Tag Archives: PD Martin

November 13, 2009

What to write next?

Filed under: Writing — Tags: books, PD Martin, Sophie — PD Martin @ 2:07 pm

It seems impossible to think that book 5, Kiss of Death, is done…let alone that it’s the middle of November! How did that happen?

Although I’ve got lots of projects on the go (updating my website, a new interactive e-book (more on that later) and a book trailer for Kiss of Death) I do find myself thinking more and more about the next book. Soon it’ll be time to start researching and writing.

To Sophie, or not to Sophie? That is the question. I’ve got five ideas kicking around taking up valuable space in both my conscious and subconscious. Soon I need to focus on one. But which one?

Book 6 in the Sophie series? A new kick-ass female character with more action and intrigue? A noir-style series featuring Benson from Fan Mail – remember him? Stories from the world of undercover cops/agents? Or another genre entirely? Mmm…..

Simmer, simmer, clunk, clunk (they’re the sound effects currently emanating from my brain). But soon it will be time to turn up the heat and bring something to the boil; and hopefully there’ll be little to no clunking during the writing process!

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November 6, 2009

New blog features, Melbourne Cup, hitman manual

Filed under: PD Martin website,Research,The Killing Hands — Tags: FBI, hitman, hitmen, PD Martin, Sophie Anderson, The Killing Hands — PD Martin @ 9:20 pm

Today I’m launching my new blog features! My web guru has incorporated WordPress into the site, which gives me some of the more standard blog features such as the blog roll, an RSS feed and a comment field.

So go ahead, write something! Yep, scroll down and type. You can do it! And click on the RSS feed button on the left to sign up for the blog feed.

Onto writing…or maybe not….

I have to confess, not much went on this week in the way of writing or author-type activities. I did, however, back Crime Scene in Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup. How could a crime author not put a few bucks on a horse named Crime Scene? And I wasn’t alone, so congrats if you were enough of a crime fiction fan to back the horse.

This week I’ve also fixed up the formatting for The Killing Hands case file. So if you’re interested in some behind-the-scenes info, visit the case file and my references (which includes the somewhat bizarre Hitman Manual for Independent Contractors). One of my favourite extracts is below:

‘Because of their uncanny ability to get into places and situations a man might find hard to duplicate, because of their deceitful, “game-playing” natures, and because a woman can be twice as vicious as a man, a woman can be a better hired executioner than a man.’

So guys, beware…and don’t forget to be nice to your wife this weekend!

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October 23, 2009

Case file – coming along nicely

Filed under: Research,The Killing Hands — Tags: crime scene, FBI, PD Martin, references, Research, The Killing Hands — PD Martin @ 5:51 am

This week I’ve been getting stuck into the case file for The Killing Hands. In fact, I’ll be loading it on the web next week.

Here’s a sneak peak of what you can expect:

Photos – including pics of the crime-scene location and pics of the FBI building in LA and the Coroner’s Office.
References – some of my fascinating references…research, research, research!

Photos

Below is the car park where the victim is found in The Killing Hands.

car park 3-15percent

Comment: The car park was quite a bit smaller (like about one-third of the size) than I’d realized (found it on Google Maps originally), but the building site behind it worked really well with the narrative and crime-scene location.

References (excerpt only)

FBI – Organized crime website

Australian Institute of Criminology’s Contract Killings in Australia

Hitman Manual for Independent Contractors – can download/view via http://rapid4me.com/download.php?f=1557512

The Yakuza in America – TruTV Crime Library

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October 9, 2009

Page proofs and case files

Filed under: Kiss of Death,PD Martin website — Tags: case files, Kiss of Death, PD Martin — PD Martin @ 5:44 am

Well, the page proofs are now sitting on my desk, ready for action! That’s right, Kiss of Death, book 5 in the Sophie Anderson series, is almost ready for the printers here in Australia – sorry, quite a bit longer until press time in other countries

My job now is to do a final proof of the typeset pages and write the acknowledgements – that’s it. Can’t believe it’s almost done. A huge sense of both relief and fear; relief that I’m finished and fear that it’ll soon be entirely out of my hands.

Coming soon – case files

This week I’ve been looking at ways to improve my website and have decided to put up “case files” for The Killing Hands and Kiss of Death. These case files will include photos and videos of the crime-scene locations (taken during my 2008 visit to LA), character lists, research info, references, etc.

