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1/31/2010 - Ghosts of Maryland Now Available!
Amazon.com Barnes and Noble Booksamillion.com Schiffer Books
12/21/2009 - Ghosts of Maryland Available for Pre-Order!
10/27/2009 - DeBarlo Mini-Mystery Game Announcement The world of private investigator Chase Michael DeBarlo is about to make its long-awaited game debut. After a number of false starts dating all the way back to 1997, the witty detective of Fallsbury, Massachusetts, will finally find his way to the PC this October as a collection of small, single-puzzle "mini-mysteries."
Mike Ricksecker, author of the Chase Michael DeBarlo novel Deadly Heirs, produces a
Since the current story arc is already two episodes or "chapters" deep, the second chapter, "Chestnut Park," will be republished in the newsletter with the first chapter provided as a text piece from within the game menu to give new readers and players background of the case they're currently working. This may be a bit unconventional, but R&R didn't want to reboot the entire arc and force current readers to wait even longer for the third chapter. Also, the game is provided as a free additional component to the newsletter at this time.
President and Game Design Lead of R&R Developments, Mike Ricksecker explains the DeBarlo game vision. "We have big plans for Chase Michael DeBarlo in a virtual world setting. Robin and I are a bit hesitant to show our hand, but this is really just the beginning of something much larger that we think readers (and now players) of the series will really find immersive. In the short run, we're looking to expand from the stand-alone format of 'Chestnut Park' and making the gameplay more community-oriented online. It's likely we won't see that until the second 'book' as we continue to streamline and enhance what we're currently doing, but it's definitely in the works."
A special guest appearance from the rock band StoneWater (www.stonewaterrocks.com), with whom R&R Developments has worked with in the past, is also slated in a future chapter.
10/16/2009 - Now Writing for the Examiner
This shouldn't take away from my other writing -- Ghosts of Maryland is still due out this coming spring, and I'm working on another Chase Michael DeBarlo novel while still trying to find a new publisher for System of the Dead. I will also have some new media announcements from R&R Developments in the coming weeks as well.
Please take a quick moment to stop by my Examiner articles... I do get a few cents for traffic.
9/30/2009 - Moved to Oklahoma!
4/28/2009 - Booksigning May 2nd!
11/7/2008 - New Shirts for the Holidays!
4/18/2008 - Publishing Talk with Booksigning May 15
Florida Public Library is in the Catskills area of New York at 4 Cohen Circle, Florida, NY.
Click to check out this event on Eventful!
1/31/2008 - Eternal Vigilance Feature
- What drives me.
Link to Eternal Vigilance Site
1/8/2008 - New Book Deal!
I've just inked a new contract with Schiffer Publishing to write a book about ghosts in Maryland. Although this isn't a deal for one of my mystery novels, I'm looking forward to digging into Marlyand's mysterious history. I've always been interested in ghosts, and I have written a paranormal short story on the side (see "The Legend Beneath the Coal Bin"), so I'm excited to begin on this project. I'll provide more details as the project unfolds.
12/17/2007 - "Failed Rescue" Published in Anthology!
Studies in Scarlet is available as an e-book or a paperback from lulu.com:
http://www.lulu.com/content/1695905
12/6/2007 - Stepping Stones Highlight
http://www.freewebs.com/steppingstonesforwriters/december07issue.htm
The image of the card has been posted here before, but here it is again...
Stepping Stones Magazine for Writers is an online magazine for writers written by Rita Gerlach, author of four historical romance novels and cousin of Nora Roberts. Stepping Stones focuses on writing, promotion, marketing, industry news and more.
http://www.freewebs.com/steppingstonesforwriters/index.htm
11/26/2007 - Word Weavers Feature!
While you're there, check out the other Word Weavers features as well! Word Weavers is a group for authors, poets, and anyone interested in literature to congregate, share ideas, and help promote one another. They also have a unique trading card program (see the card I posted in February).
10/26/2007 - Short Story Audio for Halloween!
You can now LISTEN to an audio presentation of this short story on the Enigma Underground internet radio station. "Legend" will be played four times each day now through Halloween. Tune in...
9/28/2007 - Mystery Short in the Works
Just when you thought I had my plate full with writing, creating an ARG, going to game programming and design school, and, oh yeah, that day job thing, I've added another project to the mix. A script has nearly been finalized for a video short featuring teen amateur sleuth John Johani, my latest character to enter Chase Michael DeBarlo's world. Chase will also make a cameo in this short as a mentor to John.
