Drury Lane Release Date

On Friday, I typed THE END on A Disappearance in Drury Lane. And there was much rejoicing. The release date for this book will be September 20, 2013.

Excerpts will be posted soon. I will be busily revising / rewriting then sending the ms to an editor in order to meet that publication date. More news on that as it happens.

In other news, A Regimental Murder, is available in print in a new trade paperback. I gave it "expanded distribution" which means that (eventually), booksellers will be able to special order it, and it will be available online at Amazon, B&N, Book Depository, and other places. 

For now, the print version is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Regimental-Murder-Captain-Regency-Mysteries/dp/1490557946/ 

The rest of the books not already in print will soon follow! Drury Lane will also be out in print at the same time as or shortly after the ebook.

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Drury Lane Updates

I am now about 3000-5000 words shy of finishing the next Captain Lacey book (that's about 2-3 chapters depending on how much I have left to tell--I don't adhere to a rigid word count). I will have this done by the end of the week and be able to project a pub date.

Be sure to subscribe to my book info email blasts to be notified as soon as Disappearance in Drury Lane is available.

In other news, the print edition of Regimental Murder should go live very soon (I submitted it; just waiting for the vendors to get around to putting up the order buttons). Plus I'm still looking into getting these books into audio. I will, one way or another.

Take care.

More Updates; Audiobook opinions

I'm about 20K words away from finishing the draft of Drury Lane. (For me, about 80 pages.) Then will come rewrites / revisions (which take nowhere near as long as writing the first draft), then editing by an outside editor, then proofing. I will do my best to get the print version out alongside the e- version or very soon thereafter. As soon as I type "The End" I will post a pub date! (I already know it, but again, the whole jinx thing is keeping me from saying it yet.)

I'm also interested in getting Captain Lacey out in audio. I think this series would lend itself well to being read aloud.

That said, I've heard from audiobook companies that cozy mysteries sell poorly in audio. Mystery fans, are you audiobook fans? I've listened to mytery audiobooks (the Cadfael series; Dick Francis; Mary Higgins Clark), and while I'm not a huge audiobook fan (I like to read fast), I enjoyed them.

Opinions? Would you like Captain Lacey in audio? Is it worth it for me to pursue it?

New Covers for Capt. Lacey print books

I've had a few complaints from readers about the women on the covers of the Captain Lacey books. To some, a woman on the cover signals "romance," and definitely not mystery. Why this should be, I'm not sure--to me a romance cover has a shirtless male who obviously works out two hours a day and swallows a case of protein powders while he's at it. If he has a shirt, it's falling off; and if a female is with him, she's pushing it off, or he's pushing her clothes off, or both, or they're sprawled sensuously in bed. A simple lady standing alone does not shout "romance" to me. Can women not appear on a book cover without it being a romance novel? This puzzles me (and the feminist in me).

However, I do listen to feedback, and the new print covers will be lady-less (with the exception of Hanover Square and Death in Norfolk, which are already in print--print covers take many weeks to change [designer has to redo it first of all] and racks up additional charges for re-uploading and re-printing). The ladies will remain on the e-book covers, but all the to-come print covers will be of scenes only.

The Glass House's new cover is above as an example of how the covers will look sans females.

FYI: The background on the cover of The Glass House is a photograph taken by me in London, in St. James's. Other tourists in London take photos of the stone-still guards or Nelson's column--I take pictures of doors.

Captain Lacey books in print

Because the old mass market paperbacks of the Lacey series are now very hard to find (and going for ridiculous prices on used book sites--$25; $45 and more), we are working to get the entire series republished in print (POD).

The books will be available in what's called "Expanded Distribution" which means that, while bookstores won't necessarily keep them in stock, they can special order for you (they'll be available via Ingrams). Therefore, if you don't want to order via Amazon, you will be able to find these books via Barnes & Noble and independent booksellers.

I encourage you to utilize mystery booksellers, such as Poisoned Pen (http://poisonedpen.com/) and the like, to shop for mysteries. I truly want to see these bookstores stay in business! It's wonderful to enter a bookstore where the staff knows so much about the genre and can find and recommend books at the drop of a hat. Many mystery bookstores do mail order (and online ordering), if you don't have an indie mystery bookseller near you.

I have already put the print copies of Hanover Square Affair; The Necklace Affair and other Stories; and A Death in Norfolk into expanded distribution. (It might take a few weeks before they appear as available.)

In the next weeks to months, A Regimental Murder; The Glass House; Sudbury School Murders; Body in Berkeley Square; and A Covent Garden Mystery will follow. All need to be formatted, checked, and then printed--it takes a couple weeks for them to appear for sale on Amazon after they're uploaded, and then another month or so to be available in larger distribution. I'll update the website with links as they appear.

Disappearance in Drury Lane will appear in print (and orderable by bookstores) very soon after the e-version goes online.

We're working hard to get this series up to date and available for everyone, e-book lovers and print-book lovers alike. Thanks for your patience.

(And I'm writing on Drury Lane every day, don't worry).

Image of Royal Crescent, Bath, from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Royal_Crescent_in_Bath,_England_-_July_2006.jpg