April Debut Releases

It's the first Thursday in April and we have several new debut releases. Please take a look and let’s celebrate their success!

Steph Cha - Follow Her Home (St. Martin's Minotaur) April 16, 2013

http://bystephcha.wordpress.com

Juniper Song knows secrets–how to keep them and how to search them out.  As a girl, noir fiction was her favorite escape, and Philip Marlowe has always been her literary idol. So when her friend Luke asks her to investigate a possible affair between his father and a young employee, Juniper (or "Song" as her friends call her) finds an opportunity to play detective. Driving through L.A.'s side streets, following leads, tailing suspects-it all appeals to Song's romantic ideal of the noir hero. But when she's knocked out while investigating a mysterious car and finds a body in her own trunk, Song lurches back to the real L.A., becoming embroiled in a crime that goes far beyond role play. What's more, this isn't the first time Song has stuck her nose in other people's business. As she fights to discover the truth about her friend's family, Song reveals one of her own deeply hidden secrets, something dark and damaging, urging her to see the current mystery through, to rectify the mistakes of her past life.



A dazzling debut from fresh new talent Steph Cha, featuring a strong, modern, sharply observant heroine with an unforgettable voice, Follow Her Home takes readers through dangerous twists and turns, beyond the glittering high-rises and freeways of L.A. on a case that will stay with them long after the final page.

Susanna C Calkins - A Murder at Rosamund's Gate (St. Martin's Minotaur) April 2013

www.susannacalkins.com

For Lucy Campion, a seventeenth-century English chambermaid serving in the household of the local magistrate, life is an endless repetition of polishing pewter, emptying chamber pots, and dealing with other household chores until a fellow servant is ruthlessly killed, and someone she loves is wrongly arrested for the crime. In a time where the accused are presumed guilty until proven innocent, lawyers aren't permitted to defend their clients, and--if the plague doesn't kill them first--public executions draw a large crowd of spectators, Lucy knows she may never see this person alive again. Unless, that is, she can identify the true murderer.

To do this, Lucy ventures from her expected station and into raucous printers' shops, secretive gypsy camps, the foul streets of London, and even the bowels of Newgate prison on a trail that might lead her straight into the arms of the killer. 

In her debut novel, Susanna Calkins seamlessly blends historical detail, romance, and mystery into a moving and highly entertaining tale.

Daco - The Libra Affair (Crimson Romance) April 8th, 2013

www.authordaco.com

HER MISSION: Launch Libra


HER OBSTACLE: Love

Nothing can stand in the way of Jordan Jakes launching a missile in a remote desert of Iran. Not even love interest Ben Johnson, the NASA scientist she's targeted. Against all odds, Ben follows Jordan, placing not only the mission at risk, but also the fate of the world. Everything hinges on the strength of their love.

Robert K Lewis - Untold Damage (Midnight Ink) April 2013

http://www.robertklewis.com

http://needlecity.wordpress.com/

Estranged from his wife and daughter, former undercover cop Mark Mallen has spent the last four years in a haze of heroin. And when his best friend from the academy, Eric Russ, is murdered, all the evidence points to Mallen as the prime suspect.

Now Mallen’s former colleagues on the force are turning up the heat and Russ’s survivors are in desperate need of answers. But if he wants to serve jusstince to the real killer, Mallen knows he’ll have to get clean. Turning a life around is murder for a junkie, especially when two lowlife thugs want him dead. Bruised, battered, and written off by nearly everyone, Mallen must make amends for his damaged past and restore hope for a better future.

Debut Author: Questions I never expected…

By Susanna Calkins

When I first started telling people that I was about to publish my debut novel—A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate--I didn’t know what to expect.  Most people were surprised astonished—after all, only my husband knew anything about my scribblings for the last ten years, and even he had only the vaguest notion what my story was about. 

So the questions I got asked—as well as what I didn’t get asked—surprised me.  No one asked me what had inspired the book, or how I did my research (those kinds of questions seemed to come up later). 

Instead, I got:

Is there much sex in it?  Uh, gulp. You’ll have to read it to find out. (Seriously, this was the number one question people asked me).  

Who’s your agent? Will he represent me? I found this question very awkward.  I didn’t want to shut the door behind me, but at that point, I had only known my wonderful agent David Hale Smith of Inkwell Management for a few days between the time I signed with him and when Minotaur bought my books. 

I’ve started a novel. Can I pitch it to your publisher? Well, gee.  I think that most agents, editors, publishers etc. are looking for finished products, which are ready to go. As everyone says… don’t spoil your book by sending it out into the world too soon!

Is your book much like Harry Potter or Twilight? Those books are awesome.  Everyone wants to read them.  Okay, well, my books are mysteries, so I guess that’s different. Sure, my main character, Lucy, is about the same age as Bella. But she’s not from Washington. She’s English though, like Hermione, but really nothing like Hermione at all. My book is set in seventeenth-century England, but there aren’t any trains in it. Or horcruxes.
 

So you set your book in seventeenth-century London. That’s when Elizabeth I was the queen. Or was it Queen Victoria?  Close. Well, about sixty years after QEI, and 150 years before the other.  The monarch was actually Charles II. (Nope, not the one who was beheaded. His son).    

So you wrote a mystery.  Are you as exciting as Dan Brown?  Um…you’ll have to read it to find out?  (How often can I use that one?) 

Do you plan to quit your day job? Um…I don’t think many writers make a living this way.  (If my boss is reading this—Plus, I love my day job. I’d never quit! If he’s not reading, then I’ll stick to my first response. I don’t think most writers make as much money as what people assume). 

Are you going to make your book into a movie, like The Help? That would be pretty darn surprising, but hey if BBC or Masterpiece Theatre comes a-calling, they know where to find me!!!  And yes, I will see if they can cast you/your cousin/your child in the production.  

Do you think my sister/aunt/cousin/neighbor/long-lost pet would like your book?  YES!

Author Bio

Susanna Calkins is a historian and academic, currently working at Northwestern University. She’s had a morbid curiosity about murder in seventeenth-century England ever since she was in grad school, when she was first working on her Ph.D. in history.   The ephemera from the archives—tantalizing true accounts of the fantastic and the strange—inspired her historical mysteries, including A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she lives outside Chicago now with her husband and two sons. Connect with her at her website or on twitter.

Book synopsis: A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate (Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press) April 23, 2013

When someone she loves faces hanging for the murder of a fellow servant, Lucy Campion—a seventeenth-century English chambermaid—must interpret the clues hidden in miniature portraits, popular ballads, and a corpse’s pointing finger to save his life…all before the true murderer turns on her…