Author, Editor, Publisher, Coach

Category: Forgive Me Alex (Page 1 of 5)

Related to my debut novel, “Forgive Me, Alex.”

Get a FREE Audiobook of Suspense Thriller “Forgive Me, Alex”

THIS POST IS FOR READERS (AND LISTENERS):

As you may know, my psychological suspense thriller Forgive Me, Alex is also available as an audiobook. What you may not know is that it’s possible you could get it free at Audible.com as part of a Free Trial. Just follow the link below for more information.

Get Forgive Me, Alex FREE as part of an Audible Free Trial

 

Audio_ForgiveMeAlex

This unabridged version, narrated by Kevin Scollin, provides 10 hours and 22 minutes of listening pleasure. Check it out.

In other news, I’ve been woefully neglectful of this blog and website, but some things are happening soon that will, I hope, make it easier for me to post more often. I appreciate your sticking with me.

Regarding the release of The Devil’s Bane, the sequel to Forgive Me, Alex and the second book in the Tony Hooper series, that too is running behind as I struggle to find adequate time to write. My publishing and editorial duties remain significant. Nonetheless, I am starting to creep forward again, and I’m determined that it see the light of day as soon as possible. Please stay tuned.

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“Forgive Me, Alex” by Lane Diamond Wins Pinnacle Book Achievement Award

THIS POST IS FOR READERS:

I’m so pleased to announce that my debut psychological thriller, Forgive Me, Alex, has been honored with the following award:

Pinnacle Book Achievement Award, Summer 2014 – Best Books in the Category of THRILLER

(Scroll down near the bottom of the page for the THRILLER category.)

It almost seems odd to be getting an award 2-1/2 years after the book launched, but then again nothing in this business happens quickly. Besides, given that it’s been taking me so long to get the sequel out, it’s good for me to keep Forgive Me, Alex out there.

And speaking of The Devil’s Bane, I’m happy to report that I’ve once again carved out some time from my busy Evolved Publishing schedule, and I’m making regular–if slightly slower than I’d like–progress.

Anyway, if you haven’t already picked up a copy of my book, now you have another excuse to jump on the bandwagon. 🙂

Available at >Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords. Or get an autographed print copy directly from me at THIS PAGE.

Tony Hooper stands in shadow across the street, one amongst many in the crowd of curiosity-hounds gathered to watch a monster’s release. Seventeen years after Mitchell Norton, “the devil,” terrorized Algonquin, Illinois on a spree of kidnapping, torture and murder, the authorities release the butcher from psychiatric prison.

Tony longs to charge across the street to destroy Norton—no remorse—as if stepping on a cockroach. Only sheer force of will prevents his doing so.

“The devil” walks the world again. What shall Tony do about it? Aye, what indeed.

After all, this is what Tony does. It’s who he is. “The devil” himself long ago made Tony into this hunter of monsters. What a sweet twist of fate this is, that he may still, finally, administer justice.

Will FBI Special Agent Linda Monroe stop him? She owes him her life, so how can she possibly put an end to his?

Tony Hooper and Mitchell Norton battle for supremacy, with law enforcement always a step away, in this story of justice and vengeance, evil and redemption, fear and courage, love and loss.

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Psychological Thriller “Forgive Me, Alex” Is Now Available as an Audio Book

THIS POST IS FOR READERS:

I’m so pleased to announce that Forgive Me, Alex is now available as an audio book. The full unabridged version, which runs 10 hours 22 minutes, is narrated by the talented Kevin Scollin.

Whether you’re commuting to work every day via car or train, or planning some time sitting around airports and on a plane, or just looking to relax and enjoy a few evenings with your favorite beverage, this is a great and entertaining way to pass the time.

Audio_ForgiveMeAlex

You can find the audio book of Forgive Me, Alex at the following retail sites:

AmazonApple iTunesAudible.com

Some Big News

THIS POST IS FOR READERS:

First of all, you can get (just through Friday, August 30th) the eBook of Forgive Me, Alex (English version) at Amazon for JUST $0.99. Grab it quick! 🙂

Now for the big news: my work is coming available in Spanish language editions, translated by the talented Ana Popielnicki of Evolved Publishing. Forgive Me, Alex and Paradox – A Short Story are both available now in Spanish Editions at Amazon and at Smashwords. They will soon be available at Apple iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, and most major eBook retailers. So if you’re a Spanish speaker/reader, please enjoy! Or if you have friends who would enjoy these Spanish editions, please spread the word.

