crime Archives - Page 4 of 9

NEW BOOK RELEASE: FAST CRIMES

It’s my birthday today…but I have a gift for you with the release of my short story collection, FAST CRIMES.

I made my professional bones writing short fiction, and fairly short crime fiction at that. When I started out, there were plenty of markets looking for stories only a few pages long. The stories featured in this collection saw publication in Woman’s World, the side of a coffee can and in a Vegas soft porn magazine, just to name a few.

The jacket copy goes like this:

“Crime happens in a moment and so do the stories in the Fast Crimes collection. These short mysteries start in the moment and build to a climax in a snap. Murders are plotted and carried out. Heists are planned and foiled. Investigators hunt and apprehend criminals. And it all happens in a handful of pages. It’s a smash and grab experience…so strap in.”

The book is available on Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, Barnes & Noble. Links are here.

So if you’re looking to get me a birthday gift, then I’d love it if you picked up a copy. I hope you enjoy the stories. They’re something you can fit in with a cup of coffee.

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iTunes & Me

Similarly to Kobo, a bunch of my ebooks and audiobooks are now on iTunes. I must admit I feel like a bit of a rock star because I have an artist’s page on iTunes. So if you’re an Apple iTunes person, you can find all my titles listed here. Just make sure you get the correct “Simon Wood” books. While there are a number of my foreign language titles, please note that I am not the author of the German BDSM erotica…that’s some other guy…really it is. 🙂

My Simon Janus titles are also on iTunes here.

Any questions or issues, let me know. Also, feel free to share with others. I won’t stop you.

I hope you can support me. Thanks!

POSTSCRIPT: Apple have made one of their never-ending updates and unfortunately, my author page no longer shows all my titles although they are on the site. Just to confirm, my titles on iTunes are: DID NOT FINISH, HALF-INCHED, HOT SEAT, THE FALL GUY, FAST CRIMES, WORKING STIFFS, CRESTFALLEN, LOWLIFES & SHORT SHARP SHOCKS. You can find direct links on “BOOK” pages of this website.

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Kobo and Me

My ebooks are now appearing on Kobo (my English and French titles). Essentially, they’re a competitor to Kindle and Nook. To get some momentum with them I need a few good people to buy them. That’s where you come in, but it’ll hardly cost you’re a penny…well, kinda.

They have an offer going at the moment. When you spend $5.01, they’ll give you $5 off first order. I’d love it if you’d take advantage of their offer and you can get a couple of my books for less than a dollar while helping me cement my position with Kobo. All my books are listed here. (including some of my French titles):

Just make sure you get the “Simon Wood” books as there are a couple that aren’t by me. Any questions or issues, let me know. Also, feel free to share with others. I won’t stop you.

I hope you can support me. Thanks!

Categories: Uncategorized

A Playlist For Aidy Westlake & HALF-INCHED

My frustrated DJ self emerges yet again for a playlist for my the latest Aidy Westlake book, HALF-INCHED. The playlist reflects the various themes and plotlines from the book series. If you’ve read the books, these songs will make a lot of sense and if you haven’t, it should give you an inkling as to what to expect. Either way, the songs should result in a shake of the head…or a groan.

So here’s what’s on the playlist:

“The Distance.” – Cake

“Fast Car.” – Tracy Chapman

“Jerry Was Racecar Driver” – Primus

“The Road To Hell” – Chris Rea

“Shut Up And Drive” – Rhianna

“Cars” – Gary Newman

“Road To Nowhere” – Talking Heads

“Keep The Car Running” – Arcade Fire

“Everyday Is A Winding Road” – Sheryl Crow

“One Headlight” – The Wallflowers

“Passenger Seat” – Death Cab For Cutie

“Drive” – The Cars

“Passenger Side” – Wilco

“Granddad” – Clive Dunn

If you have any musical suggestions, leave them in the comments and I’ll add them to the playlist. Now just hit play to listen. Enjoy!!

Categories: new book shelf life

Coming Soon…

COMING SOON…

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FUN FACTS About HALF-INCHED

I thought I’d share some fast facts about my latest Aidy Westlake adventure, HALF-INCHED.

1. “Half-Inched” is cockney rhyming slang for pinched as in to steal.

2. Aidy Westlake is named after former Watford Football Club’s had coach Aidy Boothroyd and the late, great writer Donald Westlake.

3. HALF-INCHED was inspired by a British journalist who was discussing high value car thefts in Europe where the vehicles ended up in Moldova. The police in Moldova rarely investigated the thefts as they didn’t occur in their country…but the police would turn a blind eye if the owners chose to steal their property back. As soon as I heard that I knew I had a book! 🙂

4. Readers, Mary-Frances Lascuola & Barb Kreisel, provided the title for the book when I was struggling to come up with one. They won my contest to see who could come up with a better title than me!

If you’ve read the book, I hope these tidbits have given you some additional insight into the story. And if you haven’t read the book, I hope you’ll give it a go.

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New Book: HALF-INCHED Lands This Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone!! Aidy Westlake is your Xmas gift!! Aidy and the boys are back. The full-time racecar driver and part-time investigator returns in HALF-INCHED. Again, Aidy and his crew are up to their necks in trouble. The storyline is as follows.

“Christmas has gone sideways for racecar driver, Aidy Westlake. Aidy’s grandfather, Steve, was just putting the finishing touches on a classic Ford GT40 he was restoring for a British millionaire when it was stolen from his workshop. They quickly establish that the supercar was stolen to order and is in now in Moldova in the hands of the notorious gangster, Lupul. There’s a wrinkle. The police in Moldova don’t care. The theft of a rich man’s toy doesn’t rank high on their priorities. The client’s ultimatum is simple—cover his one million pound loss or recover the car by Christmas Day. With the threat of financial ruin hanging over his grandfather’s head, Aidy’s crew has only one option—steal the car back.”

This story takes place between the novels DID NOT FINISH and HOT SEAT.

The book is here. You can order it from Amazon and Amazon UK. I hope you enjoy it.

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New Books

In addition to Amazon, a number of my ebooks are now available on Kobo, Nook and iTunes. The titles available are:

Click the cover for store links. Expect to see more of my titles on other platforms soon.

Categories: new book shelf life

Washington State Mini Book Tour

I’m on a mini book tour this September. I’ll be traveling around Washington for a few events and I hope you can join for one of them. Here’s where I’ll be:

September 8th: I’m the keynote speaker at this year’s Southwest Washington Writers’ Conference, at Centralia College in lovely Centralia, WA. If you’d like to attend the conference or be at the book signing, let me know.

September 9th: Noon in Seattle. I will be entertaining a mystery book club. This is a super secret event. If you’d like to attend drop me a line.

September 10th: South Hill Library at 7:00pm. I’m the topic of the library’s Book Discussion Group in Puyallup (where my wife grew up). It’s open to the public and all are welcome. Details here.

Categories: shelf life

Interviews Galore!!

I’ve been on an interview jag of late. It’s practically turning into a junket!! Anyway, here’s a bunch of fun interviews I’ve done of late for your reading pleasure: