In Stores Today

The wait is over!  My fourth Jonathan Stride novel, IN THE DARK, arrives in stores today.  You can find it at your local bookstore, or from book clubs like the Literary Guild, or you can go to the Brian Freeman store.

The review in the Star Tribune on Sunday called the book "an evocative mystery, one shaded with melancholy and dusted with heartache, and one that reminds readers that life may be brutal and cold, but, in Minnesota at least, we shore ourselves against these truths and we endure."

As I've mentioned many times, we authors rely on word of mouth from readers to build our reputation.  So I hope you'll do me the favor of letting your friends and your local librarians or booksellers know about my books.  When you've read IN THE DARK, do write to me and give me your reaction.  I hope you'll find that this is the best one yet.

Welcome to Duluth

Most of my psychological suspense novels - including my latest, IN THE DARK - are based in the city of Duluth, Minnesota, on the shore of Lake Superior. The first question I usually get from readers is, "Why Duluth?"

Don’t worry, I get that question from readers in Duluth, too!

The answer is that Duluth is a city of extremes, and I think extremes enrich the drama of suspense novels. When I see reviews that talk about the sense of place in my books, I know I’m doing my job. Duluth has a rich set of extreme elements based on its location. It sits by the brooding great lake, and if you look at a map, you’ll see that the point of Lake Superior looks like a knife driving into the city’s heart. It’s at the border of the northern wilderness, where miles and miles of forest land stretch northward into Canada. It’s a terraced city, with crazy-steep San Francisco-style streets that feel out of place in the otherwise flat lands of the Upper Midwest.

And that’s before you talk about the weather. Yeah, it gets a little cold in Duluth. Thirty below cold. When I was doing research for my third novel, STALKED, I spent the month of January in a little cabin on the shore of Lake Superior, in order to add authenticity to the setting. So if you read the book and feel as if you’re really standing out in the middle of a blizzard, with ice balls hanging from your eyelids, that’s because I was standing out on the beach in a winter storm, recording impressions into my voice recorder. My wife thinks I’m nuts - but that’s nothing new!

So Duluth itself contributes to the drama of my books with its essential character. As Lieutenant Stride reflects: "Duluth was a city of struggle, of faded glory, of the new always colored by the old. It was small enough that you could wrap your arms around it and big enough that you could never quite hold it in your grasp. It was bitter cold, primitive, and intimidating, like an outpost on the border of the frontier."

There’s a romance to places like Duluth. Overseas readers of my books talk about Duluth the way Americans talk about places like Scotland and Ireland. They enjoy immersing themselves in stories set in those beautiful, isolated places - although they may not want to live there.

Write of Spring

I had a wonderful visit to the annual "Write of Spring" event at the Once Upon a Crime bookstore in Minneapolis.  If you're a mystery lover, you really need to visit this store, which has one of the best selections in the mystery genre you're likely to find anywhere.  You can find them online, too, at http://www.onceuponacrimebooks.com/.

The Write of Spring event features the astonishing array of mystery writers who call Minnesota home.  At least a dozen authors were there with me -- and that was just the first slot from noon to 1:00 pm!  As I've said, Minnesota authors must spend the winters sitting inside and thinking dark thoughts.

I'll be back at Once Upon a Crime on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00 pm for the official launch of IN THE DARK.  If you're in the Twin Cities, be sure to stop by.  And check out the Star Tribune review of IN THE DARK in tomorrow's paper.  

Tell a Friend

It’s no mystery why authors rely so heavily on readers to help them build an audience.  Publishing is one of the last great “word of mouth” businesses, where writers build their reputation reader by reader, book by book.  I’ve been extremely fortunate to have some wonderful readers around the world acting as advocates on my behalf – and I’m grateful for their efforts and support.

 

Readers at book signings will sometimes ask me what they can do to help.  There are actually many ways in which readers can lend a hand to the authors they enjoy.  The most obvious thing to do – Tell a friend – covers a lot of ground these days.  People who have always shared news of a favorite author with family and friends can now reach an even larger group of people through their status, links, notes, and messages on Facebook and MySpace; through their “tweets” on Twitter; through their blogs; or through online book networks like Shelfari and GoodReads.  They can recommend books to local book clubs.  They can talk to their local librarian.  They can spread the word to employees at their local bookstore.

 

So “tell a friend” goes a long way.  I’ve even had readers go so far as to write to book reviewers at their local newspaper and recommend they cover a particular book.  And you know what?  It often works.  There is so much content out there today that everyone – readers, librarians, booksellers, and book reviewers – relies on word of mouth to find authors they might otherwise miss.  Publishers and authors are interested parties, so the objective opinion of readers carries a lot of weight.

 

So remember – you have the power!

Last Book

There are tragedies that also remind you of why you do what you do in life.

Back in January, I spoke at a senior apartment complex near our home, where my in-laws reside.  One of the women there bought a copy of IMMORAL as a gift after my remarks.

