In this candid book, Oliver North, the man who was at the center of the Iran-Contra controversy tells the story of his life. He reveals the inside story behind the headlines and stresses the importance of his family and his enduring faith, which saw him through the toughest times.

We have Oliver North IN THE HOUSE!

We're thrilled to announce that we were selected to produce the book versions of Colonel Oliver North's blockbuster bestseller, "Under Fire."  The book has completed production, and is available on Amazon as well as other ebook retailers.  

From Library Journal:  

Written in secret as if it were a covert operation, then suddenly released, this is unquestionably the "event" book of the year. Here, finally, we might expect to get answers to our questions about what became known as "Iran-contra." Was Marine Lieutenant Colonel North a "loose cannon" on the National Security Council, making U.S. foreign policy on his own? And just what did President Reagan really know about Iran-contra? North writes that Reagan "knew everything" about Iran-contra's covert operations. So too did Vice President Bush. Unfortunately, there is no specific document in the book proving that. What there is, however, is a preponderance of material that leads to an inevitable conclusion: North was a hard-working, well-trained, loyal Marine incapable of undertaking a covert operation without approval by his superiors. For the first time, we hear of and read a document sent to Reagan by North's lawyers, setting forth a sound legal argument for a presidential pardon for North. The letter, we learn, was never acknowledged. There are a number of such chilling moments in this important book.

--Chet Hagan, Berks City P.L. System, Pa, Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Available Now on Amazon and other ebook sellers near you.  

Will Chris Bring Home The Watson?  It's Elementary...

Boonook.biz client Chris Grabenstein's Fun House (Pegasus) is in a hot race against Robert Crais' Pike and Cole thriller, Taken, for the highly-coveted Watson award at the 2013 Left Coast Crime Awards.

The Watson is given for the mystery novel with the best sidekick (first awarded in 2011).  The nominees for this year's award are:

• Chris Grabenstein, Fun House (Pegasus)
• Juliet Blackwell, In a Witch’s Wardrobe (Obsidian)
• Robert Crais, Taken (Putnam)
• L.C. Hayden, When the Past Haunts You (CreateSpace)
• Rochelle Staab, Bruja Brouhaha (Berkley Prime Crime)

Attendees at LCC in Colorado Springs will vote by secret ballot during the convention. The winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet.

Fun House features John Ceepak and (his nominated sidekick, Danny Boyle) trying to ride herd on a reality-TV show, ala "Jersey Shore," set up in their seaside resort town.  When a cast member is murdered, Ceepak and Danny have to try to prevent the rest of the cast from meeting the same fate.  Sound like fun?  Check out Fun House on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, Books-A-Million, iBooks and Kobo.  

Discovered by no one less than James Patterson, Chris Grabenstein won the Anthony Award for "Best First Mystery" for his first Ceepak book, Tilt A Whirl.  Chris has produced and published 4 John Ceepak Mysteries (short story Ring Toss, Anthony-winner Tilt-A-Whirl, Mad Mouse and Whack-A-Mole) from his backlist, as well as the kids' novel, The Explorer's Gate with Booknook.biz in digital formats.

Check out Chris' terrific series on Amazon, by clicking here. 

Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award--Cupcakes, Pies and Hot Guys makes it through the first round!

We're having a big month: first Nancy G. West's Fit To Be Dead is nominated for a Lefty, and now Booknook.biz client Pamela DuMond's Cupcakes, Pies and Hot Guys makes it through the first round of Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award. 

About the Book that we're rooting for, here at Booknook: "Annie Graceland's a baker with a pinch of psychic ability. She's empathic--can feel other people's lusts and desires in her own body. No biggie if she experiences someone else's cravings for dark chocolate or a foot massage. But Annie's recently acquired a spookier skill--she can see and talk to ghosts. Much to her dismay, they can also talk to her--nagging her incessantly to solve their murders.

Annie's happily dating hunky Detective Raphael Campillio in Los Angeles, when her mom signs her up to be a judge at Wisconsin's first annual Hot Guys Contest. Who cares if it's 4th of July weekend with scorching temperatures? It's a free trip home to Wisconsin. She can visit family and friends on someone else's dime. What could possibly go wrong? When hometown Hot Guy, Mr. Oconomowoc, is killed and doesn't pass to the Afterlife, he begs Annie to investigate his murder. Now she's not only a pageant judge, but also meddling with suspects that include her former high school rival, an old boyfriend, Hot Guy contestants, a supermodel and a mysterious illegal betting ring. It doesn't help that Detective Jamie Ryan, a boy from Annie's past, is all grown up, sexy as sin, and determined to make her fall for him. Annie's about to discover that going back home could be sweet as frosting or a cake wreck. The temperature's rising at the Hot Guys Contest..."

And it's rising at Amazon, too! Good luck, Pam! Sound good to you? Get the book by clicking here http://amzn.to/15dcebf!

Although this is bittersweet news for us--as we'll be losing a client--it's amazing news for those of you out there toiling on your Indy- and self-published books.  L.J. Sellers, one of the very first Booknook.biz clients for conversion to Kindle and ePUB formats, has just been offered an 11-book contract with Amazon.  Amazon bought her entire backlist of nine novels, plus the next two she'll write.  Even more excitement--Amazon is planning to produce translations, hardbacks, etc., of LJ's bestselling Detective Jackson novels. 

L.J. left her small publisher over four years ago and struck out on her own--and it looks like she made the right choice.  She worked hard, wrote well, and sweated blood and tears marketing her series.  Now Amazon, as her publisher, will obviously take that series and her writing career to a whole new tier.  Our deepest (although sad) congratulations to you, L.J.!

You can read L.J.'s announcement here, on the Crime Fiction Collective Blog (to which we both contribute); if you want to read some of LJ's books on Amazon, you can start by clicking here to go to her Author page.  Want to try the book that started it all?  Give The Sex Club a whirl--and see if you're not caught up right away.

Well done, L.J.--The Crew and Oompa Loompas here at Booknook wish you the best--and I hope to see you at Bouchercon this year. 

One of our favorite clients, Tom Gates, author of Wayward, is celebrating this week; his book has just topped the charts at iBooks, holding down the #1 spot in Travel Books, doing so in a matter of a mere few weeks. Tom talks about his book and experience in this interview in Matador. (n.b.: adult language in the interview). The book is knocking them dead on iBooks as well as Amazon, climbing to Amazon's top-ten in "travel essays," although that description doesn't do it service. Witty, charming, (and a hoot to work with), Tom shows how self-publishing can be the road forward--and a successful one, at that--for those of you with unheard voices.

Tom was also kind enough to give old Booknook.biz a plug, for which we are, of course, grateful.

To find Tom's book on your Amazon Kindle, you can click-thru this link: Wayward: Fetching Tales from a Year on the Road. Don't miss this one!