White Out Debuts This Coming Monday

 

The seventh Penns River novel, White Out, debuts Monday (July 11). The preliminary feedback has been as good or better than any novel I’ve written, and I have high hopes. The book is currently only available through Amazon in either paperback or Kindle for marketing reasons I will discuss below for those who are interested.

 

Inspired by such encouragement, I am making an effort to create more of a presence on that Internet thing, which I have finally decided is probably going to stick around. (I am not someone who likes to get too far ahead of any curve. There’s a reason it’s called the “bleeding edge.” The Beloved Spouse™ and I are only now watching Frasier.)

 

I’m working on making my Facebook author page more active, and attractive, by moving all writing-related announcements away from my personal page. The author page is https://www.facebook.com/DanaKingBooks.

 

I have also joined the Dark Side™ and become more active on Twitter, for those who prefer it to Facebook. The handle there is @DanaKingAuthor.

 

I am also starting a newsletter for subscribers only. The web site has threatened such a publication for years, and a goodly number of folks have signed up. Now I’m going to hold up my end. I intend to publish two or three times a year, which I hope will be often enough to stay on people’s radar without becoming spammy. Please sign up here and I’ll get the first edition out around the end of July.

 

While COVID is not fully behind us, The Beloved Spouse™ and I have decided to pick up the pace of getting out and about. We attended Left Coast Crime in April, and have several events on the horizon.

 

·       July 21 Noir at the Bar, Yonder Southern Cocktails and Brew, Hillsborough NC.

·       July 26 Noir at the ‘Voir ,The Boathouse at Sunday Park, Midlothian VA.

·       September 8 – 11 Bouchercon, Minneapolis MN. (Panel assignment: The Place It Took Place: Setting in Mystery, Sunday @ 9:00)

·       September 30 – October 2 Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity Conference, Columbia MD.

 

Thank you to everyone connected with Down & Out Books, especially Lance Wright and Chris Rhatigan. No one works harder than Lance, or is more responsive to authors’ needs, to the point where I sometimes feel guilty asking him for something. (Not that my guilt prevents me asking.) Chris’s editorial suggestions improve every book, whether I accept a specific edit or not, as he consistently makes me think about whether what I chose is the best choice.

 

Additional shoutouts to David Ivester for his marketing assistance; Erin Mitchell for her friendship and much-appreciated counsel; John DeDakis, Brendan DuBois, and J.D. Rhoades for their generous blurbs and kind personal comments; and, of course, to The Beloved Spouse™, who assisted/put up with/improved the book every step of the way.

 

A “special thanks” to white supremacists. Every time the book needed some dastard act or opinion for their characters, five minutes research showed they come up with worse rolling out of bed in the morning. This book would not have been possible without such evolutionary cul-de-sacs.

 

Penns River goes on hiatus after White Out, as I focus on a couple of Nick Forte PI stories that have been nagging me for months. Doc and his cohort will return a couple of books down the road. A three-novel story arc is already taking shape, but it needs research and time to ferment. Till then, I’m a private eye writer again, which is good. I still think the PI story, when done well, is the highest form of crime fiction.

 

(The decision to sell only through Amazon is part of placing all Penns River books on Kindle Unlimited, thus hopefully increasing my review totals, which figure into their marketing algorithms; payment for page views figured into it, as well. I know some of you see Amazon as The Evil Empire™; I have issues with them myself. Check this space next week for a detailed and nuanced discussion of my thoughts on this decision.)

White Out Available for Purchase July 11 from Down & Out Books

 

The seventh Penns River novel, White Out, drops July 11 from Down & Out Books. (Available for Kindle pre-order now.) The crux of the story is

·       A Black cop shoots and kills an unarmed white man.

·       The white man was also a white supremacist.

·       White supremacists decide to converge on Penns River for the funeral.

·       The Allegheny Casino is having a winner-take-all poker tournament the same day as the funeral. The winner will walk away with ten thousand hundred-dollar bills.

·       A snowstorm drops over a foot on the town the same day.

