Opinion — Released Today And The Blatant, Very Blatant Book Promotion

They are being called “digital originals” now.  These are books published in e-book format only, or published first in that format and later on paper. 

Released Today

My first digital original, published by the Penguin Group’s imprint, Dutton’s Guilt Edged Mysteries, is Death in the Haight.  It may be regarded as a stand-alone story, but it is related to the San Francisco mysteries that feature Carly Paladino and Noah Lang.  This one is Noah’s story — with, I hope, a tilt toward the early P.I. novels — in keeping with the new imprint.

Death in the Haight is also a novella, which means it is longer than a short story, even a long short story, but shorter than a novel.  The novella is my favorite form — probably closer in size to the pulp P.I. books of the ‘40s and ‘50s.

Noah Lang and his gender-bending friend work for a family trying to find a runaway son.  When the son is accused of murdering a prostitute Lang continues the search at the family’s bequest, but becomes a target of a homicide inspector who has long believed that Lang is dirty. Lang’s “interference” in the case revives the cop’s desire to bring him down.

And because it is short and because it is an ebook and no trees were killed or ink spilled, Death in the Haight is available for a mere $2.99 (high promo mode here). The only hitch is that you have to have a Kindle, Nook or iPad, etc.

And a further note for my friends, the usual disclaimer: I will never know whether you bought this book or not. And I won’t ask.  And if you do and don’t like it, you won’t have to make up some carefully worded note that pits your need to be honest against a desire to spare my feelings.  I’ll never ask.  I promise. However, if you do check it out and you do like it, a multi-star review on Amazon or B&N (or anywhere else) isn’t out of order.

DEATH IN THE HAIGHT by Ronald Tierney

A Dutton Guilt Edged Mystery

On-sale: August 21, 2012 / $2.99 / 9781101610046

Also available from Dutton Guilt Edged Mysteries:

SKIN: A Mike Hammer Story by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins

$2.99 / 9781101595381

and

MURDER IN MUMBAI by K.D. Calamur

$3.99 / 9781101587485

Dutton Guilt Edged Mysteries are available wherever eBooks are sold.

ABOUT DUTTON GUILT EDGED MYSTERIES

From 1947 to 1956, Dutton Guilt Edged Mysteries was a pulp noir publisher that specialized in hard-boiled detective fiction. The imprint published eighty-two novels in ten years, including noir icon Mickey Spillane, whose first seven Mike Hammer novels were published under the Guilt Edged logo. Relaunched in 2012 as a Penguin eSpecial imprint, the program is dedicated to publishing original crime short stories and novellas as eBooks.

Opinion — More Blatant Promotion, Get To Know The Players

We’re still a couple of weeks from the release of Death in the Haight from Penguin's new Dutton Guilt Edged (DGE) Mysteries as they release their first books with this revived imprint. 

If you are at all interested in the idea of getting to know the characters who appear in Death in the Haight, there is a prequel — Mascara, Death in the Tenderloin.  In it, we meet private eyes Noah Lang and his gender-bending, shape-shifting friend Thanh.  And while you can get it in trade paperback, it is also available at $3.99 on Kindle or Nook.

Here’s the cover copy:

“From the very beginning, things just aren’t what they seem. On a late, lonely night, San Francisco private investigator Noah Lang’s eyes deceive him. He makes a mistake. But what should have been simply an embarrassing moment becomes a deadly walk on the wild side. Unfortunately for Lang, before this nightmare is over, he puts his life on the line a second time for a new client who may or may not have a missing husband, who might or might not live on a boat in Tiburon and who seems to have an odd way to settle the bill for services rendered.”

There are also two Carly Paladino and Noah Lang mysteries available from UK publisher Severn House.  Unfortunately Death in Pacific Heights is out of print except for some hard-back books.  The trade paper backs have sold out and they’ve yet to be released in e-book formats. The second in the series, Death in North Beach, is available as an e-book through the usual suspects.

And don’t forget to check the DGE mysteries at their web site as more and more books are released.