Welcome to my stop on Larry Crane's Online Book Tour for A Bridge to Treachery. Please be sure to leave a comment or question below to let Larry know you were here. You can fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter his giveaway. All of the stops on his tour are listed below.
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I Know What I Like
in Fiction. So, Leave Me Alone by Larry Crane
Imagine
my surprise when my publisher confidently labeled my novel a thriller. It
certainly has action and suspense, but it is also a love story. I had some
preconceptions of what a thriller is—a hard boiled detective or other operative
of some kind engages his enemies in a shoot ‘em up potboiler—otherwise known as
pulp fiction. My book was no thriller. My title was Quality Guy, an ironic
label applied to protagonist Lou Christopher by his arrogant female employer in
my nuanced... blah blah blah. Lou
Christopher is anything but hard boiled. A http://amzn.to/RmJQNlshoot‘em up? Me? But this was long before I had any
understanding at all of the publishing industry.
“Look,
we like it but you’re going to have to lose the title”, they said.
“Got
any suggestions?” I asked.
“You’re
the writer,”
“Give
me some hints,” I said.
I
learned that a book needs to be genre-ized.
How else do you expect a potential buyer of your book to even settle
into the right aisle in the store, let alone zoom-in on your book. There are
over 350,000 books published every year. The name you come up with serves to
slide your tome neatly into a clear category. Never mind some fuzzy phrase that
somewhere in that fuzzy brain of yours encapsulates all of the story
you’ve told. You’re going to have to declare yourself. You need to home in on
the principal thrust of the book. Frankly, your book needs hard edged, hard
hitting words.
“It’s
a business.”
“I
know it’s a business,” I said.
“So...”
“How
about Once a Soldier, then?”
“That’s
hard hitting? they asked.
Fast forward a year
and a half. The press release for my
book A Bridge to Treachery reads in part: “This suspense-laden
gnashing of guns, ammo, terrorism and deceit is now available in print and as
an e-book through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other leading online
retailers and book stores nationwide.“ Sounds a little shoot ‘em up. No? Later, my publisher compares “Treachery” to First Blood, by David
Morrell, Perhaps, you know of the
Sylvester Stallone movie named Rambo. It’s the same story.
But here are words
from an Amazon review by Andrew Gifford
of First Blood: “The Rambo in the book isn't Stallone. And I love
the little nuance that puts the sheriff a little bit in the grey area in terms
of who's the villain and who isn't. We get some personality there, and a
character we can identify with... And that changes the whole dynamic as the sheriff
and Rambo go head to head and ultimately escalate a minor encounter into a
calamity. This is First Blood as you can picture it from the movie, but the
movie tore out the heart of the story, I think.”
So, here we are at
the central premise of this post: The exigencies of the book business demand
that the author and publisher of a book attend to the primary purpose of
printing it: sales. If it weren’t for that premise no books would find the
light of day. But that is not an excuse for readers to paint all books
of a genre with the same brush.
Genre-izing is just a sales tool, albeit a necessary one. Be open to the possibilities in all genres.
You might be pleasantly surprised.
Are you open to the
possibilities in all genres?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Bridge to Treachery
by Larry Crane
Brighton Publishing, LLC
299 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-936587-35-3
BUY NOW LINK:
BLURB:
Former
Colonel Lou Christopher is an ex-Army Ranger retired from the military and
contentedly working as a New York investment broker. After being assigned a
number of lucrative accounts and becoming accustomed to living the good life,
he discovers there is a pay back. His former military skills are requested
under a threat of losing everything he has.
Handed a group of misfits to assemble into a
military strike team, he is coerced into leading the team on a mission of
domestic terrorism. At the center of a bridge outside of Manhattan, his strike
team is caught in the act and unexpectedly becomes engaged in a deadly
firefight. It's then that he learns the mission was a political maneuver from
the highest levels of the U.S. Government-and ultimately realizes he has been
betrayed by his superiors. Learning his team was considered nothing more than
collateral damage and intended to be killed and left as scapegoats, he uses his
unique military expertise and engages in a fight for his life.
As the strike team is decimated, he and a female
teammate elude the opposition forces to survive and escape, turning the tables
on his superiors. Using his distinctive set of military skills, he now becomes
the hunter and vows to extract his revenge and bring them all down.
Excerpt:
Lou did a double take and said: “Are you crazy or just completely friggin’ nuts?”
“You don’t have to be so sarcastic,” Sydney said.
“Here on the rocks? With you?”
“Excuse me. It was just an impulse. Ill-timed, it seems.”
“Timing has nothing to do with it.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re feeling doomed.”
“And that was my last wish? Fuck you. I just go with my impulses.”
“I’m capable of a lot: lying, walking out, frittering away the most important things—but there’s a
limit, even for me.
“And I’m where you draw the line.”
“You said it.”
“You’re not all that much yourself.”
“Should have been flattered, huh?”
“You said that.” Lou stood, walked away briefly, and then came back. “It’s the principle.”
“A lot you know.”
“Let’s just drop it. I’m simply saying....”
“I’m a slut.”
