Newsletter Archive

ParanoiaNovel.com

The day’s finally arrived: POWER PLAY is on sale all in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. today! We’ll launch the book officially tonight at Borders in Boston’s Back Bay, and if you’re anywhere in the area, I hope you’ll join us. The party starts at 7:00 PM and the address is 511 Boylston St.; call 617-236-1444 for directions.

POWER PLAY is the story of Jake Landry, a junior manager with an aerospace firm who winds up at his company’s planning retreat. He’s there as a last-minute substitute for his own boss, and he feels like a fish out of water –- particularly since the only other person he knows there is his ex-girlfriend, who’s now executive assistant to the new CEO. But when armed men take the group hostage –- and seem to know way too much about the company –- Jake is the only one who can save them.

If you need another excerpt to tide you over until you get to a bookstore, click here for one that’s just for newsletter subscribers…

Reviewers have been saying nice things about POWER PLAY.

The New York Times’ Janet Maslin thought POWER PLAY was something special: “Its premise is enough to send chills through corporate boardrooms, and through civilian readers too,” she wrote. Jon Land at The Providence Journal called it “the best hostage-taking tale in years, if not ever,” and The New York Times Book Review praised its “inspired problem solving.” Library Journal called it a “nail biter of a read;” Publishers Weekly praised its “tight, fluid writing;” and Larry Gandle at Tampa Bay Online said it was “easily the most entertaining read I’ve had this summer.”

In the end, though, the only opinion that matters is yours – so please pick up a copy, if you haven’t already, and let me know what you think!

One of the best pieces of advice I got, early in my writing career, was to start the story at the last possible moment -– meaning, in the middle of the action.

In POWER PLAY, Jake walks into a tense situation: executives reacting to a new female CEO who’s been hired to clean house. I was fascinated with the idea of dropping this woman CEO, Cheryl Tobin, into a “boys’ club” environment like the aerospace industry. But since POWER PLAY is about Jake and the offsite-turned-hostage situation, not about Cheryl’s career, I didn’t get to spend as much time with her as I’d have liked.

So I wrote up Cheryl’s story as a case study for the Harvard Business Review. It’s the first time a novelist has written a case study for the HBR, and I was thrilled to be asked. Several really big names from the business world, including the CFO and General Counsel of Lockheed-Martin, gave their takes on the case study in this week’s issue, which is online here. In more firsts, HBR produced a podcast and a video about the case study, which are also available on the HBR website.

The case study’s available to everyone as part of HBR’s new Interactive Case Study; everyone is welcome to comment and offer a solution. HBR’s editors will choose the best response, and highlights of the strongest responses will be featured online. Check it out – I’ll be interested to hear what you think!

It’s hard for me to keep a blog going when I’m trying to write, but it’s a welcome way for me to let off steam while I’m touring. The Travel Blog goes live again later today; check it out and leave your comments here.

Lots of interviews lately and in the weeks to come, as I talk about POWER PLAY to anyone who’s interested. Check some of these out:

I recently spoke with Stephanie Padilla at New Mystery Reader about POWER PLAY, stand-alones vs. series, and the prospects of turning more of my books into movies. Read the interview here.

Richmond Life Magazine published an interview with me earlier this month, taking a broader look at my writing career.

John Dent, a blogger known as the BookieMonster, interviewed me about the industries of aerospace and publishing; read it here.

I’m the Author of the Week over at 52Books.org, a wonderful program run by the Bensenville (IL) Public Library.

And last but not least, I did a long and fascinating (well, the questions were fascinating – make your own judgment about the answers) interview with Nikki Duncan at the Romantic Realm of Shadows, here.

And once you’ve left your comments on the HBR site, come on over to www.josephfinder.com and talk about it on my new discussion forum. All are welcome to post questions for me, thoughts about the books, and more. Be one of the first 50 members to join the Forum, and we’ll give you a special gift to honor your status as a Founding Member!

Webmistress Clair will serve as your moderator, and I’ll be online as often as I can to answer questions, settle disagreements, and drop hints about works in progress. Over time, as the forum evolves, we’ll schedule some live chats, and see about organizing some events for forum members even when I’m not officially touring.

Guido says, “Make me an offer I can’t refuse.” Thanks to Sharon Berger for the photo!

Tonight’s Back Bay party is just the first of two weeks’ worth of celebrations for POWER PLAY, all through the middle of the country. We’ll have food, drink, balloons and party favors at these events -– please come out if you’re anywhere in the area:

Mia hates it when I go away … I’m her favorite pillow.

Bogie says, “I was going to buy the books, honest!” Thanks to Sharon Berger for the picture!

Can’t get to one of the POWER PLAY parties? Signed copies of POWER PLAY will be available today from these independent bookstores:

M is for Mystery
86 E. Third Ave.
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-401-8077
www.mformystery.com
info@mformystery.com

Mysteries to Die For
2940 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
805-374-0084
www.mysteriestodiefor.com

The Mystery Bookstore
1036-C Broxton Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-209-0415
orders@mystery-bookstore.com
www.mystery-bookstore.com

The Poisoned Pen
4014 N. Goldwater Blvd., Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-947-2974
sales@poisonedpen.com
http://www.poisonedpen.com

Saturn Booksellers
133 W. Main Street
Gaylord, MI 49735
989-732-8899
www.saturnbooksellers.com
Saturn_booksellers@hotmail.com

Schuler Books and Music
2660 28th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49512
616-942-2561
www.schulerbooks.com
email: info@schulerbooks.com

Seattle Mystery Bookshop
117 Cherry Street (Pioneer Square)
Seattle, WA 98104
206-587-5737
www.seattlemystery.com
staff@seattlemystery.com

Warwick's
7812 Girard Ave.
La Jolla, CA 92037
858-454-0347
www.warwicks.com
warwicks2000@yahoo.com

We’ll add a few stores to this list after the tour, depending on where I have the opportunity to stop in along the way; check the “Appearances” page of my website for updates.

On the subject of independent bookstores, I want to thank the members of Book Sense for making POWER PLAY a Book Sense pick for September!

Jake the Cat may have stayed up too late reading… thanks to Marlee Soulard for the photo!

Thanks to all of you for your support, and I hope to see you on the road. Make today your POWER PLAY!

Best wishes,
Joseph Finder
Joe@josephfinder.com