So here we are, roughly a year since the last time I blogged at Errant Ramblings. It’s now become so bad that in my official author bio, rather than simply listing the name of my blog, I add in parenthesis before it: “oft-neglected.” But hey, I’ve been busy with my true crime series!
Which brings me to the main point of this exercise. If you haven’t guessed it by now, I have a new book out – The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals.
I’m thrilled to be adding this third title to my true crime franchise, The Best New True Crime Stories. In fact, I’m working on several more books in the series as we speak, with one to be delivered in August, and at least two more in the publishing pipeline. And I have another book in the series being released just in time for the start of the fall 2021 publishing season – The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge. How I manage to keep everything in my head I have no idea, but my brain cells are constantly on the move. Which could explain what that fizzing sound I’m constantly hearing is…. Either that or all those gigs I went to as a kid have finally taken a toll on my hearing.
Although my new book focuses on criminals who happen to be on the more…errr… mannerly side, they aren’t exactly squeaky-clean individuals you’d fancy having as a next-door neighbour. On the contrary, there are some pretty shady (and deadly) characters gracing the pages. And that’s just my contributing writers!
Good manners or, for that matter, moral codes, are often in the eye of the beholder, so bear that in mind when you read the accounts in this book. What these criminals manage to get away with under the lofty banner of good manners and morality isn’t the same as what you or I can get away with. But it does help to illustrate how and why many of these people were so successful in their criminal careers. Be it slick con men, murderous high-society ladies, deadly mobsters, Robin-Hood types, or those simply down on their luck, the subjects of these stories are an interesting and diverse bunch.
Like the previous volumes in my series, The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals is an international collection of stories spanning several time periods, and the list of contributors is equally as international, with writers hailing from the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Australia, and even India. I’m pleased to be welcoming back some of the writers who appeared in the earlier books as well as newcomers to the series. In this volume, we have the talented pens (or keyboards) of Dean Jobb, Paul Willetts, Anthony Ferguson, Janel Comeau, David Breakspear, T. Fox Dunham, Morgan Barbour, Paul Williams, Deirdre Pirro, Tom Larsen, Shashi Kadapa, David Blumenfeld, and Jackie Barrow. And yes, even I’m in it!
Since I started the series, I’ve been doing Facebook Live events with my contributors, which are a fun way to meet the writers behind the words and learn more about their true crime stories, and why they chose to write them. If you’ve missed any of these livestreaming events, I have them embedded at my website video tab, and they are also available to view on my Facebook page. Just go to the “Videos” tab.
So what are you waiting for? Buy your copy of The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals today. Teddy Tedaloo will thank you for it. After all, who do you think has to pay for all his pints?
