Douglas Dorow's Blog
August 25, 2013
Author & Fans join to fight Alzheimers
Boston Herald article > Author & Fans join to fight alzheimers. bit.ly/140PxE9 Need a book to read? Check out Tess Gettisen and support her fight.
Support a cause important to you, whatever it is.
Support a cause important to you, whatever it is.
August 18, 2013
THE NINTH DISTRICT - The Way Thrillers Should Be Written
Author Scott Bury shared a nice write up / review for THE NINTH DISTRICT on his blog.
Check it out http://scottswrittenwords.blogspot.co... check out his website and books as well.
Check it out http://scottswrittenwords.blogspot.co... check out his website and books as well.
July 30, 2013
I get to name a character in Tess Gerritsen's next “Rizzoli & Isles” thriller
I get to name a character in Tess Gerritsen's next “Rizzoli & Isles” thriller, scheduled for release in 2014! My name was selected as one of the contributors to Tess' War on Alzheimers'.
A little background. Back in June, I was reading JA Konrath's blog and discovered he was helping to promote author Tess Gerritsen's War On Alzheimers'. For a donation, to be matched by Tess, Joe would let you write a guest blog post. Here's my post: http://bit.ly/15V0EP8
Tess' War on Alzheimers' was a success, raising over $50,000 (Tess' $25,000 match of over $25,000 raised by contributors)http://bit.ly/10VMTCE
If you're looking for a book to read while you're waiting for me to release my next one, check out JA Konrath'shttp://www.jakonrath.com/ or Tess Gerriten'shttp://www.tessgerritsen.com/ . They're both great authors.
And if you're thinking about where you want to make charitable contributions in the future, think about Alzheimers' supporting those afflicted with it and their families who live with it supporting their loved one as well.
http://www.alzfdn.org/?gclid=CJS8m761...
A little background. Back in June, I was reading JA Konrath's blog and discovered he was helping to promote author Tess Gerritsen's War On Alzheimers'. For a donation, to be matched by Tess, Joe would let you write a guest blog post. Here's my post: http://bit.ly/15V0EP8
Tess' War on Alzheimers' was a success, raising over $50,000 (Tess' $25,000 match of over $25,000 raised by contributors)http://bit.ly/10VMTCE
If you're looking for a book to read while you're waiting for me to release my next one, check out JA Konrath'shttp://www.jakonrath.com/ or Tess Gerriten'shttp://www.tessgerritsen.com/ . They're both great authors.
And if you're thinking about where you want to make charitable contributions in the future, think about Alzheimers' supporting those afflicted with it and their families who live with it supporting their loved one as well.
http://www.alzfdn.org/?gclid=CJS8m761...
June 30, 2013
Guest post at JA Konrath's
I wrote a guest blog post "Shall we play a game?"at JA Konrath's "A Newbies Guide To Publishing" as part of his supporting Tess Gerritsen's War On Alzheimers.
Check it out. Check out Joe's books. Check out Tess' books and her War on Alzheimer's.
Check it out. Check out Joe's books. Check out Tess' books and her War on Alzheimer's.
June 22, 2013
May 15, 2013
Where do writers get their ideas?
From my guest post post on Best Selling Reads
As writers, we often get questions on where our story ideas come from.
They come from a story in the news, something read, an observation from the world, or discussion with friends. Something out there tugs at the corner of the mind: What if? What would happen if? What if that was merged with, Why did that …?
Today, we’re going to explore where six of the Best Selling Reads authors got their ideas for a completed work or a work in progress.
Douglas Dorow – author of the FBI thriller THE NINTH DISTRICT
The idea for my second book in my FBI thriller series, that I’m currently writing, came from an event a few years ago.
On a summer afternoon, my wife and our two kids were visiting a beach at a Minnesota state park. While I was resting in the sun, my wife was wading in the water where the kids were playing. I heard her calling to me with a tension in her voice that got my attention right away.
I sat up and saw her standing in the water, pointing to a spot in front of her. She told me her wedding ring slipped from her finger into the water.
We looked for it for a while, but we couldn’t find it.
