Tag: books

Reading and Signing November 23, 2024

Posted on by kat_richardson

Saltwater Bookshop, Kingston, WA

This Saturday, November 23, at 3:30 pm I’m going to be reading, talking and signing books at Saltwater Bookshop in Kingston WA along with Tamara Kaye Sellman—another Kitsap area writer and the author of Cul de Sac Stories, which came out earlier this year from Aqueduct Press. Get details on my event page.

Saltwater Bookshop is a new independent bookstore just up the road a bit from the Kingston ferry terminal (both car and fast foot ferries) and at this time of year, Kingston is already starting to put up their over-the-top light display around the marina, so it’s going to be festive and slightly weird as only a Northwest tiny town can be (I can only say:  festive fish made of lights…). And of course it’ll also be fun, because Tamara is delightful and we love indie bookshops! There’s also a tasty bakery next door, so now all we need is some cool folks to come hang out with us and enjoy some author shenanigans, books, treats, and a (hopefully) pretty view on the way to and fro.

See you all there!

Saltwater Bookshop logo in a rubber stamp style: fanciful tentacals of navy blue reach our of gentle waves holding books aloft. The book store name floats just below the waves tinted a pleasant tuquoise color "Saltwater Bookshop". It's quite whimsical.

 

Slang from Storm Waters, Part 3

Posted on by kat_richardson

The Bird (Give The Bird)

Hey, a term that hung on for a looooooong time and comes from the 1920s, but was still in use into the early 1970s in some places. Which is why I have to differentiate between this “bird” and the “bird” that is flipped via a finger beginning in the late 1950s/early 1960s (this is a bit hard to pin down.) The obnoxious noise implies a degree of derision or disapproval without being overtly obscene (though that noise… well, you know.)

Give the bird: (v) blow a raspberry/”Bronx cheer”; make a derogatory sound with the lips. (not  the flipping of a middle finger.)

I have no idea why the New York City borough of the Bronx gets the nod for this noise, but there it is. Maybe folks from the Bronx are just particularly good at expressing their disgust without actually saying a word. Given that we’ve just emerged from a highly-charged Presidential election cycle here in the United States, I have no doubt there are plenty of people giving others the bird today (of both varieties.) All together, now: put your tongue between your lips and make a very rude noise!

In front of a brick wall, head and shoulders of a young man with curly brown hair "blowing a razberry" or "bronx cheer" with his tongue sticking out between his lips and his cheeks puffed out to make a rude noise.

 

Pre-Orders Available!

Posted on by kat_richardson

Storm Waters novel cover: Above a sea green background the name "Kat Richardson" in Yellow deco-style font" with the title "Storm Waters" in white at the bottom and a quote from Cherie Priest saying "A pitch-perfect killer noir." Curling around three sides of the cover is a navy blue skeleton of some giant reptile lying beneath the water; a skeletal human hand reaches up from the creature, poised to snatch a small white speed boat from the surface as it races up the cover from the O in Storm toward the author's name above. at the very bottom of the cover are the words "A new thriller by the National Bestselling Author of Greywalker."

Storm Waters on Sale Soon!

I’m so excited! If I were a dog I’d be wagging myself silly. Preorders are now open at Fairwood Press for my new novel (and start of a new series) Storm Waters! Order soon, and make my publisher (and me) very happy. And save yourself $3.00!

Click this text to pre-order.

Yes, this is the book I’ve been talking about for a while now: Marty F-ing Storm will be on the loose in November. (And yes, the image on the cover is inspired by an actual action scene in the book, so it’s not just pretty, and thanks to Artemis for the lovely cover art!)

From the back cover:

 

A modern noir thriller with a paranormal twist set in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Prohibition has just ended, and the US is still struggling in the depths of the Great Depression. But for notorious playboy and ex-bootlegger Marty Storm, life couldn’t be better. Only his best friend knows about his knack for water magic—and for making “problems” disappear—though no one knows his family’s shipping business was built on sorcery and murder. When he’s accused of a gruesome killing, he knows he’s been framed, but corrupt cops and his conscience aren’t his only problem. Vengeful spirits, a little girl with a strange connection to the Los Angeles River, a crate full of trouble, and broken memories force him to unwind the horrifying secrets of his own past and return to the dark heart of his family in the bayous outside New Orleans. With some unlikely allies both new and old, Marty must confront the ugly source of his family’s fortune and power.

Murder, magic, love, death, and family: Marty Storm has come to the tipping point of his life, whether he knows it or not, and to control his destiny, he’ll take a desperate plunge into dark magic he swore he’d never use.

 

Upcoming New Novel!

Posted on by kat_richardson

 

Marty Arriving in November!

There will be a new Kat Richardson Fantasy Crime Noir novel out in November 2024 from Fairwood Press! (Working title: Storm Waters. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the listing.)

