The Time to Kill - Review roundup

Some more great reviews are in for The Time to Kill and I'm relieved that people seem to love it so far!

I've posted some snippets below and you can click through for the full reviews:

Crime Fiction Lover

"Carter Blake is an excellent character. He’s tough but can compromise, intelligent, resourceful without being ridiculous. In other words, believable ... The novel itself clips along. Although there are three strands to the story they don’t get confused. The chapters are short, the prose is punchy and fast moving making this a proper page turner which maintains a furious pace without draining the reader."

Crime Thriller Girl

"THE TIME TO KILL is an adrenaline rush from the first page to the last. Blake is a terrific action hero – he’s smart, agile, and although prefers not to kill people (even the bad guys) he’ll fight as hard as it takes to make sure the good guys win.

"Packed with stunning set-piece action sequences, and an emotional punch as you discover more of the rather mysterious Blake’s backstory, this cinematic action thriller is like reading Reacher crossed with Bourne plus added fabulousness. It’s a total must read. In fact, stop what you’re doing right now and start reading it – you won’t regret it!"

Liz Loves Books

"Carter Blake gets compared to Reacher an awful lot (he’s better)  – for me he is more Jack Bauer (he’s still better) but you should probably ignore both of those and just let this series be what it is.  A set of bloody brilliant thrillers with heart, more complex at the roots than they appear on the surface,  that honestly I hope go on for as long as the aforementioned Reacher has.  Longer. Its fine. Carter can kill people with the zimmer no problem."

Peterborough Evening Telegraph

"This helter-skelter thriller fulfils the promise of the first two books featuring former secret agent Carter Blake"

(If you're wondering, the answer to the competition is Narrow Margin, which I've never seen but always meant to.)

I was also really pleased to be picked for the Sunday Post's top 10 thrilling reads for summer (along with a feature on me and a picture of me trying to look menacing in an alley). Considering their other picks include Stephen King, Lee Child, Val McDermid and Harlan Coben, it's very nice company to be in. Good to see Steve Cavanagh's awesome The Defence represented too.

And to round things off, a nice feature in the Daily Record Book Club about the new book.

The Time to Kill is out now in the UK and you can get it from the following places:

Trade paperback (large format)
Waterstones
Amazon
WHSmith

ebook
Kindle
iBook
Kobo
Google Play

audiobookAudible

It's going to be published in the United States in February with a change of title (or rather, with the original title), so American readers can pre-order Winterlong right now.

I've had a sneak peek of the American cover and it's awesome, so stay tuned for that reveal, along with some other plans I have for the Stateside release...

An Author's Guide to Surviving a Signing

Courtesy of Lisa Gray

So the launch of The Time to Kill took place at Waterstones in Argyle Street, Glasgow on the evening of 29th June. It went really well, thanks to some skilled questioning by fellow author Douglas Skelton and a great turnout from supportive friends, readers and bloggers.

After the excitement had died down, it got me thinking that one of the things I’ve learned since the publication of my first novel, The Killing Season, is that there’s a lot more to a signing event than, well, signing.

There are many different formats to author appearances, from panel discussions with other writers, to Q&As, to solo ‘An evening with…’ style events. There are some features common to almost all, though, and like all good boy scouts know, it’s important to be prepared.

With that in mind, here are my eight top tips for surviving a signing:

1. Expect the unexpected

A lot of times, you’ll be asked the same questions:

“Where do you get your inspiration?”
“Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?”
“Do you put people you know in your novels?”

In my experience, though, there’s always an unexpected question at every event. Like the opening question from a book group I attended: “What is wrong with you?”

2. Water

If it’s an event that involves you giving a reading or talk, and / or answering questions, one thing is guaranteed: you’ll be doing a lot of talking, and it helps to keep your voice lubricated.

3. Keep the reading short

I’ve been surprised to find that some authors absolutely hate giving a reading. Having done a few myself now, I understand why – reading your work out loud in front of an audience is a completely different skill from writing it. It’s a performance. Given that writing is a fairly solitary profession, it can be disconcerting to have an entire roomful of people staring at you.

I don’t love readings, but I don’t hate them either, and I think I’m getting better at it with practice. Besides, the reading is a pretty effective hook to hang the rest of the event on, and it gives you a chance to showcase some of your best work.

Unless you’re a gifted performer (and even then…) my advice is to keep the reading short. The last thing you want is a portion of your audience falling asleep. 3 minutes is ideal, 5 is probably the maximum.

Courtesy of Gordon from the Grab This Book blog

4. Ask the audience some questions

This was a great tip given to me by Sarah Ward, and it works a treat. Try asking the audience a few general questions near the start. What kind of genres do they read besides crime? Do they prefer to read on paper or ebook? Stuff like that. Nothing challenging, like asking for their 12 point plan to bring about world peace.

It warms them up and gets them used to a bit of back and forth. This pays dividends when you’re looking for their questions later on.

5. It’s nice to split the work

An interview is a good format - having someone conversing with you about your book and asking some more structured questions about your work. Douglas was great a couple of weeks ago, and at my previous launch, Craig Robertson even sprung a surprise quiz on me, which I failed miserably. It’s fun to have another writer or journalist on stage with you, not least because it halves the amount of time you’ll be speaking.

Courtesy Gordon again! 

6. You can’t predict how well-attended a particular event will be, but it doesn’t really matter

I’ve done events with over 100 people and events where only 3 people have turned up, and thoroughly enjoyed both. You can tweet and blog and Facebook about upcoming events to your heart's content, but you will never know what the turnout will be like until you get there.

