almost nothing published on bisexuality anywhere in the world and here in the UK, we were so happy to read it. The book also inspired other bisexuals, such as me, to carry on writing our own books knowing that there was a big community of us out there, far more numerous than we had ever realised. I am so pleased that Bi Any Other Name is coming out as an ebook now, with a new introduction, showing how relevant it still is in the 21st century.
Sue George, author Women and Bisexuality, and the Bisexuality and Beyond blog

Bi Any Other Name is a tremendously valuable book. I have used it with many clients over the years, to help them clear their own sexual confusion. I am so glad to see a new edition of this book, which I will use with many clients yet to come.
Tina B. Tessina, PhD, LMFT, Gay Relationships: How to Find Them, How to Improve Them, How to Make Them Last.



SELECTION OF ORIGINAL 1991 BLURBS
"Young voices speak next to old, lawyers next to factory workers, blacks next to whites next to Asians; single people and people in group marriages are given equal time. After reading even part of this thick book, bisexuality seems so natural that the reader begins to wonder what all the fuss is about. And that's the beauty of Bi Any Other Name." --Philadelphia City Paper

“Rejected by both gay and straight worlds, bisexuals have been a community in exile. With this rich and varied collection, however, bisexual women and men step forward into their own historical spotlight. The writing here, challenging and authentic, can only deepen our discussions about passion and politics.”
Joan Nestle, cofounder of the Lesbian Herstory Archives, author of The Restricted Country, editor of The Persistent Desire

“These urgent testimonials lead us into a sexually whole society where, with our varied queerness, we are welcome. This is a necessary book.”
Judy Grahn, author of Another Mother Tongue, and Blood, Bread and Roses

“The authors debunk the concept that people are either heterosexual or homosexual and that bisexual women and men are fence sitters. Bi Any Other Name will help tremendously in securing for the bisexual community its rightful place within the larger movement for genuine progressive social change – a movement that will ultimately liberate us all.”
Warren J. Blumenfeld, coauthor of Looking at Gay and Lesbian Life, editor of Homophobia, How We All Pay the Price

RAB Publishes Powerful Memoir of Homeless Trans Youth, HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

“Homeless queer kids – and they are legion – too often find themselves ostracized and silenced. In Zane Thimmesch-Gill they have finally found a strong, clear voice.”

--Riki Wilchins, author of Read My Lips, GenderQueer and Queer Theory, Gender Theory

Riverdale, NY – September 11, 2015 – In the just published memoir, Hiding in Plain Sight, Zane Thimmesch-Gill describes in graphic and harrowing detail a homeless teen life on the streets that was marked with constant violence.

“This is the book I needed when I was on the streets; proof that it’s possible to survive as a transsexual kid, “ explained the author.

Amidst the daily struggle to survive, she slowly came to the realization that she hated her body just as much as everyone did. When she was honest with herself she’d always known that she was meant to be a boy.

Despite the intense pressure of street life and having to come to terms with the fact that she was a transsexual, Kali never used drugs or alcohol, never committed a single crime, and never gave up on her dreams to make something out of her life. While the rest of the street kids were escaping into addiction, she figured out how to put herself through college and finance a sex change.

Life slowly improved as Kali became Zane and started settling into his body. He eventually found work at a shelter for homeless youth and started to make friends. But his euphoria was short lived. A resident at the shelter knew that he was a transsexual and became obsessed with making sure everyone found out. A few gang members who were living in the program confronted Zane, and when he was too scared to admit the truth, they decided to get their boys together late one night and prove him wrong.

Hiding in Plain Sight is a transformative and ultimately inspiring story of survival against all odds, of pursing and accomplishing your dreams in spite of enormous and often seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

“This is also a story that needs to be heard by anyone who cares about LGBTQ rights,” Thimmesch-Gill said. “As I write this, the Supreme Court legalized marriage equality. It’s an exciting time and it’s tempting to imagine now that love has won and we can ride triumphantly into the sunset. But there’s more work to be done.

