WHAT FRESH HELL IS THIS? (J.D. Rhoades' Blog)

I'm guest blogging at  Elizabeth A. White's blog today on how and why I came to write ICE CHEST. C'mon by!

 Ice Chest by J.D. Rhoades

In this winning caper novel from Rhoades (Devils and Dust and three other Jack Keller mysteries), the Enigma agency’s top model, Clarissa Cartwright, and her entourage fly from New York City to Atlanta, where she’s due to wear a jewel-encrusted bra known as the Ice Chest at a fashion show. Chunk McNeill, a former New York cop, and Zoe Piper, a whiz at using computers to gather intel, lead the team providing security, while Hermione Starr manages the flock of Enigma’s underwear models. Meanwhile, crooks Rafe Valentine, L.B. Gordon, and their associates aim to snatch Clarissa and her multimillion-dollar brassiere with the aid of Branson Suggs, Rafe’s rather naïve nephew. Also watching Clarissa is Aldo “the Moose” Cantone, a henchman of an ex-boyfriend of hers, Mario Allegretti, who just can’t accept her leaving him. The grab is made, and that’s when the fun really begins. Chunk and Zoe want to save the innocents, Rafe and L.B. want to get paid, and Mario wants to kill anyone who has touched “his girl.” Other zany characters keep the plot twisting.

Bill Ott at Booklist seems kinda relieved about ICE CHEST: 


Fans can’t be blamed for their furrowed brows when a favorite author decides to change styles. So when action-maestro Rhoades turns away from flawed noir heroes and nonstop overdrive to try his hand at a wacky, Elmore Leonard–style caper novel, well, we can’t help but worry. 

No need, as it turns out. There’s  just enough edge in this gang-who-couldn’t-shoot-straight heist tale to remind us that blood is only an itchy trigger finger away, but connected to those trembling digits are some of the goofiest, oddly sympathetic characters since Brad Smith rigged a horse race in All Hat (2003). The bad guys, including twins who happen to be eunuchs (long story) and a ringleader whose outsize vocabulary has led to delusions of grandeur, plan to kidnap a supermodel who will be wearing a bra studded with $5 million in jewels. On the other side of the scrimmage line are the security chief for the lingerie company; his punky, computer-wizard assistant; and the model’s chaperone, who has some special skills of her own. Oh, and there’s the supermodel’s jealous, mobbed-up boyfriend, too. 

The thing is, every one of these characters could star in his or her own thriller—well, except maybe the eunuchs—and together they comprise an ensemble that delivers nonstop entertainment. Does Rhoades do comic caper novels better than he does high-octane thrillers? Too close to call. 

Thanks, Bill! I think I'm going to add "action-maestro" to my business card.  

Thanks to the Lincoln, Nebraska Star Journal who posted this review of  Devils and Dust:

So, in case you haven't guessed, today is the "official" pub day for Devils and Dust. (You may have read a couple of things about that book in these pages). Grab it at your favorite bookstore...if they don't have it, ask why. Politely. Or, of course, you can order it at the usual places online. And don't forget, if you like it, please post a review at your favorte site, and don't forget to tell all your friends. Our books live and die by that kind of word of mouth advertising. Thanks for everyone who's helped bring this book to life, particularly Jason Pinter and Polis Books, and to everyone who's helping get the word out.

As the return of the sparrow heralds the onset of Spring, the arrival of the author's copies tells up Publication Day is not far behind...

Polis Books is running a very nifty giveaway for the upcoming release of my latest Jack Keller Novel, DEVILS AND DUST, as well as Dave White's new one, NOT EVEN PAST. Here's how it works:

"You bring death," the voice said, "and Hell follows with you."

Relentless bounty hunter Jack Keller returns in DEVILS AND DUST, the long-awaited fourth installment of the critically acclaimed series.

Keller’s been in exile, living a quiet life in the desert, since his disappearance after the cataclysmic events of 2008’s award-winning SAFE AND SOUND. Now his old friend and former employer Angela has tracked him down and needs his help. Oscar Sanchez, Angela’s husband and Keller’s best friend, has disappeared while investigating what happened to the sons he was trying to bring to America. If anyone can find Oscar, Keller can, but along the way, he has to confront his own demons and his unresolved feelings for Angela—now his best friend’s wife.

Keller’s quest takes him from a corrupt Mexican border town to a prison camp in the swamps of South Carolina and pits him against human traffickers, violent drug lords, and a vicious group of white supremacists perpetuating an evil as old as civilization itself in the name of God. All of them are about to learn a hard lesson: if Jack Keller's after you, he's bringing Hell with him.

I'm interviewed by ace book blogger and podcaster Pam Stack at Authors On The Air, where we talk about the writing process, newspaper columns, trying to make marketing interesting, and what I'd be doing in an alternate universe. Check it out, and don't miss the Final Five.

Your Humble Blogger is interviewed by the lovely and talented J.F. Penn:

I'm answering Ten Questions About Broken Shield  over at Chuck Wendig's blog terribleminds. Check it out!

 If you're one of the few people I know who hasn't heard this announcement already, BROKEN SHIELD, my new e-book for Kindle, is now available. More formats, including print, will be forthcoming.

Cool cover, no? It's by my friend Robert Gregory Browne.

Here's the description:

Chief Deputy Tim Buckthorn takes center stage in this scorching sequel to the bestselling BREAKING COVER.

Buckthorn and his beloved hometown of Pine Lake thought they'd seen the last of FBI agent Tony Wolf. But when evidence of a kidnapping literally falls from the sky, Wolf returns to assist in the search for an abducted young girl.

Buckthorn, Wolf, and brilliant FBI prodigy Leila Dushane race against the clock to piece the clues together. When the evil they find follows them home, Pine Lake once again suffers terrible tragedy at the hands of violent and lawless men. Tim Buckthorn, who's lived his life as a sworn officer of the law, will have to cross every line he ever knew on a quest to protect the people and the place he loves.

"I loved this emotionally riveting collision of good and evil in a small Southern town. Rhoades always melds action, character and suspense into a seamless and unforgettable ride."-Alexandra Sokoloff, award-winning author of THE HARROWING and the Huntress Series

“A blistering follow-up to BREAKING COVER. The prose is fast and smart, the pace frantic and the characters driven, dangerous and yet full of heart. BROKEN SHIELD reaffirms JD Rhoades’ position as the king of redneck noir.” -Zoë Sharp, author of the Charlie Fox crime thriller series

"J.D. Rhoades introduced Tim Buckthorn in Breaking Cover. Now, in the searing prose of Broken Shield, Rhoades shows us he has created a character who can stand tall alongside Jack Reacher and Harry Bosch."-Keith Raffel, bestselling author of DOT DEAD, DROP BY DROP, and A FINE AND DANGEROUS SEASON

  

Congratulations to my fellow winners from The Pilot: Hannah Sharpe (First Place in General News Photography, Best Video, and Best Multimedia Project, Third Place education reporting); Fearless sports photographer Donna Ford (First Place, Sports Feature Photo); Deborah Salomon (Third Place Headline Writing); The staff of The Pilot (First Place Headline writing, Second Place Appearance and Design,  Third Place Photo page, Third Place Use of photographs); Andie Rose and Steve Dodson, (Third Place,  Niche Publication for Pinestraw Magazine); and my long-suffering editor, Steve Bouser ( First Place editorial page). 

Thanks to Editor John Nagy for his support, for continuing to publish me every week despite the slings and arrows of the right wing goon squads,  and for dinner.

 The wonderfully energetic Ann White and Pam Stack interview yours truly on their on-air podcast, Authors On The Air on  Blog Talk Radio.  Check it out.

Some Reviews:

 My sci-fi vampire revenge epic, titled MONSTER: NIGHTRIDER'S VENGEANCE, releases May 1st. I'll send a free Kindle or EPub copy to the first 20 people, not related to me by blood or marriage, who e-mail me at dustyr@nc.rr.com and put MONSTER in the subject line. In exchange, you agree to post an honest review when (or within a reasonable time after) it's released. Reviews can be on Amazon, B & N, blog, wherever, but they must be honest. Specify mobi (Kindle) or Epub format, and if you want me to send it direct to your device give me the address (e.g. mykindle@kindle.com), and remember to set dustyr@nc.rr.com as an address you can get files from. 

This is the cover for my upcoming e-book (the long-awaited sci-fi vampire revenge epic), by the multi-talented David Terrenoire. I like it a lot, hope you do too.

Laura Lippman says: "Breaking Cover won't surprise J.D. Rhoades' fans, who already know just how good he is, but it should win him many more. A breath-taking pace, paired with a sure sense of character and place, makes this book another winner. Rhoades' star on the mystery scene is rising almost as fast as his own stories rocket across the page."


Tess Gerritsen says: "Breaking Cover is one of those rare thrillers that combine smart, tense prose with a momentum that never quits. J.D. Rhoades revs this baby into action from the get-go and never eases up on the throttle."


BOOKLIST says:" Rhoades takes a break from his Keller series, featuring the Gulf War–haunted bounty hunter (Safe and Sound, 2007), with a stand-alone thriller starring rogue FBI agent Tony Wolf. Forced to break cover after rescuing two abducted children, Wolf—officially dead but living under the radar in rural North Carolina—suddenly finds himself on the run from both his former colleagues in the bureau (including his wife) and, more seriously, from the gang of drug-dealing bikers he infiltrated in his last FBI assignment. Tired of running from trouble, Wolf decides to go on the offense: take down the bikers, and expose the mole in the FBI power structure who is feeding the bikers information. If thriller fans are thinking Lee Child here, they’re right on target. Like Child, Rhoades dishes out one airtight action scene after another, mixing in just enough character-building moments and holding our interest in a full cast of nicely developed supporting players. All that, and a Sam Peckinpah–like bloody, bravura finale that will leave even icy-veined thriller fans panting for breath."


BREAKING COVER: Free for Kindle for a limited time! 

Elizabeth A. White, All Purpose Monkey gives GALLOWS POLE a great review. Check it out!