Navigating the Wilds of the Blogosphere

This week's post at Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room includes 15 (yep, fifteen!) tips to establish and maintain a blog or website that works. Especially for authors, but applicable to pretty much everyone.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Book Blog

Today's post at Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room is about the proper care and feeding of book bloggers.

Enjoy!

Corporate Media 101

Disclaimer: The Young Turks is a client of the PR agency for which I work. So I’m writing here about a client. They have neither asked me to do so nor are they paying me to do so. What follows is my honest—if unrepentant—personal opinion.

I’ve been working with and around media for more than two decades. Some things have changed dramatically, while others have not. One of the most spectacular —and saddest—changes we’ve seen is the move from a mostly independent press (obliged only to advertisers) to one that is beholden to Large Corporate Entities. I can count on one hand the number of American daily newspapers that are not owned by a holding company.

At the same time, the interwebs have given us access to new voices. To many brilliant—as well as some shockingly stupid—people.

Likewise, America’s political parties have become amalgamated. We call it a two-party system, but really, when you strip away the rhetoric, we’re down to just one party. One coin with two sides, if you will. Just as “populist” has been co-opted by The Right and is now somehow a bad word, likewise “democrat” no longer necessarily refers to someone who is what is now more accurately termed “progressive.”

Got that?

Corporate Media is not nearly as free here in the good old U-S-of-A as we’d like to think it is. There are some valid reasons for this, and thousands of people and their families are supported by this infrastructure. But the vast majority of reasons speak to laziness. To our human proclivity to be told what to do and think, and to question little, if anything.

Enter Cenk Uygur.

Cenk hosts an online TV show called The Young Turks. TYT, as it’s affectionately known, is incredibly popular—more than 500 million (yes, that’s half a billion) views on YouTube and counting. Cenk is smart, eloquent…and not afraid to speak his mind. Oh, and he’s a progressive (who, as a matter of interest, used to be a Republican, not unlike yours truly).

Several months ago, MSNBC put Cenk on air. To summarize, here’s what happened:

Cenk got good ratings, which are supposed to be what network executives care about. But Cenk also pointed out that the current administration has, in some specific ways, let down the progressives who put them in power. So Cenk was told—by the head of MSNBC, no less—that “people in Washington” were concerned and that he needed to tone it down. Which he did not. So they offered him a reduced role, oddly, for more money. Which he turned down.

Because he is that rarest of creatures, a man of principle.

Why does this story matter? Because it is confirmation of what those of us who work around and consume media—regardless of your political leanings—have always suspected, that the flow of information and which voices are heard via Mainstream Corporate American Media is…influenced. The fact that the aforementioned head of MSNBC has commented on this story only confirms for me that events unfolded exactly as Cenk has explained them.

And what can we do about it? I hope that this story reaches many people, and that it galvanizes those who are inclined to value independent news sources and voices, including those beyond American shores. That demand for this type of information grows. That people look for factual reporting, rather than sensationalist naval-gazing.

Here’s wishing.

THE RIDGE by Michael Koryta

It is rare indeed when one author publishes two exceptional books in one calendar year. This is such a year for Michael Koryta.

As if THE CYPRESS HOUSE isn’t enough of a masterpiece (and it is), THE RIDGE, Koryta’s second book this year, is equally enthralling.

THE RIDGE was destined to have a special place in my heart because one of the characters is a big cat rescue center, and the cats who live there play a central role in the story. I have a deep and abiding respect for organizations devoted to helping noble creatures who are too often at the mercy of the worst aspects of human nature, and I have been fascinated by cats generally—big and small ones—as long as I can remember. Having been so taken by THE CYPRESS HOUSE a few months ago, I opened THE RIDGE prepared to love it.

And even so, it exceeded my expectations.

Strictly speaking, I’m not sure THE RIDGE should be classified as crime fiction. Crimes are committed, yes, but it doesn’t fall into any one genre-specific classification I’m aware of. Murder mystery? Yes. Ghost story? Uh-huh. Noir? Sure. Detective story? Yep. Literary fiction? That too. Suspense? Definitely. Horror? There’s some of that too.

It is a story that stretched my imagination. It’s about a lighthouse that’s not on a coast (it’s in Kentucky) and a group of people—and big cats—influenced by a history they have to struggle to understand.

