Free/99c book celebration!

To celebrate the launch of my latest Ghostwriter Mystery, Words Can Kill, and to thank my many devoted readers, I'm giving you all a fabulous gift! For a limited time, the fouth book in the series will soon be FREE through Smashwords (that's iPad, Nook, Kobo and Sony) or just 0.99c at Amazon. (Sorry, Kindle lovers, but Amazon won't allow me to charge less than that, the party poopers!)

Still, you're getting a pretty cool deal. It now costs very little to download Dying Words via your favourite eReader. This way, if you haven't got 'round to reading it, you can quickly catch up before you get the latest installment. If you have already read it, download it anyway and offer it to your flatmate, hubby or BFF.

We're spreading the Roxy magic this month, and the more readers who share in her adventures the better.

Thanks again for all your support. Don't forget to drop me a line, below, send me an email (see above), or pop a quick review on Amazon if you have the time.

Happy reading!

xo Christina

$1.99 Ghostwriter Mystery Sale!

Fast-talking, merlot-swilling, fashion savvy Roxy Parker is back and better than ever. In her fifth, death-defying adventure, Australia's favourite ghostwriter finds herself on the hunt for her estranged boyfriend Max. He's disappeared while working in Berlin and all she has to go on is a cryptic text message and some unsettling Facebook photos.

Has he run off with a married bimbo? Are the Swiss Army hiding something? And why has his flatmate shown up bludgeoned to death with his 1920s Gibson guitar?

Before you get a chance to find out, why not catch up on Roxy's previous adventures? Exclusive to Amazon, and in the lead up to the release of Ghostwriter Mystery #5 (out soon), I'm offering the first four books for the discounted rate of $1.99!

The sale will only last a short time so get in quick. (And a word of advice: if you haven't read book #4, Dying Words, be sure to download that now. It helps pave the way to Berlin!)

Happy reading.
xo Christina

More sales, beloved readers

Hi guys,
I can't seem to help myself, but I'm lopping the top off a few prices—just because I can. From Friday, you can get the third in the Ghostwriter Mystery Series, Last Writes, for JUST 99c! Pretty damn good for such a riveting read, even if I do say so myself.

But that's not all! I'm also taking my newest Ghostwriter Mystery, Dying Words (the fourth in the series), down from $4.99 to $2.99.

Get in quick because I'm not sure how long my generosity will last ;-)

Happy reading,
xo Christina

I swear to God

Every now and then I get an irate reader outraged by the profanity in my books, demanding to know why I need to swear so much and refusing to read anymore until I desist. And I don't blame them. There are a lot of swear words in my stories, I admit that. And while the vast majority of my book reviewers/fans seem to have no issue with it, I do feel compelled to explain myself to those of you who are upset, distressed or annoyed. I'm not trying to upset you, but, well, two things:

1) Murder is okay but swearing is not? Huh?
I find it rather bizarre that the same people who take umbrage at swear words seem to have no issue with people getting murdered in my books. Slicing someone's throat or leaving them in a dank basement to be devoured by rats is okay, but cussing is not? I'll never understand that one. Sorry, guys but these are murder mysteries, not fairytales or children's books. I think you have to expect a bit of grit when you pick one up.

2) Hate to burst your bubble but Aussies swear a (bloody) lot.
It's a truth universally acknowledged that your average Australian cusses like a trooper. It's just a fact. Listen in on any conversation on any Aussie street, in any Aussie pub or office block, and you'll hear a colourful variety of words. 'Bloody' is the common one, but they get a lot, lot worse than that. We recently had a court case here where a teenager got off for using the 'F-word' at a policeman. The judge was forced to concede that it's now so common, it can't be construed as offensive. It's everyday language whether we like it or not.

And my stories are everyday Australian stories (albeit with a little murder and mayhem in the mix—see C.A. Larmer on Amazon). I need my Aussie characters to not just be colourful, but to sound like, well, everyday Aussie characters. My editor Maria at Glossy magazine (Killer Twist, Last Writes, Dying Words) is the perfect example. She is modelled on two real-life editors I used to work with who swore a hell of a lot more than she does. A hell of a lot. I have, in fact, toned her down for the books.

Do you know, I didn't even realise there was any profanity in my stories until an Aussie expat now living in Canada got in touch to say she'd forgotten how much Aussies swear until she read my books, and it made her feel quite homesick!

Obviously it makes some of you just feel sick, and for that I apologise. But I won't take the profanity out. There really isn't that much, and to do so would be bordering on censorship. It feels contrived. It wouldn't be real. It wouldn't be honest. And it would be swapping credibility for sales. Once you start doing that, you might as well just give up and ask your readers to write it for you with all the reality taken out.

I have, however, considered publishing two versions of each book—one for the Americans who seem to be the main people who take offence, and one for everyone else. And I'm happy to do that if anyone feels strongly about it (please send me an email or leave a comment here). But I do think the real story needs to be available in one format with the real street language included for those who want, well, reality.

What do you think? Please let me know, I'd love to continue the conversation. In the meantime, happy (slightly wicked) reading everyone.

xo Christina

My favourite 'Book of Death'

Anyone who has ever read my books—check them out on Amazon and Smashwords—knows that, like my protagonist Roxy Parker (who keeps a Book of Death or Crime Catalogue), I, too, have a fascination for crime. But not just any crime.