There’s a crisis of homelessness in transgender communities. Most trans youth have spent their whole lives hiding and their invisibility makes it easy to imagine that they aren’t suffering. It was difficult to tell this story, but I kept reminding myself that I made a promise when I was on the streets: if I ever escaped, I would never turn my back on those who are still there. This book is an attempt to bring the world a plea from a community that is still running, still avoiding sexual predation, hunger, and death. Tonight, all around the country, transkids will curl up in the dark corners of parks and the spaces behind dumpsters, praying that they make it until daylight. I hope some of them find their way to this book and realize they aren’t alone. For the rest of us, I hope this book can serve as a powerful reminder that there are still battles left to win in the name of love.”
About the Author
Zane Thimmesch-Gill lives in Minnesota where he rides his bike year round, except on days when there are more than 10 inches of freshly fallen snow, in which case he’s discovered that it’s faster to run. After receiving an MFA from CalArts, he spent a year researching health issues related to climate change in the Arctic as a Fulbright Fellow. Then he headed to Guatemala to study Spanish. While living with his host family he became an honorary papa for Carlitos, a role that he still plays proudly and will always cherish. These days he’s researching how to use robots and virtual reality to improve health outcomes for patients and disaster victims. Hiding in Plain Sight is his first book.

RAB Publishes Racy Three Musketeers Mash-up

“All for One and One for All, and All at Once!”

RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, August 13, 2015 – Innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books has followed up the success of Lissa Trevor’s Spank Me Mr. Darcy with her second literary mash-up, Ménage a Musketeer.
Ms. Trevor says, “I wanted to write a fun mash-up that was hot and sexy, and who doesn’t love the Three Musketeers?”
Riverdale Avenue Books publisher Lori Perkins says, “As soon as Lissa came up with the idea for this, we knew we had a winner. Swordplay and sex is a natural!.”
D'Artagnan would do anything to become a Musketeer, but falling in love with the grim and remote Athos wasn't what he’d planned. Nor was falling in love with Constance, another man's wife and an intimate of the Queen of France. For that matter, neither was falling in love with a mysterious and enchanting woman, known only as Milady.

Young, proud and hotheaded, D'Artagnan throws himself into sword battles and erotic adventures with men and women until war with England and treachery from within endangers his life. He needs to protect France's interests while searching for Constance, his true love, who has been kidnapped. But Athos haunts his dreams and he cannot let Milady escape them either or it might break the older Musketeer’s heart and lead England conquering France.

Trevor promises to bring us further mash-up adventures with Riverdale Avenue Books. Be sure to keep your eyes open for the Jane Austen mash-ups Mistress Emma and Sex and Sensibility in 2016.

First Novel Gina's Education Just Pubbed at RAB, Winner of the 2014 BDSM Writers Con Contest

Riverdale Avenue Books has released the paperback and ebook editions of Gina’s Education, a 2014 Winner of the BDSM Writers Con Contest by first-time novelist Mariah Bailey, to co-inside with the kick off of this year’s BDSM Writers Con August 20-23 in New York City.
“Gina’s Education was a first attempt at writing an erotic novel and I kept shelving it, not satisfied with the story,” explained the author. “About forty edits and seven years later, I entered the First Annual BDSM Writers Con book contest with the hope of making it into the finals. Imagine my surprise to be awarded the prize of a book contract!”
“I loved editing Gina’s Education,” said Riverdale Publisher Lori Perkins. “It is a very creative retelling of the classic BDSM fairy tale, with memorable characters and some hot twists and turns.”
Gina’s Education tells the story of Gina Perry, down on her luck after her identity has been stolen, who applies for a job as a domestic servant, or so she thought, and quickly finds herself naked in every sense. This job is psychologically challenging. Her new employer insists she call him Master, and there is a price to pay for not complying. A good Master, he pushes her limits and makes her grow. He teaches her about bondage and discipline, dominance and submission.
Master Robert re-names her Rose and gives her hope, but she isn’t sure she is up to the task. She’ll have to get to know herself on a much deeper level than most people ever discover.
Master Robert seldom shows emotion. Rose sparks something in him that he’s never realized before; a need to protect her, and not just in the games. While he’s learning about her, the depths of his feelings toward her surprise him. Robert’s never been in love and he resists, but he can’t resist his pride in her. Robert sets out to right the wrong done to her and discovered a lot more than he expected.
About the Author
Mariah Bailey is a wife and mother who started writing in high school, and picked up the pen again in mid-life. For the past few years, Mariah has participated in writing groups both locally and online to hone her craft. She has written numerous short stories and poetry. Challenges from others to write “outside the comfort zone” inspired exploring erotica. After entering several erotica contests and even winning a few, she had the encouragement needed to write a novel.
Mariah has always had a fascination with psychology and this fascination coupled with writing erotica made turning to researching BDSM a natural. The world of BDSM seems as varied from one person to the next as are opinions or appetites, so it is a never-ending source of inspiration! Gina’s Education is her first published novel.