We returned to the beach a couple of weeks later, armed with a metal detector that my wife rented. Exploring the area we found pieces of metal and her ring!
After putting her ring back on her finger we checked out the other pieces of metal. There were tire weights, rusted metal grommets and a dog license from 1941. That last item got my attention. How did a dog license from 1941 end up in the water at this beach?
I thought about that for a while and put together a story line and a thriller that begins with my protagonist, FBI Special Agent Jack Miller, finding a 1941 dog license at the beach after his wife loses her wedding ring in the water.
Andy Holloman – author of SHADES OF GRAY
The seed for my first novel, Shades of Gray, came from a real life experience. I was a travel agency owner for 12 years and we had a client who made unusual requests whenever she purchased airline tickets (and she always traveled First Class). One day, the sales person that managed her travel reported to me that this client was murdered, execution style, in her home, and the home was set on fire. Based on the news story reporting this event, it appeared that she was involved in smuggling drugs.
In 2003, my business was in rapid decline and I couldn’t shake the thought of what a business owner might do to try and save their company. I never crossed the line into drug smuggling, but the seed was planted and the story remained stuck in my brain, haunting me day and night. So I just had to write it down!!
Diane Capri
Diane Capri author of DON’T KNOW JACK part of the Hunt For Jack Reacher Mystery/Thriller series
The idea for my book, Don’t Know Jack, and my entire Hunt for Jack Reacher series was sparked by a conversation with my friend Lee Child at an event in New York City. We were discussing our work and the subject of Reacher naturally came up.
I asked, “Where is Reacher, anyway? Between books, I mean? And what about all of those people he’s helped over the years? Whatever happened to them? And really, is it even possible that he hasn’t fathered a child or two?”
Lee replied, “He does what he wants and lives where he wants and helps who he wants. Besides, who in their right mind would go looking for Reacher? You?”
Not me. No. But the question lingered. “Who in her right mind would go looking for Jack Reacher? And maybe more importantly,why?”
Raine Thomas author of YA fantasy romance BECOMING
I’m often asked where I got the inspiration to write my YA fantasy romance books. Here’s my response:
Becoming was inspired by my work with youth diagnosed with mental illnesses and/or behavioral disorders, many of whom endured multiple foster home placements. Becoming‘s protagonist, Amber Hopkins, is loosely based on a seventeen-year-old young woman with whom I worked. Like that young woman, Amber bounces from foster home to foster home, developing emotional issues as a result. I wanted to write a story about a young woman who experiences this type of difficult past and finds the strength to overcome it, like the young woman who inspired the story.
Kathleen Valentine author of THE OLD MERMAID’S TALE – A Novel of the Great Lakes
When I was a kid my godparents lived in Erie, Pennsylvania, and every summer I was allowed to go and stay with them for a week or two. My godfather, Uncle Buddy, would always take me down to the docks and show me the big ships–”lakers” that came into port–and tell me stories about the ships and the legends that surrounded them. There was a tavern on the waterfront called The Mermaid Tavern and I was absolutely mesmerized by it.
Later, while I was in college in Erie, I used to take the bus down to the docks just to see the big ships and always I had to check on The Mermaid Tavern. It just looked dangerous, and my Uncle Buddy warned me that I’d be in big trouble if he ever caught me going in there.
About ten years after I graduated from college, I went back to Erie for a visit and, by this time, I was well-experienced at going in to bars. I was determined to go into The Mermaid Tavern and have a drink or two. I was so excited! But when I got down to the docks I discovered that the whole waterfront had been “urban renewed,” and The Mermaid Tavern was now a fast-food restaurant. I was crushed, but that is when the idea for The Old Mermaid’s Tale began to grow in my mind.
Tawdra Kandle author of FEARLESS
When my kids were babies, I used to joke that if I woke up in the middle of the night and thought about them, they seemed to ‘hear’ me and awaken as well. That made me wonder what that would look like. . .raising a child who had that ability. What would you do to protect her? How would she turn out? Those musings morphed into Fearless, Book 1 in The King Series. Tasmyn refers to her parents’ discovery of her extraordinary talent; how they responded to it informs the girl she is at the beginning of the series as well as the young woman she becomes by the end.