I read in Crimespree Magazine that Koryta cut 200 pages from THE RIDGE. I have no idea what was on their pages, but I certainly didn’t miss them. Every word in THE RIDGE fits perfectly with those surrounding it. No want; no waste. Koryta reminds me of Hemingway in that respect.

I’ve spoken with quite a few people who have read THE RIDGE, and for each, different aspects of the story resonated. Perhaps this is why it’s been described so many different ways, because it is a different book for every single reader.

With so many books to read, I don’t normally re-read them, but I expect to pick up THE RIDGE again, in no small part because I’m sure that reading it again will be like reading it for the first time, as I’m quite certain there are aspects of the story I missed the first time again. Perhaps the highest compliment I can give it, though, is that our next cat’s name will be Ridge.

Blurb: A story that will stay with you long after you read the last page.

Author's Website: www.michaelkoryta.com


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FALLEN by Karin Slaughter

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Karin Slaughter’s books. She’s an exceptional storyteller—in addition to being an author who has not let success dampen her appreciation for each of her readers nor her willingness to lend her energy to the most worthy of causes, like saving libraries and encouraging people to read. In each of her series, she has created characters that feel like they could walk right off the page and into your kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

FALLEN is the latest in The Georgia Series, preceded by BROKEN and UNDONE (in Ireland and the UK, this one’s called GENESIS). In addition to a rock-em sock-em, take-no-prisoners story, FALLEN gives us additional insight into the characters we have grown to love, especially Faith Mitchell, Will Trent, and Sara Linton.

FALLEN opens as Faith is headed home from a Georgia Bureau of Investigation computer seminar. Her baby daughter Emma is staying with her mom. The seminar ran late, and Faith, who is diabetic, needs to eat. She arrives at her mom’s house and… I’m tempted here to divert from my no spoilers policy, but I won’t, because I don’t want you to enjoy the story any less for having read this. Suffice to say that all hell breaks loose, and it keeps breaking right through the very last page of FALLEN, leading each of the characters down paths that neither they—nor we—expect.

I certainly didn’t need any more proof that Karin Slaughter is a gifted storyteller and an exceptional writer. But if you do, I offer this:

I mentioned above that Faith needed to eat. As the story progresses, Faith experiences what’s commonly referred to as an insulin reaction—when a diabetic person’s blood sugar gets very low. I’ve had Type I diabetes more than 30 years, and for most of them, I’ve been trying to describe what this feels like. I’ve never been able to do so accurately or adequately. The description in FALLEN is absolutely perfect, so much so that I thought Karin Slaughter must be diabetic herself, or have a close friend or family member who is. I wrote to her to ask, and she’s not, which tells me that her powers of observation, research, and, of course, writing really do put her on a par with any Great Writer you can list.

FALLEN also gives us a detailed back-story about Faith’s mother, Evelyn, and her boss, Amanda. These characters come to life through a plot that is detailed without being in the least melodramatic. I’m not a fan of fictional stories that are obvious about trying to make a political or sociological point, and while Evelyn and Amanda’s story certainly provides plenty of food for thought; it is never for a moment heavy-handed.

And speaking of those female characters…or any of the men or even the pets in the story: They are real without being boring. Interesting without being overwrought. Karin Slaughter doesn’t talk down to her readers, probably because she’s a reader herself. Or just because she’s a damn fine writer.

FALLEN is a complex and beautifully crafted story that will keep you enthralled, populated by characters who will stay in your imagination long after you’ve read the last page.

Blurb: A must-read that shocks at every turn

Author’s Website: karinslaughter.com

Karin Slaughter was good enough to let me interview Will Trent recently, and you can read that Interview with a Character here.


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Introduction to BSP

Today's Dead Guy post is about Blatant Self Promotion, and how to avoid it: Click here to read it.

YOU'RE NEXT by Gregg Hurwitz

YOU’RE NEXT by Gregg Hurwitz has met with critical and reader acclaim, and with every good reason.

YOU’RE NEXT story cuts right to every nerve we have. The characters, particularly protagonist Mike Wingate, face complex choices influenced by forces over which he doesn’t have direct control (anyone who has ever had work done in his or her home by a contractor will understand the feeling). YOU’RE NEXT has absolutely perfect pacing—to the point it will, quite literally, take your breath away.

