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    Holy crap, Batman! I’m in Entertainment Weekly!

    7 Comments

    dscn0514.JPGSo, I’m relaxing on the couch tonight flipping through the latest copy of Entertainment Weekly. I’m up to the book section, and I’m looking at all the titles. I flip the page …

    And there it is.

    EW reviewed Hot Mama in this week’s issue. Oh. My. God! 

    Let me say it again. Oh. My. God! I’ve been a subscriber for years, and I’d always dreamed of getting one of my books reviewed in the magazine. But I’d never thought it actually happen. At least, not this soon. EW usually only does big-name, bigtime books (no pun intended). Some of the other authors in the issue include Kyle Mills, David Baldacci, the new Borat book, and Donald McCaig’s Rhett Butler’s People. To be included with them, well, it’s an honor and a thrill. Not to mention the fact I’m a huge pop culture fan. And to be in a magazine about pop culture … it’s just awesome!

    I know the picture is crappy, so here’s what the review says:

    Fashion designer by day and superhero by night, Fiona Fine uses her “brains, brawn and general bitchiness” — plus the ability to create fire at will — to fight evil in Bigtime, N.Y. But Fiona fears moonlighting as Fiera will ruin her budding relationship with Johnny Bulluci, a mysterious hunk who reminds Fiona of her murdered fiance. Estep’s tongue-in-cheek use of genre trappings and the abundance of supporting characters (like Halitosis Hal) are snappy and diverting. But her central plot about the “ubervillains” trying to “take over Bigtime, then the world” is disappointingly thin. B — Hannah Tucker

    And if appearing in the magazine wasn’t nice enough, they actually liked my book. Happy dance time! :ww:

  • 830 and counting …

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    Finished Walking Around Money by Donald E. Westlake. It’s one of several novellas included in the book, Transgressions, edited by Ed McBain.

    If you’ve never read Westlake, start now. He’s one of my favorite writers, and he never disappoints. I especially love his Dortmunder series, about a gang of thieves, all of whom are lovable losers. Walking Around Money features the two main characters from that series, John Dortmunder and Andy Kelp.

    They’re approached by a guy who has a plan to break into the printing plant where he works and run off several million dollars’ worth of money belonging to some obscure South American country (whose name I can’t recall). Then, they’ll exchange the South American money for real U.S. dollars. There are several hitches in the plan, including a travel agent and her jealous husband. But Dortmunder and Kelp always find a way to keep their heads above water.

    Seriously, I can’t stress this enough — Donald Westlake is the funniest crime writer around. Go to the library now, and get his books. You’ll be glad you did.

    Up next: Rain Fall by Barry Eisler.

    PS: Can you tell I’m getting of my book review backlog today? 😉

  • 829 and counting …

    Finished Keller’s Adjustment by Lawrence Block. It’s a novella in the mystery anthology Transgressions, edited by Ed McBain.

    Keller is a hit man character that Block writes. In this novella, it’s just after Sept. 11, 2001, and Keller is reevaluating his life in wake of the tragedy. But work calls, and Keller heads off to Arizona to take out his next target. He meets some interesting characters in the course of his job and comes to terms with his own life.

    I read the first book in this series a couple of years ago (I believe it’s called Hit Man), and I’d forgotten how good Block’s writing is. Very noirish. Block does a good job at portraying Keller’s feelings about his chosen profession and how he’s getting tired of what he does. I also really enjoyed the scenes with his handler, Dot, a no-nonsense woman.

    So, thumbs up.

    Up next: Walking Around Money by Donald Westlake, also from the Trangressions anthology.

  • 828 and counting …

    Finished ‘Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy by Leslie Langtry.

    This book focuses on Virginia (Gin) Bombay, a soccer mom who moonlights as an assassin. Gin comes from a long line of assassins, all of whom are named after places (Dakota, Savannah, etc). Things are looking up for Gin, when she meets a sexy bodyguard named Diego. There’s only one problem — she’s been assigned to kill his clients. And Gin always gets her man …

    I picked this book up because I’m currently writing an assassin story (although mine’s urban fantasy). This one was a little lighter than I expected. For example, Gin is perfectly fine with teaching her five-year-old daughter how to become an assassin. Plus, the soccer mom as assassin character came off as a little too ditzy at times to carry out her assignments. But some of the situations Gin found herself in were pretty funny.

    The thing I liked best about the book were the quotes that Langtry used at the beginning of each chapter. All the pop-culture references relate to death or assassination in some way.

    But there was one thing about the book I just didn’t get — the romance between Gin and Diego. I thought they fell in love too quickly and that there just wasn’t enough time spent on the romance to start with.

    So, I’m going split decision on this one. Thumbs down to the romance. Thumbs up to the assassination bits and the quotes.

    Up next: Two novella from the mystery anthology Transgressions.