NOW AVAILABLE IN MORE JOINTS

For those interested in reading it on their Nook, iPad, or other devices, The Girl with the Cat Tattoo is now available through iTunes, B&N, Kobo, and Amazon.

Links:

iTunes

B&N

Amazon

Kobo 

Praise for The Girl with the Cat Tattoo:

DABWAHA (Dear Author Bitchery Writing Award for Hella Good Authors) 2013 Finalist!!!

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Dear Author Recommended Read:
"It isn't until the end that I realize how powerful the story I've just read is, and how much it has affected me. And that's when I know that if Theresa Weir decides to write her next book from the POV of a not-very-bright goldfish who lives in a studio apartment in Omaha, I'll preorder it as soon as they let me." Grade: A- ~Sunita, Dear Author

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Romance Around the Corner:

5 stars: "One of the best stories I've read this year." 

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Wonk-O-Mance: Certified Wonktastical! "It's just enough heart-wrenching. Very sweet, emotional, with no melodrama. Okay, there were some intentionally melodramatic parts. But the silly parts were silly and the sweet parts were sweet."

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Dear Author Top Reads of 2012

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For cat lovers everywhere, this sweet, quirky, and delightful romance is about a young woman and her matchmaking cat.

A little bit of mystery, a whole lot of whimsy. 

Brief synopsis:

When a matchmaking cat takes it upon himself to find his young mistress a new mate, he accidentally stirs up memories better left forgotten.
Melody's husband was murdered by what seemed a random act of violence. Two years later, the killer hasn't been caught, and Melody is coping in unhealthy ways. During the day she's a mild-mannered children's librarian, but at night she's a party girl, hanging out in bars, drinking with new friends, and often bringing home strange men. Although acquaintances have tried to keep in touch, Melody has cut herself off from most of the people in her old life. Max, her eccentric cat, doesn't approve of her new friends, he's tired of the parade of losers, and he finally takes it upon himself to find Melody a new man.

This book is 30,000 words, which equates to about 150 print pages.

Enlightened and The Walking Dead

On the surface, my two favorite TV shows don't seem to have much in common.

Enlightened and The Walking Dead.

Enlightened has been cancelled, which I guess is why I'm writing this. I'm really bummed, and I wish more people had tuned in. I almost didn't tune in, because the title didn't appeal to me. I thought it was going to be some sappier version of Touched by an Angel, so I went almost the whole first season without watching. One  night when I could find nothing on, I stumbled across E and was amazed by the honesty, the directing, the acting, and the writing—the voiceover being some of the best writing I've run into in a long time.  And I discovered that Mike White was the genius behind the show, and then it all made sense. So I started telling people about E, and their reaction was the same as mine… Didn't think it was anything they'd like. So yeah, I think the title was…while appropriate, also misleading. I also think HBO did a poor job of advertising. They didn't see to know how to portray such a quiet, internal gem.

It took me longer to get into The Walking Dead.  All the silly blood and gore mislead me for a while, and it took some time for me to recognize that this show is really well-done, and the character development is pretty damn awesome.  The best horror is a commentary on society

 and The Walking Dead does that very well.  And both shows deal with redemption and strength-of-character.

I'm sorry Enlightened will be no more, and my heart goes out to everyone who worked so hard to create such a beautiful piece of art.

 This is what I think they should do. I think a mashup of The Walking Dead and Enlightened would make for a delightful baby. The characters from The Walking Dead end up at Abaddonn. Or if that seems too hard, just put some zombies in Enlightened. Chop off some zombie heads, stomp some zombie heads, then blow us away with a philosophical voiceover that shines a light on the very core of who we are, or at least who we'd like to be.

DABWAHA

You don't know how many times I've started a post about DABWAHA, but I can't figure out where to begin because it's so hard to explain.  It's a March Madness tournament for books, and The Girl with the Cat Tattoo was one of the 64 books chosen to compete. My cat book won the first bracket, but it's struggling in the second round so I'm begging for votes.  I hear that anything is acceptable in this tournament. Writers bribe and trash talk and make videos.  My online friend and fellow writer explains it a million times better in her blog post:

Ruthie Knox

It's hilarious, so be sure to check it out.

The thing is... I'm up against Ruthie today, and I don't think Cat Tattoo has a prayer, but I'm begging for votes.

Voting ends at noon Central Time today, Saturday.

You don't have to register to vote. Just pop over and hit the vote button.

VOTE HERE

I told myself I wouldn't beg for votes, but it's close, Ruthie is winning, and I'm on my knees.  

GUEST POST BY PAT DENNIS

Friend and writer Pat Dennis is visiting my blog today to talk about her 

new cozy just out from  Forty Press.  This is a really fun read, and I wrote the cover blurb!  

From Pat:

The words slipped out of my mouth yesterday morning before I could stop them. They landed directly in earshot of a mother and daughter team selling Thin Mints at my front door. I began, “It’s kind of funny you’re doing this. because I’m a novelist, and in my novel . . .”

I realized what I was about to admit and forced myself to stop talking. In Murder by Chance, a pivotal moment in the narrator’s life happens when a ten-year old appears on her step. When Betty Chance opens the door, the young girl’s eyes travel up and down Betty’s ample body and she states, “I bet you’ll buy a dozen boxes,” or something like that. Until that very moment, Betty had no idea either how heavy she was, or that she’d be capable of slamming a door on a Girl Scout.

