Writing News

First a reminder: you have two days left to participate in my competition. The chances of winning are still fairly good.

May competition (world wide)
Read "Liquorice Twists" and answer three simple questions. Send the answers to do.hu.ja (at) mail.tele.dk before the end of May, and two of you will win an Amazon voucher (£ 5 or $ 8).

a) what is the name of the baby in story no 8, "A Question of Perspective"?
b) which car brand is mentioned in story no 11, "Swept Away"?
c) what is the name of the main character of story no 18, "In the Dark"

-------------------------------------------

And if you are in the mood for more suspense, you can read my short story "Heather Farm" for free during the launch period (May and June). Plenty of love, ghosts and countryside atmosphere. Enter the coupon code EP59D - and if you like the story, please make my day by spreading the word to your friends.

--------------------------------------------

Latest Liquorice Twists news

I am happy to tell my writer friends that they were right; Amazon offers a large market,  it is often the first place readers search for an ebook, and now I seen had my first sales trickle in there. And while I was in Bristol, Kerrie showed med that I had had my first Amazon review - five stars that made a wonderful day even better: 

"This selection of shorts is naughty but in a good way". 

And I am glad to see that readers of my latest collection appreciate the story ´Catastrophe´ which was a last-minute addition.  

NB: perhaps I should make it clear that I appreciate it very much whenever readers take the time to write a fair and honest review of my stories no matter how many or few stars they give me  :)

Why I Love Reading and Writing

- this magnificent quilt belongs to Heather, and when I read her post about it the other day, I knew I couldn´t find a better illustration for this post - thank you for letting me bring it -

This post is part of a launch campaign by Cathryn Grant of Suburban Noir. To win a wonderful debut novel, or even a Wi-Fi Kindle, see the rules beneath my post.

I have loved reading ever since I learned how to at the age of seven. I have had several other interests and hobbies over the years, but reading has always been number one. When I am engrossed in a book, I am in another world. Pure and simple.

My dream of writing began at the same time. I began my first novel when I was seven - did I finish two or three short pages? - and I have had several false starts since then. The final push came a few years ago when I got the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. I had to make some changes in my life, work less and give up some (several, actually) of my many interests and ambitions. Enough said about that, though, because my somewhat sofa-bound existence gave me time to reflect: how did I want to spend all those hours when I had to sit quietly or lie down?

Of course I read more, especially in periods, but I was also determined to see this as my opportunity to do something about my old dream: writing crime fiction. Since then, I have had several rejections of my two Danish novels and plenty of my English flash fiction stories. But I have also had great moments, such as when Every Day Fiction bought my first flash fiction story ´Lollipop´ a year ago and when ´Megamartyres´ was published in "Discount Noir" in October. Or the other day when...

Enough about me - at least for twenty-four hours. Here is my review of Cathryn´s "The Demise of the Soccer Moms".

------------------------------------ 

Cathryn´s give-away.

Enter the Suburban Noir contest for the chance to win a copy of "The Demise Of The Soccer Moms". The grand prize is a Wi-Fi Kindle. Rules for the Kindle Giveaway:

1. Between February 4 and midnight PST, February 11, comment on any one of the 7 participating blogs (see the list here) to get one entry per comment. Limit of one comment per blog for a possible total of 7 entries.

2. Between February 4 and midnight PST, February 11, tweet any one of the participating blogs to get one entry per tweet. Limit of one tweet per blog for a possible total of 7 entries. Tweets must have @CathrynGrant so I can track them.

3. Participants can have a total of 14 entries between commenting on blogs and tweeting.

4. Ten people will win their choice of an eBook or paperback copy of Cathryn Grant's Suburban Noir Thriller, "The Demise Of The Soccer Moms". One additional person will win a Wi-Fi Graphite Kindle (valued at $139) pre-loaded with a copy of "The Demise Of The Soccer Moms". Please note the paperback copy will not be available until March. Winners will be chosen by a random number generator

"The Demise Of The Soccer Moms" tells the story of a seemingly quiet suburban neighborhood which is upended when a provocative single mother saunters onto the school playground for the first time. Her Doc Marten boots, tight T-shirts, and in-your-face attitude stir up buried fears and sexual anxiety.
In the dark corners of her home, a woman battles crippling memories that threaten to destroy the family she wants so desperately to protect. A suspicious death forces her best friend to make a hard choice between marriage and friendship.

