Deadly Ink

I'll be at the Deadly Ink conference in Parsippany, NJ this weekend, hoping to meet some readers and see some friends. and I'll be on four panels: Garden State Mysteries (novels set in New Jersey) at 11 a.m. Saturday; Our Favorite Characters--Sleuths We Love On Page and Screen, at 2:30 Saturday afternoon; Writing as the Opposite Sex, on Sunday at 9:30 a.m., and Clues and Red Herrings Sunday at 12:30 p.m. With such authors as Jeff Markowitz, Ilene Schneider, Peggy Ehrhart, Robin Hathaway, Rick Helms, Sheila York, Steve Rigolosi, M.E. Kemp, E.J. Rand, Albert Tucher and Hallie Ephron. Come on up and say hello!

I'm at Poe's Deadly Daughters!

Take a look at the wonderful blog Poe's Deadly Daughters today, and you'll find a little rant from yours truly. It's not meant to annoy people, and I hope it doesn't, but it does aim at cleaning up some of the misconceptions people have about writing, and writing mystery novels specifically. Let me know what you think!

Check out the Cozy Chicks today!

The accomplished author J.B. Stanley interviews me today at Cozy Chicks, the blog for cozy readers! Take a look!

Thank you!

We had a great time at the launch party last night. Good friends, good wine (I'm told), good books (it was in a book store)=good times. To all who came, thank you. To all who didn't but sent good wishes, thank you as well.

You're Invited!

The launch party for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED is tomorrow, Friday June 4, at NIGHTHAWK BOOKS in Highland Park, NJ! It starts at 7, and we'd love for YOU to be there! Please, feel free to drop in for the fun--snacks, coffee and books will be available for purchase (only the books can be autographed, however--snacks are too sticky and coffee is, well, liquid). And there will be a reading and discussion of the book that's currently on Amazon's Top 100 Mystery list! Drop by! For more details: http://www.nighthawk-books.com/?page_id=2 or email ejcopperman AT gmail DOT com!

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to BECKY LeJEUNE, who won the autographed copy (but not a trip to NJ, because we never really offered that) of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED! Becky correctly identified the inspirations for the following character names in the book:

Alison KERBY (Kerby is the last name of the couple who die in a car crash and come back to haunt the title character in TOPPER, both the 1937 film with Cary Grant and Constance Bennett, and the 1952 TV series with Leo G. Carroll)

MAXIE MALONE (Maxie was a 1920s flapper and aspiring actress whose spirit took over the body of Glenn Close in the 1985 film MAXIE)

PHYLLIS COATES (Ms. Coates was the first actress to play Lois Lane opposite George Reeves as Superman, first in the pilot "Superman And The Mole Men." She was replaced by Noel Neill in the TV series)

Congratulations, Becky! The autographed book is on its way!

Radio Interview Wednesday, 9:45 CDT on KORN AM

I'll be interviewed by Jena O'Connor on KORN 1490 AM Let's Talk Wednesday (June 2) at 9:45 a.m. CDT in Sioux Falls, SD and the surrounding area. You can also find it on their website. Please, tune in!

No Such Thing As A Free Launch?

It's launch day here at Sliced Bread! Yes, after months (in some cases, years) of anticipation, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED is now on bookstore shelves, including ones near you, with any luck at all. And we (and by we, I mean I) are celebrating by offering a free autographed copy of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED to one reader who answers the following question:

There are many characters in NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED whose names are veiled--or in some cases, blatant--references to movies, TV and books. Explain the relevance of the following:

Alison Kerby (emphasis on "Kerby")

Maxie Malone

Phyllis Coates

Then send your answers in an email to ejcopperman AT gmail DOT com (to avoid phishing problems; remove the spaces in your email). Send us (that is, me) your

Name

Email address

Snail Mail Address

and you might win!

If so, we'd like to fly you to the launch party for NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEED at Nighthawk Books in Highland Park, NJ this Friday at 7 p.m.! We'd like to put you up in a fancy hotel, pay all your expenses, and give you a side trip into Manhattan to see a Broadway show, dine at the 21 Club and take the Staten Island Ferry.

That's what we'd LIKE to do. What we'll ACTUALLY do is send you a free autographed book.

So get those entries in, ladies and gentlemen! This is a ONE DAY ONLY contest ending at midnight tonight EDT. The winner will be drawn from all correct answers, at random. Get going!