I’m aiming to get the case file for The Killing Hands up in time to coincide with its North American release on November 1. I’ll keep you posted!

I’ll also be adding RSS feeds and a comment feature to my blog in the next few weeks.

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July 3, 2009

Sophie’s back!

Filed under: Kiss of Death,Writing — Tags: crime fiction, editorial process, Kiss of Death, PD Martin, Sophie Anderson, Writing — PD Martin @ 4:55 am

Another action-packed week. First off, Fan Mail is now available in the US and Canada! Find out more here:
www.pdmartin.com.au/menu.aspx?mID=3&nID=22

This week I also sent the first three chapters (and the only chapters in existence) of a new book to my agent. It’s not crime fiction, but if she likes it she’ll try to find a publisher for it. Fingers crossed!

This week Sophie also came home – back from my Aussie editor at Pan Macmillan. The editing process is quite a lengthy one, from my first submission in mid June to its 1 January 2010 release date (Australia and New Zealand only).

During this first editorial stage, my editor and publisher give me detailed feedback on the characters, plot and structure of Kiss of Death. So, what sorts of things do they suggest?

Some examples of recommendations for this book include:

Creating more tension between Sophie and some of the other characters
Adding an additional murder/body
Splitting the investigative team in two directions, with Sophie exploring one angle and the police (LAPD) another

Of course, I can’t give you too many details because that might give things away – and I hate spoilers!

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June 26, 2009

Just chillin’…kinda

Filed under: Fan Mail,Kiss of Death — Tags: Fan Mail, Kiss of Death, PD Martin, Sophie Anderson — PD Martin @ 4:52 am

This week’s been a relatively quiet one for me. Book 5 in the Sophie Anderson series, KISS OF DEATH, is currently with my Aussie publishers, Pan Macmillan. It feels a little like Sophie is away visiting – but she’ll be home soon. In fact, I’ll be getting the editorial report next Friday 3 July.

It’s always a nerve-wracking time for an author, and that first week is especially tense. Will the publisher/editor like the book? Will they identify many problems? Luckily I heard back from my editor and although there are some structural issues I need to address, they love the new book! Phew.

KISS OF DEATH release dates are:

Australia, 1 January 2010
North America, 1 August 2010
UK/Ireland, July 2010 (to be confirmed)

But in the meantime, North America and the UK will be publishing books three and four, so if you’re in those parts of the world there’ll be extra Sophie reading between now and 2010.

FAN MAIL was released last month in the UK and Ireland and I’m counting down the days until it’s released in North America. With only four days to go, I’m sure it’s already in some bookstores and has been sent out from online suppliers too. So maybe my American and Canadian readers are already stuck into FAN MAIL!

Despite this little lull, I haven’t been totally slack this week! I’ve been deciding what Sophie book to do next (and researching a few different topics) and I’ve been toying with a new project I started a couple of years ago and might go back to. Sorry, it’s hush-hush for the moment

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May 5, 2009

Launching the new website

Filed under: PD Martin website — Tags: PD Martin, Sophie Anderson, website — PD Martin @ 12:32 pm

Bringing together this website has been a significant achievement and I thought it only fitting that my first blog should cover my new website. For anyone involved in the web business, you know how long it can take to build a new site.

My first task was to think about the website specification. This was quite an informal, short document for me, but obviously with a large, corporate website the spec can be a massive document and must be extremely detailed. My spec covered the new site structure, what I was (and wasn’t) looking for in the design, the website functionality/areas and what I needed from the site’s content management system (CMS).

For the design, I set up a competition at 99designs.com. On this website you post your project, and designers and developers within the community submit a mock-up or two. I was lucky enough to get some great designs, and after much deliberation I went for the design you see on this website. Thanks to Aaron Snowberger for the great design!

Next was the development or back-end of the website. I wanted a CMS so I could add my own content, images, etc. whenever I wanted to. Plus I wanted to expand on the functionality in the old pdmartin.com.au, adding new features to the front end (e.g. a video section, blog, etc.) and to the back-end (e.g. email notification when I answer a reader’s FAQ). This amazing work was done by Gillian Ramsay. Thanks, Gillian!

Next was the content. Handy thing about being a writer – I can write my own content! I was able to use some of the existing content, but also made sure I updated it and added new content as necessary.

The final step was bringing my content into the CMS and testing the website. This process actually took a couple of weeks, partly because it came right in the middle of my final few weeks on the first draft of book five, Kiss of Death.

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