The Latest

Because I am into instant gratification, because I’m also sort of lazy, or distracted, or in a hurry…I’ve had a tendency lately to announce big news on my Facebook author page. The beauty of this is that it automatically tweets out to my Twitter feed, and yeah, I’m weirdly addicted to Twitter (SEE: evidence of my short attention span, above).

Anyway, it seems to me that major news merits its own blog post, even an abbreviated one. And that selling my second novel to Soho Press is major news.

Here are a couple of announcements about the deal, on Publishers Marketplace (under “Thrillers”) and Publishers Weekly.

If you’ve been following my blog, guest posts, tweets, or eavesdropping on my random conversations, then you already know how much I’ve enjoyed working with Soho, what a great job I think they’ve done with ROCK PAPER TIGER and just how all-around awesome I think they are as a press and as a collection of human beings. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them on my next book, which will be published in early 2012.

And which still needs a title, other than “The Book That Tried To KILL Me™” All suggestions cheerfully welcomed!

I’m very pleased to announce that Audible has acquired ROCK PAPER TIGER for a future audio book release. More details as I get them. But can I just say, I am totally entertained by the notion of someone else reading my book aloud?

Check out Seattle Times’ “14 Best Crime Novels of 2010.” I’m in some fine company here!

I’m very excited to announce that ROCK PAPER TIGER made Amazon’s Top 100 Books of 2010 (that’s fiction and non-fiction) and is one of Amazon’s Top 10 Mysteries & Thrillers. I’m in some heady company on these lists, and I am really honored to be placed among them.

Before RPT’s publication, I hadn’t realized that Amazon has a team of book editors who read and actively promote titles. And they don’t just make safe or obvious choices — they choose a lot of edgy, interesting and important work. Take a look at the lists, and also, their book blog, Omnivoracious, and you’ll see what I mean.

I’m at Bouchercon By the Bay from Oct. 14 – 17, with a Soho Press kickoff party at the fabulous M is for Mystery — wine! cheese! mayhem! — on Oct. 13, with a bunch of other awesome Soho authors. You’re all invited.

I’ll be on a panel on Oct. 15 at 10:00 AM (I’d better set an alarm) with aforementioned Soho authors James R. Benn, Cara Black, Henry Chang, Jassy MacKenzie and Stuart Neville, moderated by Peter Rozovsky, and no, I’m not sure exactly what we’ll be talking about, but it ought to be fun, and I promise to be fully caffeinated. Grand Ballroom B!

There are so many great authors and wonderful events scheduled for the Bouchercon, and heck, it’s in San Francisco! If you have an interest in crime fiction, cable cars, and lots of parties, I highly recommend it. Tweet me if you’re around @otherlisa !

It’s been quite a week.

Andrew Tepper of Vanity Fair reviews ROCK PAPER TIGER in the New York Times Sunday Book Review.

Amazon chose ROCK PAPER TIGER as one of their “Best Books of 2010…So Far…”

I picked a bad time to stop snorting glue…

(“Airplane!” reference! Sheesh.)

James Fallows is one of the best reporters out there on contemporary China—and he’s reviewed Rock Paper Tiger. To say I’m excited is an understatement:

To add to the list of “good fiction set in modern China,” check out Rock Paper Tiger, by Lisa Brackmann. It’s a mystery/action novel that pretty much pulls off something I would have thought improbable: combining an account of Iraq-war drama (the emphasis is on Abu Ghraib-type themes), with a portrayal of the urban China of these past few years, complete with overhyped art scene, dissident bloggers, lots of young expats, and constant uncertainty about what the government will permit or crack down on. Along the way, lots about the online gaming world that often seems the main passion of youthful Chinese, especially males.

There’s more at the link!

Then, a really nice review in the Seattle Times:

In “Rock Paper Tiger” (Soho, 345 pp., $25) — a remarkable debut by Lisa Brackmann — Ellie, a wounded medic and Iraq War vet, is scraping by in a low-rent corner of Beijing. Her friends, scrappy artists with dissident connections, attract the attention of Chinese and American authorities, forcing blunt-speaking Ellie and others into hiding.

Check out the rest at the link!

And finally, one of my very favorite publishing industry bloggers, the Rejectionist, writes a really thoughtful (and funny) review, picking up on aspects of the book that I am so gratified to have recognized:

Possibly it is not a total secret that the Rejectionist has, like, a soft spot for the tough-but-fucked-up lady-heroine! IT IS DEFINITELY NOT BECAUSE WE SEE ELEMENTS OF OURSELF IN THESE FICTIVE REPRESENTATIONS NO IT IS NOT THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Oh, SHUT UP. Anyway! Also very dear to us is the thriller-as-a-vehicle-for-insightful-social-commentary! So you can IMAGINE how much we like insightful thrillers starring tough but fucked-up lady characters! A LOT. That’s how much we like them. And GUESS WHAT? They’re kind of hard to find (the operative adjective being “insightful,” folks)! All of which is to say, we tore through the fantabulous Rock Paper Tiger with RECKLESS ABANDON AND DELIGHT.

Lots more at the link!

It’s ROCK PAPER TIGER launch day, and I forgot to post. D’OH!

And now that it’s here, I got nuthin’. I’m just incredibly gratified by the response the book is getting.

Some of the stuff that’s going on…

The book has been getting some great reviews, which I’ve been linking to on my Facebook page (it’s a “fan” page, so you don’t have to have a FB account to view it).

My awesome agent, Nathan Bransford, has the official ROCK PAPER TIGER Chase/Action Writing Contest Extravaganza! up on his blog. You have until Thursday at 4 PM PST to enter your best 500 word chase/action writing sample. The prizes, as usual, are fabulous, so get on over there and check it out!

(and watch his blog for a guest appearance by yours truly)

Finally, I have my very first book signing at the wonderful Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles (Westwood). Details available here!

Oh, and for upcoming events, check the calendar over there to your right — updated regularly!

Thanks to everyone who has supported me along the way. It’s been quite a ride!

Check out the Publisher’s Weekly starred review. A sample:

“The China scenes are fast paced and strikingly atmospheric, and Ellie’s backstory—her and Trey’s return from combat is tough, sad, and endearing—is given in doses that perfectly complement the central action.”

There’s also an interview with me in the same issue. You can read that here.