As writers, we often get questions on where our story ideas come from.
They come from a story in the news, something read, an observation from the world, or discussion with friends. Something out there tugs at the corner of the mind: What if? What would happen if? What if that was merged with, Why did that …?
Today, we’re going to explore where six of the Best Selling Reads authors got their ideas for a completed work or a work in progress.
Douglas Dorow – author of the FBI thriller THE NINTH DISTRICT
The idea for my second book in my FBI thriller series, that I’m currently writing, came from an event a few years ago.
On a summer afternoon, my wife and our two kids were visiting a beach at a Minnesota state park. While I was resting in the sun, my wife was wading in the water where the kids were playing. I heard her calling to me with a tension in her voice that got my attention right away.
I sat up and saw her standing in the water, pointing to a spot in front of her. She told me her wedding ring slipped from her finger into the water.
We looked for it for a while, but we couldn’t find it.
We returned to the beach a couple of weeks later, armed with a metal detector that my wife rented. Exploring the area we found pieces of metal and her ring!
After putting her ring back on her finger we checked out the other pieces of metal. There were tire weights, rusted metal grommets and a dog license from 1941. That last item got my attention. How did a dog license from 1941 end up in the water at this beach?
I thought about that for a while and put together a story line and a thriller that begins with my protagonist, FBI Special Agent Jack Miller, finding a 1941 dog license at the beach after his wife loses her wedding ring in the water.
Andy Holloman – author of SHADES OF GRAY
The seed for my first novel, Shades of Gray, came from a real life experience. I was a travel agency owner for 12 years and we had a client who made unusual requests whenever she purchased airline tickets (and she always traveled First Class). One day, the sales person that managed her travel reported to me that this client was murdered, execution style, in her home, and the home was set on fire. Based on the news story reporting this event, it appeared that she was involved in smuggling drugs.
In 2003, my business was in rapid decline and I couldn’t shake the thought of what a business owner might do to try and save their company. I never crossed the line into drug smuggling, but the seed was planted and the story remained stuck in my brain, haunting me day and night. So I just had to write it down!!
Diane Capri
Diane Capri author of DON’T KNOW JACK part of the Hunt For Jack Reacher Mystery/Thriller series
The idea for my book, Don’t Know Jack, and my entire Hunt for Jack Reacher series was sparked by a conversation with my friend Lee Child at an event in New York City. We were discussing our work and the subject of Reacher naturally came up.
I asked, “Where is Reacher, anyway? Between books, I mean? And what about all of those people he’s helped over the years? Whatever happened to them? And really, is it even possible that he hasn’t fathered a child or two?”
Lee replied, “He does what he wants and lives where he wants and helps who he wants. Besides, who in their right mind would go looking for Reacher? You?”
Not me. No. But the question lingered. “Who in her right mind would go looking for Jack Reacher? And maybe more importantly,why?”
Raine Thomas author of YA fantasy romance BECOMING
I’m often asked where I got the inspiration to write my YA fantasy romance books. Here’s my response:
Becoming was inspired by my work with youth diagnosed with mental illnesses and/or behavioral disorders, many of whom endured multiple foster home placements. Becoming‘s protagonist, Amber Hopkins, is loosely based on a seventeen-year-old young woman with whom I worked. Like that young woman, Amber bounces from foster home to foster home, developing emotional issues as a result. I wanted to write a story about a young woman who experiences this type of difficult past and finds the strength to overcome it, like the young woman who inspired the story.
Kathleen Valentine author of THE OLD MERMAID’S TALE – A Novel of the Great Lakes
When I was a kid my godparents lived in Erie, Pennsylvania, and every summer I was allowed to go and stay with them for a week or two. My godfather, Uncle Buddy, would always take me down to the docks and show me the big ships–”lakers” that came into port–and tell me stories about the ships and the legends that surrounded them. There was a tavern on the waterfront called The Mermaid Tavern and I was absolutely mesmerized by it.
