Rebuilding: I found my Barry Award!

In the days after the house fire last August, demolition and salvage crews swept through our home. The garage, attic, and roof were destroyed. Charred debris covered walls and the floor inside. Wet insulation had rained down through holes in the ceiling. Gasoline and plastic-infused smoke had filled the house, ruining most of our furniture and clothes. Shoes in our closet were sitting in an inch of filthy water and firefighting foam — which had saved the bones of the structure, but totaled a lot of our possessions.

The salvage crew swiftly, carefully, almost tenderly swept up items they thought might be saved, and took them away. That included the Barry Award for UNSUB, which was hanging on the wall in my office. I didn’t see it get packed up. I just saw the soot-blackened ceiling, walls, and bookshelves, and feared the worst.

Especially after the salvage crew dragged melted boxes down from the attic, and I found that all my actual copies of UNSUB were literally toast.

So yesterday, when we began unpacking boxes that had been stored for the last year, I was thrilled to discover the Barry Award — safe, sound, and beautiful. It will return to the wall in my newly rebuilt office, and I will look at it with relief and pride and joy, remembering how I felt when I received it.

My next novel: The Dark Corners of the Night

At BookExpo America last week, my publisher, Blackstone, announced my upcoming novel in exciting fashion. That’s me, standing next to a banner at the entrance to the convention, at the Javits Center in New York City.

The Dark Corners of the Night is the third novel in the UNSUB series, featuring FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix. It will be published in early 2020. I’ll have plenty more to tell you about it in the coming months. For now, know that I’m thrilled you’ll be reading it next winter.

A reminder: My books

    

      

      

      

Every now and then, readers ask how many books I’ve written, and what the titles are. Here’s the list as of February 2019. Into the Black Nowhere is the most recent. Click on each cover to learn more about each title.

And if you want to know the order in which they’ve been published, here you go. From first to fourteenth:

Evan Delaney novels:
China Lake
Mission Canyon
Jericho Point
Crosscut
Kill Chain

Jo Beckett novels:
The Dirty Secrets Club
The Memory Collector
The Liar’s Lullaby
The Nightmare Thief

Stand alone novels:
Ransom River
The Shadow Tracer
Phantom Instinct

UNSUB novels:
UNSUB
Into the Black Nowhere

Happy reading, y’all.

UNSUB and Into the Black Nowhere and a bestseller list

How absolutely wonderful to see both UNSUB and Into the Black Nowhere on the list of Oklahoma’s Top Ten Best-sellers. Thanks once again to my home state for reading the heck out of my novels.

And thanks to Best of Books for the photo. They may still have some signed copies of my books in stock, if you’re itching to grab one, or a few.

This weekend: Texas Book Festival

This weekend I’ll be at one of Austin’s biggest annual events: the Texas Book Festival. They’re expecting 40,000 people at the festival over the weekend, which is a whole lot of book love.

If you’re anywhere nearby, I hope you’ll stop by and say hello.

Texas Book Festival
October 27-28, 2018
Austin, Texas

My schedule:

Noir at the Bar at Lit Crawl Austin
Saturday, October 27, 8 PM
Stay Gold, 1910 E. Cesar Chavez Street
MysteryPeople presents a round of hip, hard-boiled, nitty-gritty noir readings with crime fiction authors. With Meg Gardiner, Lou Berney, and more.

A Trio of Texas Crime Writers
Sunday, October 28, 2:00 PM – 2:45 PM
Texas Tent (Congress and 8th Street)
Serial killers, psychological thrills, and page-turning mystery spin from the pens of three of Texas’s most talked about crime fiction writers. Join them for a big conversation about writing the dark side. With Jeff Abbott, Meg Gardiner, and Julia Heaberlin

Come on down, y’all!

Thanks, Oklahoma

I had a fabulous time at the inaugural Oklahoma Book Festival. It was great to get back to my hometown, and to share a sunny autumn day with thousands of people who wanted to hear authors talk about books. I’ll admit that before my panel, I got concerned when the front row filled up with little kids. I was there to talk about Into the Black Nowhere, which isn’t exactly a children’s book. Then a baffled mother asked, “Is this the Extreme Animals presentation?”

Well, the novel is a cat-and-mouse psychological thriller, but that wasn’t what she wanted to know. Eventually, the families all got directions to the correct tent.

One of the great things about any book festival is getting the chance to see other authors. I was lucky to catch up with Lou Berney, a fellow Oklahoman and Edgar winner, whose new novel November Road is one of the best things I’ve read all year.

As you can see from the top photo, I signed stacks of books. They were supplied by Best of Books, a fabulous local independent bookstore. Let me tell you, those booksellers worked for days to set up the festival book tent. On Saturday they were out before sunrise, hauling boxes of books onto the display tables. They deserve massive thanks and a huge round of applause.

