Veering Away from The Tragic

I can't think of five happier benchmarks in a writer's life:

Signing a book deal. Getting the first copies of the book in actual book form. Reading good reviews that hopefully will result in good sales. Cashing the royalty checks. And finding out someone has been motivated to write, or achieve another life goal, based on reading or hearing something I've said.

Recently, I received the ARCS for my next book, Every Secret Crime.

What's an ARC? It stands for Advance Reader Copy or Advance Review Copy. They are the preview copies of the book that the publisher sends out to reviewers, bookstores and libraries to get the buzz going. With any luck, they'll result in some good reviews. A couple have already been written. Booklist, for example, one of the two magazines libraries use to choose which books to buy, says this about Every Secret Crime:

"The author of Deader by the Lake(2003)returns with his Reno McCarthy series, which begins with a creepy prologue that will suck readers in and keep them guessing as to how it fits into the rest of the story...McCarthy has the makings of a fine series character: he's a sexy, emotionally vulnerable reporter with an active conscience as well as a nose for news, half-truths and lies."

Hey...I can live with that! I wish someone would call me sexy.

Receiving the ARCs is exciting because it's the first time I've seen this book in book format; up to now, I've just looked at the manuscript. It's trade paperback which means it's the size of a hardcover but ...in paperback. The "real" book will come out in hardcover in late June and be available in July.

Finally, it's not really a typical book benchmark, but I'm excited about the video trailer that's been produced for Every Secret Crime. It should be available for posting online in a couple of weeks. It's dark and sinister with a creepy soundtrack. Just like you might see for an upcoming movie. We'll be posting it on my website, http://www.everysecretcrime.com/, and a number of other places on the net, including YouTube and MySpace. I have mixed feelings about using a video trailer because it was not cheap to produce and some book folks feel they aren't worthwhile for the cost. I hope it will reach a different audience than other promotional stuff. I'll announce here when it's available; after you've watched it, feel free to give me your feedback at renomccarthy@gmail.com.