HARD TIMES SET FOR AUGUST RELEASE

Mike Pettit announced today that HARD TIMES, the sixth in the John Locke Suspense Thriller Series will be released in August 2011. The Thriller takes John Locke down into the seamy world of the twenty billion dollar porn industry where money and drugs are the rewards for those that survive and make it to the top. A prominent Hollywood producer's daughter is killed in a snuff film and Locke is pulled down into the human sewer of peep shows, back alley film studio's, and men that will kill for the thrill of it. Beautiful women seeking fame, only to be trapped  in a world of dilussion, death, drugs, and brutal murder, leaves Locke thirsting for revenge and payback

This is my response to The Writers Digest at having lost the 2011 Poetry contest.

A Poet's Lament       

The Ides have past, the knife of rejection protrudes from my heart, my soul cries out for reason, my wail of grief goes unanswered, my sorrow runs deeper than the Styx, my life at it's end. Oh woe is this poet, not some mindless scribe, but words from the heart, and yet..and yet, I suffer the Ides, as Caesar suffered Brutus....

Oh, my sorrow runs deep, my tears of rejection are like burning embers in my eyes, My hand hath betrayed me, my tongue a lie, my uttering burnt offerings, my future no less than the malmsy butt. my life a copper lost in the ashes of Rome. Take no pity for this scribe, he hath succumbed to indifference and mediocrity.

Art Hansl Books: Recently Captain Honor,Commander of an aircraft ca...

Art Hansl Books: Recently Captain Honor,Commander of an aircraft ca...: "Recently Captain Honor,Commander of an aircraft carrier, was fired from his command for showing raunchy films to his crew in order to provid..."

...YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH

When I have writers block and can't seem to think of what to write next, I take a quick peek at my latest sales of my earlier novels, and that usually perks me up and the words flow from my finger tips. But, my sales are down, my fan base has maxed out at an even dozen, my web page is passed over, my blog sits idle, even my "Music to Write Thrillers To, You Tube channel is playing to an empty audience. Oh, woe is me. I sat feeling sorry for myself, thinking of my failure as an author, just when I was almost healed from my terrible experience at the Circus School in Sarasota, and my short lived gig as an actor with a local community group.... they changed rehearsal night, and never told me.
Well, I can handle the truth, I tell my self. The problem is not my writing, but my marketing effort. So I fired my agent, canceled my publishing contract and I'm taking matters into my own hands. I was a fool to think I could get full shelf price for my novels up against the BIG Guys that hog the shelves. So I am going ALL ebooks. I'm going after the guys that are willing to pump out a couple of bucks for a damn good read. I'm going where I can be a big fish in a big pond, where my peers are, where the industry is going, where a guy can make a enough to buy a six-pak every now and then and not worry about the electricity being cut off, maybe pay some back alimony.  So, watch out Amazon, look out Kindle...Iron Mike Pettit is coming out with a shoe shine and a smile. Willy Loman, eat your heart out.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Mickey Spillane

BORDERS CLOSING 200 BOOKSTORES.
This is it folks, the old domino theory. The Bricks and Mortar book stores are going the way of the Berlin Wall. People are screaming for E-Books, more titles, more Authors, more...more ...more. What's going to happen next? Will B&N go down for the count, Books A Million is already looking a little thin on new book selections. What about the huge offerings from the Big Box Companies, Drug Stores, Convienance stores.... are they all going down for the count. Coming around the far turn is...Amazon, breaking away from the pack. My money is on Kindle and their Kindle Book Publishing programs. A small time guy like myself can get his novel out to the Amazon shopper with out the hassle of the New York Agent ignoring your quiries, the big Publishers are scrambling...Lions and Tigers...and e-books, Oh My. This Author is liking what he sees going on out on the street. Fire up those Kindles People, Turn on those Nooks, it's all EEEzy street coming our way

BREAK-OUT AUTHOR OF THE YEAR

There is a new Thriller author among us that is finishing up one of the best stories to come out in a long while. I have read the first forty pages and it is one of those novels that catches you on page one and doesn't let go. Although the novel is not out yet, I am giving it two thumbs up and awarding the First Annual John Locke Thriller Series " BREAK-OUT AUTHOR OF THE YEAR" Award to Randy Welch, and his novel COLD COVERS.  It sizzles.

REACHING CRITICAL MASS IN WRITING A THRILLER

 I have reached the point in my novel, The 9 Monkeys, where I have to decide exactly how I bring all the subplots back in line with the main plot. I have several subs with interesting characters that I have come to really like. Unfortunately, a couple of them have to go...as in dead-go. My main man ,John Locke, wouldn't hesitate in getting rid of all of them, they are mutts that need killing, and have relentlessly chased John for days, wanting desperately to know what he knows about the Monkey House in Saigon. It's a tough decision that has to be made before I can go any farther with the story.
What do other writers do when they become attached to co-stars or B-part players. The old marketing term may apply here, " You have to be willing to eat your young."

BLOG "FOLLOW" PROTOCAL

WHAT DOES A GUY HAVE TO DO TO GET NOTICED? I bought "BLOGGING FOR DUMMIES, Followed the instructions word for word, built a blog, pretty graphics, cool fonts, nice pictures...everything it said to do. Then I signed up on Face Book and have almost 300 friends, I have a website with my five Thriller novels on the site. I have "Followed"200 Blogs and try to write on several each day....and I still can't get followers. I need to know what I am doing wrong. It's driving me crazy. Other blogger's have followings and make it appear easy to get them to 'Follow". PLEASE, fellow bloggers, can someone tell me the secret to get followers. That damn book cost $14.95, I hope it wasn't money wasted.

WRITING THRILLERS IS A GAMBLE

I am half way finished with my fifth John Locke Thriller novel. Today while typing furiously through a super chase scene, my mind went blank. I sat looking at the words, that a moment ago were pouring out of my imagination like an M60 machine gun.  I sat...and sat. What am I doing? Are people really going to enjoy reading this stuff. I was about to hit delete when  I paused, Thriller = Action = Excitement = Anticipation = Resolution =  Satisfaction. I wrote these words down and thought that if this is indeed the formula, then I would have met The readers expectation, and through creative writing, I bring all these elements into play, then I have done my job. I started thinking back on the bazillions of books I have read over the years written by legends in the mystery, suspense, and  thriller genres and I think I have correctly identified the formula. I may be wrong, It's a gamble, But I'm going with it. I know I'm not the only one that has had this FLASH of fear in the middle of  writing the next best seller =o) and I would like to hear what others have done.

A PRIVATE EYE LOOKING FOR A CLUE

One of the most difficult things for a thriller writer to do is to plan ahead to hide evidence in the early stages of the story development. Then, like leaving bread crumbs behind for the gumshoe to discover, you have to be careful where and how you spread them. I often find myself giving away the ending at the half way point in my novel. Then thirty thousand words later I realize what I have done and spend hours and days trying to back track re-hiding the clues. The investigation had been over and all the characters knew it, except for me. There are two main types of clues that trip me up. The first is the verbal clue where a sub or secondary character says something significant to the plot. The second is the placement of physical clues...and then forget where you put them, or that you even added them.
I tend to do a lot of sub plotting , braiding story lines through out the novel, and then bring it all together at the end. So far , I haven't left my private investigator scratching his head, wondering how he solved the mystery. Do others have this same problem with clues?