FMA_v3_ES_300_DPI_2x3Available now at Amazon and Smashwords.

Evolved Publishing nos lleva en un recorrido íntimo dentro de la mente de un asesino, y del hombre decidido a acabar con ese asesino, en esta historia de justicia y venganza, del mal y la redención, de terror y valentía, de amor y pérdida.

Dos personalidades, dos estilos, dos objetivos, dos métodos – una sola oscuridad.

 

ParadoxV2_ES_300dpi_2x3Available now at Amazon and Smashwords.

Evolved Publishing nos presenta un corto y rápido viaje al espacio con “Paradoja” de Lane Diamond. Con menos de 2,700 palabras, es la distracción breve perfecta para escapar del trajín diario.

Ted se ofreció de voluntario para la misión porque, después de todo, era no más que un viaje de rutina a Marte. ¿Qué podía salir mal?

En lo más profundo, lo más oscuro del espacio, es preciso llenar el vacío, la soledad, la nada. ¿Tenemos los seres humanos la “capacidad psicológica” para embarcarnos en largos viajes espaciales? Si no, es posible que terminemos como Ted.

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The New Face of Lane Diamond’s “Forgive Me, Alex” – New Book Cover

As I get closer to releasing The Devil’s Bane, book two in the Tony Hooper saga, I felt it was time to give the cover of Forgive Me, Alex a makeover, in order to bring the two covers closer together, thematically.

Thus, I enlisted the help of Mallory Rock, a designer with Evolved Publishing and a freelancer at Mallory Rock’s Art, to create the new cover.

The idea was to make not just the first two covers, but all future covers in the Tony Hooper series, consistent in basic color scheme, font style, etc. It made sense to help readers connect the dots visually.

LD_FMA_TDB_2pk_v2

The new cover for Forgive Me, Alex is already up at Amazon, Apple iTunes-Books, and Smashwords.

The new cover will soon be up at Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, and BookieJar. Additionally, the new print versions will be available by mid-August.

I hope you like it. 🙂

A Shadow on the Mind, A Blemish on the Soul

(Note: I first wrote this several weeks ago as part of a blog hop I participated in. It appears for the first time here.)

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?”

That classic line from the 1930’s serialized radio program, The Shadow, functions as something of a theme for much of my writing. This is particularly true of my novel, Forgive Me, Alex. It also guides a fair portion of what I read.

For me, great literature has always been about great characters, and if I’m going to dig really deep into a character, the author needs to take me… well, really deep inside that character. I want to know what’s in that character’s mind, his heart, his soul. I want to know what scares him, what makes him nervous, what excites him, what motivates him.

Now, to be clear, this requires a level of authenticity that will bring the character to life in a realistic way. However, it needn’t be all puppy dogs and daisies. Let’s face it: there are some real sickos out there. But what makes them sick?

If you heard that a neighborhood kid was stealing people’s pets and first torturing them, then dismembering them, how would you react? Would you say he’s sick? Would you wonder how anyone could even think to do such a thing? Would you fear letting your dog out? Would you call that kid… evil? Yes, I used the E-word. So many today seem to want to hide from the possibility that true evil exists, to explain it away as something else, to make it not a cause, but a mere symptom. Why?

People fascinate me. Specifically, the inner workings of the human brain fascinate me. After all, as human beings, our brains are what separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom. That brain is complex, mystifying, and still largely misunderstood. Indeed, in the medical sciences, the brain is truly the final frontier. For all the extraordinary things they’ve learned about how the brain works in recent years, they’ve still barely scratched the surface.

Human emotions and psychology are particularly difficult to understand. How many times have you scratched your head at another person’s actions, wondering what in the world they must have been thinking, or feeling? Now, imagine a person who has no feelings. Would he be easier to understand? Perhaps. Would he also scare the bejesus out of you? Probably. As well he should.