YOU’RE NEXT was released in Europe in January, and European readers put it on bestseller lists, and kept it there for months. Again, not a surprise because this is one of those books you will want to not just recommend, but insist your friends read. This month, after an altogether too-long wait, YOU’RE NEXT has arrived on American bookshelves.

“Thriller” is not a term I use lightly, but I don’t hesitate for a second using it to describe YOU’RE NEXT. Hurwitz has created characters we care about from the get-go; we care about their health, happiness, safety, and well-being. Mike Wingate has a compelling back-story, having been raised in a foster home after his mom and dad become…unavailable (to give you spoilers would lessen the impact of the story), and his hard-won personal and professional success is suddenly and drastically threatened. Sounds a little trite, right? Wrong. Extremely and completely wrong.

In addition to a compelling protagonist, Hurwitz introduces us to one of the best sidekicks since Clete Purcel in the form of Shep, Mike Wingate’s childhood friend. I hope we see Shep again because as much as we learn about him in YOU’RE NEXT, I expect there’s much more to him, and I’d like to know what it is.

Hurwitz is an incredibly smart author, and his references to everything from popular culture to California politics are subtle without being too “inside baseball.” These references can be tricky, sometimes too specific to stand the test of time or understandable only by those who have direct experience of certain places. Absolutely not the case here. Hurwitz brings his story to life with a perfect mix of the familiar and fantastic.

YOU’RE NEXT is not a particularly comfortable read; as Mike’s life unravels, we feel his distress. Nothing in this story is clear-cut, and it moves at breakneck speed. Ultimately, this is a story—and a cast of characters—about whom we really and truly care.

Blurb: A richly textured, breathtaking tale

Author’s Website


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Social Media and Donuts

Here’s what happened

Last week, when the Casey Anthony verdict was announced, a trending topic and hashtag immediately showed up on Twitter. Thousands of people used #notguilty to tag their reaction tweets and spread the news.

Over at Likeable Media, donut maker Entenmann's social media agency of choice, someone noticed that #notguilty was trending, and assumed that it referred to individuals sharing clever tweets about various things that don’t inspire feelings of guilt.

This person was blissfully unaware of some or all of the news around the Casey Anthony trial. I have no idea what he or she reads, but he or she sure as heck doesn’t follow any news feeds on Twitter. Given this, it was reasonable to assume that #notguilty referred to things like eating chocolate (or donuts) or a cat eating a roll of toilet paper.

And so, ensconced in this ignorance, like any good social media operative, the Likeable tweeter moved fast. And sent this:

Cue firestorm.

To be clear: Neither Likeable nor Entenmann’s created this hashtag. Nobody decided to make a controversial hashtag with a view to…what? Selling more donuts?

And here’s the reality…

Social media moves fast. All the time. It also takes time. Which costs money. Oh, and few in upper management ranks, particularly at big companies, invest the time to have someone explain to them what social media is, why it matters, and how it works. I’ll never understand why, but this does seem to be the case.

So they farm it out. Usually to smaller agencies, most of which are fairly new on the scene and are therefore hiring people who early in their careers, people who need guidance and supervision. Truthfully, social media is pretty forgiving when it comes to lack of attention to detail; typos can be easily amended and are expected. 140 characters doesn’t allow for fact-checking.

I’m sure Likeable provides a great deal of value to their clients—given the brands on their client list, they must—but in this case, they are selling Entenmann’s smoke and mirrors.

Someone on Entenmann’s management team needs to wake up and smell the social media. Needs to realize that they need to create content if they want to do something other than waste money.

And about the aftermath…

Likeable quickly removed the offending tweet and apologized. But the truth is Entenmann's social media strategy is seriously flawed. The agency sent a frighteningly uninformed tweet, and I hope whomever penned it learns from his or her mistake. But that doesn’t solve Entenmann’s problem.

Entrepreneur used this situation to offer—in my less than humble opinion—convoluted advice for companies using social media. The real answer, though, is far simpler.

Companies that are using a vendor for social media should implement a clear rule: Don’t use hashtags without checking with us first. This assumes, of course, that there is a person at the company who manages the vendor. And who understands new-fangled forms of communication.

As for Entenmann’s, will this stop anyone buying donuts? I doubt it. Move on. Nothing to see here.

