The Trigger: It's Finally Launched!

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

After a long six-month wait, The Trigger is finally available!

Even better news: The ebook is $.99 for a few days—as a thank to readers who have supported my work.

Better yet: If you buy a copy of The Trigger on January 1 and email the receipt to lj@ljsellers.com, you'll be entered to win a trip to Left Coast Crime 2015 (airfare, hotel, registration)!

And on top of that: I'm also drawing winners for 10 gift certificates of $50 each. More details here. (Just click one of The Trigger links to get started.)

But if you're still reading this and would like to know more, here's the book description:
 

Agent Jamie Dallas loves undercover assignments that get her out of the Phoenix Bureau. But when a woman and her baby disappear from an isolated community of preppers in Northern California, she knows the risk of infiltrating the armed group is dangerously high.

Once inside the compound, she discovers that the brothers who founded Destiny are scheming something far more devious than kidnapping or murder. Meanwhile, her local FBI contact, Agent McCullen, is pulled from her team and assigned to investigate the murder of a woman with phony ID, found at the bottom of a motel pool.

Soon Dallas finds herself in deeper trouble than she's ever encountered—with no way to reach her contacts. Can she break free of the bunker and stop their bizarre end-of-world plans? Will Agent McCullen identify the killer in time to help?

The Trigger is a gripping story that highlights our greatest fear—how a megalomaniac and a hacker-for-hire can threaten civilization as we know it.

Early readers have given it 5 stars, calling it a "“An exciting mystery with a kick-ass heroine. Great fun!”

Grab an ebook now. And maybe one for a friend. At $.99, it's a steal.

Thanks for your support—and Happy New Year!

Name Those Young Men (and win a free book!)

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

Contest update: Winners have been announced on my personal blog.

I’m going gangbusters on my new Jackson novel (#9), but I keep getting stuck trying to decide names. So I often throw something in—so I can keep writing—and tell myself I’ll think of the right name later.

Well, 20,000 words in, it’s time to settle on some names. And readers are always so helpful, I’m asking everyone to pitch in again. I’ll make it worth your while, of course, by giving away a print copy of Crimes of Memory, Jackson #8 to my favorite submission, or if you prefer, an ebook when it’s released on Oct. 15. I also have print and ebook ARCs of The Trigger, a standalone thriller coming out January 1 to other entries I like. Winners get to chose their prize.

In this new (nameless) story, Jackson investigates the death of a young woman who works as a caregiver but has a shadowy existence and no connections to anyone. I need a name for her and her three-year-old son, who becomes quite attached to Jackson.

My first thought for the boy was Cory, but I already have too many K sounds in Jackson’s personal world (Katie and Kera). So I switched his name to Milo, which I really like, but sadly, I decided the name is too much like Micah (Kera’s grandson). I try not to confuse readers. So I’m looking for something sweet—for the boy, that is. (I'm personally trying to give up sugar...again.)

In addition, one of the suspects is a fourteen-year-old who lives next door, a skater who claims to hate guns and violence, yet has a collection of knives He needs a more compelling name than Josh, the placeholder I’m using.

And being one of my complex mysteries, there’s a second victim, a star UO football player, a quarterback with emotional baggage that I really can’t reveal. So I need three young male names of varying ages.

Feel free to submit for all, or just one…if it seems perfect. You can leave a comment or email me with your submissions. Thanks for participating.

I'm thankful for much

By Gayle Carline

It’s Thanksgiving, at least for us Yanks, and I have much to be thankful for. As always, I’m thankful for my family, for the roof over my head and the food on my table. This year in particular, I’m thankful for a good health insurance, because a week ago, I had cataract surgery on my right eye. The entire procedure was paid for by the insurance company, bless their little hearts, although I had to reach into my pocket for the bionic lens. I figure I’ve got a year to pay for it before I have to have the other eye done.

I’m also especially thankful that I’ve got a new book coming out. If I wasn’t still under doctor’s orders, I’d do a little happy dance, but know I’m dancing in my head.

THE HOT MESS is the third book in the Peri Minneopa Mystery Series. The ebook will be released this Monday, November 26, and the paperback will be out on December 10 (good Lord willing and the creek don't rise, as they say). Here is the cover:

I’ve got some wonderful friends helping me launch the book with a contest. Sometime this weekend, I’ll be posting excerpts from THE HOT MESS on several blogs, and on Monday, my own blog will have some questions that can only be answered from reading all those other blogs. The first person to answer everything correctly will win a free copy of their choice — ebook or paperback.

Here are the blogs for you to visit this weekend:

Our own adorable Andrew Kaufman,http://www.andrewekaufman.blogspot.com/

The lovely and talented Jenny Hilborne, http://jfhilborne.wordpress.com/

The fierce but friendly Michele Scott, http://adventuresnwriting.blogspot.com/

A sweet cozy writer Teresa Trent, http://teresatrent.wordpress.com/

Mr. All-Things-Dean-Martin, http://ilovedinomartin.blogspot.com/

When you’ve visited them, come on over on Monday and see me at http://gaylecarline.blogspot.com/

Here’s the jacket blurb.

It’s a hot time in P-Town!

No one in the small town of Placentia, California is surprised when Benny Needles’s house catches fire. The outside hasn’t seen a paint brush in years. The inside is stuffed with Dean Martin memorabilia. It would be a simple case of homeowner negligence, except for the body found inside.

Under suspicion of both murder and arson, Benny turns to the one person who has always helped him, private investigator Peri Minneopa. Fire investigation isn’t on her menu of services, but Peri’s weak spot for Benny overrules her reluctance, and she agrees to look into things. Her investigation takes a dangerous turn as she uncovers family secrets, going back several decades.

There are skeletons in everyone’s closet, and even Benny’s bones are rattling.

 
I've never done a contest like this, so I'm interested to see how it all works. Of course, if it translated to sales, that'd be great, but I'm also hoping some readers from each blog find the others and want to read more of them (and buy their books, for the authors on this list). I'd like my friends to get something out of this, too. I'll be happy to report whether it worked to generate any interest in the book.

Happy Thanksgiving, all — Let the holiday madness begin!