University of Arizona Campus – March
10 – 11, 2018 – 9:30am to 5:30pm
Introduction
What have I learned over the years
at the Tucson Festival of Books? Lots of fun. Lots of people. Lots of authors.
Lots of sun.
When I attend the Festival I take off my Mystery writer’s
hat. I am there as a Blogger for the weekend to find out how my fellow authors
are handling direct marketing. My goal is to talk to as many authors as I can,
take a lot of pictures and to see how the authors are trying to market their
books and themselves.
This will be my 6 year attending at
the TFOB. After the show, I always post about the Festival and give my blog readers
a snapshot of what I observed and some of the ideas I come up with to help
other authors plan for a Festival or book event.
This year I’m going to try something
new. I’m going to do some pre-show posts. I have contacted my Author Spotlight Crew that usually attends TFOB, in advance, to find out what they are planning and find out what was new.
Here is some of the feedback I got.
Author: C. Michael Bennis
Author Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Suspense
Website: C. Michael Bennis
Author's Blog: C. Michael Bennis
Twitter: @CMBennis
E-Mail: C.MichaelBennis@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Post with Profile + Interview: HBS Author's Spotlight
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
C. Michael Bennis is bilingual and lives in Tucson, Arizona as a former advertising and toy industry executive. He is the author of three best selling novels: Dangerous and Desirable (Oct.19, 2013), Signs of Destiny (2012) and Rules of Engagement (2009), and he is currently editing his fourth novel between speaking engagements.
The glistening razor like actions of this narrative cut across unexpected consequences. Julio's exploits are legendary. It is almost as if this former champion boxer can draw and fire his weapon before an adversary's brain registers the movement. He has one weakness: he cannot refuse helping vulnerable, innocuous victims. It is a carry over from when his survivor Jewish parents were killed in a train accident and he left the orphanage to live on the streets of Buenos Aires, an eight-year old with a dog for his only friend. Ironically, his combat skills draw the attention of an ambitious female war correspondent that seeks to discover his true identity. The hunter becomes the hunted when her article is published in a revealing expose. She believes Julio Navarro's true identity will win her international recognition, but in fact it might only make her dead as Julio Navarro goes on the lam and Ziv fears the worst for this incredible man. Suspense Romance. Setting: New York City, Madrid, Culiacán, and Mazatlán, Mexico.
Michael will show this new book: Ralph's Place II, a sequel to the first Ralph's Place.
Author: Rhys Bowen
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Historical Fiction, Mystery
Website: Rhys Bowen
Twitter: @RhysBowen
E-Mail: authorrhysbowen@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Rhys Bowen's books have been nominated for every major mystery award and she has won thirteen of them to date. She currently writes two historical mystery series, each very different in tone. The Molly Murphy mysteries feature an Irish immigrant woman in turn-of-the-century New York City. These books are multi-layered, complex stories with a strong sense of time and place and have won many awards including Agatha and Anthony. There are 13 book so far in this series plus two Kindle stories, The Amersham Rubies and The Face in the Mirror--a great way to introduce new readers to Molly's spunky personality.
Then there is Lady Georgie, Rhys's latest,and very popular, heroine. She's 35th in line to the throne of England, but she's flat broke and struggling to survive in the Great Depression. These books are lighter and funnier than Molly's adventures. They poke gentle fun at the British class system--about which Rhys knows a lot, having married into an upper class family rather like Georgie's, with cousins with silly nicknames,family ghosts and stately homes. The ninth book in the series, Malice at the Palace was published August 2015 and the previous book, Queen of Hearts, just won the Agatha award for best historical mystery.
The series received the Readers Choice Award for favorite mystery series and Rhys was nominated for career achievement.
Rhys was born in Bath, England but spent time during her childhood with relatives in Wales. Those childhood experiences colored her first mystery series, about Constable Evans in the mountains of Snowdonia. 10 books including the Edgar nominee Evan's Gate. She has lived in Austria, Germany and Australia, but has called California her home for many years. She now escapes to a condo in Arizona during those cold California winters. When she's not writing she loves to travel, sing, hike, paint and play the Celtic harp.