Paranoia, jealousy, and maternal instinct collide, leading to the demise of the soccer moms.
The competition is open to readers from North America, Europe, Australia and NZ (if you live in another part of the world and want a chance, you may send a mail to Cathryn via her blog).
.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 88 - win an e-book

This quotation comes from a brand-new collection of very short crime stories.

     When Toffee Brown moved to Knavesborough, no one noticed her the first few weeks. She could just as well have been a ghost. Perhaps she was? No, surely she would have noticed. She tried to poke a finger through her own body and wailed loudly. These country bumpkins just chose to ignore her! How inconsiderate! 

     She, however, noticed her neighbour in the adjacent house. The blind man in the wheelchair with the afghan coverlet and the blue-eyed cat constantly on his lap. She especially noticed that each time they passed each other on the pavement, the cat ignored her, while the man seemed to be following her with his eyes, but of course that was impossible. Toffee, you are losing it, she whispered to herself.

Can you guess who wrote it?

Send me an e-mail with the name of the writer before Sunday - among the correct answers I will draw one winner of the e-book version of this collection.

And the winner is...

Two weeks ago I announced a competition to celebrate my second blog anniversary.


The winner is Margaret of BooksPlease. 

Congratulations, Margaret, and let me know if you want a gift voucher from Amazon.com or Amazon.uk. 
.

Anniversary & Competition

[For danske læsere: se også bogkonkurrencen nedenfor]

Today, January 7th, is the second anniversary of DJ´s Krimiblog.

Two years with blog posts almost every day, 225 reviews, and most important: 43,000 guests from c 100 countries.

Thank you to each and every one of you for your visits, comments, friendship and encouragement!

This calls for celebration and a competition, I think.

The rules:
World wide competition.

Send an e-mail with your name before January 21st with the title ´competition´ to do.hu.ja (at) mail.tele.dk

Tie breaker: mention one of my blog posts (or a weekly feature) that you like.

The prize: a gift voucher for Amazon.com or Amazon UK of $ 15 or £ 10 (or another online shop where I can pay with visa card).
.

To års jubilæum & bogkonkurrence

I dag, 7. januar, fylder DJ´s krimiblog to år.

To spændende år med blogindlæg næsten hver dag, godt 40.000 besøgende fra 100 forskellige lande og 225 boganmeldelser.

Men det bedste: alle de sjove, søde, spændende venner fra hele verden, jeg er kommet i kontakt med. Blogvenner som deler min store interesse for krimier, enten ved at læse eller skrive dem – eller begge dele.

Tak for jeres opbakning med besøg, blogtips, kommentarer osv!

Det skal fejres med en lille konkurrence.

Skaf mig en ny skandinavisk læser – og få én chance for at vinde en Susanne Staun krimi.
Frit valg mellem en pæn, let brugt paperbackudgave af de første tre Fanny Fiske-bøger: 
Som arvesynden, Mord som forløser (også udgivet under titlen Liebe) eller Mit smukke lig.

Sådan gør du: find en skandinav (eller hvem som helst som kan læse dansk, også personer bosat i udlandet), som melder sig til som ny læser via ikonet “Faste læsere” i højre sidebjælke. Derefter sender den nye læser en mail til mig (do.hu.ja at mail.tele.dk) og fortæller, hvem der har overtalt dig til at blive læser (navn + mail-adresse).

Hvis du skaffer flere læsere, får du selvfølgelig også flere chancer, og hvis du ikke selv er medlem endnu, må du ud og finde en ven(inde), så I kan melde hinanden til. 

Konkurrencen udløber 21. januar. 

NB: hvis jeg får over ti nye læsere, udlover jeg en ny, dansk bogpræmie inden længe - for alle medlemmer som kan læse dansk.

And the winner is ...

My competition ended yesterday, and thank you to everybody who participated. I have had 30,179 visitors now, and I appreciate each and every one of you!

It was fun to see which writers you suggested, and of course I liked them all! The ones who got most votes were the New Zealander, Ngaio Marsh, and my countrywoman, Lene Kaaberbøl.