The bottom line is, if one person shows up, they’ve made an effort to be there, so you have to show them a good time. And besides, that person might tell a bunch of their friends how great your book is. And how unfazed and down-to-earth you were about the fact that nobody showed up.

7. Bring a pen

Kind of obvious this one, but it’s difficult to sign a copy of your book without one. It’s your call what type of pen to use – a good old fashioned Sharpie is my standby – but I’ve seen authors use bespoke stamps and different coloured pens to be a little fancier. The most important thing is, make sure whatever you write with uses permanent ink and won’t smudge.

8. Always, always, ask how the person you're signing for spells their name

Even if the person tells you they’re called Tom, there’s a chance their name may actually be Thom.

That's it for now. If you came along to the launch, thanks again. If you missed it and would like to come along to a future event, check out my events page where you'll find details of my upcoming whereabouts from the Harrogate festival to an Oxfam bookshop.

And if you'd like me to come and speak near you, just ask your local library or bookshop to get in touch, I love to go to new places.

Publication day: The Time to Kill

The Time to Kill is published by Orion today in the UK and some other territories. It's out in the US on 7 February next year, published under its original name.

I think this is my favourite book yet, and I can't wait to see if readers agree! So far, the advance word is pretty great.

Here's where you can buy the new Carter Blake book in your preferred format:

Trade paperback

Waterstones 

Amazon

WHSmith

Hive

ebook

Kindle

Kobo

iBooks

Google Play

Audiobook

Audible

Or, if you'd like to win a free signed copy of the trade paperback, click through to the Goodreads giveaway and register before July 14 - open to readers in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Time to Kill

by Mason Cross

Giveaway ends July 14, 2016.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

I'm going to be out and about doing events over the next few months, so don't forget to sign up to the mailing list for the latest news. Happy reading!

The Time to Kill - early blogger reviews

Did I mention how much I love book bloggers?

With the decline in print media combined with a massive increase in the number of books being made available (both new and backlist, traditional and indie), it's tougher than ever for a new author to get his or her work noticed by readers. That's why book bloggers are one of the few developments of the digital revolution in publishing that's an unqualified blessing. If these guys love a book, they'll make sure readers know about it.

So I'm really pleased that the first few blog reviews of The Time to Kill are in, and so far it's going down amazingly well. These are just snippets, but please click through to read the full reviews of my book and many others.


"Those of us who have enjoyed the previous two Carter Blake books have been waiting for the showdown with his former employers with baited breath and it certainly did not disappoint."

- Love is a State of Mind

"This novel from the author of The Killing Season and The Samaritan takes a simple idea, pitting a resourceful fugitive against multiple opponents and overwhelming odds and pushes it to its limits. The result is a thriller with pace and action to spare and a new series character with significant potential."

- Shots Blog

"The writing was fast paced and so much so that I had to slow myself down at times as I wanted to keep up the pace of the storyline! For those who haven’t read the rest of the series there is enough information there that you are not left feeling confused; I found it easy to connect with the characters and really feel the intensity that Blake felt as he pitted himself against the bad guys!

"Heart pounding, gut wrenching, sweaty palm kind of book – what a hell of a rollercoaster!"

- Chapter In My Life blog

The advance word is amazingly good on Goodreads too - lots of reviews already and a frankly astonishing rating average of 4.84. Long may that continue!

On a less-positive technology-related note, I've had some readers telling me they've received a cancellation from Amazon on their preorder of the new book from back when it was still called Winterlong.

No need to worry, it hasn't been cancelled, it's still out on 30 June in the UK and some overseas territories, and you can preorder it right here. Would have been nice if Amazon had told people about that part, but hey ho...

Author copies!

One of my absolute favourite things about being an author, as I've said before, is the day the new book gets delivered.

It makes all the hard work worthwhile when you can touch the tangible proof that an idea you had a couple of years ago is really going to become a real-live novel.

If I ever don't get excited by this, I'll know it's time to quit.

 The Time to Kill is published in the UK on June 30, and there's also an export version for overseas territories like Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The American edition will be published by Pegasus early next year.

Spot the difference...

Trade paperback

Waterstones 

Amazon

WHSmith

Hive

ebook

Kindle

Kobo

iBooks

Google Play

Audiobook

Audible

Bloody Scotland - (Not) Born in the USA

The Bloody Scotland 2016 programme is launched today and I'm delighted to be appearing at this awesome festival for the third time.

I'm on with my Orion partner in crime Steve Cavanagh and also GJ Brown at the following event:

(Not) Born in the USA

Sunday 11 September from 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm | £7.50/£6.50

Despite being two Scots and a Northern Irishman, G. J. Brown, Steve Cavanagh and Mason Cross chose to set their crime novels in the good old US of A. Their pacy, high-octane thrillers are straight off the Hollywood playbook but have they really earned their stars and stripes? California-based Scot Catriona McPherson will find out if they can tell their APB from their BOLO. 


It should be a blast, and as a big Springsteen fan, I approve of the title.

You can book tickets for our event here, and don't forget to check out the full programme for lots of other great crime writing events and panels.

Remember to check out the events page on my website for upcoming dates - before we get to Bloody Scotland I have a couple of library events, #ScotLitFest, and of course the launch of The Time to Kill. And most of these are free, so you have no excuse not to come and heckle me at some point this summer.

UK Kindle special offer - #StartASeries

If you're in the UK and have a Kindle, The Killing Season is currently just 99p in Amazon's Start a Series promotion - tell your friends!

Update:

It's being price matched on iBooks and Google Play, so the bargain is open to other devices too.