MURDER BY 4 Newsletter #1

by Marta Stephens

The First Fifty Days!

Wow! These have certainly been busy months for all of us here at MURDER BY 4. The group blog was launched on February 18, 2008, and its success in attracting the attention of a multitude of authors and publishers alike has astounded us. In our excitement we jokingly said that when we got our first 1,000th visitor, we’d hold a contest. Well, as of today, we are well past our 2,000 visitor. And the contest? Check out “the official contest rules” listed in the post prior to this one dated March 14, and send us your answers for a chance to win an autographed copy of Aaron Lazar’s TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON. Contest runs until April 15. The winner will be contacted by e-mail.

Thus far, we’ve had thirteen excellent guest bloggers on MB4 who have graciously shared their knowledge and experiences. It’s always fun to read about the paths other authors have taken; all diverse yet all with the same goal – to get published. Of course, not all are authors, but each has brought a fresh perspective. If you haven’t read through all the posts, we hope you'll take a moment to read through a few. These authors’ articles have initiated some very interesting and lively discussions on MB4. Plenty more to come too! You'll find the names of each week's featured guests and their web site on the side bar of MB4.

So what’s happening in our writing life? Aside from holding full-time jobs and continuing to be deeply involved with our families and other interests, we write.

S. W. Vaughn has a signed contract in hand from Lachesis Publishers for her novel. BROKEN ANGEL (2009). Vaughn’s gritty street gang thriller novel recently took her to New York City for a week to shoot some footage for an upcoming book trailer.

Aaron Lazar just finished a three-month long virtual book tour of his latest, TREMOLO: CRY OF THE LOON. Anyone who has ever conducted a virtual book tour knows that its success relies on the amount of work the author puts into it. Tours take an enormous amount of time and effort, but they can be very fruitful in an amazingly economical way. Aaron’s TREMOLO also placed among the top 10 in the mystery category of the Preditors & Editors reader poll in February. With book thirteen in the works, Aaron is one of the most prolific authors I know.

MAZURKA: A GUS LEGARDE MYSTERY, (summer 2008) the final editing stage has been completed, and Twilight Times Books has asked to use the author's design for the cover. HEALEY'S CAVE: A GREEN MARBLE MYSTERY, (2008) featuring Sam Moore, the cover artist is reading this paranormal mystery now and will create cover art shortly. Final editing is done. His thirteenth work in progress is titled, THE AVIARY.

Kim Smith continues to work with her editor at Enspiren Press on her debut novel, AVENGING ANGEL. Her novel is due to be released in the summer of 2008. Kim also has several short stories published. Her latest releases are, GOD GIVEN GOODBYE at Long Story Short and THE MASK which will be released this month on Mouthful of Bullets. Aside from her writing, Kim is also a part-time photographer and enjoys doing wedding shoots.

As for me? Administering the MURDER BY 4 blog has been as much fun as it has been a challenge. Every day brings new ideas to improve the site. We’re constantly looking for new guest bloggers and new information for our readers. We hope it’s been as enjoyable for you to read, as it has been rewarding for us to create.

My debut book, SILENCED CRY continues to do well in sales. As some of you know, it won the August cover of the month and is now up for cover of the year on the Erin Aislinn site. Voting ends on April 15. If you’re so inclined, I’d love to have your vote! SILENCED CRY also placed among the top 10 in the mystery category in the Preditors & Editors reader poll in February. Autographed copies of SILENCED CRY are available through my web site. I've entered the book in two other contests. The first is to the Indiana State Library for their "Best Book of Indiana" contest. The winner will be announced on June 13, 2008. The second entry is to the New York Book Festival (June 2008). Finger crossed.

This morning I received an e-mail from my editor at BeWrite Books (UK) that the second book in the Sam Harper Crime Mystery series, THE BLACK PEARL, has met his approval. It's now happily on its way to my publisher for the next step in the process; proofreading, fine-tuning, and more proofreading. We don’t have a blurb for it yet, but here’s a teaser: What do a Columbian drug dealer, a Roman Catholic Priest, and a beautiful newspaper reporter have in common? Deadly secrets and Sam Harper hot on their trail. THE BLACK PEARL is tentatively scheduled for release in the fall of 2008.

In the meantime, I’ve started on the third Sam Harper book, GRAVE WITNESS. This is another novel that began life as a novella. The base of the story is there, but where it will go is anyone’s guess at this point.

So as you can see, we all have a busy year ahead with several launch parties to plan! Thanks for subscribing to the newsletter. We look forward to another great quarter on MB4 with you and our fellow authors. Don't forget to share the MB4 link with those in your networks and to quote our good friend, Aaron, "Write like the wind!"