$25 Gift Card Giveaway to Kick Off the Spanking New Newsletter

Countdown to the Blood, Ash and Bone Release Day continues with -- more ta-da! -- my newsletter, BULLET POINTS. 

A very short,sweet, once-a-month affair, it will have specials and schedules and news and giveaways, starting with this one -- a drawing for a $25 gift card to The Poisoned Pen Bookstore (good in-store or online). I'll be drawing on April 1st from all those signed-up for the mailing list (and if you've already signed up, then congrats! You're already included!).

You don't have to buy anything, promise anything, or pass any quizzes. All you have to do is join the mailing list. Done. You're entered in the drawing.

Click HERE to do just that.

See? Easiest thing you did all day. And I appreciate your support and interest VERY much. Pass it on!

Recipe for a First Draft Weekend

The first draft of my fourth book was born during NaNoWriMo, 50,000 words of random descriptions and wandering dialogue interspersed with kissing, shooting, blackjack, corpses, and one small avalanche. What I didn't have was a plot.

Luckily, all I needed was a literary threesome -- just me and Tai and Trey (who was rather grumpy about being dragged along) -- a hotel with room service, and a long weekend with nowhere to be for two solid days.

Here's the prescription that worked for me -- feel free to adapt as your own work requires.

Location, Location, Location. I got a room with a balcony and THIS was my view to the right -- the iconic IBM Tower, one of the more easily recognizable buildings in the Atlanta Midtown skyline

To the left, the Coca-Cola building accented with a burnt honey sunset

And in front of me, the night-spangled skyline. It was like having a giant big screen TV playing my own private reality show. I half-expected to see a black Ferrari any second.

 I awoke the next morning to a gray rain. Atlanta turns into a map of trouble during any form of precipitation. From my viewpoint, I saw at least two dozen ambulances flying onto I-75, five separate car accidents, three police pullovers, and the inexplicably surreal comings and goings of thousands of people.

There were also black helicopters coming and going in the dense fog. Two separate people claim to have sent them.

It was an excellent morning to open the door to the balcony, let the drizzle kick up a wet revitalizing wind, and get serious about getting to work.

Which I did. But I took a little time first to appreciate the Monet meets Las Vegas landscape.

Isn't this gorgeous?

A little literary inspiration -- Pellegrino, strong coffee and cheap wine

A nice ergonomic work center -- can't stress how important this is

The ugly carpet helped for some reason -- very inspirational

And then Tai noticed THIS down below -- The Varsity. She wouldn't leave me alone until we went down -- in the rain -- and got a Frosted Orange. She wanted a double chili cheese dog and rings, but I refused. Those things come with a side of coronary heart disease and indigestion.

My last morning in the ATL -- I do love this city. And I love being able to be a part of both the real city and the version that lives in my books.

Tai Randolph's Atlanta Vision

When I get into Tai's head, this is what Atlanta looks like -- colorful, surreal, in motion. Gorgeous and provocative. Exactly the kind of place that will get you into beautiful trouble.

Midtown at the Blue Hour: An electrifying shot of Midtown Atlanta taken from Piedmont Park by photographer David Scruggs -- see it and other pieces of his work HERE