Rhys' book: The Tuscan Child (released Feb 20)
will be showcased.
Author: Teresa Burrell
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Thriller, Suspense
Website: Teresa Burrell
Author's Blog: Teresa Burrell
Twitter: @teresaburrell
E-Mail: teresa@teresaburrell.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Teresa Burrell has dedicated her life to helping children and their families in both the courtroom and the classroom.
As an attorney in San Diego, Burrell maintained a private law practice for twelve years, which specialized in domestic, criminal, and civil cases. Her work in juvenile court focused on representing abused minors and juvenile delinquents. Burrell has received several awards and special recognition from the San Diego Volunteer Lawyers for her countless hours of pro bono work with children and their families.
Burrell has also enjoyed a satisfying career as a teacher. She has taught children of all ages with diverse backgrounds and special needs. After creating an after-school program that kept kids off the street, she received a community service award.
Now in semi-retirement in California, Burrell continues to educate groups about social issues impacting children and write novels, many of which are inspired by actual legal cases. She is the author of The Advocate Series which now contains eight novels: The Advocate, The Advocate's Betrayal, The Advocate's Conviction, The Advocate's Dilemma, The Advocate's Ex Parte, The Advocate's Felony, The Advocate's Geocache, and most recently, The Advocate's Homicides.
Burrell also has two children's books that are fun for the whole family--Gaspar, the Flatulating Ghost, and Gaspar Meets a Bully.
Teresa will showcase her new book The Advocate's Illusion (launch on March 6, 2018)
Tucson Festival of Books 2017 picture
Author: R.P. Dahlke
Author Genre: Mystery, Romance, Humor
Website: R.P. Dahlke
eNovel Authors At Work
Twitter: @rpdahlke
E-Mail: rp@rpdahlke.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Author Description:
The Dead Red Mystery Series is about a tall, blond and beautiful ex-model turned crop-duster who, to quote Lalla Bains, has "been married so many times they oughta revoke my license." Lalla is no Danielle Steele character & she's not afraid of chipping her manicure. Scratch that, the girl doesn't have time for a manicure what with herding a bunch of recalcitrant pilots and juggling work orders just to keep her father's flagging business alive.Note: Beginning with A Dead Red Alibi, Lalla and her family will reside in South East Arizona where she will divide her time between a fledgling P.I. business with cousin, Pearlie Bains, and volunteering as a team member with Cochise County Search and Rescue.
Tucson Sisters in Crime president will be manning the SinC booth.
Author: Doug Hocking
Author Genre: Westerns, Mystery, Historical fiction
Website: Doug Hocking
Author's Blog: Way Out West
Twitter: @HockingDoug
E-Mail: doug@doughocking.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Author Description:
Doug writes historical fiction bringing the Old West back to life while making another generation proud of the accomplishments and struggle of their ancestors. Each book is a history lesson wrapped in an riveting story.
Doug has led an exciting life. Born near New York City, a fact he very seldom admits, he learned to speak from his Cornish grandmother.
As an adult, he learned he understood Cornish slang and thought it normal speech. He also knew the whole story of Jack the Ripper and the Titanic. Grandmother was 10 and in Plymouth when the Ripper prowled. A uncle was swept away with the Unsinkable Ship. Still very young, Doug was taken West where he grew up on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in the Rio Arriba of New Mexico among piasonos and indios. At 18 he hitchhiked to Albuquerque and enlisted in Army Intelligence.
The next decade was spent in Thailand, Taiwan and at the Pentagon and at bases so secret the Army often wouldn't say where they were. This made it difficult to comply with orders to report, but Doug is a great intel analyst and interpreted the "indicators" to track them down. One soldier almost passed out when Doug asked directions: "That's classified!" "Hey, I'm assigned there, but they won't tell me how to get there." He became an interrogator. Doug stopped in Taiwan for several years and acquired an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. Returning to the US he studied Ethnography in graduate school and then returned to the Army in Armored Cavalry finding the cavalry more fun than musty tomes of forgotten lore. In Germany, he was eyeball to eyeball with the Soviet beast before it fell. His final tour of duty was the most difficult of all, trying to turn Military Intelligence lieutenants into officers. He also played a role in intelligence gathering and interpretation during the first Gulf War.