“I’m saying we’re miles apart when it comes to this.”
“If I’m a slut, you’re a hypocrite, and I’d rather be me.”
“Fine.”
“You probably had the impulse too, but you’re too tight-assed to put it to words.”
“Now who’s flattering herself?”
“It’s not a crime to say what’s on your mind. I believe in that! I’d rather be authentic than
anything else.”
“Good for you.”
“Good for me.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transplanted to Maine mid-westerner Larry Crane brings an Illinois sensibility to his writing. Larry graduated from West Point and served in the Army before starting a business career on Wall Street. His writing includes articles for outdoor magazines, plays, short fiction, and his most recent thriller novel, A Bridge to Treachery. In his spare time, Crane is a hobbyist videographer for his local Public Access Television Station and is a volunteer at his local historical society. Larry and wife Jan live in splendid isolation on the coast of Maine.
ONLINE LINKS:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/mainelarrycrane
Webpage: http://www.mainelarrycrane.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MaineLarryCrane
Wattpad: http://wattpad.com/LarryCrane
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/capenewagen?ref=tn_tnmn
Google+ https://plus.google.com/102138020542253759325
Blog http://mainelarrycrane.blogspot.com/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/settings/?trk=hb_acc
IAN: http://www.independentauthornetwork.com/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3974958.Larry_Crane
~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Review:
A Bridge to Treachery by Larry Crane is a well paced thriller about a career army man attempting to adjust to life as a civilian. With well developed characters, good dialogue and just enough action to keep the pace moving,Mr. Crane's story grabbed my attention from the first page and never let go. While Mr. Crane didn't have to do too much world building, the story is set in a contemporary setting, we get the hero's flashbacks of his previous military career. It was also nice having a hero who was over 30 years of age with real world experience.
Lou Christopher is having a tough time adjusting to life outside of the army. A career army man, Lou had never really planned for what he would do post retirement. He also hadn't planned on being forced out of the army by the time he was fifty. Determined to land a job which could lead to financial stability for his family, he finds himself working as an investment broker with little to no sales experience.
When Louis is given a choice account, which he didn't get on his own and which leads to large commissions, he's suspicious but is more than happy to accept the money. Mr. Crane did an excellent job developing Lou's character, he's likable, fairly intelligent and cares for his family. He's faithful to his country, the army and his wife, though he did cheat on her once - which she knew. Like everyone else, he wants to be able to have a comfortable life and feel as if he's successful, something he's been struggling with since he was forced out of the army before he wanted to leave.
Maggie Christopher, Lou's wife, has been in love with her husband from the moment she first saw him. A "military brat" she knew what life in the military was like and embraced it for most of her life. Faithful to her husband, except for a short period of time when he was stationed overseas, she's used to living a modest life. Happy for her husband and his new success, Maggie wants to take things slowly when it comes to the new money in their life. She never envisioned having to save her husband's life due to a someone else's treachery.
Confronted at work by two men in trench coats, Lou finds himself being blackmailed into helping "stage" a fake terrorist attack. If he doesn't cooperate, he'll lose the special account he's been given and he'll lose his position. Reluctantly agreeing to go along with the plan, Lou and his "team" find themselves double crossed and expendable. As the body count begins to pile up, Lou and only one member of his team make it away. Now Lou will have to use all of his experience to make it back home in one piece.
Will Lou discover who is behind the double cross, which lead to his team being killed? Will he be able to make it out of the situation he finds himself in and back to Maggie's side? The story takes several twists and turns which leads to a surprising revelation and a good ending.
You'll have to read A Bridge to Treachery to discover who's behind the "fake" terrorist attack, I certainly didn't see that twist coming.
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
FTC Disclosure: I was provided a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
A Bridge to Treachery Online Book Tour Stops:
11/5 Maureen's Book Haven Interview
11/8 M-N's Amazing Book Reviews Promo & Giveaway
11/9 The Bunny's Review Review, Guest Post, & Giveaway
11/14 Chris Redding Author Guest Post
11/15 Blooding Book Reviews Review
11/16 The Avid Reader Guest Post & Giveaway
11/16 Hooks and Book Review, Guest Post, & Giveaway
11/19 The Cover by Brittany Interview & Giveaway
11/20 My Cozie Corner Review & Giveaway
11/22 My Reading Obsession Guest Post
11/23 Kindle Fever Review
11/26 TBR Review
11/27 Beauty in Ruins Review
11/28 Reviews By Molly Guest Post & Giveaway
11/29 Harlie's Books Review
Hi Maria - Your review is thoughtful and captures the fact that what goes on between Lou and Maggie is what's propelling the story. So, at times it can seem very far from what many consider to be prime thriller territory. Thanks for such a thorough look at what's going on with A Bridge to Treachery right now.
ReplyDeletesounds like a good one, liked the excerpt - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an interesting book - although not my usual genre. haha, there is that word again. So often I've been surprised when I pick up book A and find out it is actually about subject B, but a good book nonetheless. I can only imagine the headaches that come from trying to discern a book that has a mix of genres inside.
ReplyDeletegreat review!
Liz
liz at fictional candy dot com