Fifth Novel in M/M Fae SoulShares Series Pubs

Blowing Smoke, the fifth novel in the Rainbow Award-nominated M/M Fae SoulShares series by Rory NiCoileain, has just been published by Riverdale Avenue Books.
The SoulShares series begins more than two thousand years ago, when the Fae of the Realm walled themselves off from the human world, in a last-ditch attempt to save the Realm from the unimaginable malevolence of the Marfach. The wisest among the Fae were able to foretell that only Fae in the human world had any chance of destroying the Marfach. So they left one path by which Fae –exiles, misfits, rebels – could make their way to the human world.
At a terrible cost. A Fae passing through the Pattern loses half his soul. That half is reborn, somewhere in human time and human space, in a human. In order to be whole, in order to stand a chance in the final battle against the race’s most ancient enemy, an exiled Fae must find – and mate with – and love – the human who bears the other half of his sundered soul.
The problem? Fae don’t love.
Hard as Stone was a finalist for Best Debut Novel and Best Gay Erotic Romance in the 2012 Rainbow Awards and was also a finalist for Best Erotica, in the 2012 Preditors & Editors Readers Poll.
Gale Force, the second novel in the SoulShares series, Deep Plunge, the third novel, and FireStorm, the series’ fourth title, are all currently available from Riverdale Avenue Books with new covers.
Blowing Smoke, the first new novel in the second half of the eight-book series, pubbed on July 17th.
“The launch of Blowing Smoke is an amazing day for everyone who’s fallen in love with the SoulShares! I’m absolutely thrilled to be bringing back the Fae and humans of the Demesne of Purgatory, as they discover the consequences of their meddling with the Pattern in Firestorm. Lasair Faol and Bryce Newhouse are totally worthy – and smokingly hot – additions to the canon. And there’s an adorable puppy,” explained the author.

Christmas in July at RAB

RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, July 1, 2015 – Innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books celebrates summer with it’s annual Christmas in July sale featuring five FREE Holiday-themed Give-aways titles on Goodreads and a weekly half price title sale on AllRomance Ebooks.
Said Riverdale Avenue Publisher Lori Perkins, “Everyone knows that Christmas is the most romantic holiday of the year, but most women are too busy shopping, taking care of family and decorating to enjoy the sales. RAB gives you a whole summer month to curl up with as many hot holiday hunks as you possibly can.”
Below is a list of titles and dates on AllRomance EBooks:
Week of July 1-7 A Christmas Tail: Book Four of the Masters of the Cats Series by Trinity Blacio
July 8-15 Holiday Smut edited by Lori Perkins
July 15-21 Whips & Chains & Candy Canes by F.L. Bicknell
July 22-29 Her Three Men by Trinity Blacio
July 30-31 Hot for Winter by Trinity Blacio

50 Greatest Dodgers Games Just Pubbed at RAB

"As I get older, it's nice to look back at some of my best moments as a player, and some that came before my time. The memories fade, but the games live on in this wonderfully written book." - Orel Hershiser

RIVERDALE, NY —June 23, 2015— Innovative hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books (RAB) has just released The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games by acclaimed sports writer J.P. Hoornstra.

This beloved and yet controversial baseball team, known for abandoning Brooklyn and giving the world Jackie Robinson, has played more than 10,000 as a franchise over three centuries! Dodgers beat reporter J.P. Hoornstra sorts through all the history and hysteria to present the most memorable games in the tradition of The 50 Greatest Red Sox Games by Cecilia Tan and Bill Nowlin (also published by Riverdale Avenue Books). For the first time, these legendary Dodger games are laid side-by-side and compared. Which game ranks number one?

Publisher Lori Perkins says, “This Dodgers history is a compelling read and J.P. truly puts the games in their social and sports context. You won’t be able to put it down!”

Some of the book’s highlights include:

• A doubleheader that lasted six and a half innings combined
• A single game that featured three teams on the field
• A game in which the Dodgers didn’t record a hit – and won
• The games in which the single-season and career home run records were broken
• Three perfect games and two no-hitters
• The longest game in major league history
• The first major league game ever televised
• A game in which the Dodgers’ pitcher lost consciousness on the field
• An exhibition game that drew 93,103 spectators
• The first integrated game in major league history

The 50 Greatest Dodgers Games features such iconic Dodger players as Sandy Koufax, Jackie Robinson, Kirk Gibson, Zack Wheat, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella, Clayton Kershaw, Steve Garvey, Don Drysdale, Pee Wee Reese and more. It also features some of the unsung heroes of baseball history, like Cookie Lavagetto, Vic Davalillo, Sandy Amoros, Al Gionfriddo and Joe McGinnity.