Later, while I was in college in Erie, I used to take the bus down to the docks just to see the big ships and always I had to check on The Mermaid Tavern. It just looked dangerous, and my Uncle Buddy warned me that I’d be in big trouble if he ever caught me going in there.
About ten years after I graduated from college, I went back to Erie for a visit and, by this time, I was well-experienced at going in to bars. I was determined to go into The Mermaid Tavern and have a drink or two. I was so excited! But when I got down to the docks I discovered that the whole waterfront had been “urban renewed,” and The Mermaid Tavern was now a fast-food restaurant. I was crushed, but that is when the idea for The Old Mermaid’s Tale began to grow in my mind.
Tawdra Kandle author of FEARLESS
When my kids were babies, I used to joke that if I woke up in the middle of the night and thought about them, they seemed to ‘hear’ me and awaken as well. That made me wonder what that would look like. . .raising a child who had that ability. What would you do to protect her? How would she turn out? Those musings morphed into Fearless, Book 1 in The King Series. Tasmyn refers to her parents’ discovery of her extraordinary talent; how they responded to it informs the girl she is at the beginning of the series as well as the young woman she becomes by the end.
April 9, 2013
My Unsolved Mystery
It’s spring! That means rain, mud, green grass, robins and BASEBALL. And my yearly mystery.
When baseball starts each Spring, I think back to my childhood. There were two things I loved to do when I was young: play baseball and read.
I played baseball in elementary school for the Longfellow Lions. We were a group of kids who went to the same school and signed up together to play park board baseball. We were OK. I played second base and right field.
One year during the baseball season, I found a fictional story about baseball to read. I really liked the book. Iit is one of the few books I remember reading more than once.
The book was about a young boy who was the batboy or ballboy for a team. He did odd jobs for the team. He searched through clover fields and made some of his own four-leaf clovers to give to the players for good luck. There was also a big play in a game. The batter was going to fake a bunt and then take a full swing at the ball to drive in a winning run.
That’s all I remember about the story. That, and the fact that I liked the book so much that I wanted to write the author and let him know. The librarian showed me how to figure out who the publisher was from the copyright page. We found the address for the publisher, and I wrote to the author via his publisher. And he wrote back! I remember the typed pages on flimsy paper. I had them for a while, but that was a long time ago, and I don’t know where they are now.
My mystery is I can’t remember the name of the book or who the author is.
Today, as a reader and an author, I enjoy how easy it is for reader and author to connect via social media or email. As an author, I’ve received some great emails from readers who are surprised to hear back from me. I respond because I remember how I felt getting a letter back from an author so long ago.
I still want to solve this mystery. I’ve looked for the book on-line, talked to librarians, made other posts about this, but still the mystery goes on. I was hoping to find the book and share it with my son as he was growing up and playing baseball. He’s almost too old to enjoy it today, but it’s still something I’d like to share with him.
If you can help solve my mystery, I’d appreciate it. There are a couple of clues above from what I remember about the story and here are some more:
Ball or batboy makes four-leaf clovers for the baseball team for luck. They think he found them.
There’s a big hit in the game, fake bunt to full swing hit.
Probably written in the 1960’s as I read it from my school library around 1970.
US - New York publisher, I think.
Not a lot to go on, but if it was easy I would’ve found it by now.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find the name of the book.
Thanks and good luck!
I'm at douglasdorow@gmail.com
When baseball starts each Spring, I think back to my childhood. There were two things I loved to do when I was young: play baseball and read.
I played baseball in elementary school for the Longfellow Lions. We were a group of kids who went to the same school and signed up together to play park board baseball. We were OK. I played second base and right field.
One year during the baseball season, I found a fictional story about baseball to read. I really liked the book. Iit is one of the few books I remember reading more than once.
The book was about a young boy who was the batboy or ballboy for a team. He did odd jobs for the team. He searched through clover fields and made some of his own four-leaf clovers to give to the players for good luck. There was also a big play in a game. The batter was going to fake a bunt and then take a full swing at the ball to drive in a winning run.
