Thanks, Sid, for having me on your blog to talk about After Christmas Eve, released today by MLR Press. Being here, as part of my Release Party, is a pleasure. Thanks so much for all you and your reviewers do to spread the word about new novels in the genre.

My holiday-themed murder mystery/thriller includes a little romance, a sprinkling of gay history, and a dash of humor. Though technically a prequel, you don’t need to have read Until Thanksgiving to enjoy After Christmas Eve. Here’s the tag line:

On Christmas Eve, 1966, Philip Potter drops off gifts to the homeless shelter, an act of generosity that later makes him a suspect in the murder of a male prostitute.

Philip Potter plays a supporting role in my first novel—the uncle of a main character. Fans adored him and shared my interest in learning more about him. I was especially interested in finding out what had motivated his interest in homeless gay teenagers. With not much else in mind, I drafted out three-sentence descriptions of the first thirty chapters.

Writing a novel is nothing like I’d imagined. For decades, my preconceived notions about the process prevented me from even trying. Finding out I could make stuff up as I went along, rather than having to plan everything out ahead of time, was a revelation.

Going through the publication process was educational too. I love working with editors and know their job is to make my story better. Whether about a character, the plot, wording or whatever, I almost always agree with suggestions for change. The single exception so far involved a demand to write out a year with words rather than numbers. I refused because, in my opinion, words made the passage more difficult to read.

Working with editors has made me a better writer. Fixing the same or similar problems a few times keeps me from repeating the same mistakes again—mostly. Christie and Kris—my editors at MLR Press—have been super. I’m tickled pink with the final version and hope you and your readers will be too.

To celebrate today’s release, I’m giving away 10 copies (ebooks) through my After Christmas Eve Eleven-Stop Blog Hop. Details are available here (http://wp.me/p1Htlv-LB). Each stop on the hop features a different excerpt from the first three chapters, in serial form. If you can’t wait for the next segment, you can buy the book here (http://www.mlrbooks.com/books.php).

Here’s the blurb:

As Philip Potter wraps up his last minute shopping on Christmas Eve, 1966, James Walker, his lover of six years, takes his life. Unaware of what waits for him at home, Philip drops off gifts to the homeless shelter, an act of generosity that later makes him a suspect in the murder of a male prostitute.

Two men drive yellow Continentals. One is a killer, with the blood of at least six hustlers on his hands. Both men have secrets. And as Philip is about to discover, James had kept secrets, too. But James wasn’t trying to frame him for murder…

BUY LINK: MLR Press

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