The Kill Zone Blog Named TOP 101 Websites for Writers by Writer's Digest!

This is the coolest thing ever, but I just found out that my group blog THE KILL ZONE was named by Writer's Digest as the TOP 101 Websites for Writers. This is such an honor. With all the resources online for authors, to be selected by such a prestigious national magazine as top in our field is AMAZING.

Current 11 contributing members to TKZ are: James Scott Bell, Joe Moore, Kathryn Lilley, Nancy Cohen, Michelle Gagnon, Joe Hartlaub, Clare Langley-Hawthorne, Boyd Morrison, P J Parrish, Mark Alpert, and me.

Congratulations you guys. Job well-done!

Crime Fiction Rocks at 2012 Bouchercon Mystery Conference!

by Jordan Dane
@JordanDane

   

I’ll be attending one of my favorite conferences is coming up on Oct 4-7 in Cleveland, Ohio. Bouchercon is a world mystery convention that has been taking place annually since 1970. It’s open to anyone and is a place for fans, authors and publishing industry professionals to gather and celebrate their love of the mystery genre. It is named for a famed mystery critic Anthony Boucher. During the convention there are panels, discussions and interviews with authors and people from the mystery community covering all parts of the genre. There are signing events for people to meet their favorite authors face-to-face and get books signed. Bouchercon also has the Anthony Awards which are also named after Anthony Boucher. These are voted on by the attendees and given out during the convention. For more, click HERE. Guests of honor for 2012 include: Elizabeth George, Robin Cook, Mary Higgins Clark, Les Roberts, Librarian Doris Ann Norris, and toastmaster John Connolly.

Michelle Gagnon and I will be on a YA panel for the first time. I’m really looking forward to that. If you are attending, I’d love to meet you. 
 

12:15 - 1:05 PM Thurs, Oct 4, 2012
Grand Ballroom B
The Popularity of YA Books panel - How do authors appeal to young readers and keep them interested in reading? Book signing will be held in the dealer room following the panel. Joining Jordan will be Michelle Gagnon, Joelle Charboneau, Bev Irwin, and moderated by Keir Graff.


I’ll be on another fun panel featuring romantic suspense with Heather Graham, Lori Armstrong, C. J. Lyons, with Monette Michaels as moderator. We may have a mystery guest to round out our group. We’re still waiting to hear. Stay tuned.


3:50-4:40 PM, Friday, Oct 5, 2012
Location: TBA
"I used to love her, but I had to kill her” Guns & Roses Panel - Moderated by author Monette Michaels, stellar panelists Heather Graham, Lori Armstrong, C. J. Lyons, and Jordan Dane will discuss romance in thrillers. Hallmark doesn't make a card for "I'd take a bullet for you, honey" but our panel of bestselling authors share their titillating secrets on how they spice up their thrillers with Guns & Roses. (Door prizes and giveaways for those in attendance.)
 
Prior to the panel, Mike Bursaw will host a “Booze & Broads” signing event at Mystery Mike's booth in the dealer Book Room for the authors. Alcoholic libations will be served, a shot at a time.

 

HERE is the attendees list for 2012. Anyone else going to Bouchercon this year? Have you ever been? I’d love to hear from you.

ADR3NALIN3

I wanted to share with you that Michelle Gagnon and I will be launching a new group blog geared for thriller authors writing dark YA. Our blog will be called ADR3NALIN3. I hope you’ll check it out at this LINK.


ADR3NALIN3 is the brainchild of a group of authors who write the dark side of middle grade and teen fiction. We are far from cozy and we don't do warm and fuzzy. We want to make your skin crawl and your heart beat faster as you venture deeper into the dark recesses of our imaginations. Reality can be overrated or just plain scary. We offer you a savory feast of chilling contemporary thrillers, eerie mysteries, fantasies from your worst nightmares, and our bent and twisted take on the paranormal.


Michelle’s new series sounds absolutely fantastic—dark & delicious. Here’s a sneak peek.

Don’t Turn Around (Series-Book #1)

by Michelle Gagnon

HarperTeen, TBA 2012






Sixteen-year-old Noa has been victimized by the system ever since her parents died. Now living off the grid and trusting no one, she uses computer hacking skills to stay safely anonymous and alone. But when she wakes up on a table in an empty warehouse with an IV in her arm and no memory of how she got there, Noa starts to wish she had someone on her side.






Enter Peter Gregory, A rich kid and the leader of a hacker alliance. Peter needs people with Noa¹s talents on his team. Especially after a shady corporation called AMRF threatens his life in no uncertain terms.






But what Noa and Peter don¹t know is that she holds the key to a terrible secret, and there are those who¹d stop at nothing to silence her for good.






Fans of THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO will devour the story of Noa, a teen soulmate to Lisbeth Sander.




And another of our members launches a book tour this week, Carol Tanzman. Here’s a sneak peek of her book:

Dancergirl


by Carol Tanzman


Harlequin Teen, Nov 2011






Part mystery and part romance in this digital age where teens put their lives online, dancergirl (Harlequin Teen) will grab you from the first page and won’t let you go until the thrilling conclusion. When someone secretly films 16 year old Ali Ruffino dancing at a concert and posts the video online, things start to get out of control as the dancergirl craze takes on a life of its own. Her admirers want more, the haters hate, her best friend Jacy—even he’s acting weird. And if someone watching has their way, Ali could lose way more than just her love of dancing. She could lose her life.




We are officially starting active posts during the first week of January 2012 but since we have two virtual book tours starting in Nov & Dec, we are getting the word out earlier. I’ve featured two of our authors, but visit our site to see who else has joined us. We also hope to promote the genre with featured guests. I hope you’ll follow our blog and on Twitter at @ADR3NALIN3BOOKS.

Carol Tanzman's book tour can be followed at this LINK.