Let’s return to that kid above who likes to torture and kill the beloved Fido and Mittens. The mere thought of such acts might bring you to tears, turn your stomach, and make you want to grab a baseball bat and pay that kid a visit. For that kid, however, ripping Mittens limb from limb is merely a… curiosity. As a psychopath, he doesn’t process emotions the way you and I do. (Please tell me you’re not curious what it would be like to tear Fido limb from limb.)

Why doesn’t he feel in the same way we do? The cause could be physical, environmental, or… nothing at all. Dare I say it? Some people are just evil.

It’s hard to understand, and it draws us in, perhaps out of our own sick curiosity, natural though it may be. Why is the TV show Criminal Minds, which brings us a weekly parade of some of the worst sickos in our midst, so popular? Setting aside the obvious—great cast, solid acting, exceptional writing—might it be because we’re all, at some level, fascinated by how a human being can do what we ourselves couldn’t even imagine doing, at least not without puking our guts out and collapsing into a weeping mess?

And might that sicko—that twisted, despicable, unrepentant psychopath—make a great character? Oh yeah, baby! Come on… tell the truth: you love reading about that kid who’s sharpening his knife right now, even as he’s eyeing Fido in the neighbor’s yard. At least, you love hating reading about that kid. Or is it hate loving?

Well… let me introduce you to Mitchell Norton, the devil. http://bit.ly/EPbhFMA

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As I prepare to wrap up the year, I look forward to a more engaged 2013.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have a very Happy New Year!

All in all, I’d have to say that 2012 has been an exciting year. It’s certainly been a busy one. Whew!

Those of you who follow my blog (Thank you!) know all too well that I’ve given it short shrift in recent months. I’m not the kind of person who thinks I should be sending you a new blog post every day. Bluch! Who has time to read them? Especially of you’re like me, and subscribe to about 200 of them. So I try to pick my spots, and provide 3 or 4 decent posts a month. Usually. Yeah, the last few months haven’t been so good.

My only real excuse is that I’ve been working insane hours trying to keep up with an insane editing schedule for all those insane authors at Evolved Publishing. (Just kidding! They’re terrific.) Seriously, though, the pace of things at EP this year far exceeded our expectations, which, I must say, certainly beats the alternative. 😀

My business partner D.T. Conklin and I had hoped to have 10 good authors and 20 quality books in EP by the end of 2012. Well, we ended up with 14 and 35, respectively. It’s been a grind, and we experienced a few growing pains — which, in retrospect, seems perfectly natural — yet even with those few challenges, it was just plain exciting! And 2013 promises to be a good year, as we continue to build our catalog of quality authors and books.

2013 will also be exciting for me because we’re making some changes to our management team, which will free up some time for me not only to do all I must do as a publisher, but to write my own books, too. Man, I can’t tell you how excited I am to get back into the writing routine! To say it’s been driving me bonkers that I haven’t been writing would be one of the year’s great understatements.

As part of that, I expect to be more engaged at this here sad excuse for a blog. 🙁 I doubt it will happen in January, but by February, I should be well settled into my new routine. If not, I’m gonna… I’m gonna… well, I’m gonna go truly bonkers.

Next up is the sequel to Forgive Me, Alex (BTW, it’s on sale this week. Save $2.), which I’m calling The Devil’s Bane. Some of my favorite characters (and I hope yours) will be making a return appearance: Tony Hooper, Frank Willow, Diana Gregario, Linda Monroe, Ben Komura, and yes… that despicable Mitchell Norton. Mwoohaha! My hope — nay, my intention — is to publish it on May 21st. A lot will have to go right for that to happen, but I am an eternal optimist. (After all, I’m the guy who assumed my girlfriend quit smoking cigarettes when I started finding cigar butts lying around the house. 😛 )

Will it all happen according to plan? I sure hope so. I mean… err… ahem… yes, it will happen!

In the new year, be happy, be healthy, be safe. Thanks again.

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Hardcover of Psychological Thriller “Forgive Me, Alex” Now Available

You can now get Forgive Me, Alex in hardcover. Just click on the title link.

Or, if you would like to reveive a signed copy, you can simply make your selection below. If you’d like a personalized inscription, please indicate what you’d like written in the special instructions during checkout. Prices include shipping.


USPS Shipping Options for *SIGNED* Hardcover




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