MYSTERIES in PARADISE: Review: DARK BLOOMS: Two Crime Fiction Shorts, Melissa F. Miller

If you like crime fiction, you've probably already visited the MYSTERIES in PARADISE blog. If you haven't, consider yourself warned: you will come away with an armload of new titles for your TBR (to be read) pile.

Today would be a particularly good day to check it out, as the review of DARK BLOOMS is up!

MYSTERIES in PARADISE: Review: DARK BLOOMS: Two Crime Fiction Shorts, Melissa F. Miller

From the review: "DARK BLOOMS is without doubt a ploy to whet the reader's appetite for more by this author."

She's right, of course. I'm an unknown author. Brown Street Books and I want readers to take a chance on me and read IRREPARABLE HARM when it comes out. What better way to do that than to offer a low-risk (in terms of both cost and use of precious free time) introduction to my work?

And, I'm happy to report, it worked! Also from the review: "Both are well crafted quirky stories with unpredictable endings, and yes, I came away hooked."

Now, that's a nice way to start a Sunday morning.

Will Print Books Really Go the Way of the Giganotosaurus?

Amazon's announcement late last month that it sold more e-books than paperbacks in the fourth quarter of 2010, coupled with the news that independent author Amanda Hocking has sold more than 450,000 books (almost all of them e-books) and that Borders has filed for bankruptcy protection, has led to great publishing industry and author hand-wringing (or maybe celebration) about the demise of traditional publishing and, with it, print (or dead tree) books.

I don't think so.

I do think most books sold will---some day soon---be in electronic format. It is just cheaper, quicker, and more convenient for everyone from author to publisher to reader.

Case in point: Yesterday, while waiting at pick up at my sons' preschool, I had fewer than five minutes to kill. I checked Twitter from my phone, saw that Marcus Sakey was offering a short story for free on Smashwords, clicked the on the bit.ly link, purchased the story, entered the coupon code, and loaded the story to my Smashwords library. (And had three minutes left to arrange a play date to the museum this weekend AND buy the tickets for said play date through a Groupon. Again, from my phone.)

Later than night, I read the story on my phone while I was up rocking the baby and posted a review (five stars, by the way).

At no point did I have to go to my computer, let alone drag three kids to a bookstore.

So, yes, I think e-books are going to predominate, but there will always be a place for print. Off the top of my head those tactile baby board books and lift the flap books; pop up books; people who read in the bathtub; and people who read on the beach will all be better served by print. And there will always be those special books (defined on purely subjective grounds) that will merit a physical space in our book collections.

But, electronic delivery is pretty cool. So, here's a free electronic copy of DARK BLOOMS, from me to you. Use code MX28B at checkout. And hurry up, code expires on Saturday.

Why Indie Publishing Is Right for Me

I just published my set of crime fiction shorts through Brown Street Books, an independent publisher, and will publish IRREPARABLE HARM the same way in April. In light of a convergence of factors----like the spectacular success of self-published Amanda Hocking, the fact that Amazon sold more ebooks than print books in the last quarter of 2010, and Borders' bankruptcy filing---independent and self publishing are a big topic right now.

Veteran authors, including JA Konrath, Kristine Kathyrn Rusch, and Dean Wesley Smith, have staked out positions suggesting that authors at least consider alternatives to traditional, or Big Six, publishing. (In the case of JA Konrath, his views are a good bit stronger than a suggestion, as he believes traditional publishing and print books are dying. But that's a topic for a later post.)

They all make valid points, but, in the end, I agree with Rusch that there is a certain personality type who is better served going the independent route.

For me, it is the right decision because I (1) lack patience (my husband will confirm this); (2) have some publishing background to draw on; and (3) have an entrepreneurial spirit.

• Impatience. While it is indisputable that I am impatient, the real issue is the glacial pace of traditional publishing. Step One is to find an agent. Many good agents have a several month response time to queries; then there is a further delay if they request either a partial or full manuscript. If an agent offers representation, said agent then needs to actually sell the book to a publishing house, which again could take awhile (or not ever happen). Then, the book will need to go through the book production process on the publisher's schedule. We're talking multiple years, here. In the case of IRREPARABLE HARM, the plot involves a smartphone application that can be used to crash a plane, which seemed pretty nifty when I came up with it. In 2009. It'll probably seem pretty lame five years from now, when we all have hover cars or whatever.