And now to what you are all waiting for: the winner is

Mason Canyon, Thoughts in Progress

Congratulations, Mason! And as soon as you have told me if you want your voucher in dollars or pounds, I will send a gift card off to you.

----------------------------------------------------

NB: your blogger has returned home, safe and sound, and is now clutching her dear laptop again. But she spent most of her Sunday in church, on her bike, and out in the sun with Rob Kitchin´s wonderful crime novel. Thank you for playing along.

Cozies & Competition

2010 Cozy Mystery Challenge

One of my goals for June was to finish my cosy mystery challenge. Done!

1. Donna Moore, Old Dogs (2010) – cosy caper – read in April
2. M.C. Beaton, Death of an Outsider( 1988) – read in April
3. Louise Doughty, Honey-Dew (1998) – read in April
4. Jackie Fullerton, Revenge Served Cold (2010) – read in May
5. Rebecca Tope, Death in the Cotswolds (2006) – read in June
6. Ngaio Marsh, Artists in Crime (1938) – classical whodunit - read in June

Most humorous: Old Dogs
Most traditional: Artists in Crime
Cosiest: Death of an Outsider + Death in the Cotswolds


And now for my ´competition´.
In a few days I expect visitor no 30,000. On this occasion I have decided to give away a gift voucher of £ 10 (or $ 15) for Amazon.com or Amazon.uk

The rules:
World wide competition
Send an email with your name before next Sunday (July 4th) to do.hu.ja (at) mail.tele.dk

Tie breaker: write the name of one writer I like. (Don´t worry, I like 95 % of the books I review)

And the Winners are ...

First the lucky winner of my anniversary competition:

Kelly of Kelly´s Thoughts & Ramblings.


Next the winner of L.C. Tyler´s cozy mystery: ´Petty Witter´ of Pen and Paper.


Congratulations to both of you!

The Winner of Bait-in-the-Box # 50

The correct answer to last week´s bait-in-the-box competition was Daphne du Maurier´s novel "Rebecca".

The word which was left out was "Manderley".


And the winner is ... Ron Smyth!


Remember:

- there is still a chance to win Thursday´s competition tomorrow.

- Friday´s competition (Europe only) runs until Friday by midnight.

Friday´s Giveaway

For European participants only.

Have you participated in Wednesday´s Bait in the Box (win a gift voucher - international).

And have you remembered to comment on my Anniversary post (win a gift voucher - international).

Well, then it is time to enter my third Anniversary giveaway:
- leave a comment on this post if you want a chance to win L.C. Tyler´s cozy mystery, The Herring Seller´s Apprentice (2007).

The prize is an unread paperback edition which I am willing to send anywhere in Europe.

The competition ends Friday the 15th January 2010 by midnight (GMT).

ANNIVERSARY - and GIVEAWAY

Today my blog has its first birthday! I have actually been blogging here for a whole year, and I have enjoyed it so much more than I imagined possible.

My essential goal was to get in touch with other readers of crime fiction, and that has certainly been a great success.

Other bonuses are all my other blog friends, and the surprise that bloggers all over the world actually do become friends. Friends that care about you, and friends you care about.

In April I participated in a writing course, and as several of you know, I have become more determined not only to read crime fiction, but also write it.

So thank you to each and every one of you who visit me, read my posts, leave comments, encourage me to blog and to write fiction! You are invaluable, and without you, I would never have made it.

And now to the GIVEAWAY.
Leave a comment on today´s post (you have until Thursday the 14th of January by midnight GMT). I will draw one winner of an Amazon gift voucher of £ 10 or $ 15 among the comments, so make sure I can get in touch with you (if you blog, I will just tell you there).
- if you prefer another online bookshop it is fine with me, as long as I can pay online with my visa card.

If you blog or tweet about my competition, please tell me and you will get an extra chance in today´s giveaway.

JUBILÆUM
I dag holder min blog fødselsdag for første gang! Jeg har blogget her i et helt år, og jeg har nydt det meget mere, end jeg på nogen made havde kunnet forestille mig.

Mit væsentligste mål var at komme i kontakt med andre krimilæsere, og det har været en fantastisk succes.

