Last days - Call me a liar, win free books

Just a couple more days left to call me a liar and win signed copies of both COLD SHOT TO THE HEART and GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER, via a contest I originally hosted over at the Pulp Pusher site, as part of this Q&A interview.

The contest:

Here’s five things about me. One of them is a lie:

1.) I’ve seen TAXI DRIVER fourteen times.

2.) Bruce Springsteen once borrowed my DVD of Monte Hellman’s TWO-LANE BLACKTOP.

3.) Years ago, I had a conversation with Stephen King while standing at adjoining urinals at the New York Hilton.

4.) I went skydiving once, landed in a tree and had to be rescued.

5.) I once hit a Catholic nun in the back of the head with an orange (by accident).

Anyone who wants to take a guess as to which one's a lie can drop me an e-mail at wallace@wallacestroby.com. Deadline for entries is May 31, 2012 (there have been some good responses so far, some correct and some not so). I’ll pick two winners at random from the correct responses, and send them signed copies of the hardback editions of COLD SHOT TO THE HEART and GONE 'TIL NOVEMBER. But be warned, I’m a good liar.

The Violent World of Parker on KINGS OF MIDNIGHT

"It’s in the human moments when Crissa faces up to what she’s sacrificed and what she’s missing where KINGS OF MIDNIGHT packs an extra wallop." A thoughtful review of KINGS over at the excellent Violent World of Parker site, dedicated to the work of Donald E. Westlake and his alter-ego, Richard Stark. Read the full review here.

Call me a liar, win free books

Assaulting nuns, lending DVDs to Bruce Springsteen and a unfortunate sky diving accident... find the lie I told in my Q&A at the Pulp Pusher site, and you'll have a chance at winning a signed copy of COLD SHOT TO THE HEART. The interview and full details can be found here. Contest is open until May 31, 2012.

Book Loons on KINGS OF MIDNIGHT

Book Loons reviewer Hilary Williamson has some love for KINGS OF MIDNIGHT. Read the full review here.

Mystery People Q&A

Over at the Mystery People blog, you can read a Q&A about KINGS OF MIDNIGHT, The Lufthansa heist, Eddie Bunker and various other subjects, conducted by mystery meister Scott Montgomery. For the full interview go here

Book Reporter.com on KINGS OF MIDNIGHT

Over at Bookreporter.com, reviewer Joe Hartlaub calls KINGS OF MIDNIGHT "a winner from first word to last." Read the full review here.

Six top heist novels

It was a tough call, but over at the MysteryPeople blog, I chose six of my favorite heist novels of all time (with an appropriate emphasis on the novels of Donald E. Westlake).

Booklist's starred review for KINGS OF MIDNIGHT

(Click for larger image)

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on KINGS OF MIDNIGHT

Reviewer Carole Barrowman, writing for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, calls KINGS OF MIDNIGHT "terrific." Read the full review here.

Lawrence Block on KINGS OF MIDNIGHT

Legendary crime novelist Lawrence Block has a strict no-blurb policy, which he reiterated eloquently in a recent blog post. However, he's very active in social media and was kind enough to post this complimentary Tweet about KINGS OF MIDNIGHT last week:

@Lawrence Block
It would be hard to overpraise Kings of Midnight, the new book by @wallacestroby: http://tinyurl.com/85ee89w.

Of course, I'm a huge fan of Block's work, especially his Matt Scudder series, and have written about him a bit in the past. He's one of the seminal modern American crime writers. I was more than honored by the mention.

You can find Block on Facebook on his personal page and his fan page. And on Twitter as well (click on the links)

(Photo by Marc Yankus)

"Please, no more Wallace Stroby books"

Star-Ledger/New Jersey Online reviewer Vince Cosgrove offers this plea to his editor as the lead-in to a lovely review of KINGS OF MIDNIGHT.

Of felons and front-end loaders

Talking with veteran Philadelphia journalist and author Mary Walton about KINGS OF MIDNIGHT, Crissa Stone, ATMs and heavy equipment. You can find the link here.

Los Angeles Review of Books on KINGS OF MIDNIGHT

The Los Angeles Review of Books has a rave review of KINGS OF MIDNIGHT, written by Pulp Serenade's Cullen Gallagher:You can read the full review here.

Spinetingler Award nomination

COLD SHOT TO THE HEART finds itself in some good company on the Spinetingler Awards nominee list for Best Novel: Rising Star, along with Megan Abbott, Sara Gran, Craig McDonald and others. It's also a nominee in the Best Cover category. Winners will be chosen by a popular vote, and all are welcome to participate. You can vote here.

Upcoming events

Some events coming together for the upcoming release of KINGS OF MIDNIGHT April 10. More to come soon:

THURS. APRIL 12, 7 p.m.-9 p.m: NEPTUNE PUBLIC LIBRARY, 25 Neptune Blvd., Neptune, N.J.

SAT. APRIL 14, 11 a.m.: EDISON PUBLIC LIBRARY, 340 Plainfield Ave., Edison, N.J. Guest speaker, Liberty States Fiction Writers Group: "Good Bad Guys and Bad Good Guys: Learning to Love Your Characters."

THURS. APRIL 19, 6:30-8 p.m.: THE MYSTERIOUS BOOKSHOP, 58 Warren Street, New York, NY. (212) 587-1011. Official launch party for KINGS OF MIDNIGHT.

SAT. APRIL 21, 4:30-5:30: BOOK TOWNE, 171 Main St., Manasquan, N.J. (732) 722-7255.

THURS. MAY 3, 7 p.m.: MOONSTONE MYSTERY BOOKSTORE:, 12 Bloomfield Ave., Flemington, N.J. 08822. (908) 788-9094.

OCT. 4-7: BOUCHERCON 2012, Cleveland Marriott Renaissance, Cleveland, Ohio.

NOV. 8-11: NOIRCON 2012, Society Hill Playhouse, Philadelphia, Pa.

More to come soon

Shipping soon

KINGS OF MIDNIGHT, the second Crissa Stone novel, available now for pre-order in hardcover (35% off) and Kindle editions, as well as via Nook.

Goodfellas and greed

Six armed men. Eight million in unmarked bills. At the time, it was the largest cash robbery in American history. Over at the official KINGS OF MIDNIGHT page, you can watch the History Channel's excellent behind-the-scenes documentary about the 1978 Lufthansa Heist at JFK Airport, featuring interviews with principals on both sides of the law (that robbery looms large in the backstory of KINGS). "Like" the page for additional updates and exclusive content.

Above: The black Ford Econoline van used in the robbery, after it was recovered by police.

The other side of noir

This can't end well: A hardcore noir night, photo courtesy of Cullen Gallagher, writer, reviewer, crime fiction aficionado and master of the brilliant web sites Pulp Serenade and Fires on the Plain. (And check out the framed Chuck Norris picture in the background),

Download a free excerpt from KINGS OF MIDNIGHT

Over at the official Facebook page today, you can read and/or download an exclusive excerpt from Chapter One of KINGS OF MIDNIGHT. "Like" the page for more updates and exclusive content.

The official KINGS OF MIDNIGHT Facebook page

KINGS OF MIDNIGHT now has its own Facebook page, with exclusive content and regular updates and previews. Today, some rare archival photos from the actual Lufthansa robbery at JFK airport in 1978 that provides a backdrop to the novel (and feel free to "Like" the page while you're there, if indeed you do. It's a little lonely there right now).