• Background. After earning my extremely practical undergrad degree in medieval literature and creative writing (poetry), I worked as an editor for three years, including a year and a half as a book production editor at a publishing house. I learned a lot about the process before going to law school. While it's true that a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous, I do feel as though I don't need anyone to hold my hand.

• Entrepreneurial spirit/control. This last one is probably the biggest factor. My husband and I quit jobs at two of the country's largest law firms to start our own. Countless lawyers said some variation of "that's really brave" or "that's risky." I beg to differ. I think the risky choice is to leave one's professional future in the hands of a management committee made up of near-strangers. In my firm, my success or failure is in my hands. This applies with equal force to publishing. By going the independent publishing route, I have more control and more responsibility, which suits me.

I do think this option is not for everyone. But, I know it's for me.

Lots of News

After going dark here last Spring to focus on writing (and also to give birth to a most adorable baby girl, tend to my wonderful boys, and run my legal practice), the blog is about to heat up!

I have lot of exciting news and plan to do a series of detailed posts over the coming weeks, but today I just want to hit the high points:

First, I am going to publish my fiction through Brown Street Books, an independent publisher. This decision is a sea change for me (which I'll explain in a follow-up post), but I am convinced it is the right direction.

Second, as of today, DARK BLOOMS: TWO CRIME FICTION SHORTS is available electronically through Smashwords (multiple electronic formats) and Amazon (for the Kindle). It should be available in iBooks, Nook, and Kobo formats within the next week or so.

But that's not all! In April, Brown Street Books will publish IRREPARABLE HARM, my legal thriller.

Now, I have to run. Deadlines and children await. Not in that order.

John Grisham Novels Based on Things that "Really, Really Happened"?

Now, I don't think Ive read everything that John Grisham's written, but I have read a fair amount. His books make for an entertaining airplane read, as evidenced by the fact that my husband refers to all of them as The Business Traveler.

"What are you reading, honey?"

"John Grisham's The Business Traveler. I picked it up at O'Hare."

But. As a lawyer and a sentient human being, I have to wonder about a quote Grisham gave to the Yale Daily News, in which he says that his novels "go back to something that really, really happened." What I presume he means is that they have as their seed a nugget of something that could conceivably happen. To wit: In The Firm, our hero eventually brings down the bad guys by giving the feds evidence that the partners have been padding their bills, which amounted to mail fraud. This was clever and believable. Less believable were the mounting body count, firm-arranged liasion with a prostitute on a Caribbean island, and the $10 million or so dollars the young attorney escapes with at the end.

Is this a bad thing? Of course not. Trust me, a book about what really happens in the practice of law would be titled The Insomniac's Companion.

Hilarious McSweeney's List

I sent out some queries this morning, in which I use the phrase "taut legal thriller," so I googled it and hit upon this gem from McSweeney's. Titles Still Available for Taut, Fast-Paced Legal Thrillers.

I can't decide which I like better, Approach the Bench or Continuance Granted.

An Elegant Solution

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged. In part, the radio silence was the result of the holiday madness; in part, the reality that I am the only one reading this, so I can simply think my incredibly deep thoughts and not write them down; and, in part, the fact that I cannot find enough time to write.

Having finished my practice book and relegated it to the dusty corners of a flash drive, I started my WIP in early December. I know where I want to go with it but . . . each and every time I sit down and open the file, some electromagnetic pulse must alert my sons to the fact that mommy is about to start writing. They appear out of nowhere and need me urgently to settle a dispute, put someone down for a nap, make them a snack, you name it. Even if they're SLEEPING---I open the file and BOOM! Awake, needy children materialize.

So, I could hardly justify using my meager writing time posting on a blog read only by me.

Why, then am I here? Ah, I have hit upon a solution that is elegant in its simplicity. Just like an elegant solution in science or math, I can now achieve my maximum desired effect with the simplest effort. Have I auctioned off the children on eBay? I have not. Moved out? Nope. I am writing the first draft in longhand. You know, with a pen and paper.

My output has skyrocketed since I decided to start carrying around a 99-cent notebook. I can be in the same room as the kids (who, at 2 and 4, really don't want to play with me, but just want me around) and can scribble away. Writing while lifeguarding during bath time? Check. In the car? Check (so long as the beloved husband is driving). While waiting for the cookies in the oven to bake? Check.

Now, I thought the drawback here would be the inefficiency of writing everything down and then typing it out, but it turns out, I automatically do a light-to-moderate edit while I word process it. If a phrase jars me or I spot an error, I just correct it as I go along. I figure this is actually more efficient than composing at the keyboard.

I am most pleased.