Rubbing elbows with the stars

Two weeks from now, I’ll be reading from Safe Harbor at Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Shortlist Event. I’m tickled pink that I was asked to participate in the Toronto event because I’ll be sharing the stage some of Canada’s best-known crime fiction writers. Rosemary Aubert, Rick Blechta, Maureen Jennings, Ian Hamilton and Robert Rotenberg, to name a few.

Who was Arthur Ellis, you ask? Arthur Ellis was the pseudonym of our official hangman, before Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976.

The writers shortlisted for this year’s Arthurs will be announced at events in five cities across Canada that evening: Vancouver (Vancouver Public Library), Calgary (Downtown Central Calgary Public Library), Toronto (Indigo, Manulife Centre), Ottawa (Library & Archives Canada) and Montreal (Atwater Library).

Drop in if you’re in the area – 7 p.m. local time.

The winners will named on May 31 at the 2012 Arthur Ellis Awards Banquet at the Hilton Toronto.

#RosemaryMcCracken #crimewriting #thrillers #SafeHarbor #ArthurEllisAwards #CrimeWritersofCanada #mysteries

Dark horse logs good test run

Safe Harbor didn’t catch up to Dracula and it didn’t made it into the top 100 in the Kindle Free Store in its two-day free Amazon promotion that ran until midnight yesterday. But it did see 1,118 free downloads on  Tuesday and Wednesday. That means there are now 1,118 people out there reading Safe Harbor on their Kindles, tablets, iPhones, PCs and laptops! And, hopefully, talking about it.

I had to chuckle when I saw Stephen King’s new blockbuster 11/22/63 directly across the virtual aisle from Safe Harbor early Wednesday afternoon. They were both #10 in Suspense, although King’s book wasn’t free.

Safe Harbor slid a bit after that, but it was still in the Top 20 in Free Suspense at #15 when I checked out for the day at 10:50 p.m. EDT.

Not bad at all for an unknown author and a brand-new book.

#Dracula #RosemaryMcCracken #ImajinBooks #StephenKing #Amazon #mystery #BramStoker #ebook #darkhorse #TessGerritsen #thriller #SafeHarbor #Kindle #Freaks #suspense

Safe Harbor puts the bite on Dracula

Yesterday, I offered readers the opportunity to download Safe Harbor from Amazon onto their Kindles, tablets, iPhones, PCs and laptops — free of charge. It was my chance to introduce readers to a new novel by an unknown author and get them building the buzz.

I pulled out all the stops on social media. It was a wild and wonderful ride. I haven’t had so much fun since I ran a poll on this blog in November in which you selected Safe Harbor’s book cover.

The giveaway started at midnight. When I first checked Amazon’s Best Sellers’ Ranking in the middle of the morning, I was #3,707 in popularity in the entire Free Kindle Store, and #77 on the Free Suspense Best Seller list. Throughout the day, my ranking steadly went up. And when I called it a day after 11 p.m. EDT, Safe Harbor was #243 in the store, and #10 in Free Suspense. I was ahead of Tess Gerritsen’s Freaks at #25 and putting the bite on Stoker’s Dracula at #5. I was also #12 in the Thriller category.

And I had 781 downloads. That means 781 people had Safe Harbor in their hands last night.

Today is the last day of the free promo. At just before 10 a.m. EDT, Safe Harbor is now #217 in the Kindle Free Store, and holding at #10 in Free Suspense and #12 in Free Thriller. I’m aiming for the top place in Suspense and Thriller by the end of the day. And for the top 100 in the Free Kindle Store.

Now to knuckle down and make that happen.

#Dracula #RosemaryMcCracken #ImajinBooks #mystery #BramStoker #TessGerritsen #thriller #SafeHarbor #Kindle #Freaks #suspense #free