Hi! We’re Lisa Henry and J.A. Rock, the authors of THE MERCHANT OF DEATH. We’re touring the web taking about our influences, our processes, anything we can think about actually, and even giving you guys a sneak peak or two! And what would a blog tour be without a contest? Check out the details at the bottom of the post to see what you can win!

 

 

In THE MERCHANT OF DEATH, one of our main characters, Henry Page, is a con man. So it seemed like this might be a good time to talk about some of the classic cons of all time. And here are two of our favourite literary frauds.

 

The Hitler Diaries

 

In April 1983, the newspaper Stern published excerpts from Adolf Hitler’s diaries. Small problem: they were forgeries. And the saddest thing? Not even good forgeries. The handwriting wasn’t the same as Hitler’s, the content was lifted directly from his speeches, there were historical inaccuracies and, most tellingly, the diaries were written on modern paper using modern ink. Whoops.

 

The ensuing embarrassment cost a few editors their jobs, and a few historians their reputations.

 

The Howard Hughes Autobiography

In 1971, investigative journalist Clifford Irving delivered a manuscript to his publisher. He claimed the manuscript was the autobiography of Howard Hughes. Small problem: it wasn’t. Irving was betting that Hughes, being notoriously reclusive, wouldn’t come out and publicly denounce the book. Hughes did. Irving and his wife both served jail terms.

 

So there’s a lesson in this.

 

If you’re going to commit literary fraud, know your inks and pick your targets.

 

Oh, wait…

 

No, the lesson is probably don’t commit fraud. Fraud is bad.

 

(Shut up, Henry.)

 

 

About THE MERCHANT OF DEATH:

 

All’s fair in love and war.

 

There’s something rotten in the state of Indiana. When con man Henry Page takes it upon himself to investigate the death of an elderly patient at a care facility, he does so in true Shakespearean tradition: dressed as a girl.

 

FBI Agent Ryan “Mac” McGuinness has more to worry about than Henry’s latest crazy idea. Someone is trying to send him a message—via a corpse with a couple of bullets in it. He needs to figure out who’s trying to set him up before he gets arrested, and he really doesn’t have time for Henry’s shenanigans. Then again, he’d probably be able to focus better if Henry didn’t look so damn distracting in a babydoll dress and a wig.

 

But when Mac discovers that Henry has been keeping a secret that connects the cases, he has to find a way to live on the right side of the law when he just might be in love with the wrong sort of man.

 

 

You can check out THE MERCHANT OF DEATH at Riptide., Amazon

 

The Giveaway: Thanks for following our tour! To celebrate our release, we’re giving away an awesome prize – an ebook copy of a novel of your choice from either of our back catalogs. We’re also giving away a $20 Riptide gift voucher, and Mac’s favorite coffee mug. What? It’s not like he’s supposed to be drinking coffee.

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a way for us to contact you, be it your email, your twitter, or a link to your facebook or goodreads account. Please put your email in the body of the comment, not just in email section of the comment form, because we won’t be able to see it otherwise! On February 12, 2015, we’ll draw a winner from all eligible comments! Be sure to follow the whole tour, because the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win the prize!