Goodreads Response

Wow.  Since Cyanide Publishing released Enemies Domestic in tangible formats in June and Kindle on 3 July, I’ve been incredibly surprised and grateful for the public’s response to my stories.  I took about a week off from writing the upcoming Enemies Foreign, which is due out on 15 November, to write Room Number Three.  To coincide with RN3 landing in the public square on 4 Sept, I placed three paperback copies up for a giveaway contest on Goodreads, a fantastic site dedicated to the book-loving community.  Given that the contest was open for only two weeks and I’m almost completely unknown to crime readers outside my own family and friends, I wasn’t at all certain how the giveaway would go.  At worst, my parents and siblings entered, and my brother wins a book he’ll never actually read.  No, actually, at worst, one person enters, wins all three copies, and then uses the return address to send me intermittent copies of his entire “Cats In Costume” photo collection.

To my ecstatic surprise, 1,254 readers entered the contest (almost 100/day!) and three complete strangers won signed copies of Room Number Three!  My books don’t have to sit unread on a shelf for all eternity!!  It felt incredibly amazing to look through the Goodreads site and the number of folks who’ve added my book, with my own words in it, on their “To Read” list!  I’m flattered, grateful, and, admittedly, still a little terrified.  (Note: it feels really ironic to gleefully walk into dark alleys late at night to hunt people who don’t want to be found, and then experience trepidation at digital reviews from harmless strangers in other towns.)

While I genuinely appreciate constructive criticism, I know the Interwebs can be crueler than a high school lunchroom.  The few reviews already posted on Goodreads span the entire gamut, so my skin is thickening as you read this.  After years of refusing to read the comments section on all police-related news articles, I’m striving to commit to reading every review.  If you read my book and make time to write something about it, I think I owe you the courtesy of reading it.  Just don’t expect a response, regardless of your rating and review.

On that note, this week at The Office has been a particularly long and taxing for my Night Shifters and me, so I’m operating almost exclusively on caffeine and determination this morning.   I’ve committed to getting Enemies Foreign into your hands on 15 November, and I’m still torn over details of the final fight scene.  Seems like the kinda thing that needs to get worked out in pretty short order, so I’m going to give that the time and attention it’s due for the next few days.

Thanks for your support in this amazing endeavor.  I genuinely appreciate the time and emotional energy you’re devoting to my books, and I hope to surpass your expectations and keep you coming back to read more exploits of Alex Landon and his partners in crime.

Be safe out there!  Fiat Justitia.