Tag Archive: A Year of Hitchcock

WRITING: Nothing is ever truly done…

… even when it’s already in print. Over two years ago I did a series of posts called How I Got Published outlining the start-to-finish of how Jim McDevitt and I conceived of, wrote, and ultimately sold A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense. My hope was that those posts would help other writers understand what they might look forward to when their time comes. Consider this a follow-up on that series of posts. Readers of this blog may recall that not too long ago, I announced that A Year of Hitchcock is coming to paperback. That’s exciting news. This edition will target a wider market; with better bookstore distribution and a very attractive price, we should be able to reach…
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A few appearances from around the web

Joe Valdez over at This Distracted Globe quoted me in his write-up of Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes. Thanks, Joe. The quote comes from my review of the Criterion Collection DVD release, which you can read here. Purchase the (awesome) DVD here. Over on the Bibliophile Stalker blog, there is a review/overview of the issue of Weird Tales in which my “commendable piece,” Whispers of the Old Hag, appeared. Thanks, Charles. The issue also has a listing at Locus Online. Speaking of listings, Pictureshowman.com lists A Year of Hitchcock with upcoming books on the History of Motion Pictures. Looks like we’re in some fine company. While we’re on A Year of Hitchcock, I found a good source for tracking down deals on the book. The book’s…
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WRITING: Some excellent blogs and resources

In a previous post I mentioned a few blogs and resources you should consider following if you’re interested not just in the craft of writing, but getting paid for it. ‘Cause doing something you love is nice, but getting paid for it is even nicer. Well, here are a few more. The Swivet is a mixed bag of odds and ends, but it always returns to writing. It first caught my attention with an excellent piece about self promotion that all aspiring writers ought to read, ESPECIALLY if you’re about to be or have just been published. Plenty of good advice in this blog. It also frequently returns to oft-asked questions such as how long your novel should be. It’s largely all about promoting itself,…
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Happy Birthday to my coauthor, Jim McDevitt

When Jim McDevitt and I started writing about the works of Alfred Hitchcock way back in 2006, yeah, we talked about it becoming a book and people reading it and all the usual daydreaming. I’m not sure we imagined it would actually happen, though, or that it would do well enough to earn a paperback edition, or that we’d do 50 something episodes of a podcast based on the book, and that the podcast would get many hundreds of listeners, or a host of other things. But we did. Two beer-drinking baseball fans decided to do something silly like write a book. It worked out. And that’s cool. So with all that mind, happy birthday to you, Jim. I’m proud to share a book spine…
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A Year of Hitchcock coming to paperback

Wasn’t sure when I could safely announce this, but since our publisher has done so I guess that means I can do so, too. This fall, A Year of Hitchcock: 52 Weeks with the Master of Suspense, is coming to paperback! Our publisher, Scarecrow Press, is listing it on their website with an October 28 release date and, most exciting of all, a $19.95 price point. That’s a damn nice price, and one likely to be even nicer once it hits online retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Even better, our editor informs us this edition will be targeting bookstores — which means a wider market than the largely academic readership at which the hardcover edition was aimed. Both my co-author, Jim McDevitt, and…
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