 The initial feedback for the book has been outstanding.

 In his latest Penns River crime novel --- White Out --- talented author Dana King reminds us again that in those small towns and cities, sneeringly called ‘flyover country,” the problems and challenges of the outside world often come to play a deadly visit.  In White Out,  a shooting involving a Black officer and a seemingly unarmed white supremacist sets off the proverbial spark that threatens to become an inferno.  With protestors and counter-protestors arriving, along with the news media and agitators, the strained police department desperately works to keep the peace as an approaching snowstorm and a casino poker tournament complicates matters even further.  A gritty crime novel that deserves wide attention.

 ---- Brendan DuBois, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author

 

It’s been a long time  since I read a book that pulled me along as urgently as Dana King’s latest Penns River novel White Out. King writes about his cops and their town with the kind of real affection that has you not just wanting, but needing, to know what happens to them next–and there’s plenty happening in this fast moving, deftly written thriller. Highly recommended.

 -- J.D. Rhoades, bestselling author of the Jack Keller series and the Cade and Clayborne historical thrillers.

  

We’ve all heard the stories of White cops shooting and killing unarmed Black men. But what happens when the scenario flips?  In White Out, Dana King kills in this gripping behind-the-badge drama. One cop I know wonders how Dana is able to get it so right.

 

~John DeDakis, Novelist, Writing Coach, and former Senior Copy Editor for CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.” www.johndedakis.com

 Since I already gave away the inciting incident, I see no potential spoilers in supplying a brief excerpt.

 oston reached for a wrist to cuff. Richie slapped him open handed across the face and ran for the front of the building. Took Boston half a second to recover from the shock before he began pursuit. Almost collided with the ambulance crew on their way in. They’d been to Fat Jimmy’s before and knew the drill. Stepped back to make room. One pointed to Boston’s right. “He went that-a-way.”

Footprints in the fresh snow led around the side of the building. Boston took his time, stayed away from the corner, flashlight in hand. Clear. Followed the tracks to where they went around back. Moved at an angle to give himself room in case Richie was hugging the wall. Saw a horror show of empty beer and whisky cases, pallets, and an overflowing dumpster that created an alley along the back side of the building. Stray bottles, broken glass, bottle caps, and pieces of paper and cardboard littered the path.

The cases and pallets stacked on either side would limit Boston’s freedom of movement if he walked between the dumpster and building. Going around the outside limited his line of sight and could allow Richie to run back the way he came without being seen.

Boston paused to listen for movement. Nothing. Drew his weapon, finger outside the trigger guard. “Penns River police! Show yourself with your hands up.”

Nothing.

Boston considered his options and moved into the path defined by the bar’s detritus. Flashlight in his left hand, gun in his right. Small steps, head on a swivel. No ambient light. The snow, coming down harder, reflected the flashlight beam into his eyes. Paused after each step to allow space between crunches in the snow, alert for any sound.

There. To his left. Near the dumpster.

Quiet again. Cat, maybe. More likely a rat.

Or a man shuffling his feet.

Glass broke and Boston froze in place. Raised the gun. Eyes scanning between the rows of garbage, looking right when Richie came from behind the dumpster on the left. He turned. Would have said Freeze or Stop but Richie was too close. Boston fired. Richie appeared to slip, came up lunging. Boston fired twice more. Richie dropped to his knees with an expression equal parts rage, pain, and disbelief. Fell hard enough for Boston to hear his nose break as it bounced off the hardpack and gravel.

 This will not be the most comfortable book for some to read, as it deals with white supremacists in a realistic manner, i.e. any time I thought I might have been too harsh, a little research showed I’d barely scratched the surface. Some of the language is both unforgiving and unforgivable. I didn’t set out to write a book that dealt with racism that wouldn’t offend anyone. I don’t see how anyone could, considering how offending racism is to anyone who gives it more than a second’s thought. What I aimed for was an entertaining story with an honest depiction of the antagonists. You’ll have to tell me if I succeeded.