Since then Doug has earned honors with a graduate degree in US history and garnered his certificate as a field archaeologist in historical archaeology braving a summer at a wilderness camp with college students in southern Colorado excavating Fort Massachusetts. "Bears only poked their heads into the mess tent a couple of times." Doug has sold real estate, built homes, taught college and worked in the hospitality industry. He spends time exploring lost towns, ruins, old forts and trails, interpreting foundations and trash, ranging far. A trip to Guadalupe Canyon hard by the borders of Arizona-New Mexico-Sonora and Chihuahua found him stopped by Border Patrol who wanted to know his business. "I did the obvious and sold the man a copy of my novel."
At the urging of his mother, Doug began writing. His work appears regularly in Wild West Magazine and Roundup as well as True West. There are more books on the way: The Battle of Cienaguilla, Redwall Canyon, The Mystery of Chaco Canyon and Devil on the Loose.
Doug will be hosting the booth for the Western Writers of America called Amigos and Ladies of the West. It will include: Doug, Chris Enss, Melody Groves, Rod Timanus, Carol Markstrom, Lowell Volk, and Bill Markley.
Tucson Festival of Books 2017 picture
Author: J.A. Jance
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Website: J.A. Jance
Author's Blog: J.A. Jance - NYT Bestselling Author
Twitter: @JAJance
E-Mail: jajance@me.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Author Description:
J.A. Jance is the top 10 New York Times bestselling author of the Joanna Brady series; the J. P. Beaumont series; three interrelated thrillers featuring the Walker family; and Edge of Evil, the first in a series featuring Ali Reynolds. Born in South Dakota and brought up in Bisbee, Arizona, Jance lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington, and Tucson, Arizona.
Judith will be signing her new release Duel to the Death.
Tucson Festival of Books 2017 picture
Author: D.R. Ransdell
Author Genre: Mystery, Travel, Romance
Website: Author D.R. Ransdell
Author's Blog: Author D.R. Ransdell - Author News Blog
Twitter: @dr_ransdell
E-Mail: Dr_ransdell@yahoo.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
D.R. Ransdell teaches writing in Tucson, Arizona, where she moonlights as a mariachi player. Travel is her passion, so she spends vacations traipsing around new countries, experimenting with new languages, and dancing to new music. She shares her house with five cats, whose bird-chasing and lizard-eating activities add color to her stories.
Diane will be hanging out at the Sisters in Crime booth.
Tucson Festival of Books 2017 picture
Author: Sharon Skinner
Author Genre: Children's Books,Fantasy
Website: SharonSkinner.com
Author's Blog: Livejournal
Twitter: @sharonskinner56
E-Mail: Sharon@BrickCaveBooks.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Author Description:
Sharon Skinner has been writing stories and poetry since grade school. She is a voracious reader of anything and everything, but her writing tends to be focused on fantasy, Steampunk, and the odd ghost story. She holds a BA in English and an MA in Creative Writing, and works hard to continuously improve her craft. Sharon also teaches workshops on creative writing and engaging audiences. She is an active member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) and currently serves as the Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI AZ. When she isn't traveling around the country teaching writing workshops or doing book signings and author appearances in fun places like Emerald City ComiCon, Phoenix ComiCon, and various book festivals, she spends her time writing, re-visioning, and editing.
Sharon will have her new picture book, Rocket Shoes on display.
