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Launching the book at Barnes & Noble in New York.
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I want to thank you.
For a lot of reasons, the week VANISHED went on sale turned out to be perhaps the toughest week all year. But as a result of so many of you going out and getting the book as soon as it was published (or pre-ordering it, or ordering it online in whatever form, e-book or audio or plain old book) it immediately hit the New York Times best sellers list, at #13. I can't tell you how grateful I am for your support and your enthusiasm . . . and all your emails. It's been a real thrill to hear from so many of you that you really liked Nick Heller and VANISHED. You guys know I answer all my emails, but if I've been a little slow in getting back to you in the last few weeks, I trust you understand why.
The reviews for VANISHED have been some of the best I've ever gotten. Reviews in the traditional press have been tremendous -- and flattering. The Washington Post called it a "humdinger..a thriller to enjoy for its Washington locales, convincing familiarity with cutting-edge spy gadgetry, and taut action scenes." David Montgomery, crime fiction reviewer for TheDailyBeast.com, called VANISHED "quite possibly the year's best thriller." Jon Land in the Providence Journal called it "a rousing, lightning-paced thriller from the first page to the last." The Connecticut Post said it was "a scary, impossible-to-put-down paranoid thriller cut from the same cloth as those great 1970s Watergate era thrillers," and Myles Knapp of the Contra Costa Times lost sleep: "Even though I'd been warned that everyone who'd read it did so in one sitting, I cracked the cover at 10 p.m., figuring yeah, yeah, one sitting, right. When I passed out at 4 a.m., I was thinking, boy, if I could just keep my eyes opened long enough to finish this!" In Smart Money, the Wall Street Journal's book critic Robert Hughes called VANISHED "an original and gripping thriller...a first-rate effort." In Book Reporter, Joe Hartlaub called it "his best book to date... wonderfully told from beginning to end... a mandatory addition to the "must read" lists of thriller readers everywhere."
The blogs have been particularly kind: "one of his best, and that is saying a lot" (Jackie K. Cooper on the Huffington Post); "I read VANISHED in one night" (Earlene's Eye on Books); "VANISHED has catapulted Joseph Finder into my must-read category" (TracyReaderDad). (Yes, I am saving all of these to show my daughter next time I feel I'm not getting the respect a father deserves. If you want to see more, a good selection is online here.)
Although I haven't done many bookstore appearances this time around, the wonders of television have been making it possible for me to reach even more readers. A convergence of real life and Nick Heller's world has put me on a lot of television shows, talking about the CIA's alleged use of "private spies" in the so-called "assassination squads." Articles I wrote for TheDailyBeast.com and an op-ed in The New York Times attracted a great deal of media interest, appearances on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and a lot of other shows -- and the story's far from over. The things I've been hearing give me plenty of material for Nick's future adventures, that's for sure.
If you missed them live, you can catch several of the video appearances on my website: appearances on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," "Hannity," Fox News, and Fox Business News. You can also listen to "The Glenn Beck Program" and Talk Forensics on BlogTalkRadio.
Beyond the TV appearances, I've done so many online interviews in the last month that I'm afraid I'm starting to repeat myself. (The New York Times Book Review even quoted me admitting that!) Check out these interviews:
My Twitter Book Tour - possibly the first author event of this kind - was fast and furious, with lots of Twitterers posting questions about VANISHED, previous novels, writing and even my dog Mia. It was a great way to chat with fans around the U.S. I'm on Twitter often, so please tweet hello to @joefinder if you're a Twitter addict like me.
But Wait, There's More!
The VANISHED mini-book-tour is almost done - I just got back from the Hawaii Writers Conference, which was absolutely fantastic (man, the way I suffer for my art), and just a few stops remain.
At the end of the week I'll be in Denver, giving the keynote address at the Rocky Mountain Writers Conference. You can find the latest version of the VANISHED Tour schedule here.
And if you're planning to attend Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, in Indianapolis, Indiana October 15-18, you can catch me on two different panels. The first is "Adaptation: How a Story Moves from Page to Screen," on Thursday, October 15 from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. David Montgomery moderates a panel that includes Sean Chercover, John Gilstrap, Paul Guyot, and me. On Friday, October 16 from 4:00 to 4:55 p.m., I'll be part of a special panel called "At the State House: Law and Politics," being held in the Rotunda of the Indiana State House. Barbara D'Amato will serve as moderator, and my fellow panelists will be Mark Arsenault, David Ellis, and Mike Lawson. You can also enter the "Hot Ticket" contest sponsored by the Midwest MWA to spend an hour with me or one of ten other authors in a small group setting. Hope to see you there!
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