And if you’d like to order any signed copies of my novels, Best of Books has them. And they ship. You can order online, by phone, or in person, of course. Support local independent bookstores!

Best of Books
Kickingbird Square
1313 East Danforth Road
Edmond, OK 73034
Phone: (405)-340-9202

(Photo with Lou Berney courtesy of Joe Hight)

Apple Books, Great American Read, Slate News Quiz

Here’s a roundup of links and goings-on in my corner of the book world.

Apple Books asked major authors what they’re reading. Don Winslow had this to say: “UNSUB by Meg Gardiner is as smart and scary as The Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon. This book is unputdownable. An amazing read.”

For which, I am thrilled and grateful.

On Sunday, October 7th, I’ll be at Book People in Austin to discuss this week’s episode of PBS’ The Great American Read, “Villains and Monsters.” Come on down to hear who my favorites are. Then vote for your favorite book.

And finally, I was startled and pleased to find myself in the Slate News Quiz. My name is one of the possible answers in a multiple choice question, and if you take the quiz, you’d better get Question 9 correct.

UNSUB: Get the ebook for $1.99

Hey, y’all: For a limited time, UNSUB is available as a promotion through BookBub. Right now you can get the ebook for $1.99.

Yes, this is the novel that just won the 2018 Barry Award for Best Thriller.

It’s available via Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, and Google Books. Get ’em while they’re hot.

BookBub ebook deal: UNSUB by Meg Gardiner

UNSUB wins the Barry Award!

I’m absolutely delighted that UNSUB has won the 2018 Barry Award for Best Thriller. I’m proud of this book, and so happy that I could attend Bouchercon, where it was awarded.

Thanks to my publisher, Dutton; Jessica Renheim, who edited the novel; my stellar publicist Jamie Knapp; my agent Shane Salerno; and of course to Paul Shreve, for being the Husband, and putting up with everything that goes along with writing a novel and living with a novelist.

It was especially gratifying to be chosen from among such a stellar list of nominees. All the nominated novels are amazing. In particular, I was truly honored to be on this list with Thomas Perry’s The Old Man. Tom and his future wife Jo Perry were the editors for the first short story I ever published, in the UC Santa Barbara literary magazine. To have UNSUB nominated alongside his book means more than I can express.

And many thanks to Catriona McPherson for capturing my surprise.

UNSUB: Spanish edition coming

Here’s some news, and a cover reveal. The Spanish edition of UNSUB will be published in June.

I’m excited. And I love the cover, which is evocative and chilling. The title translates as Messages from Hell. 

UNSUB nominated for a Barry Award

I’m thrilled — well, way past thrilled — that UNSUB has been nominated for a Barry Award for Best Thriller.

The Barry Awards are given at Bouchercon, the annual World Mystery Convention. The winners will be announced September 6th at the Bouchercon 2018 Opening Ceremonies in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Now, the kicker: Anybody who subscribes to or reads Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine is eligible to vote for the winners of the Barry Awards. The deadline for votes is August 6, 2018. You’re permitted one vote per category, for a total of four possible votes.

You can vote by e-mailing your choices to george@deadlypleasures.com.

2018 Barry Award Nominees:

Best Novel
THE LATE SHOW, Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER, Karen Dionne (Putnam)
EXIT STRATEGY, Steve Hamilton (Putnam)
THE FORCE, Don Winslow (Morrow)
PRUSSIAN BLUE, Philip Kerr (Putnam)
MAGPIE MURDERS, Anthony Horowitz (Harper)

Best First Novel
THE DRY, Jane Harper (Flatiron)
SHE RIDES SHOTGUN, Jordan Harper (Ecco)
THE LOST ONES, Sheena Kamal (Morrow)
THE IRREGULAR, H. P. Lyle (Quercus)
A RISING MAN, Abir Mukherjee (Pegasus)
MY ABSOLUTE DARLING, Gabriel Tallent (Riverhead)

Best Paperback Original
SAFE FROM HARM, R. J. Bailey (Simon & Schuster UK)
THE DEEP DARK DESCENDING, Allen Eskens (Seventh Street)
HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE, Kellye Garrett (Midnight Ink)
THE DAY I DIED, Lori Rader-Day (Morrow)
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, Kristi Belcamino (CreateSpace)
SUPER CON, James Swain (Thomas & Mercer)

Best Thriller
GUNMETAL GRAY, Mark Greaney (Berkley)
SPOOK STREET, Mick Herron (Soho)
THE FREEDOM BROKER, K. J. Howe (Quercus)
THE OLD MAN, Thomas Perry (Mysterious Press)
UNSUB, Meg Gardiner (Dutton)
TRAP THE DEVIL, Ben Coes (St. Martin’s)

I’m honored to see my novel on the list with such great books. Congratulations to all the nominees!