Andre fordele er alle mine blogvenner, og den dejlige opdagelse, at bloggere rundt om i hele verden virkelig bliver venner. Venner, som tænker på mig, og venner, jeg holder af.

I april deltog jeg i et skrivekursus, og som mange af jer ved, er jeg begyndt at fokusere mere på ikke bare at læse krimier, men også skrive dem.

Så en stor tak til hver eneste af jer, som besøger mig, læser min blog, lægger kommentarer, opmuntrer mig til at blogge og skrive! I er uvurderlige, og uden jer ville jeg aldrig have gennemført det.

Og nu til KONKURRENCEN
Læg en kommentar til indlægget i dag (inden torsdag d 14. januar ved midnat). Blandt kommentarerne trækker jeg én vinder af et Amazon gavekort på £ 10 eller $ 15 (kan selvfølgelig konverteres til Saxo, Adlibrisk.dk eller lignende).

Hvis du reklamerer for lodtrækningen via din blog eller twitter, så nævn det i din kommentar & få en ekstra chance.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 50

Do you recognize the opening lines of this thriller?

“Last night I dreamed I went to M…… again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me. There was a padlock and a chain upon the gate. I called in my dream to the lodge-keeper, and had no answer, and peering closer through the rusted spokes of the gate I saw that the lodge was uninhabited.”

COMPETITION

If you recognize the quotation, please send the name of the author and the title of the book in an e-mail to do.hu.ja (at) mail.tele.dk.

The competition ends on Tuesday, January the 12^th, by midnight.

The prize:

I will draw one winner who receives an Amazon gift card of £ 10 or $ 15. (Or any online bookshop that accepts visa cards).

See my very first Bait in the Box.

Giveaways Coming Up

[Our garden today - my school is closed!]

On the occasion of my first anniversary (Thursday) and my 50th Bait in the Box post (tomorrow), I have three giveaways for my readers.

1. Bait in the Box: among the readers who are able to guess the book, I will draw one winner of an Amazon gift card of £ 10 (or $ 15).

2. Thursday: everybody who leaves a comment has a chance to win an Amazon gift card of £ 10 (or $ 15).

3. Friday: an extra bonus for European readers. Win a new paperback edition of L.C. Tyler, The Herring Seller´s Apprentice.


If you blog or tweet about these giveaways, you will get an extra chance in Thursday´s competition (remember to mention it in your comment).

"Awarded" and "Gifted"

It all began Tuesday, when Bernadette, Reactions to Reading sent a mail to tell me I had won Clare Langley-Hawthorne, Consequences of Sin.

Wednesday Norman, Crime Scraps told me I had won two books for my joint second place in his fiendish quizzes (an achievement I am quite proud of).

Today, Saturday, I received a mail from Beth Fish, telling me I had won Thomas Randall, Dreams of the Dead and New Stories from the South 2009 (a brand new anthology of short stories).

Besides, I have received no less than two blog awards today:

One Lovely Blog Award from Kerrie, Mysteries in Paradise








Splashed and Lovely Award from Margot, Confessions of a Mystery Writer (a blog I have only discovered recently - remember to take a look at her interesting and informative blog).

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY
YOU HAVE MADE MY WEEK!

World Wide Competition

CLOSED
When I have had 10,000 guests on my blog, I want to celebrate with a giveaway.
The current number is 9,630, and I expect the competition to end in around a week.

The Rules

New readers:
1) write a comment on my blog & leave your e-mail address (substitute @ with at) – 1 chance

2) begin following my blog – 1 chance

Older readers:
1) leave your e-mail address if you followed me before September – 2 chances

2) remind me if you have left comments before – 1 chance

Everybody:
3) blog or tweet about my competition (and tell me in a mail) – 1 chance

4) Guest no 10,000 – 2 chances (if you remember to leave a comment)


The Prize

European participants:
Choose between a new copy of Len Tyler, The Herring Seller´s Apprentice
Or an Amazon giftcard, value of 10 dollars, if you have read Tyler´s great mystery.

Participants outside Europe:
Win an Amazon giftcard of 10 dollars.

The competition has ended Tuesday evening: tomorrow I will draw a random winner who will be notified by e-mail.