COUNTY LINE by Bill Cameron

COUNTY LINE is the fourth novel by Bill Cameron featuring former homicide detective Skin Kadash, and the Kadash Chronology also features several stories published in various collections. As a general rule, I love crime fiction series characters. I’ve always figured this has something to do with my introduction to crime fiction being via Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series, wherein I followed Steve Carella, Cotton Hawes, Meyer Meyer, Bert Kling, Richard Genero and their colleagues , families, and the baddies they chased over the course of decades and through each story that kept me captivated.

For no particular reason, though, I’ve never started a series at the beginning. I have nothing against it in principle, but I believe that books find us as much as we find them, and it’s just worked out that way for me.

Now, I can add Skin to my list of series heroes—and have added LOST DOG, CHASING SMOKE, and DAY ONE to my “to be read” list. Bill was good enough to get Skin to answer some questions for me, which you can read here.

In addition to an appealing, multi-faceted, and never stereotypical protagonist, COUNTY LINE embodies one of my favorite things on earth: a bargain. Because while is it one book, it artfully weaves together two distinct stories. So it’s a two-fer. BOGO. A deal.

At the start of COUNTY LINE, we find Skin returning from a vacation, of sorts. The kind one needs to take rather than wants to take. Upon his return to Portland, he find that his lady love, Ruby Jane Whittaker (have I mentioned that Bill Cameron names characters as well as any author ever has?) has left town without out so much as a “by your leave” to anyone. Oh, and there’s a dead guy in the bathtub in her apartment.

So Skin, like any good hero, sets off to rescue Ruby Jane. And like any good story, this is far from as simple as it sounds, particularly since she might not need rescuing at all.

COUNTY LINE crosses state and chronological lines with aplomb. Skin’s journey—and that second story I mentioned—is populated with characters, not one of whom could be described as a caricatures. At the same time, none are so realistic as to be boring.

Bill Cameron understands the art of balance. He knows that a good mystery doesn’t need a lot of flash, but it requires a story that hooks the reader immediately, and doesn’t let them go, even beyond the final page.

Blurb: A captivating story inhabited by characters who will stay with you

Author’s Website: www.billcameronmysteries.com


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Interview with a Character: Skin Kadash

Bill Cameron's Skin Kadash is as cantankerous as he is appealing. He's not exactly the type to answer questions about himself, but Bill managed to get him to sit for a "skinterview," and his answers are fascinating.


Enjoy! (and bonus point if you recognize the nod to Lawrence Block)


You've survived cancer and life as a homicide detective. You've obviously got a thick skin. But what scares you?

You open with the big guns, don't you? Aren't you supposed to start with a warm-up question? Boxers or briefs? Star Wars or Star Trek, something like that? What scares me? Jesus.

But, okay … okay. I agreed to this, didn't I? Bloody hell.

Fine. Here it is: dying alone.

Time was, I figured I would die alone. And the prospect didn't frighten me. It was inevitable. Guy like me pisses off more people than he befriends. Hell knows my police career is littered with aggrieved ex-partners. And my romantic history— well, let's just leave that alone.

But somewhere along the way, something changed. I suppose the simplest way of putting it is I made a friend I didn't want to lose. Combine that will a long career sorting through the flotsam left behind when strangers die and maybe you can see why my fear is bound up with my own end. If I die alone, it's because I lost Ruby Jane. And losing Ruby Jane is something I don't want to think about.

Sappy? Sure. Self-involved? I suppose. But, for fuck's sake, you asked.

When you were growing up, did you have a pet?

So now you go soft on me.

My mother had little enough energy to keep track of me. An animal was out of the question. My best friend Tommy had a dog though, and since I spent as much time at his place as my own, it was like having a dog myself. Can't remember the old mutt's name now. But it was a good dog, bit of Lab, bit of Aussie, bit of horse maybe.

We used to take him to the park to retrieve balls which jumped the fence at the tennis courts. Run off into the bushes laughing as the players swore at us. Got ourselves a pretty good collection of balls that way.

Now, this was back when a beer can was an actual can, not a couple of sheets of aluminum foil pressed into a can shape. So you cut the ends out of three of beer cans and duct tape them together into a tube. Punch a few holes in the top of a fourth can and tape that end to the tube, then punch a hole in the side near the bottom. Stuff a tennis ball into the top—it's snug but not tight. Squirt lighter fluid in the hole in the bottom, set a match to it, and whumpf! The tennis ball shoots a couple hundred feet. If you're lucky, it will be on fire.