I didn't know it at the time, but the woman had lost a son to cancer -- and not long ago had discovered that a second son had terminal cancer, too, and had been confined to a hospice.  She bought the book for him.

My wife Marcia was at the apartment complex visiting her mother today.  The woman who bought the book saw her there and immediately came over.  She wanted us to know that her son had passed away.  IMMORAL turned out to be the last book he ever read, and she asked Marcia to tell me how much he had enjoyed it.

I couldn't help crying when I heard that news.  But as Marcia told me, it's the kind of story you remember at those times when you wonder if you ever make a difference in the world.

Pioneer Press

The wonderful Mary Ann Grossman of the Pioneer Press has a big feature on me in the Sunday Life section of the St. Paul paper today.  You can read the article here (registration may be necessary).  The article features both of my new books, including IN THE DARK (which arrives in stores on March 31) and my pseudonymous book, THE AGENCY by "Ally O'Brien."

Mary Ann is a legend in Twin Cities books circles.  She keeps trying to enjoy her well-deserved retirement -- but readers and newpaper editors keep demanding that she go back to work.  We local authors appreciate that extra effort!

We're in the countdown now for the launch of the book.  I'll be visiting several Twin Cities and Duluth bookstores in the days after March 31.  You can find complete information on the Tour page of my web site.  If you're in the area, do stop by and say hello at one of my signings.

Waterstone's

The lovely folks at Waterstone's -- the UK's leading bookseller -- have created a special author page for me on their web site.  The page includes my bio, links to my books, and an exclusive interview that you'll enjoy.  You can link to the page by clicking here.

THE WATCHER arrives in paperback in the UK on 2 April -- just in time for me to enjoy seeing it in bookstores when I head over to the London Book Fair in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, we have now sold my pseudonymous book, THE AGENCY by Ally O'Brien, in France and Finland.  That brings us to a total of nine countries where the book will be available.  Finland is a special bonus for me, because it's a brand new market -- so I can proudly say that I will have books translated into 18 languages. 

The Goods

The clock is ticking.  The fourth Stride novel, IN THE DARK, arrives in stores on March 31.

Following up on the wonderful starred review from Publishers Weekly, we got another starred review from Booklist.  They say:

"Freeman’s latest spine chiller (after Stalked, 2008) boasts intense suspense, clever plot twists and characters capable of every sort of evil. Macavity Award winner and Edgar finalist Freeman has the goods—and he’s getting better with every book."

That's what I want to hear.  I realize that, the more books I write, the more individual readers will have their personal favorites.  Certain characters and stories will always resonate based on an individual's background.  Even so, I hope that a reader will get each new book and say, "That was his best one yet."

Economics

One of the most frequent questions I get from readers is:  What royalty do authors receive on the sale of their books?  The answer can get complex depending on the edition, the discount, the number of copies sold, etc., but I saw the following breakdown as provided by a literary agent the other day and thought you'd enjoy getting a look at how publishing economics work:

Start with a $24.95 hardcover.

Discounts to booksellers vary, but for a rough estimate figure that the publisher receives around 50%.

Let's say the author has a 10% retail royalty, and the author has an agent who receives 15% of the author's share. This works out to (again, roughly):

$12.48 to the bookseller (50%)
$9.98 to the publisher (50% minus author/agent share)
$2.12 to the author (10% of retail minus 15%)
$0.38 to the agent (15% of 10%)

For another example, let's take a $14.95 trade paperback where the author receives 7.5% retail. That translates to:

$7.48 to the bookseller
$5.83 to the publisher
$0.95 to the author
$0.17 to the agent

Obviously, it's less for mass market paperbacks (where the retail price is normally around $7.99 -- you can do the math).  And we're only talking about new books here, of course.  Sales at used book stores accrue proceeds only to the bookseller -- the publisher, author, and agent receive no compensation.  Libraries buy their books, but a single sale at a library is a single sale, regardless of how many patrons read it.

Signed Copies

I'm starting to get queries from readers about how they can get signed copies of IN THE DARK (which arrives in stores on March 31).  Glad you asked.

If you're in Minnesota, you should definitely stop by one of my book signings after the novel is released.  Check out my tour page for complete information about my events in the Twin Cities and Duluth.

You can also contact one of several independent bookstores that will be arranging for signed copies.  If you pre-order, you can ask for personalized inscriptions, too, for yourself or for gift copies.  The stores (which all do mail orders) include M is for Mystery in California, Poisoned Pen in Phoenix, and Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis.  Wonderful stores with helpful and efficient owners!  In addition to IN THE DARK, most of these stores should have hardback and paperback copies of my three earlier novels IMMORAL, STRIPPED, and STALKED, as well as my pseudonymous book THE AGENCY by Ally O'Brien.

If all else fails, you can also send me your books to sign.  I've got instructions for doing so on my web site.