VIRTUAL EVENT—Please join us ONLINE from ANY location!
I’m thrilled to invite you to a virtual launch event for Impervious: A Sean McPherson Novel, Book Three. Hosted by my hometown bookstore, Rediscovered Books, this event is on Friday, April 21st at:
5:00 pm Pacific Time 6:00 pm Mountain Time 7:00 pm Central Time 8:00 pm Eastern Time
I’m excited to be in conversation with Christine DeSmet—a writing coach (mine for over ten years), novelist, screenwriter, short story writer, playwright, and speaker/workshop leader. A prolific writer, Christine has authored two series: the Fudge Shop Mysteries, the Mischief in Moonstone Mysteries, and Spirit Lake.
Entering a new year is like turning a page in a brand new book where we’re the author and get to write our own story. Here’s to happy, healthy storylines!
Speaking of pages…
At my publisher, SparkPress, Tabitha Lahr is the graphic artist who designs the interior pages for the Sean McPherson novels. I love what she’s done with Impervious, book #3.
It releases on April 4th. You can preorder it now from your favorite bookseller.
I turned a lot of pages in 2022:
At the beginning of each year, I set a reading goal on Goodreads. When I finish reading a book, if I can give it three or more stars, I write a bite-sized review and post it on Goodreads, Bookbub, and Amazon. It’s my way of saying “Thank you” to the author.
Thank YOU, book lovers, for reading, reviewing, and sharing Sean McPherson book recommendations with others, for requesting the series at your local libraries and bookstores, and for cheering me on and supporting me!
Iniquity (book #4) is with the publisher for a spring 2024 release.
I’m so close to writing “The End” on Illusionist (book #5) that I can almost taste it! It will be released in the spring of 2025.
Then on to books #6, #7, and #8—and hopefully even more after that!
Please follow me on BookBub. I currently have 760 followers and would like to take advantage of the perks made available to authors with 1,000+ followers. Here’s a LINK.
The bride, the groom, the toast, the explosion… What should be a joyous occasion turns lethal.
In the village of Fairhaven—nestled between Washington state’s Bellingham Bay and the Cascade Mountains, home to writers’ retreat Pines & Quill—friends and family have gathered for the union of Sean McPherson and Emma Benton. Sean has been working with the FBI and local police to help solve crimes, particularly murders bearing the mark of crime boss Georgio “The Bull” Gambino. Emma, who has just learned to walk again, has begun to feel at home and hopes to one day raise a family.
But just as the festivities begin and corks fly, an explosion shatters everything, killing one and injuring others. From Bellingham to San Francisco and New Orleans, the chase is on to discover who’s dead set on ensuring the newlyweds don’t live happily ever after.
The writers currently in residence at Pines & Quill include a vineyard owner, a Bryn Mawr College professor, a special education teacher accompanied by her seeing-eye dog, and an intuitive who can’t—or won’t—identify the killer. Gambino has a knack for finding people in even the most inaccessible places to do his bidding. Could one of the writers be on his payroll?
If you’re a fan of reading books with white-knuckle, adrenalin-pumping storylines, you might be under the impression that some of those genre category titles are interchangeable. Interestingly, they’re similar yet different:
THRILLER — The s/hero must thwart an enemy’s plans rather than uncover a crime that has already happened.
MYSTERY — The reader doesn’t know “who done it” until the end.
SUSPENSE — The reader knows “who done it,” but the book’s characters don’t find out until the end.
PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER — The main character usually experiences a “dissolving sense of reality.”
CRIME — The focus of the storyline is on a criminal who must be apprehended.
POLICE PROCEDURAL — The emphasis is on the procedures used by law enforcement to solve the crime.
My publisher categorized my next book, Indelible: A Sean McPherson Novel, Book One, in the following three genres:
Advance Praise for Indelible “Buchanan’s narrative is well-paced, flying right along. . . . the author has delivered an exciting beginning to an intriguing series.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS
SERIAL KILLER THRILLER — The s/hero must thwart a serial killer’s plans and possibly uncover previous crimes during their current quest.
PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR MYSTERY — The reader and the PI see many of the puzzle’s pieces, but the full “picture on the box” isn’t revealed until the end.
SUSPENSE THRILLER — A exhilarating one-two punch that combines the reader’s knowledge of “who done it,” with the un-knowing s/hero’s efforts to thwart the antagonist’s plans.
What’s your favorite book genre?
Indelible: A Sean McPherson Novel, Book One Release Date: April 6, 2021
Every now and then, someone poses a question that stops me in my tracks and makes me really think.
Such was the case when my friend and writing mentor, Christine DeSmet—author of The Fudge Shop Mystery Series—posed this question on the Blackbird Writers website: “What skill shaped your life?”
After thinking about it, the answer is reading. It holds the number one spot in the list of skills that have shaped my life. Numbers two and three are observing details and listening between the lines.
What is the Blackbird Writers website? I’m glad you asked!
If you’re a fan of thrillers, suspense, or mystery novels, you’ll want to hang out with the Blackbird Writers—a group for discerning readers, talented authors, and suspenseful books. Our nest is your nest!
Earlier this year, a group of writers in these genres, decided to collaborate and form the Blackbird Writers. Each week a different author offers new perspectives on the Blackbird blog. Check out our latest blog and subscribe to our quarterly newsletter HERE.
We also have fantastic social media sites where you can engage in a discussion, get the scoop on new releases, freebies, contests, and more.
Earlier this year, I received a beautiful glass vase as a thank you gift. It’s perfectly sized for a nosegay, posy, or tussie-mussie — a small flower bouquet.
Since receiving the vase, I’ve made a point of enjoying a weekly bouquet in my writing studio. I’ve found it to be a boon for self-care, inspiration, and creativity.
My sister reinforced my habit by gifting me with a multi-month gift certificate from Blooms Flower Studio in Boise. Oh, the joy!
What’s your strategy for boosting self-care, inspiration, and creativity?
Two weeks ago, I dangled a carrot to entice readers over to my author website for a sneak peek at the cover of my new book, Indelible. The analytics show that 2,200 people visited lauriebuchanan.com in the week following that post—many of you asked for more details.
I got the idea for the suspense/thriller series while staying in one of the cabins at Hedgebrook, a writing retreat—where women author change—on Whidbey Island, just off the coast from Seattle, Washington.
Indelible takes place takes place at Pines & Quill (a writing retreat that’s a figment of my imagination) in Fairhaven/Bellingham, Washington (a real location). I took these photographs to give you a sense of location:
If you wrote a suspense/thriller, where would the location be?
Tuesdays with Laurie 