Author: Linda Watkins
Author Genre: Horror, Paranormal, Thriller
Website: Linda Watkins
Author's Blog: Linda Watkins
MATEGUAS ISLAND
Twitter: @Splatland
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Author Description:
Linda Watkins currently resides in Sedona, Arizona and, in another life, was a Senior Clinical Financial Analyst at Stanford University School of Medicine. Born on the east coast, she grew up in a suburb of Detroit. Upon graduation from college (Carnegie Mellon, '70), she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she lived and worked for most of her adult life. In 2006, she packed her belongings and, along with her 3 rescue dogs, took the plunge and moved to a remote island off the coast of Maine. It was there that she wrote her first novel, Mateguas Island and, since publication, the novel has garnered the following awards:
* 2014 Gold Medal, Supernatural Fiction, Readers Favorite International Book Award Competition
* 2014 First Place Award, Contemporary Gothic, Chanticleer Book Review, Paranormal Awards
* 2015 Outstanding Novel in Horror/Suspense, IAN Book of the Year Awards
Return to Mateguas Island, the sequel, was also awarded a 1st Place in Contemporary Gothic Fiction in the 2015 Chanticleer Book Review’s Paranormal Awards, was named 2015 Finalist in Horror by Readers Favorite International Book Award Competition, and named 2016 Finalist in Horror by the IAN Book of the Year Awards.
The third novel in the Mateguas Island Series, Ghosts of Mateguas, was published in early 2016. In 2017, Ghosts was named "Finalist in Thrillers" in the Book Excellence Awards and "Finalist in Horror/Suspense" in the IAN Book of the Year Awards.
Today, Linda has completed a new stand-alone novel, Summer Girl, a work of literary fiction, which was published in November of 2017. She also completed a novella, Sarah & Zoey, which was published in September of 2017.
Today, she is working on a new series of gothic fiction, The Storm Island Mysteries. The first installment in this series, Storm Island: A Kate Pomeroy Mystery, is complete and she hopes to publish it in late 2018. She is also working on a prequel to the first Storm Island Mystery. After that, the next item on her agenda will be to write the 4th installment in The Mateguas Island Series.
Serious about dog welfare and rescue, all net proceeds from sales of The Mateguas Island Series are donated to Linda's charitable trust, The Raison d'Etre Fund for Dogs, Dedicated to Rescue and Research.
Linda is a member of the Horror Writers Association, The Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers, The International Association of Crime Writers (N.A.), and the Authors Guild.
To take a look at her other works or communicate with her, please visit her website (www.lindawatkins-author.com), her blog where she posts book reviews and other features (www.lindawatkins.biz) and/or her novel website, dedicated to the Mateguas Island Series (www.mateguasisland.com).
Linda will be in the Indie Pavilion selling her books.
Author: Betty Webb
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Website: Betty Webb - The Lena Jones mysteries
Author's Blog: Webb's Blog
Wikipedia
Twitter: @bettywebb
E-Mail: webbscottsdale@aol.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Author Description:
Former journalist Betty Webb is a prize-winning mystery novelist whose books are based on true crimes, including human rights abuses. Publishers Weekly called her novels "mysteries with a social conscience." She lives in Arizona, where her Lena Jones mysteries are set, and teaches writing at Arizona State University.
Betty will be there pushing The Puffin of Death and The Otter of Death, as well as Desert Vengeance.
Author: Natalie Wright
Author Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction
Website: Natalie Wright, Author
Author's Blog: Natalie Wright
Twitter: @NatalieWright_
E-Mail: NatWritesYA (at) gmail (dot) com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
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Author Description:
Natalie is the author of H.A.L.F., an award-winning science fiction series, and The Akasha Chronicles, a young adult fantasy trilogy. Emily's House, book 1 in the Akasha Chronicles, has been read over 2 Million times worldwide on Wattpad! She lives in the high desert of Tucson, Arizona with her husband, teen daughter, and two cat overlords.
Natalie spends her time writing, reading, gaming, geeking out over nerd culture and cool science. She also travels extensively throughout the western U.S. as a guest author, panelist and exhibitor at comic cons and book festivals. She and her alien mascot, Baby Tex, travel more than 10,000 miles a year for book events large and small. You can check her website to see if she and Tex will be at an event near you.
Natalie will have her latest release: H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS on display.
Tucson Festival of Books 2017 picture
Author: Anna Questerly
Author Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Young Adult
Website: Anna Questerly
Twitter: @AnnaQuesterly
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Google+: Check Out Google+
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Bookseller and bibliophile turned author, Anna Questerly writes medieval fiction and fairy tales for smart kids and young hearts. For adults, she writes utopian fantasy as A.J. Questerly.
Anna will be in booth #109, the
Arizona Dreams Booth.
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