Everything Old is New Again
One of my favorite projects has been re-issued!
In my last newsletter, I reported that the publisher of many of my books went out of business last year, which means much of my work is out of print. Thankfully, one of my favorite projects, The Grifter’s Song series, created and edited by Frank Zafiro, is being re-issued by a new publisher. I wrote Episode 10, THE MONEY BLOCK, and the Kindle edition is out today!
About the book:
Sam and Rachel head to Lake Tahoe, trading card tricks and short hustles for the glossy promise of tech money. Under new names in an upscale ski resort, they sell a too-slick-to-question ride-share app and its own cryptocurrency to a fitness mogul desperate for a fresh start. But when extra investors slip into the game, and a very determined hunter starts connecting the dots, the “easy” score turns into a fight to stay a step ahead of someone who doesn’t mind getting bloody."
This novella is special to me. I met Frank in St. Petersburg, Florida, during Bouchercon, in 2018. He was looking for authors to write for the new series he’d created, and if I remember correctly, my friend Eric Beetner recommended he talk to me. When Frank explained his concept for The Grifter’s Song series, I was intrigued, but I told him writing about con artists wasn’t really in my wheelhouse, but I’d think about it. In the meantime, he sent me the cover images for a few previously published titles, and I loved them. To be honest, that, more than anything, is the reason I signed on to the project.
My next challenge was figuring out what to write about. I brought the problem to my husband, who, without pausing to think too hard, suggested I write about a cryptocurrency con involving tokens for a New York City taxi service. My first reaction was, uh, that will never work for me—I knew almost nothing about cryptocurrency, and I didn’t have much interest in learning. But together, he and I brainstormed a loose plot, and from there, I set about researching cryptocurrency.
The resulting novella turned out to be something I’m really proud of, even if the scheme Sam and Rachel concoct is pure fiction and even somewhat ridiculous. But the project was a big stretch for me and unlocked the confidence to write other stories about topics I know little or nothing about. In fact, I had a lot of fun with it.
Like all the titles in the Grifter’s Song series, THE MONEY BLOCK is a quick, enjoyable read. Each episode is written by a different author, and they’re all being re-released on Kindle and then later, in paperback. I’m thankful to Frank for putting the work in to re-publish all of them.
Enjoy!
Hollyxx