Archive for the 'Clarke Lantham' Category
May 22nd, 2013 by jdsawyer
The end of May is upon us, summer is coming, and with it the opportunity for beach reading, vacation reading, and campfire-side reading. What better way to celebrate the summer than with your favorite hard-boiled Bay Area Private Eye, Clarke Lantham?
Lantham is the first of several treats I’ve got lined up for you this summer and he comes gift wrapped with three major events hitting between now and the fourth of July.
- Silent Victor in Paperback
That’s right. At long last, the fourth and most current Clarke Lantham novel will be coming in paperback next week, with all the car crashes, alien abductions, conspiracy theorists, spies, science museums, gunfights, international incidents, murder, mayhem, nipple jewelry, and hardcore snark you’ve come to expect from a Lantham novel. Four hundred pages long, this breathless thrill ride will keep your ass glued to that beach towel long after the tide comes in to sweep you away.
- And Then She Was Gone blog serialization
Many of you discovered this blog through the podcasts, which means you may not have had your first taste of Lantham. Well, your wait is just about over. In celebration of item 3 on this list, and to build anticipation, starting next week I will be serializing the very first Clarke Lantham Mystery, And Then She Was Gone on this very blog. Each episode will cover between 1500 and 3000 words, and will post in html and as an epub (which will also go on the podcast feed). The book will stay up until a month after the entire book has finished its serialization, so those of you following along will be able to read it all the way through (even if you come in late). New installments will post every Tuesday and Thursday, ideally positioned to help you get through the middle part of your work week. The entire process should take ten to twelve weeks, so I can keep you on tenterhooks all summer long. [insert evil laugh here]
I might even do some Dealing In episodes to augment the experience, so sharpen those death threat skills and get your comment-rants ready!
- He Ain’t Heavy a.k.a. Lantham #5
This is the biggie, the one I’m really excited about. The fifth Clarke Lantham Mystery, He Ain’t Heavy, is coming at the end of June. In this one, Lantham faces down tech billionaires in his most disturbing adventure yet, one that brings him face-to-face with his own mortality (and lack of cooking ability) and plunges him headlong into a world of venture capitalists, arms dealers, corrupt cops, Evangelical social activists, rambunctious puppies, surly sherrifs, and mexican drug lords. If you thought And Then She Was Gone was fast paced, if you thought Silent Victor was perverse and twisty, if you thought Smoke Rings was emotinoally harrowing, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Paperback and ebook releases are scheduled for the same day, and we’ll have the facility to do pre-orders for signed books (both singles of book five and complete sets, all signed), which I’ll update you on as the time draws nearer.
More news soon. Enjoy your various conventions–and look for me in the bar at Baycon, where I’ll be sneaking in an appearance!
April 5th, 2013 by jdsawyer
Clarke Lantham, the hero of my detective series, lives and works around the San Francisco Bay. One of the features of the books that draws frequent comment is how much the Bay itself is a character in these stories.
Truth be told, it’s an intentional feature. I’ve been a lot of beautiful places in my life, even lived in a few of them (and some ugly places too), but there is something about the San Francisco Bay that can keep a soul fascinated for eternity.
If you’ve wondered what it is, and you want a taste, check out this video. It may explain a few things. Set aside about five minutes to just watch and enjoy. Moments of great beauty deserve undivided attention.
March 19th, 2013 by jdsawyer
At long last, 
Volumes 2 and 3 of The Clarke Lantham Mysteries are available in paperback! The story which began with the cutting-edge biotech noir of And Then She Was Gone continues in Book 2 with hauntings, lawsuits, car crashes, and holiday relatives in the dark and friendly little cozy A Ghostly Christmas Present, featuring new cover art and line drawings by Kitty NicIaian.
When it comes to raw-deal Christmas presents, you can’t beat being thrown in an out-of-state jail on a trumped up charge—but detective Clarke Lantham can’t resist a morbid challenge. So when he calls up his brother for help with bail, he steels himself for the ordeal of spending a holiday weekend with relatives who put the “strange” back in “estranged.”
That was his first mistake. But with only two days to clear his name before he gets thrown back in the slammer—and an old client gumming up the works, a ten-year-old niece with a ghost problem, and the occasional murder competing for his attention—it probably won’t be his last.
Book 2 of The Clarke Lantham Mysteries
Now, you can read the book View from Valhalla calls “A creepy and clever dose of Christmas cheer from the maniac in cell three” from the comfort of your armchair without the bother of a screen.
Get a taste of A Ghostly Christmas Present here, or buy it in Paperback, or as an ebook for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad, or any other e-reader.
And then the adventure continues a week later on New Year’s Eve, with the romantic skin-of-your-teeth manhunt Smoke Rings.
Every detective deserves a second chance…
Holidays make Clarke Lantham squirm–not even New Year’s Eve escapes his scorn. With his space cramped, his personal life on the skids, and his business under assault from lawyers and bill collectors, he holes up in his office, counting his blessings that the year from hell ends tonight.
