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| JosephFinder.com Newsletter |
April 2007 |
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| POWER PLAY: Slogans Wanted |
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It’s that time of year again. My publisher and website folks are getting ready to start the big marketing push for POWER PLAY, and we need a slogan. Can you help?
POWER PLAY is a nonstop thriller that takes place in a single day. The top executives of a major corporation have gathered for an offsite retreat at a luxurious, remote lodge --- no phones, no cell phones, no BlackBerrys, no cars. A band of backwoods hunters crashes the lavish open-night festivities, and suddenly, the execs are being held hostage by hard men with guns... cut off from the rest of the world, their lives at stake. The only one who can save them is the one guy who wasn’t supposed to be there --- a last-minute replacement and low man on the totem pole.
He’s Jake Landry, a young, modest guy with a wry outlook on life --- and a turbulent past he’s trying to put behind him. So you tell me: how would you promote this book? What’s a good, catchy slogan I can put on Post-It® notes and other giveaway items? Send your ideas to my web manager, Clair, at info@josephfinder.com, with your complete mailing address between now and April 30.
If we choose your slogan, I’ll send you a signed bound manuscript of POWER PLAY (very few of them were produced, so they may be collectors’ items). Everyone who submits a slogan will get a set of the new Post-Its®, once they’re printed –-- and if more than one person sends in the winning slogan, the manuscript will go to the earliest submission. Thanks for the help!
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KILLER INSTINCT Gets a Thrilling Nomination
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March was a good month for KILLER INSTINCT. Publishers Weekly announced that it had been one of the top-selling hardcovers of 2006, and the International Thriller Writers Association nominated it for a Thriller Award, in the “Best Novel” category.
It’s a tired cliché, but how could I say anything but, “It’s an honor” –-- especially when I saw who the other nominees were? Jeffrey Archer, for FALSE IMPRESSION; Stephen Leather, for COLD KILL; my friend Daniel Silva, for THE MESSENGER; and Lisa Unger, for BEAUTIFUL LIES. Heady company, to be sure.
The awards will be given out at the second annual Thrillerfest in New York, July 12-15. Thrillerfest is open to the public, with three separately-priced packages available; see www.thrillerfest.org for details. If you’re a thriller fan and live anywhere near NYC, you should definitely plan to be there. And if you do, make sure to stop me to say hi!
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Is Your Pet a Reader?
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My dog, Mia, may not be able to read –-- but she certainly likes books, since they’re something I pay attention to instead of her. And I think she likes being read to, or at least she always seems to listen to me when I do it. (Especially if I’m holding a dog treat in one fist. She’ll listen forever.)
Does your dog or cat take an interest in what you’re reading? As we’re assembling the photo galleries for the www.josephfinder.com redesign, we’d love to include a few shots of your animal friends with one of my books. Send your photos in to Clair at info@josephfinder.com, and we’ll send you a gift to say “thanks.” (And maybe we’ll put your pet on the front page of the new website!)
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On the Road
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Thanks to everyone who’s written in to suggest stops for the POWER PLAY tour. We’re putting a schedule together, and should have something to announce in early June.
In the meantime, though, I have a few things lined up between now and the end of May:
Saturday - Sunday, April 20-21
"Much Ado About Books,"
Afestival sponsored by the Jacksonville Public Library
Jacksonville, FL
www.muchadoaboutbooks.com
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Edgar® Symposium – registration required; visit www.mysterywriters.org for details
“Thrill Me! Chill Me!”
A panel discussion with Sandra Brown, Barry Eisler and Laurie King, moderated by Jeremiah Healy
The Lighthouse
New York, NY
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Massachusetts Library Association Annual Conference – registration required; visit www.masslib.org for details
“Book Buzz Encore” Author Claire Cook and I will discuss our works after a panel discussion hosted by Super Librarian Nancy Pearl
Sturbridge, MA
Saturday, May 5, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. - registration required; visit www.thrillerwriters.org for details
"Brunch and Bullets," a fundraising luncheon for the International Thriller Writers Association and Reading is Fundamental
Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa
Stamford, CT
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The Power of the Audiobook
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Audible.com recently posted a list of ten audiobooks they thought would make great movies, and PARANOIA topped the list. “Movies and audiobooks are a lot alike, Hollywood,” they wrote. “They are both highly visceral media: both seek to add emotional weight to a story that would otherwise exist only on paper; to enhance a story, provide a full experience that captivates as many senses as it can.”
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have Scott Brick, Publishers Weekly’s 2006 Narrator of the Year, as the voice of PARANOIA, COMPANY MAN, and KILLER INSTINCT. The recording of KILLER INSTINCT won one of PW’s Listen Up Awards, as one of the best thriller audiobooks of 2006, and Scott Brick’s fans come up to me at every one of my events to say how much they like his readings.
But I don’t have a good sense of how many of you, my core readership, listen to the audiobook as opposed to reading the book itself –-- or do you do both?
If you’re a major fan of the audiobook format, would you please drop a line to Webmistress Clair (info@josephfinder.com)? Tell her which of my books you’ve listened to, whether you listened to a CD or a download, and whether you bought or read the book in text form as well. It’s more than idle curiosity on my part –-- keep an eye on future newsletters for more news for audiobook lovers.
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Contest Winners --- and More Giveaways
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Congratulations to Joe Hoisington of Sandwich, IL, who a signed ARC of KILLER INSTINCT, with a set of KILLER INSTINCT Post-It notes, just for subscribing to the newsletter. We’re giving the same thing away this month, so forward this newsletter to all your friends --– all subscribers to the electronic newsletter are automatically entered for a chance to win!
Jen Pryor, Sandy Navarro, Marjorie Clark, Kimberly Young, and Carol Mintz were the winners of last month’s KILLER INSTINCT giveaway –-- congratulations to them, too! We have a few more signed advance reading copies (ARC) of KILLER INSTINCT to give away before the paperback comes out next month, and a few more Nalgene® water bottles to give away, as well.
For your chance to win, send your complete mailing address to my assistant, Sarah, at sarah@josephfinder.com. Put “Killer Instinct ARC” or “Killer Instinct Water Bottle” in the subject line, depending on which item you’d like to win (Sorry, because of postage costs and custom regulations, we must limit this offer to U.S. residents. Please, one prize per household per calendar year.)
And don’t forget to check out the “Free Stuff” page, which includes offers for two different signed bookplates, as well as a trivia question that changes every two months.
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Happy Spring!
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See, I told you I’d be better about corresponding. Watch your mailbox next month for the first excerpt from POWER PLAY, and all the news about upcoming giveaways and appearances. Thanks for your support, and keep that killer instinct sharp!
Best wishes,
Joe Finder |
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And please --- spread the word by forwarding this newsletter to friends you think might be interested.
Thanks for your support!
-Joe (Joe@JosephFinder.com)
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