Gregory Stout's Blog

The last weekend in August, I attended the 20th annual Killer Nashville conference (actually held in nearby Franklin). It was a sellout, with 450 in attendance and more than 160 authors actually participating in presentations and panel discussions (I was on four panels and one "Author Speed Dating" event). This was my first time attending, and I thought it was well worth both the time and the financial investment. And, as a word of advice to aspiring and even established authors, being part of an event like this one is a great opportunity to hear from other writers, share ideas and learn from others' successes (and sometimes, failures). All in all, a great weekend.

Here's the blurb for my upcoming release (fall, 2025), called Goodbye is Forever:

Greg Stout’s latest Jackson Gamble story, Goodbye is Forever, is an old-style page-turner, infused with the color of the Nashville music scene and characters engaging in rich, often humorous, banter. Best of all, Stout offers up multiple subplots that keeps Gamble one step behind, until he’s not. A great read with a satisfying ending that fans of Stout expect.

William Ade, writing as Nic Knuckles, Big Scream in a Small Town and Big Scream in a Wee Village.

I'm grateful to my Bestie William for this one. I should be able to share the cover art shortly.

Here is a blurb for my newest release, Long Time Gone, created for me by NewInBooks (sic). This is a service (no charge) that is available to other writers. I was very pleased with it.

"Long Time Gone is a smart, sharply written PI mystery that dives deep into Nashville’s dark underbelly—where academia, organized crime, and long-buried secrets collide—and Jackson Gamble is the relentless, witty detective you’ll want in your corner until the final twist." –

NewInBooks.com

Today I got a telephone call from an individual who claimed to represent a group that wants to make a movie out of one of my books. Cool, I guess, except that this is the fourth such call I have received in the last year or so. Every single one of them winds up wanting me to pay $900-$2,000 to participate in a podcast to help launch the project. I guess this blog is aimed at other writers who may someday receive a call such as this. Please know it's a flimflam (and no, I didn't need to send any money to figure that out) designed to cash in on the hope we all have that our book is worthy of a Hollywood production, and that fame and fortune is right around the corner.
On a more upbeat note, I received the note below from an individual who purchased my most recent release, Long Time Gone:
"Don't take this in the wrong way, but I'm shocked at how good it is. Total page turner. Kept me reading all day. Can't remember the last time I did that."
Thanks! That made my day.

For Christmas I received a copy of The Pennsylvania Railroad, Part Three. Keep that "Part Three" in mind, because this book, including end notes and citations, is 897 pages long and easily weighs five pounds. So, since that's the case, the entire set must come to somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 pages. What a Herculean effort! I have written 22 books on various railroad histories, and I'm not sure all of the put together amount to 3,000 pages.

This is my first post since sometime back in 2023. Not because there was nothing I wanted to say, but because I inadvertently mixed up my passwords and couldn't figure out how to log back in. So...first, I want to express my appreciation (and my apologies) to the good folks at Goodreads who put up with my endless complaints, and tried and tried to help me get things straightened out, and never once gave up. You guys are the best.

Next, going forward I want to talk about all the good books I've read in the last year or so (and the two or three I've written), plus my adventures at last year's Bouchercon and my new gig as a radio host.

But I'll save all that for next time. "Til then, it's good to be back, and in the future, I'll be more careful with my passwords..

As a result of winning the Private Eye Writers of America 2022 Shamus Award for Best First PI Novel, I was invited to be a judge (along with two other individuals) for this year's competition for Best Original Paperback PI Novel. Of course, I didn't know what to expect, but eventually 35 novels arrived in my mailbox during February and March. Holy smokes! Now I have a sense of what publishers face every single week, as manuscripts from aspiring authors show up in their real or virtual mailboxes. In any event, being a part of this year's competition has been an interesting experience, in that I have gotten to read a LOT of good books, but in the end my fellow judges and I will have to pick five finalists, which will be announced at the end of May, and a winner, whose entry will be announced later this summer. I can't wait to see whose book comes out on top (and yes, I have my own favorite)!

Well, it's been a good couple of months. On top of winning the PWA Shamus Award, I've been named one of the four Artists of the Month by the Missouri Arts Council. The link to the MAC website is here:

https://www.missouriartscouncil.org/f...

On another note, I've recently been reading some very good mysteries, including The Rising, by Kerry Peresta, A Dead Man's Eyes, by Lori Duffy Foster and Mystery at Windswept Farm, by Wendy Eckel. For readers looking for a change from tough-guy cops ("not that there's anything wrong with that"), all three are written in a strong, fast-paced style that features smart, resourceful, and determined female protagonists who use unconventional methods to solve crimes. I recommend all three.

Well, you cannot imagine how excited I was to learn that my debut mystery novel, Lost Little Girl, won the Shamus Award from PWA (Private Eye Writers of America) as the best first novel of 2022. Writing a novel and then submitting it for publication is always a scary procedure, in the first place because of the likelihood there will be numerous rejections. In this instance, I had a fairly good idea that LLG might be a solid effort because I sent it to about a dozen publishers and four of them expressed interest in picking it up. Anyhow, there are reviews here on Goodreads and other places for those interested (and I am very grateful to all who posted those reviews). Lost Little Girl is the first in a series; the follow-up, The Gone Man, will be released later this year by Level Best Books.

I have a new YA novel coming out on July 29. The book is called Connor's War, and is the follow-up to the 2019 release, Gideon's Ghost. Connor's War is about a 15-year-old self-described Navy brat named Connor Ward. His father is a Navy pilot, who flies an F4 Phantom, escorting A5 Intruder bombers during raids over North Vietnam in the spring of 1968. In May of that year, his plane is shot down over enemy territory, with no word as to whether he survived. Meanwhile, Connor's mom is a Navy doctor, unexpectedly recalled to short-term active duty at a military hospital in Japan. That means Connor gets packed off for the summer to live with his grandfather, a county judge in the smallest county in Kansas--a far cry in every imaginable way from Connor's home in California.
In short order, Connor tries out for, and makes, the local baseball team where he turns out to be the best pitcher they have. He also runs afoul of the team's star outfielder and best hitter when he develops a crush on the star's former girlfriend.
Connor's War is a story that includes issues familiar in one way or another to most teens, including separation anxiety, dealing with illness and death, learning to drive, and finding love for the first time. Pre-orders are available now through my website at www.gregorystoutauthor.com, or on Amazon. The book is published by Beacon Publishing Group.