Believe me, you’re no more surprised than I am.

I thought you were in Seclusion.

I am.

At an Undisclosed Location.

Where else? And it’s not going to be disclosed here, either. I’m holed up writing something, and at this stage I’m not even sure what it is, so don’t ask. But two factors combine to prompt me to give y’all something for nothing.

One’s the remarkable success of Resume Speed, the novella that’s doing so well as a Kindle Single. I had great expectations for it, and they’ve been more than fulfilled. Many of you have snapped it up for $2.99, while a good number have borrowed it via Kindle Unlimited, and how could I fail to find all of this extremely gratifying? It makes me want to do something nice in return.

You said two factors.

So I did. The other’s the fact that The Girl with the Deep Blue Eyes, which I reduced to $4.99 for a week, has now pumpkined back up to its original price of $9.99. I hope you were able to take advantage the special price, but if you weren’t, and now you’re stuck with paying $9.99, well, perhaps a couple of freebies will take the sting out of it.

So what’s free?

Four items, coming up one right after the other. Let’s take them in turn:

1. Cinderella Sims. This is a very early crime novel that wound up with an erotica house, and for years I didn’t want it reprinted, and then Ed Gorman and Bill Schafer teamed up to talk sense into me. It’s now a proud title in the Classic Crime Library, available as both ebook and paperback, and I can but wonder at my earlier reluctance to have it Out There. It’ll be free to all comers on all Amazon sites worldwide, from the time this email goes out at 3:01am Eastern time Tuesday, March 8, until 2:59am Eastern Thursday, March 10.

2. Keller on the Spot. This story about our favorite assassin appeared in Playboy, was included in Hit Man, and won an Edgar award from Mystery Writers of America. So why am I giving it away?  Because I’m a warm and generous person, that’s why. You can take advantage of me—and Keller—for 24 hours, starting at 3:01am Eastern on Thursday, March 10.

3. Like a Thief in the Night. From your favorite killer to you favorite burglar, here’s a Bernie Rhodenbarr short story that’s not told in the first person, and has a savvy young woman sharing the pencil-beam spotlight. It’s free for 24 hours, from 3:01am Friday, March 11, until 2:59am Saturday, March 12.

4. Different Strokes. Finally, a very different offering from the irrepressible John Warren Wells. This one consists of the screenplay and production diary from a pornographic film of the early 1970s, all recounted in hilarious and occasionally shocking detail. But don’t try to find the film to see it for yourself, because, um, none of this ever happened. The script is real, but the project never quite got off the ground. So what did JWW and his editors at Dell Books decide? Why, to write and publish the book anyway, of course. And now you get to read it for free—so long as you snap it up between 3:01am Eastern on Sunday, March 13, and 2:59am Tuesday, March 15.

They’re all free? You must want something in return.

Well, if you like what you read, it would be nice if you were to share your enthusiasm via an Amazon or Goodreads review. And, if you haven’t already done so, you might consider scooping up Resume Speed. But all of that is entirely optional. There’s no quid inextricably linked to this particular pro quo. Free is free.

One further request—note the times that the various items will be free. Whenever I do this, someone hastens to tell me a particular book’s not free—because he went there at the wrong time. This is admittedly an easy mistake to make, and somebody will surely make it. Let it be somebody else, though. Not you, okay?

Cheers,

PS: As always, please feel free to forward this to anyone you think might find it of interest. And, if you’ve received the newsletter in that fashion from a friend and would like your own subscription, that’s easily arranged; a blank email to lawbloc@gmail.com with Newsletter in the subject line will get the job done.
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