We could kill a day shooting tennis balls at each other, or maybe go down to the Willamette and shoot at water skiers. Good shit. When we ran out of balls, we'd head back to the tennis courts.

Yeah, that was a damn fine dog.

You're a big coffee drinker. How do you take it? Any affinity for fancy drinks or flavors?

Left to my own devices, it's coffee black. The first coffee I tasted was brewed by an old family friend, a kind of unofficial uncle named Andy Suszko. Good fellow. He'd dump grounds out of a can into a kettle with water and bring the soup to a boil. Let it cook for a bit until the grounds sank, then pour off a tar-colored gruel into heavy mugs. If I was being honest, I'd tell you it tasted like shit. But I loved it.

Ruby Jane is always trying new coffee and tea concoctions on me. I drink them, and occasionally I even like them. Sometimes a perfect, dry cappuccino hits the spot. But nothing can beat one of the Andy's mugs of sludge.

You've been a retired from the force for a bit now...do you think you'll get a PI license? Or do you prefer to just do favors for friends?

I met my share of private investigators over the years. Most of them are pros in the best sense of the word. Hard-working, do-the-job-the-right types. A few are skeezy douchebags—famewhores more interested in their own profile than serving the needs of their clients. What they all have in common is the most tedious job imaginable. I spent enough time with my head buried in databases as a police investigator. I'm sure as hell not gonna double-down on that now as a PI. I'd rather be a Wal-Mart greeter.

What kind of movies do you prefer: Dramas or comedies? Old or new?

About the only thing I don't watch is rom-coms or anything based on a Nicholas Sparks novel. Aside from that, I binge. I'll go through an action kick, then an absurdist sci-fi kick, like those made-for-TV chucklefests involving animal/human hybrids (Mansquito) or animal/animal hybrids (Sharktopus). Follow that up with a fart-joke comedy kick, a Bogart kick, a Billy Wilder kick. (My favorite thing about cop movies is how no one ever has to write a firearm discharge report.) In the midst of it all, Ruby Jane is sure to pull up a thoughtful drama when it's her turn with the Netflix queue, so I get plenty of that sorta thing without even trying.

And, yes, I confess to a fascination with Lifetime movies. So shoot me.

If you could take a vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?

When you live in Oregon, you can have a taste of just about anything you'd like within an hour or two. Beach, mountains, forest, bucolic valley, high desert. From a terrain standpoint, we're fairly representative. All we lack is a tropical paradise, and folks down in Brookings might argue the point. I think I got my fill of the tropics during my tour Vietnam anyway. (And when he mentioned Vietnam, the room grew suddenly and uncomfortably quiet.)

But that wasn't your question, was it? Bloody hell, am I wimping out if I just say I'll go wherever Ruby Jane wants to go? And since she's working all the time we don't go anywhere except from one Portland food cart pod to the next? Works for me.

Portland and Seattle have always had a bit of a rivalry. What do you think Portland has going for it that Seattle lacks?

This is when I get to be a homer, right? Well, I'll tell you, Portland and Seattle have more in common than either likes to admit. But, you ask me, with the exception of Jimi Hendrix and—maybe—Nirvana, Portland does it all better. Coffee, beer, street food—sorry, Seattle. We win.

Editorial note: I am prepared to defend Seattle's honor on this point by arm wrestling Mr. Kadash at Bouchercon in St. Louis. Bill has said Skin might be up for that.

In a dangerous situation, if you could have any weapon except a gun, what would it be?

Is a car a weapon? Driving fast, in any direction so long as it's away from the actual danger? That's what I pick.

One of the things about being a homicide investigator is by the time you show up at a situation, the danger is past. I'm a pick-up-the-pieces kind of guy. I work best in the aftermath, sorting through someone else's mess. I guess that means my brain is the only weapon I trust in a pinch. I just gotta hope I have some ammo on hand when I need it.

To Speak or Not to Speak

My post over on Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room today is about when to speak your mind, and when it's better to just shaddup.

In other news, I'm way behind on a bunch of book reviews that I am anxious to share. Hoping to get some of those done and posted this weekend!

I'm a Dead Guy

I'm happy to announce that I've joined the crew over at Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room. I'll be blogging there on Fridays beginning today.

I'll still be here, too, of course, on other days.

I wanted to have a fun topic to start, so I picked...strippers. The post even has a video. Please check it out.

Thank you!