Gardiner: Thriller than Ever

[You may want to read about Meg´s contest and the first part of my answer before you read this – not sure you will be any the wiser, though.]

Squidders yelled until a smart woman opened the door. “And what do you think you are doing in Meg´s fridge? You eh… centipede?”

“Miss Octopus to you, sister.” Squidders kept the torn pantyhose well away, and tried to show the rest of her legs off to their best advantage. “Just drifting about a bit I was.” No need to admit the truth.

“Jo Beckett. Pleased to meet you. But why would anyone choose to stay in a fridge?” She shuddered involuntarily. “And Meg´s fridge – can´t exactly be healthy for you.”

“Well, the famous Ms Gardiner wanted me for dinner,” Squidders boasted.

“You … for dinner? Good grief, can anyone be so daft?”

Squidders wriggled angrily. Daft – as if she could help it. Her folks sent her off to a school of fish, but she never passed the entrance exam.

“Quick! There she is – knived! Squidaddle! “ Beckett spun around. “Oh, … hi Meg.”

“Jo! Great you could make it. Now, where did I put …” Absent-mindedly she waved the knife.

“Oh, that old squid – gone off, I´d say. Been on the shelf too long.”

When Squidders was apprehended after having strangled both women with a pair of pantyhose, she pleaded non-complimented.

A Question - and an Answer

As yesterday´s readers will know, poor bewildered Meg Gardiner does not quite remember how the photo and the weird squiggles below ended up on her fridge. As she says, she would very much like readers to explain to her what´s going on.

Here we go: 200 words for Meg, including the title.


Squidomania.

Squidders Calamari shuddered at the sight of her sqiddly legs, sporting a sadly laddered pair of pantyhose. Today, of all days, when she was off to a Gasoline concert, the squidgyest Danish rock band ever, in “The Submarine”. It must be that chain swordfish she ran into down “The Ink Sac”.

“Me love cuttle fish” the pushy Scandinavian said, whatever that meant. All she knew was she couldn´t stomach him.

Well, there was nothing for it than a squickie, a brief shopping spree in the local Fish and Cheap Store on her way. She tried a clumsy salsa; shopping was soooo liquefying! Elevated, she squirted herself generously with “Squidoo´s Best Shark´n´Swordfish Repellant,” set her OPS, Ocean Positioning System, and swannied off.

Squidders was squarely tempted to squeeze into Putrid´s House, the squalid Bone Meal King en route, but resisted. Squealing with delight she squashed herself into the store just before closing time. Gasoline, here I come!

After a brief calculation of her extremities she tentacly asked for roughly four pairs of pantyhose.

“Would that be ordinary, fireman or cephalopod hose?”

Disconcerted, Squidders uttered a chilling squelch as she realized she would have to consult M.S. Gardiner´s FreeGidaria® once again!

Squidomania

I know, I know - I am under the inFLUence of a bug of some kind, and this post is neither planned nor FLUent. I just FLU to the keyboard when I saw this, knowing that as I was too FLUstered to come up with anything remotely interesting due to my FLUctuating temperature, here (on Meg Gardiner´s blog - see below) was the inspiration I had been waiting for:

CONTEST 2009:

Announcing: my third annual contest. The winner will have a character named after him or her in my next novel.

For the chance to be immortalized — or perhaps mortalized — in the next Jo Beckett book:

In 200 words or less, explain what’s going on in the photo above.

Deadline: 11:59 p.m. GMT, Tuesday August 25th.

For more information, see Meg Gardiner´s blog, Lying for a Living.

Tuesday´s Extra - book giveaway!

If you would like to win an ARC of Elin Hilderbrand´s The Castaways, visit Beth Fish Reads and join her competition. The competition runs until July 25.

Beth´s Rules
1. Leave a comment with your email address telling me which island you would visit if money were no object. (1 entry)
2. Tweet or blog about this giveaway (and come back and leave the link in a comment). (1 entry)
3. Subscribe to this blog (through Google, email, RSS). (3 entries)
4. Already a subscriber? Thanks so much. Let me know and you get 5 entries.
New subscribers can have up to 5 entries. Veteran subscribers can have up to 7 entries.