Filming began in September, and when production is complete the short will be viewable online. Stay tuned for updates on this project as they come out.
8/28/2007 - Yuwie!
8/11/2007 - Autographed Deadly Heirs
7/12/2007 - This article from Library Journal may be a couple months old, but it was just passed my way by a colleague and I found it to be a wonderful insight to the current climate of the mystery genre.
6/11/2007 - Request a Booksigning
3/21/2007 - Interview at M&M Books 101
Read the interview here:
3/15/2007 - Gallery Walk Book Signing
Every first Saturday of the month, the Downtown Frederick Partnership presents a Gallery Walk, a four hour event that features artists, exhibits, live entertainment, and extended shopping hours. This April's Gallery Walk is themed "Much Ado About Books" and I will be signing in one of the shops. Here are the details:
Saturday, April 7, 2007
2/16/2007 - New Edgars Site
2/8/2007 - New Trading Card
Here's an image of the first Mike Ricksecker trading card:
1/30/2007 - Love Is Murder
Location: Rosemont O'Hare Wyndham, Rosemont, Illinois
Please visit the Love is Murder website for more details.
1/20/2007 - Edgar Award Nominees Announced
Here are the nominees for the 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Awards. Awards will be presented at the 61st Gala Banquet, April 26, 2007 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.
Best Novel
Best First Novel
Best Paperback Original
Best Fact Crime
For a complete listing, please visit the Mystery Writer's of America website.
1/5/2007 - 5 Stars!
If you'd like to read the Prologue and first chapter of System of the Dead, it is now posted on AuthorLink. Please click here.
Dilys Award Nominations
Left Coast Crime 2007 will be held in Seattle, Washington, February 1 - 4.
12/21/2006 - Rocky Balboa
Someone in Westfield, Massachusetts, is going to tell the story -- and perhaps they already have -- about a young Rocky fan that would punch the seats of the school bus to mimic his favorite movie icon. He would do it on demand and everyone would get a nice laugh. That young Rocky fan, of course, was me. I would like to set the record straight, however, that I was not punching the seats in the theater during Rocky IV. Heh...
Rocky may have nothing to do with mystery, but he certainly has a lot to do with my writing. The core concept I picked up on throughout all my viewings of the franchise is to never give up even when everyone else thinks you've been knocked out. There is a humiliating amount of rejection in the publishing world, and it takes an enormous amount of perseverance to keep plugging away at it. Rejection letters become punches that knock you to the canvas, but, like Rocky, you stumble to get back up. But you do get up. You have to get up. There is no other choice but to get up -- because, if you don't, you'll never go all the way.
12/18/2006 - DeBarlo Alternate Reality Games
What is an alternate reality game (ARG)? An ARG is a type of game that intertwines the real world with created game space. Two of my Mystery Games of the Month, Missing and Evidence: The Last Ritual, are considered alternate reality games since the player is sent seemingly real email and must hunt down clues on the web. There are also quite a few hacker-based games on the internet which have storylines that revolve around breaking into websites (controlled by the game developer, of course). For more information about ARGs, check out unfiction.com.
To be officially developed by R&R Developments, I've been designing an ARG for my second novel, System of the Dead, for some time. However, it makes no sense to keep that on hold while SoD awaits publication, Thus, I am designing a smaller ARG for Deadly Heirs to be released in early 2007.
The games are being developed to complement the books. While some information, such as character profiles, will be easily accessible, there will be mysteries to solve in order access deaper details about the books.
More information will be available in the coming months.
12/16/2006 - I highly recommend checking out the Murder & Mystery Books 101 blog. There is a lot of great mystery genre news posted here as well as interviews with various authors.
12/1/2006 - Where have I been? Why hasn't the site been updated in a long time? I've been quite busy, actually. Robin and I have been back in school working on a Bachelor's of Science in Game and Simulation Programming. This is an area in which I've always wanted to take my story-telling. In fact, part of the original plot for Deadly Heirs was developed for a computer game.
This doesn't mean a slowdown in my writing. On the contrary, I've begun work on the third installment of the Chase Michael DeBarlo series. What it does mean is a slowdown in website updates as well as DeBarlo's Blog. However, I have updated my MySpace account with a bit more information about my writing. There is also a MySpace exclusive still posted from January for any that would like a taste of the mini-mysteries that come in the newsletters.
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