So when an old girlfriend shows up with a chance for a $50,000 reward and a New Year’s Eve reconciliation, he jumps at the chance. After all, things can only get better, right?
Yeah, right.
Book 3 of The Clarke Lantham Mysteries
Ginnie Dare author Scott Roche says “Sawyer hits it out of the park…a sexy, emotional, dangerous story I couldn’t put down.” Find out for yourself what he means: whet your appetite for Smoke Rings here, or buy it in Paperback, or as an ebook for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad, or any other e-reader.
There’s a lot more coming for Lantham in the next few weeks, so load up on books and keep your eyes on this blog.
December 11th, 2012 by jdsawyer
As I’m winding down to the end of the year, I’m clearing the decks like crazy. Part of that involves installing the new recording studio (all done!), part of it involves releasing a backlog of new stories and books. Turns out the backlog is bigger than I expected. A LOT bigger. Big enough that I finally gave in and did the responsible thing: I got a War Board.
This particular War Board is a grid that shows each story/book/etc, and where it is in the process. It’s currently got 22 projects on it–some are paperbacks of already-released books, but most are brand new projects that have either never seen the light of day, or that published in anthologies that most of you didn’t hear about.
So, for this holiday season, here’s what you can expect:
Ebooks between now and April:
A Goblet of Fifty-Three
Control Room
The Open Source Woman
The Garden Pool
The Faithful May Also Be Burned
The Empty House
Eyes of Wax
Ideas, Inc.
Pumpernickel
Proactive Continuity
Sleep, Walk
Making Tracks: A Writer’s Guide to Audiobooks (And How To Produce Them)
Plus a new, as-yet untitled collection of funny stories exclusively
Paperbacks in March:
A Ghostly Christmas Present (Clarke Lantham #2)
Smoke Rings (Clarke Lantham #3)
Silent Victor (Clarke Lantham #4)
Making Tracks: A Writer’s Guide to Producing Audiobooks
Frock Coat Dreams
Paperbacks in April through June:
Free Will (Antithesis #2)
Throwing Lead: A Writer’s Guide to Firearms and the People Who Use Them
Suave Rob’s Double-X Derring-Do
It’s good to be back 
-Dan
P.S. I know the podcast feeds aren’t working right now. They’re on my December to-do list as well. Have to get them back up for Free Will!
April 24th, 2012 by jdsawyer
Many of you have been asking how to get autographed paperbacks now that I’m not going to Balticon (or, let’s face it, any cons) this year. Well, I’ve crunched the numbers and discovered that I can get you autographed books for the same price you’d get them on Amazon (with about the same shipping rates, assuming you’re not a Prime subscriber).
So, here they are. Add each to the cart as you need to, then click “continue shopping.” You will also need to add your appropriate shipping option to the cart as well. Once you’ve got everything you need, click “check out” instead of “continue shopping.” The shipping options will cover your order of books. Please do not forget to add your shipping option to your order, or I will not be able to ship the book(s). If you are a dealer or want to order more than 10 units, email me privately for a discount schedule using the contact form.
Note: I CAN deliver to Balticon, as I have someone who has agreed to distribute the books there. I am not sending along general stock, only signed preorders. If you want Balticon delivery, please be sure to select “Balticon Pickup” from the shipping options.
Books
Shipping for Books
(Choose one only)
| Balticon Pickup (must order before May 14) |
$2.99 |
|
| Continental U.S. |
$3.99 |
|
| International shipping (includes insurance) |
$7.99 |
|
Posters
Note: Posters require special packing and thus their shipping is hard-wired into their buy button.
 Predestination Cover Art
Signed and Numbered Collector's Edition Poster
$12.00+shipping |
If you’re going, please do enjoy Balticon and raise a little hell for me. Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm!
April 3rd, 2012 by jdsawyer
So, as many of you might have noticed, we occasionally produce audiobooks through ArtisticWhispers Productions. Those of you that have may have also noticed that we haven’t put a new one out (or, at least, anything resembling a complete one) in about two years.
The hiatus is over. As of this past weekend, the following books have all moved out of the pre-production stage and into the production stage.
The books currently in production are:
Throwing Lead
And Then She Was Gone
A Ghostly Christmas Present
Smoke Rings
Free Will
Being In Production
Being “In Production” means that the project is currently being recorded. Some bits of pre-production might go on concurrently, for example…
Casting
All of the fiction books will be full-cast productions in the classic AWP style. Here are the numbers on the roles available for each book (bearing in mind that, since this is audio, actors can double, triple, or quintiple up on roles):
And Then She Was Gone needs 27 roles filled. 9 of these have five lines or fewer.
A Ghostly Christmas Present needs 14 roles filled, 4 of these have five lines or fewer
Smoke Rings needs 21 roles filled. About half of these are roles with fewer than five lines.
Free Will needs 118 roles filled. About half of these are roles with fewer than five lines.
What Happens Now
Starting later this week, I will spool out the open casting calls. These books will be available commercially, so if you wish to participate, in addition to having the ability to record clean audio and (for the more involved roles) the willingness to take live-direction, you must be willing to sign a contract detailing the release of your voice for commercial purposes and entitling you to payment.
Payment for these books, because they’re the first commercial round, will be on a deferred fee basis + royalties. Because payment is involved, you will need to include your Tax ID number on the contract and, when payment comes due, fill out the relevant tax forms.
Watch This Space
These are the first five of an anticipated 9 productions this year, and there will be a similar number next year. I’m looking to build a stable of actors I can work with medium-to-long term.
What Does This Mean for the Podcast?
The podcast returns with Free Will (rebooted) in late spring/early summer. I’m aiming for Balticon, but might overshoot or undershoot by as much as three weeks, depending on how briskly casting goes.
Free Will will be approximately 60 episodes long, and will start out as a bi-weekly podcast, ramping to weekly once the entire production is wrapped. As such, it will run for 13-19 months before we reach the end. Since such a long story full of cliffhangers will drive some of you around the bend, the full audiobook will be available for purchase by DragonCon, if not before.
Additionally, the initial chapters of the other books will drop in the feed so that you who subscribe can hear what’s going on in the productions that aren’t delivered to you on the feed.
And, of course, Dealing In will return, as I sense we’ll have quite a lot to talk about as the story unfolds.
Future novels will podcast after Free Will wraps, but there will always be more content available than what’s going through the ‘cast. You all have spoken loudly, and we here around the Bay have heard your cries.
Stay tuned! More in a couple days.
Update: Free Will casting call has posted. Find it here
February 21st, 2012 by jdsawyer
For those of you who prefer dead tree to ebook format, I’ve got some excellent news:
Down From Ten, Sculpting God, and Predestination are now in available as handsomely-packaged paperbacks.
They’ll be joined in March by A Ghostly Christmas Present, Smoke Rings, and Silent Victor, and in April by Free Will and the soon-to-be-released Throwing Lead
They are available for order at bookstores across the world, or you can get them now by clicking on the covers:
For those of you outside the US looking for a retailer who will ship to you at reasonable prices, all of the books are available through The Book Depository. Don’t be alarmed by the lack of cover art–my listings just went live there and it takes a while for them to update their images. I promise that the books you buy there will have the same excellent packaging that those here in the US get.
October 17th, 2011 by jdsawyer
The time has come. There’s too much going on not to have a mailing list and a newsletter, so I’ve taken the plunge. Newsletter readers will get quarterly (and sometimes more-than) updates and general goofiness from me delivered directly to their email boxes. Two weeks later, an edited version of those newsletters will be posted here.
Edited, you say?
Well, yes. Subscribers to the newsletter will get the occasional special preview, discount coupon, contest, and other such goodies that won’t be available to anyone else. Those items will be clipped out of the newsletter before it’s posted here. But other than that, it’ll be about the same thing.
If you wish to subscribe to the newsletter, simply email me at feedback _at_ jdsawyer.net, or use the contact form on this site, and say so.
So, if you’ve been trying to figure out what the hell I’ve been up to for the last year and a half, wait no longer. You can now download the inaugural issue as a epub, mobi, and PDF.
October 14th, 2011 by jdsawyer
You met him in 
And Then She Was Gone, you got to know his family in A Ghostly Christmas Present. Now, the hard-boiled snarkfest continues as Clarke Lantham tackles the two most perplexing mysteries of the universe: FBI fugitives, and romance.
Clarke Lantham has a checkered relationship with holidays, and this New Year’s Eve is no different. His space is cramped, his personal life is on the skids, and his business is once again under assault from lawyers and bill collectors.
But it’s not all bad. The year from hell is ending tonight, and he has his office to himself, and when an old girlfriend shows up with a chance for a $50,000 reward and a New Year’s Eve reconciliation, he jumps at the chance. After all, things can only get better, right?
Yeah, right.
Read the first chapter here.
Or, buy it now for Kindle, Nook, and all other readers.
July 15th, 2011 by jdsawyer
You hear a lot of talk of “discovery writers” and “outliners” in the writing world. The “pantsers” and the “plotters,” respectively. It’s true that there are a lot of people that fall into both categories–including many of my friends–and human nature loves dichotomies, but I’ve never fit comfortably either, and I suspect I’m not alone.
Last night, I had occasion to have a long conversation with a new writer who’s vexed and confused by the options before him when it comes to writing process, and saying “you have to find your own way” only left him more despondent. I know that look–I’ve been there many times when faced with a new field of endeavor with so many options that at once feel constraining and non-specific. So, in the hope of letting those new writers who don’t comfortably fit a category know that they’re not alone, I’m going to describe my method.
Continue reading ‘Playing Jazz With Words’