So, I’ve been saying “damn it Marty” for a while and referring to “Marty Fucking Storm” off and on for… umm… about 5 years. And I’ve read the opening scene in several iterations at a couple of conventions, so some of you know what I am talking about. But for those who don’t:

Some wisecracking ex-bootlegger named Marty Storm turned up in my brain a while back, pestering me to write about him. He looks and sounds like a character from a classic 1930s Hollywood crime film and talks like a character out of Dash Hammett or Raymond Chandler. He’s also a water mage, owner of a shipping company based in Los Angeles and Long Beach California, with some spooky-ass family in Bayou Barataria outside of New Orleans. Initially his story was pretty grim, but over multiple revisions, it got a little less bleak, though it’s still pretty Crime Noir with a big ol’ heap of Magic. The story takes place in the first half of 1934—just before the deaths of Bonnie and Clyde, and immediately after the repeal of Prohibition—when Marty finds himself suspected of the murder of his mistress. Investigating the crime to save his own ass drags Marty back into the heart of family problems he’s been dodging for years, and magical contracts he didn’t know existed.

So after a lot of revision, rejection, more revision, more rejection, etc… I threw in the towel and got in touch with Patrick Swenson and Fairwood (who is also a big crime noir fan, like me) and he said “Yes.”

So, spread the word: Storm Waters! Historical Fantasy Crime coming in November from Kat Richardson!

Looking forward to your comments and questions.

(And, yes, I’m still editing and coaching, and I’ll be attending some conventions this year, too.)

 

Book Pile!

Posted on by kat_richardson

Table full of Greywalker series books

This Gets Complicated…

I’ve unpacked all the Greywalker series author copies from storage and piled them on my former dining table (pictured on the left). I knew I was short on a few, but no idea how badly until now. These shortages are going to make full sets very limited—specifically, I can only make 4 complete sets of Original Format, and 4 complete sets of the Mass Market Paperback (MMP) Format. All of the books are first edition/first printing. All the hardcovers have their original dust jackets intact and in good condition.

Here’s what’s in the pile

  • Greywalker: 4 US Trade Paperback, 9 US MMP, 1 French Translation 120mm x 198mm Paperback
  • Poltergeist: 4 US Trade Paperback, 14 US MMP, 1 German Translation 117mm x 187mm Paperback
  • Underground : 14 US Hardcover, 14 US MMP, 1 German Translation 117mm x 187mm Paperback, 1 UK B-Format Paperback
  • Vanished: 17 US Hardcover, 11 US MMP
  • Labyrinth: 16 US Hardcover, 15 US MMP, 8 UK B-Format Paperback
  • Downpour: 4 US Hardcover, 4 US MMP, 17 UK B-Format Paperback
  • Seawitch: 30 US Hardcover, 19 US MMP
  • Possession: 35 US Hardcover, 34 US MMP
  • Revenant: 37 US Hardcover, 40 US MMP
  • Audio: Downpour—1 complete set of 10 discs in original box; Seawitch—2 complete sets of 11 discs in original boxes; Possession—2 complete sets of 10 discs in original boxes; 1 complete set of 12 discs in original box
  • Misc: 1 uncirculated Downpour Print ARC, 27 Labyrinth promo sliding-tile puzzles, approx. 400 Greywalker handmade magnetic folding bookmarks—about 1,000 more still in storage

Note: No hardcover editions were ever produced of Greywalker or Poltergeist and, beginning with Underground, US Trade/Quality Paperback was discontinued as a format for this series. As a result, full sets of this series are either exclusively MMP format, or mixed format. There can’t be any full sets in all-hardcover or all-trade paperback at this time, but who knows if limited editions, or new editions, will come out in a consistent quality format in the future?

In the meantime, I’m trying to figure out pricing, shipping, and how to sell these puppies to you guys with minimum drama.

And if you’re wondering why these are such a hodge-podge of sizes/formats, etc… well… that’s just the way it is with author copies. I originally got only 10 of each US format, then I started getting 20, then 40, and I often carried copies of the earlier books to events with me to give away or consign. Later, I rarely needed to do that, since the books were usually available through vendors on-site. Translation and UK editions are another whole story: the French publisher either went out of business, or dropped the series (the first two of which they’d already paid for) before the second book was sent to print (although the translation was completed), and the UK and German Publishers also dropped the series before it ended. There were also Russian, Polish, and Chinese (RoC/Taiwan) editions of Greywalker, and that latter edition was even re-printed with a new cover at one point. I don’t have copies of those available—some I never received at all, and some I got only one copy of. Though I do have to say, the Polish edition had the Harper version that most looks like the Harper in my mind.

So, once again, stay tuned for further developments.