That’s all I remember about the story. That, and the fact that I liked the book so much that I wanted to write the author and let him know. The librarian showed me how to figure out who the publisher was from the copyright page. We found the address for the publisher, and I wrote to the author via his publisher. And he wrote back! I remember the typed pages on flimsy paper. I had them for a while, but that was a long time ago, and I don’t know where they are now.
My mystery is I can’t remember the name of the book or who the author is.
Today, as a reader and an author, I enjoy how easy it is for reader and author to connect via social media or email. As an author, I’ve received some great emails from readers who are surprised to hear back from me. I respond because I remember how I felt getting a letter back from an author so long ago.
I still want to solve this mystery. I’ve looked for the book on-line, talked to librarians, made other posts about this, but still the mystery goes on. I was hoping to find the book and share it with my son as he was growing up and playing baseball. He’s almost too old to enjoy it today, but it’s still something I’d like to share with him.
If you can help solve my mystery, I’d appreciate it. There are a couple of clues above from what I remember about the story and here are some more:
Ball or batboy makes four-leaf clovers for the baseball team for luck. They think he found them.
There’s a big hit in the game, fake bunt to full swing hit.
Probably written in the 1960’s as I read it from my school library around 1970.
US - New York publisher, I think.
Not a lot to go on, but if it was easy I would’ve found it by now.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find the name of the book.
Thanks and good luck!
I'm at douglasdorow@gmail.com
February 20, 2013
February 14, 2013
Serialized thriller reading?
Behind The Curtain
- serial fiction Vol 1 Episode 1
What's "Behind The Curtain"?
I am spinning off a character from THE NINTH DISTRICT into a novella series. FBI Special Agent, Ross Fruen, is joining the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and these novellas will follow them from adventure to adventure.
Here, behind the curtain, you can read the story as it unfolds and/or offer comments, feedback and ideas. I will try to publish new,additional material every Thursday. It will won't be first draft material, but it won't be final either. Once the story is complete, I will remove it and publish it as an ebook and move on to the next adventure.
I'd love to hear what you think of this idea and the stories as they unfold. Are you interested in reading serialized fiction?
Click the text "Behind the Curtain" at the top of this post and it will take you to my website where Volume 1/Episode 1 is posted.
- serial fiction Vol 1 Episode 1
What's "Behind The Curtain"?
I am spinning off a character from THE NINTH DISTRICT into a novella series. FBI Special Agent, Ross Fruen, is joining the FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and these novellas will follow them from adventure to adventure.
Here, behind the curtain, you can read the story as it unfolds and/or offer comments, feedback and ideas. I will try to publish new,additional material every Thursday. It will won't be first draft material, but it won't be final either. Once the story is complete, I will remove it and publish it as an ebook and move on to the next adventure.
I'd love to hear what you think of this idea and the stories as they unfold. Are you interested in reading serialized fiction?
Click the text "Behind the Curtain" at the top of this post and it will take you to my website where Volume 1/Episode 1 is posted.
Show your kindle some love.
Feb 14, 15 & 16 I am partnering up with two of my author friends to offer our books on Kindle for Free. Show your kindle some love, or get your book lover some Free books.
They're all excellent reads. My THE NINTH DISTRICT features FBI Special Agent Jack Miller who finds himself up against the toughest opponent of his career. The Federal Reserve has never been robbed and Jack means to keep it that way.
Shawn Hopkins' A MAN OVERBOARD is a thriller, spy, espionage and love story all rolled into one novel. I think this is Shawn's breakout novel.
John R Kess' ELLY'S GHOST is a multi-layered outdoor adventure thriller that I really enjoyed. John's proven to be a fantastic story teller.
They're all excellent reads. My THE NINTH DISTRICT features FBI Special Agent Jack Miller who finds himself up against the toughest opponent of his career. The Federal Reserve has never been robbed and Jack means to keep it that way.
Shawn Hopkins' A MAN OVERBOARD is a thriller, spy, espionage and love story all rolled into one novel. I think this is Shawn's breakout novel.
John R Kess' ELLY'S GHOST is a multi-layered outdoor adventure thriller that I really enjoyed. John's proven to be a fantastic story teller.