Out now in paperback: UNSUB

Happy New Year! 2018 kicks off for me with the paperback edition of UNSUB, published today.

I’m delighted that the novel has been so well received by readers — thank you! You’re the reason I write. Without you, my career wouldn’t be possible.

And I’ve been thrilled that UNSUB landed on a bunch of year-end Best Of lists:

Literary Hub: The Best Crime Books of 2017

BookPage: The Ten Best Mysteries and Thrillers of 2017

LitReactor: LitReactor Staff Picks: The Best Books of 2017

The Real Book Spy: The Real Book Spy’s Best Books of 2017

KAZI Book Review with Hopeton Hay (KAZI 88.7 FM Austin): KAZI Book Review’s Favorite 14 Books of 2017

Crimespree Magazine: The publisher’s 2017 favorites

Murder by the Book: Sally’s Top Ten

I’m honored — and happy on behalf of the novel. It’s like seeing one of my kids bring home a science fair ribbon. I’m really grateful.

And, if you got gift cards or certificates for the holidays, you can start the new year by ordering UNSUB. I certainly won’t stop you.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

Get signed, personalized books for the 2017 holidays

      
      
      

The holidays are coming up, and of course you’re contemplating giving books as gifts to everyone you know and love. Right?

If you’d like to get copies of my novels, you can now arrange for me to scribble in them, no matter how far away you live or whether you catch me in person when I have a pen in my hand. Thanks to my fantastic local bookstore, Book People in Austin, you can order signed, personalized copies of my novels. The store ships across the USA and internationally.

Book People doesn’t have a hard deadline for holiday shipping, but the sooner you order, the better.

UPDATE! Book People says:

To ensure orders make it somewhere in time for Christmas, we ask that they be placed before (not on) December 19th at the absolute latest. Making an order that late would require UPS shipping, our more expensive option, so customers looking to ship through USPS should place orders before the 12th to be sure they make it on time. UPS shipping typically takes 3 to 5 business days and USPS typically takes 5 to 10 business days.

If you’d like to order copies of my books and have me sign them, call (512) 472-5050 or CLICK HERE.

And once you order my books, you can keep on going and order books by other authors as well. Book People has a whole store full of them. What are you waiting for?

Editing: from idea to printed page

My next novel, Into the Black Nowhere, will be published in early 2018. It’s almost ready to go. I spent this week proofreading the “first pass” of the typeset pages.

Editing, like everything else in writing, is a process. It’s a back-and-forth: between me and my ideas; with my agent and editor; with the copyeditor and proofreader; and, finally, with my own judgment that the novel in its entirety — the story, structure, characters, suspense, pacing, voice, and wording of every sentence — is the best I can make it.

Each step in the process comes with its own challenges. And each version of the story I write gets comments. For this novel — the sequel to UNSUB — here’s how the notes and editorial suggestions I’ve received have evolved.

Outline:

• This novel is a cat-and-mouse thriller in which Caitlin Hendrix pursues a charming, devious killer across the western US. Why do you insert a convoluted subplot about one victim’s greedy grandparents attempting to steal an inheritance?
• The mid-novel murder is dramatic, splashy, and completely predictable. What if you flipped the situation on its head?

(Me: If I do that… hey! A whole fresh, unexpected plot line appears.)

First draft:

• The pace in the first half is, to put it kindly, leisurely. Okay, it’s slow. Remember the reviews you got for UNSUB, which praised its tautness and drive? Yeah, do that again.
• The ending needs more brains, less brawn. For instance: Why is Caitlin clinging to the roof rack of a careening SUV? Get her off of there. Now.

Second draft:

• So many cops! So many FBI agents! New ones seem to pop up every few pages. They roam the novel in groups, holding constant conversations. Send some of them home.
• Why does one character describe a life-and-death struggle after the fact, through dialogue? You’re missing a chance to show a badass fight. WRITE THE SCENE.

Final draft:

• SO MUCH WEATHER.

Copyedited manuscript:

• Does this scene take place on Wednesday? (Me: Yes. Obviously.)
• Are you positive this scene takes place on Wednesday? (Me: Completely.)
• Then why is it still Tuesday? (Me: GAH.)

First pass pages:

• Me: Delete “fast.” Insert “quick.”
• Me: Delete “printout.” Insert “documents.”
• Me: Delete “asshole.” Insert: “jackass.”

As I said, it’s a process.

And, if you want to see how I put all these suggestions into practice, you can preorder the novel.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound