Some of you have been asking when the Thread of Death e-novella is going to be available overseas. I’m happy to report that it is now available in the United Kingdom through iTunes.

The e-novella is a worldwide release, so it should start showing up in other stores and countries over the next few days and weeks. So I would just keep checking the stores/sites where you normally buy your e-books. Hopefully, it will be available everywhere soon.

Anyway, thanks for your patience, and I hope everyone enjoys the e-novella when it is available in your country. Happy reading!

There’s an interview with me over at EZRead eBookstore.

Is over at:

Yummy Men & Kick Ass Chicks

This is a group post with authors talking about what makes a great character. There was also a post about the same topic yesterday on the site by some different authors.

Thread of Death, an e-novella in my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series, has been released. Huzzah!

Thread of Death takes place around the time of the end of Spider’s Revenge. Note that the following description contains some spoilers for Spider’s Revenge, so if you haven’t read that book yet, you may want to skip the description:

Gin Blanco, aka the assassin the Spider, might have finally killed her nemesis, Mab Monroe, but that doesn’t mean that it’s smooth sailing. Gin goes to Mab’s funeral to say her goodbyes and runs into some of Ashland’s most notorious underworld power players, including Jonah McAllister and Phillip Kincaid. McAllister wants her dead, and Kincaid has his own murky motives when it comes to the Spider, and Gin once again finds herself fighting for her life. Only this time, she might wind up in the cemetery right next to Mab …

Basically, Gin attends Mab’s funeral and finds herself in trouble once again. It’s also sort of a round robin story and features the points of view of Gin, along with Jonah McAllister and Phillip Kincaid.

The e-novella is around 20,000 words. You don’t have to read the e-novella to enjoy By a Thread or the rest of the series, but it gives a little insight into what McAllister and Kincaid think about Gin. It also hints at and sets up a few things for Widow’s Web, the seventh book that will be out on Aug. 21, 2012.

Thread of Death is $1.99, and it is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers. Hope everyone enjoys it. Happy reading!

Finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. This is the first book in his Millennium mystery/thriller trilogy.

Swedish financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist finds his career in tatters after he’s sued for and convicted of libel. But things seem to take a turn for the better when he’s asked by a powerful businessman to investigate the decades-old disappearance of the man’s niece. Meanwhile, computer expert and hacker Lisbeth Salander is asked to look into Blomkvist. Neither Mikael or Lisbeth realize that their paths will soon cross and put them on the trail of a ruthless killer …

So I finally read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. I can see what all the buzz is about around the series.

In some ways, this is a sort of locked-room mystery (which I believe Larsson mentions at one point). How did a girl vanish without a trace off an island? What happened to her and presumably her body? Who’s responsible? Why did this tragedy happen? But it’s also about a lot more than that. Business, politics, journalism, revenge, violence. There’s a lot going on in the book, but Larsson seamlessly ties all of the plot threads and characters together.

I really, really liked Lisbeth. A lot of bad things to happen to Lisbeth in this book (and it’s hinted that other bad things have happened to her in the past), but she always keeps fighting, no matter how horrible the situation is, and she’s always thinking about analysis of the consequences. It’s sort of the guiding principle in her life, and she uses it to great affect on the people who wrong her.

I didn’t like Mikael nearly as much. He came off as egotistical to me, especially when talking about how the role of a journalist is to be a watchdog and hold people (in this case big businesses) accountable for their actions. Maybe it’s because I’ve worked in journalism, but I got a little tired of him talking about how noble the profession is (or is supposed to be).

I thought the mystery was well-done, and the villain was truly chilling. You have all these lives and secrets that are intertwined, but it all comes together in the end.

However, there were a few things that didn’t quite gel for me. I think Larsson spent a little too much time talking about and describing things that weren’t necessarily important, like some of the scenery, and I didn’t quite buy that Lisbeth would come to like Mikael so quickly given how she keeps everyone at arm’s length. Also, there’s a character who seems important but just sort of disappears in the second half of the book.

Overall, this is an engaging read that I found myself thinking about after I’d finished the book. If you’re looking for a dark mystery or thriller, check this one out.

My grade: B-

Would I read this author again: Yes. I’m interested to continue the series.

Memorable quote: “Salander never forgot an injustice, and by nature she was anything but forgiving.”