About the Author
J.P. Hoornstra reports on the Dodgers for the Los Angeles News Group and is a regular media commentator on the team for major news outlets such as ESPN and MLB Network. He has written about sports and travel for more than a dozen newspapers and several periodicals since he was an undergraduate psychology student at UCLA. His interview subjects include some of the most famous names in sports, music and entertainment, as well as experts in medicine, psychology, architecture and business. When he is not writing at the ballpark, he is at home in Los Angeles ...writing. Visit his website at www.jphoornstra.com.

New Mystery Series by Robert J. Randisi Launches at Dagger Imprint

Riverdale Avenue Books Gets Cozy with P.I. Master Robert J. Randisi

RIVERDALE, NEW YORK, June 16, 2015 -- Riverdale Avenue Books is pleased to announce the publication of DRY STONE WALLS, the first book in a new mystery series by Robert J. Randisi, under the new Dagger imprint.
“Mature Male Available for Housesitting, Non-Smoker, No Pets, Widower.”

With this listing, Randisi introduces readers to a retired captain of the NYPD who now spends his time housesitting wherever the job takes him…and learns that he can never fully leave the job behind.

Truxton “Tru” Lewis is looking after a house in Bluegrass Country, Kentucky, a simple enough task within a tight-knit community. But it’s his encounter with octogenarian Max Beasley, who spends his days reconstructing stone walls that will alert Tru that not everything is right here. His fears are confirmed when the body a local, reviled realtor turns up, buried under one of Max’s precious walls. With Max under suspicion for the crime, Tru ingratiates himself with the local cops and a colorful lawyer, as well as with Max’s widowed daughter, as he searches for the truth that will clear the old man of a most heinous crime.

But the farther he stretches his investigative net, Tru finds himself being reeled back to the original suspect…his new friend. The thing about housesitting, Tru has learned, is you can’t know what goes on behind your neighbor’s closed doors.

A Q & A BETWEEN DAGGER EDITORIAL DIRECTOR JOSEPH PITTMAN and ROBERT J. RANDISI:

JP: First of all, thanks for being a part of the Dagger launch.

RR: I’m very excited to be part of this new line with my old friend. Here's hoping Dagger Books cuts through all the competition like a hot knife through butter.

JP: Tell me about your new character, Truxton Lewis. Not your everyday name.

RR: We were driving on the highway one day and saw an exit sign with the names of two towns on it, one above the other. TRUXTON and then LEWIS. I thought, what a great name for a character.

JP: Is DRY STONE WALLS Tru’s first appearance?

RR: No. I was invited to contribute to a Florida anthology. I have always thought housesitting would be a great way to see the country without paying for hotels. So the idea of a housesitter, and the two town names came together in the Florida anthology in a story called "Midnight Pass."

JP: What about Truxton appeals to you?

RR: I so enjoyed writing the Truxton Lewis story, about a retired Captain of Detective in the NYPD who came to Florida to "sit" in a condo on the beach, and got involved in a mystery. So I decided to make it a series.

JP: How would you categorize the series? You’re known for the P.I. novel. Have you written…a cozy?

RR: It never occurred to me that I was writing a "cozy" series. Instead, I think I'm combining "cozy" and "hardboiled," or "cozy" and "procedural," in that Tru Lewis was a cop for many years, but now was trying to live a more sedate and simple life.

JP: Yet he keeps finding bodies wherever he lands.
RR: No bodies, no series…
Dagger has committed to an additional two books in the series, so look for more “Tru” adventures in early 2016.
Robert J. Randisi is the author of the “Miles Jacoby,” “Nick Delvecchio,” “Gil & Claire Hunt,” “Dennis McQueen,” “Joe Keough,” and “The Rat Pack,” mystery series. THE HONKY TONK BIG HOSS BOOGIE, the first book in the Auggie Velez Nashville P.I. series, appeared in 2013. UPON MY SOUL is the first book in the “Hitman with a Soul” Trilogy. The second book is SOULS OF THE DEAD. His recent novel MCKENNA’S HOUSE has been called is best book yet by several reviewers. He is the editor of over 30 anthologies. All told he is the author of more than 600 novels. Randisi is the founder of the Private Eye Writers of America, the creator of the Shamus Award, the co-founder of Mystery Scene Magazine, the American Crime Writers League, and Western Fictioneers.