Monday, August 19, 2013

Douglas Corleone: GOOD AS GONE

Author Douglas Corleone
 
Sisters in Crime/Hawaii met on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at The Makiki Community Library from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. We welcomed our Special Guest Speaker, legal mystery/thriller author of Kevin Corvelli Mystery trilogy set in Honolulu, Douglas Corleone.

Dawn Casey introduced Shamus Award nominee Douglas Corleone, listing his Kevin Corvelli trilogy of legal thrillers, One Man’s Paradise, Night On Fire, and Last Lawyer Standing, published by St. Martin’s Minotaur. Her question to Doug was, “You published One Man’s Paradise, winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition, in 2010; Night On Fire in 2011; and Last Lawyer Standing in 2012. How did you write them so fast?” Doug said he didn’t think he had written them all that fast, now that he is currently not practicing law and is writing full time.
Douglas Corleone receiving
a Hawaiian lei
at a Sisters in Crime/Hawaii meeting
 
 
Doug talks about The Reinvention of the Writer.
In his first three books, his protagonist is a hot-shot New York defense attorney who moved to Hawaii and found that things a little different from New York. Readers and editors loved the series but “the numbers (sales) weren’t there” due to limiting factors such as the local setting. Book stores look at previous sales to determine if they will purchase future books.
Some authors reinvent themselves by changing their pen name to publish. One example is Spencer Quinn who writes mysteries from a canine’s perspective. He was a great writer before this but never gained any traction. Once he began writing as a dog he did very, very well.
After the trilogy was published, it was time to submit a new book. His agent at Writers House in New York said his editor and Minotaur would prefer to see something new from him, his notice that Last Lawyer Standing would be the last book in the Kevin Corvelli series. Doug had enjoyed writing and promoting the series and felt a pang of loss when the series ended. But it was also an opportunity for him to start over, and be able to start over without changing his name.
Douglas Corleone signing
a Kevin Corvelli novel
He is writing The Quake, a book for Kensington, under the pseudonym Jack Douglas. As a full time writer, he needs to publish two books a year. His latest book, Good As Gone, comes out in August under his name, Douglas Corleone.
Doug was excited about writing Good As Gone because it was an opportunity to write a new series with new settings. "Creating new characters gets the adrenaline pumping," he said. He wanted someone very different from Kevin Corvelli. He had worked his last legal case as an attorney in New York, leaving behind his legal career as well as his legal thrillers.
The idea for Good As Gone had planted itself about two years earlier. Doug had read a one-page article about a private investigator in Tampa. What the guy did was retrieve children from overseas when they were abducted by an estranged parent or other custody situation.
First Doug did a one-page synopsis and sent that to his agent. Because it was so different from the other series, the editor requested at least a hundred pages so he sat down and wrote the hundred pages. The editor wasn’t satisfied with the main character. After he rewrote the character and added to the story, the book idea was accepted. Minotaur decided to market the book as a blockbuster thriller with an outstanding cover and visible advertising, including with Barnes and Noble.  He also requested and received terrific blurbs from bestselling New York authors like Jeff Abbott, author of the Sam Capra series; and Andrew Gross, author of 15 Seconds: A Novel and several novels co-authored with James Patterson; Michael Palmer, author of numerous medical suspense novels. 
QUESTIONS AND ANSWER SESSION with DOUGLAS CORLEONE
Q: How did you come up with the title, Good As Gone?
A. That’s a good question. The original title was The Unspeakable. I went through about thirty different titles before selecting Good As Gone. 
Q: Where will the book be marketed?
A. Because the book is set on foreign soil, the publishers have decided to market around the world. So far, the book has been sold to New Zealand, Poland, and Germany, and is being translated into foreign languages.
Q: What is the release date for Good As Gone and how will it be kicked off?
A: The release date is August 20, 2013. The book will hit stores on that date, and preordered books will be received that day or the next day. I will launch this book in New York. 
Q: Will you have a book signing in Hawaii?
A: Yes, at Ala Moana Center’s Barnes and Noble in Honolulu. That date is pending. 
Douglas Corleone’s Good As Gone Book Tour Schedule from New York to LA:
Release of GOOD AS GONE, on August 20 2013
Launch Party for GOOD AS GONE in New York City, The Mysterious Bookshop, located at 58 Warren Street on September 17 2013 06:00 PM
Bouchercon 2013, on September 19 2013
For complete list of events see:

In Stores August 20, 2013
GOOD AS GONE
An international thriller introducing former US Marshal Simon Fisk 
 “Delivers a lightning-fast pace, surprising and heartfelt twists, and action aplenty.”
~Jeff Abbott, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Last Minute 
“Good As Gone is as good as it gets. Douglas Corleone has crafted one hell of a thriller.”
~Michael Palmer, New York Times Bestselling Author of Political Suicide 
“Goes from zero to 60 in under six seconds and never lets off the gas!”
~Andrew Gross, New York Times Bestselling Author of 15 Seconds
 
“A terrific international thriller. I expected to be entertained when I picked up a novel by
Douglas Corleone and was rewarded handsomely. Highly recommended.”
~James Grippando, New York Times Bestselling Author of Blood Money 
“Everything I want in a thriller – an ingenious plot, breathtaking pace,
and one of the coolest new heroes to come along in years.”
~David Ellis, New York Times Bestselling James Patterson Coauthor
“Good As Gone propels Douglas Corleone into Lee Child territory. Yeah, it’s that good.”
~Jason Starr, International Bestselling Author of The Pack
Visit Douglas Corleone at:
http://douglascorleone.com/

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