Congratulations Alma! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your books. You hooked me with your books "Red Widow" and "Red London", both of which I happily consumed. Your short story "Wehrwolf" was frankly out of left field for my normal literary taste, and I did cast a jaundiced eye upon opening to the first page, however the ending was unexpected and very satisfying. Now I have downloaded all three of your latest Russian spy books and it's with a heightened sense of anticipation that I approach the saga of Yuri Kozlov and his journey with Western Intelligence.
You are a Great Writer and I want to Thank You for the hours of reading pleasure you have given me.
Samantha, thank you so much for writing, and for reading my work. I appreciate that you gave the Wehrwolf a try, even though it's not your what you usually read.
I must say I'm really torn on trying to continue down two genres at the same time. I know it's confusing to readers and there's only going to be a small percentage who will want to read both types. A topic for a future newsletter.
I hope you enjoy The Spy Who Vanished and look forward to your thoughts. Maybe it's because I'm retired, but I enjoyed being able to think about what someone like Yuri (or Bond!) would think about at the end of his career. How he would view it, honestly.
Just finished writing a review of your book "Wehrwolf" on Amazon under "NYC Native" and it has been accepted by Amazon. As far as your 'left field' other worldly writings, have you considered a 'nom-de-plume'? As you have a far greater imagination than I do, I'm sure you have. You might consider a contest among loyal your readers in a future newsletter. Choose 3 or 4 names and have them vote on the most popular choice. Might be a good way to introduce your closeted alter ego. Just an idea and as far as my limited imagination can go.
First, thank you so much for the review! These are so, so important. They really help new readers find a book/story.
I'll keep a pen name in mind if I ever go to a third genre (haha! My agent has already advised against it). I thought about using a pen name for the spy stories but the agent and publisher argued against it, as I was "known" and it's incredibly hard to build name recognition in publishing. I mean, outside of die-hard readers, most people only know a few writers' names. Plus, all my intelligence work had been done as me. It seemed funny to use a pen name for something I'd done in real life. (Not just to me; it was a head scratcher for the agent and editor.)
Maybe I should hold a contest for naming a character? I could describe a character in an upcoming story and let people come up with names....
This is why I'm not a writer, because I obviously did not make my intentions clear, and I apologize. I was suggesting that you might want to use another name for your books like "Wehrwolf", "The Hunger" and "The Deep", never your spy books. I love Alma Katsu spy books. Upon reflection though, you are a far too successful writer in any field you choose to ever need an alternative name, just a silly notion from a fervent reader. Frankly, it was because you were the author of "The Wehrwolf" that I decided to read it and I was very happy that I did. I do like your idea for having a contest for naming a character, that might be fun. For now, I'm off to begin my adventure with Yuri in "The Vanishing Man". Enjoy the upcoming weekend!
Congratulations Alma! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your books. You hooked me with your books "Red Widow" and "Red London", both of which I happily consumed. Your short story "Wehrwolf" was frankly out of left field for my normal literary taste, and I did cast a jaundiced eye upon opening to the first page, however the ending was unexpected and very satisfying. Now I have downloaded all three of your latest Russian spy books and it's with a heightened sense of anticipation that I approach the saga of Yuri Kozlov and his journey with Western Intelligence.
You are a Great Writer and I want to Thank You for the hours of reading pleasure you have given me.
Samantha, thank you so much for writing, and for reading my work. I appreciate that you gave the Wehrwolf a try, even though it's not your what you usually read.
I must say I'm really torn on trying to continue down two genres at the same time. I know it's confusing to readers and there's only going to be a small percentage who will want to read both types. A topic for a future newsletter.
I hope you enjoy The Spy Who Vanished and look forward to your thoughts. Maybe it's because I'm retired, but I enjoyed being able to think about what someone like Yuri (or Bond!) would think about at the end of his career. How he would view it, honestly.
Just finished writing a review of your book "Wehrwolf" on Amazon under "NYC Native" and it has been accepted by Amazon. As far as your 'left field' other worldly writings, have you considered a 'nom-de-plume'? As you have a far greater imagination than I do, I'm sure you have. You might consider a contest among loyal your readers in a future newsletter. Choose 3 or 4 names and have them vote on the most popular choice. Might be a good way to introduce your closeted alter ego. Just an idea and as far as my limited imagination can go.
First, thank you so much for the review! These are so, so important. They really help new readers find a book/story.
I'll keep a pen name in mind if I ever go to a third genre (haha! My agent has already advised against it). I thought about using a pen name for the spy stories but the agent and publisher argued against it, as I was "known" and it's incredibly hard to build name recognition in publishing. I mean, outside of die-hard readers, most people only know a few writers' names. Plus, all my intelligence work had been done as me. It seemed funny to use a pen name for something I'd done in real life. (Not just to me; it was a head scratcher for the agent and editor.)
Maybe I should hold a contest for naming a character? I could describe a character in an upcoming story and let people come up with names....
This is why I'm not a writer, because I obviously did not make my intentions clear, and I apologize. I was suggesting that you might want to use another name for your books like "Wehrwolf", "The Hunger" and "The Deep", never your spy books. I love Alma Katsu spy books. Upon reflection though, you are a far too successful writer in any field you choose to ever need an alternative name, just a silly notion from a fervent reader. Frankly, it was because you were the author of "The Wehrwolf" that I decided to read it and I was very happy that I did. I do like your idea for having a contest for naming a character, that might be fun. For now, I'm off to begin my adventure with Yuri in "The Vanishing Man". Enjoy the upcoming weekend!