Exactly seven days ago, I cracked the Top 100 with DRACULAS, a horror novel I wrote with Blake Crouch, Jeff Strand, and F. Paul Wilson. That ebook was a self-published Kindle exclusive, and it continues to sell over 100 copies a day.Today, SHAKEN has been released. This is the seventh book in my Jack Daniels series, and it wasn't self-published. Instead, it was picked up by AmazonEncore--a publishing wing of Amazon.com.
AmazonEncore is publishing a print version of SHAKEN in February, and though that appeals to the nostalgic part of me that still has an emotional attachment to dead trees, and though AmazonEncore has been a completely positive experience for me (which includes working with some of the smartest and most enthusiastic folks I've ever met), these aren't the real reasons I signed with them.
The real reason I'm working with Amazon, ego and pleasantries aside, is because of their marketing muscle.
I've proven with Draculas, and with ENDURANCE, that I can hit the Top 100 on my own. But I don't have the reach that Amazon has. This is a chance for me to release a book with a big push behind it--something I've never had in my career.
It will be fun to watch how Shaken does over the next few days, weeks, and months. Naturally, I'll keep my blog readers posted with numbers.
In the meantime, I'm happy that Jack Daniels has a new publisher, and that the series is still kicking after seven years. I get a lot of email from fans who have been anxiously waiting for this one, and that makes me happy. Reviews like this one also make me happy.
Tess Gerritsen is a physician and an internationally bestselling author. She gained nationwide acclaim for her first novel of medical suspense, the New York Times bestseller Harvest. She is also the author of the bestsellers Ice Cold, The Keepsake, The Bone Garden, The Mephisto Club, and more. Here's her review of J.A. Konrath's Shaken:
J.A. Konrath achieves the stupendous feat of blending both a prequel and a sequel in this timeline-hopping thriller, expertly making the pieces click together like an intricate Swiss watch.
Over the course of her decades-long career, Detective Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels has pursued her own great white whale: a sickeningly twisted serial killer named Mr. K. Years ago, Jack came heartbreakingly close to catching him, but he managed to slip away. Now Mr. K is back from her nightmares, and she's his captive, in a secret place where she's beyond rescue. Bound and gagged, the clock ticking down till zero, Jack faces a death more excruciating than anyone's worst imaginings. She has seen Mr. K.'s other victims, so she knows how terrible her end will be.
In flashback, we see just how Jack ended up at this moment in her life. From her first exposure as a rookie to Mr. K's handiwork, through her career-long pursuit of her nemesis, we watch Jack grow as a cop, as a woman, and as a friend to her two eccentric colleagues, Harry and Herb. That journey is both terrifying and wildly hilarious, a wacky combination that only a writer as good as Konrath can pull off. Throw in a deeply moving denouement, and you have a story that hits every single mark.
The pace is frantic, the horrors truly horrifying, and the dialogue will have you laughing out loud even as you're gripping the pages in terror. Konrath is so good, he makes other novelists jealous--and count me as one of them.
Five very enthusiastic stars out of five. --Tess Gerritsen
Buy Shaken for $2.99 for Amazon Kindle.
Because it is DRM free, you can also read it on other ereaders (Nook, Kobo, Sony, etc.) Instructions are HERE.