Once upon a time my life’s goal was to read every book in the library. I was devastated when I realized that was impossible. I’m still trying to read as many as as I can, though. I rely on lists of books to keep my own “To Be Read” list current and full of titles from many genres. I subscribe to the Shelf Awareness news via Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins, CO. You can sign up for their newsletter at the bottom of the web page. The lists of new releases from Mystery Writers of America each month is excellent. The list is published on the website. International Thriller Writers does the same in their newsletter. You can sign up even if you’re not a member. For more book lists in all genres, a simple Google search turned up these sites for May . My personal favorite is the monthly blog post from Lesa’s Book Critiques where she describes the month’s treasures in her closet. With cover art and short synopses, this librarian/book reviewer gives a sneak peek at upcoming releases, mos...

Thank you to Dani for inviting me to talk about my self-publishing experience. Going the self-pub route had not been my original choice. I had what I thought was an awesome idea for a young adult novel—two kids realize they’ve been living inside To Kill a Mockingbird for the past five years, and they undertake an adventure through great literature to find their real home and parents—and I wrote it. My agent loved it, I mean dropped the “F” bomb on the phone with me she loved it so much, but she couldn’t find a home for it. Publishers gave us positive feedback but said that ultimately, they couldn’t sell teenagers on classic literature. Now, I’ve traditionally published seven mysteries, with the eighth coming out in October. I also serve on the national board of the Mystery Writers of America. I’ve got some hard-earned publishing knowledge, and I’d been hearing the same buzz as everyone else: self-publishing is big. It’s huge. It’s the future. You can write a book and quit your job c...