I was reading an article today about a particularly nasty Mexican Drug Lord (is there any other kind?) who got off on torturing his victims before killing them, things like burning them alive in drums full of oil. A lovely chap. I started reading the article—sadly, today's most popular read on that particular website—and got as far as paragraph two before I had to stop and see if my stomach was still in the right spot. Gross.

Now, even I have to admit, there's a certain voyeuristic curiosity to stories like that. I read them all the time. I have long been fascinated by true crime and what makes one soul capable of doing such horrendous things to another—but that's as far as it goes for me. It's not what I revel in, and it's not what I like to write. It's also why I'm a bigger fan of say, Agatha Christie (the queen of delicate stab wounds) than Patricia Cornwall (who likes to crack open a body and get on down).

I don't want the grit and grime. I don't want the bloody and bloated corpse. For me, the best deaths are not really the point. It's about the puzzle behind the death.

Why were they murdered? How did it happen? Who is to blame? And how could they possibly have pulled it off without anyone knowing? (How clever was that?!)

I don't want to be distracted by dripping limbs and serial killers and creepy goings on in the night. I find many modern writers rely on those things too much, often when they haven't got much of a storyline. Sure, those things might be there, but they're not the best part. They're not the reason to read, borrow or buy.

I want the riddle. I want the red herrings and sideways glances, the 'where was she at such-and-such a time?' I like to line up all my clues and suspects and work it out for myself. And as far as I'm concered, the blood and the guts can be present as long as they don't get in the way. Or, worse still, mask a total lack of plot.

In an ideal world, I want one murder, 10 people in a room, and a baffling whodunnit. Oh, and there has to be a bloody good twist at the end, or you're wasting my time. It's the reason I wrote my second Ghostwriter Mystery book, A Plot To Die For. I loosely modelled that on Agatha Christie's Evil Under the Sun (one can only aspire). In my case, there were a bunch of people stuck on a Pacific Island and a corpse they had to answer for. One of them had to have done it. But who? How? Why? (Sure, there was a little gore in that one, but not enough to lose your Gin & Tonic over, and it all worked to serve the plot.)

Plot! How many times can I say it? There has to be a decent plot. That's why I read what I read, and why I write what I write. I may not win any awards for my prose, but I like to think I'm providing a kick-ass plot and a twist that most of you won't see coming (I've learned that some of you smart chookies may never be surprised!).

If you like that kind of writing, too, please pick up one of my books, write a review and let me know how I'm faring—am I getting it just right? My latest venture is Dying Words, and I think even the smarties will be left baffled by this one.

And if you don't like that writing style, I'd love to know what kind of "Book of Death" you like. Drop me an email or post a comment any time.

I'd love to hear from you.

   

Happy reading,
xo Christina

Sneak peek - 4th Ghostwriter cover

Hi readers,
As promised, here's a sneaky peek at the latest cover for the fourth Ghostwriter Mystery novel, Dying Words which will be up on Amazon in early July. Designed by Mullumbimby artist/designer Stuart Eadie, it's a bold new look, and I'm very excited about it.

I'd love to hear your comments and will be back in touch when the book is published.

Cheers,
Christina Larmer

Roxy's next breathtaking adventure!

Fans of Roxy Parker and my Ghostwriter Mystery series will be happy to hear I have now completed the fourth book in the series and it is with my US editor as we speak. I've had many wonderful emails from fans begging for another Roxy Parker adventure, so I hope this one delivers on every scale. It's now called Dying Words and actually derives from a real-life incident that happened to me about two years ago.

A man I had met and interviewed once very briefly called out my name on his death bed. He was begging for a photo to be returned. It was a photo he had given me for a relatively dull book on Surveying that I had just completed. I had to Express Post the photo back to him before he died and it got me wondering: why did he NEED that picture back, so desperately? Was there something hidden in the picture? Some clue to a secret treasure or a cause for his death?

And so Roxy Parker gets the same desperate plea in my next book, Dying Words. In her case the man was definitely murdered and she must try to work out why he called out her name before he slipped off this mortal coil. Thus begins a very baffling adventure for the adventure-prone ghostwriter who goes on a frantic chase to locate an old missing photograph before a mysterious burglar beats her to it. This seemingly benign, black and white portrait of six people in 1975 holds the key, not only to the man's senseless murder, but to another very brutal crime that happened 37 years ago.

Along the way, we also reunite with Roxy's motley collection of mates including gutsy copper Gilda and Roxy's now-boyfriend Max (who has a secret bombshell he's about to drop!)

It's an intriguing tale and I hope you enjoy it. I certainly enjoyed writing it and it's also been great fun creating the cover with my talented Aussie designer Stu Eadie. This cover will be a little different to the last three and I'll give you all a sneak peek once I have it in my hot little hands (or should that be hot little hardrive?).

Once again, thanks to everyone for your patience and support, and I'll let you know once it's available online. In the meantime, you can catch Roxy's other adventures (or try one of my other books, The Agatha Christie Book Club or An Island Lost) at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=C.A.+Larmer

All feedback most welcome.

Happy reading,
Christina