I immediately realized I couldn’t tell the rest of the story to the beaming face on my doorstep. Instead I bought two boxes of cookies and sent the two females on their way, each of them probably wondering why I said I was a novelist and then stopped in mid-sentence. To be honest, I was a bit shocked at what I said as well.

It was the first time that I used the phrase, ”I am a novelist.” It almost felt like a lie.

I’ve always referred to myself as a writer, even when I didn’t write, most of us who are scribblers do. The sense of my being a writer was engraved in my DNA. I cannot remember a time when I didn’t define myself that way. I spent my high-school years collecting rejections slips. My first poem was published at seventeen years of age in the Hartford Courant Journal, and my first novel Murder by Chance (other than one I self-published) was published this month, forty-eight years later.

The reviews of Murder by Chance, so far, have been wonderful. The fact that it’s been called“ highly entertaining” and “an engaging romp” tickles my aging fancy. I’ve had nice reviews before for many of my published short stories, but this is the first novel. This is the book that family can display on their shelves. This is the book that I will mention when people ask skeptically, “Have you been published?”

“Why yes, I have a novel out. It’s called. . . . ”

I have been waiting to say for five decades. Know what? Even though it took a long, long time, it still feels pretty damn good to utter the words, “I’m a novelist.”

I might even have a Thin Mint or two to celebrate.

About Pat: 

Pat Dennis is the author of a collection of short stories titled Hotdish To Die For. She is the contributing editor for Who Died in Here? and Hotdish Haiku. She is the author of her self-published e-book, Stand Up and Die. Her short stories are included in Anne Frasier’s Deadly Treats, The Silence of! the Loons, Resort to Murder, Once Upon A Crime anthology, Writes of Spring, Minnesota Monthly, Woman’s World, and more. Her latest novel Murder by Chance is published by Forty Press. She is also working with Adventure Publications to discover new authors for their debut line of mystery fiction, set in the wilderness or aimed toward the outdoor sports enthusiast. 

Pat will be signing copies of Murder by Chance this Wednesday, March 20, 7:00 at Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis.

She'll also be signing at Excelsior Bay Books in Excelsior, Minnesota, on April 13, 1:00.

Murder by Chance can also be purchased in ebook or print from most online stores or any indie bookseller.

WHAT A LONG, STRANGE TRIP IT'S BEEN

I'm kind of known for being pretty straight-forward, and for saying things other people tend to keep to themselves, but I've been doing a lot of keeping my mouth shut over the past year and a half. I've gotten a good look at traditional publishing in a way I'd never experienced before. I worked with some wonderful people, but I have to admit that traditional publishing has a very insular feel to it. The Orchard did well by most standards, but didn't reach the level of national attention my publishing house and agent had hoped for. No morning show appearances, no New York Times review.

But something totally weird and unexpected happened a couple of weeks ago. I made the New York Times bestseller list. And not for The Orchard, but for The Man Who Left. I've been in this business thirty years, and never had a book hit the New York Times list until now.

On top of that,  The Girl with the Cat Tattoo is a DABWAHA finalist. This blows me away, and it's humbling and gratifying to know that people are embracing this book that I considered an underdog. Or undercat.  People read the book. People want me to finish the second one. (I hope to get back to it this summer. Fall, at the very latest, which would mean a 2014 release.)

You can grab The Girl with the Cat Tattoo for free on Amazon. At the moment, it's only available on Amazon, but you'll be able to find it everywhere April 1.  In fact, I'll be pulling most of my titles out of Amazon Select over the next several months, so this is probably the last time The Girl with the Cat Tattoo will ever be free, and I doubt any of my other titles will ever be free again, but who knows?

And all of this taking place in an unsteady time of my career.  I've been without an agent for about a year, and I'm feeling more okay about that.  It's a weird time for agents, and many are having trouble finding solid footing in this new publishing world.

Today I just received a copy of a newly signed contract,  a two-book deal. No agent involved.  I've been keeping this somewhat under wraps, but I can now share it.  It's for a Play Dead reissue, and a sequel to Play Dead which will be out in 2014.

It's an exciting time to be a writer. It really is. Scary, but exciting.  Writing without a net.

MAN WALKS INTO A BAR...

Saturday evening, March 9, I attended a lovely launch event for Forty Press. The party was held at a just as lovely bookstore in Wayzata, Minnesota, called the Bookcase.  The place was packed, and at one point I decided to use the restroom, which is located in the back of the store. When I stepped inside, I immediately noticed that the handle for the toilet was lying on the back of the tank, and the toilet itself had suffered from many non-flushes in a row. Now this is absolutely no reflection on the bookstore. These things happen, and I imagine the handle experienced a lot of use that evening. It just gave out. So I rolled up my sleeves, removed the lid from the tank, reached in, and manually flushed.

I regret being unable to repair the toilet, but I think it will require a whole new handle.  But anyhow…

Now I can't quit thinking about something that used to happen at my uncle's bar in Illinois.

 A guy walks into a bar… Goes straight to the men's room. Comes out. Orders a beer. Drinks it fairly quickly. Leaves. No tip. Very little conversation. Next person to go into the men's room comes out and says: "The toilet seat is broken."

That's not the end of the story.

Over a period of a year, the guy returned several times.  And every time he returned, he broke the toilet seat. My uncle began relating this story to other bar owners in the area. They knew the guy, and he did the same thing at their bars.  Toilet Seat (as we began calling him) wasn't a big guy, so the consensus was that the breaking of the seat was some kind of deliberate and weird fetish.   I'd completely forgotten about Toilet Seat until the other night.