Shinobi News: Post-Thanksgiving 2015

I’m grateful for many things this holiday season, among them, the opportunity to work with the fabulous team at Seventh Street Books on the next Shinobi mystery (#4!), which is scheduled to release in July 2016. This week, we may have hit on a title, and I love it! Hopefully I’ll be able to share it publicly very soon. This book is my favorite of Hiro and Father Mateo’s adventures to date, and takes them into the fascinating world Kyoto’s theater guilds. That, and the plot, made this novel unusually difficult to title, though, and I’m delighted that we may have found a

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How to Write a Business Plan for Your Book (Part 2: the Overview)

Today, we start our in-depth look at the sections of a “book business plan” and how to write them, with a look at the “Overview” section. If you missed last week’s overview, you can find it here. Authors should prepare a business plan for every book. The plan doesn’t have to be written (though it tends to be more valuable as a road map and a reference if it is). Business plans are helpful for authors, regardless of publishing path, and sometimes, writing the plan can help the author decide between traditional and self-publishing. Analyzing where the book fits in the marketplace, as well as

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Through the Karamon to the Shogun’s Palace

During the medieval era, entering the shogun’s palace was not as simple as approaching a gate and walking through–or even scaling a wall. Most Japanese castles lay within multiple layers of fortifications, designed to keep intruders out and to impress the people granted entry. This was true regardless of whether the castle was located out in the country or within a city like Kyoto. The outer ramparts of Kyoto’s Nijo Castle (in Japanese, Nijo-jo) feature high, roofed walls atop stone fortifications. Watchtowers at each corner provide an elevated platform for observation and defense: A deep, wide moat surrounds the outer perimeter of the castle grounds–all

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Collector of Secrets … Puzzles and Lies

I met Richard Goodfellow at this year’s Bouchercon (World Mystery Convention), and was delighted to have him sign my copy of COLLECTOR OF SECRETS, his debut thriller set in Japan. I was even more delighted when he agreed to guest post here at the blog. And so, with no further ado….here’s Richard: Collector of Secrets … Puzzles and Lies How much of your book is historical fact? This has to be one of the most difficult questions for me to answer, not only because the fictional story is tied to historical events but also because I don’t want to give away

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How to Write a Business Plan for Your Book

All authors should have a business plan for every book they write, regardless of whether the author plans to self-publish or pursue traditional publication. In many cases, the business plan can even help to clarify the choice. It’s also possible to write an overarching business plan for the author’s career–and authors should do this also–but a book-by-book plan keeps you focused on each release. A “hard copy” business plan is best, but even thinking through the issues, and making a mental plan, can help the release succeed. Today, we’re taking an overview look at author business plans and how to write them. In the weeks to

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How Big Are Those Seahorses, Anyway?

People often ask about my seahorses–starting with the obvious “why” and branching out from there. One of the common questions that follows is “How big are they?” (An alternate variation is, “How big is your tank”–the answer is sixty gallons.) There are over 40 species of seahorses, all members of the family Syngnathidae (which includes seahorses, sea dragons, pipefish, and pipe horses) and the genus Hippocampus (which translates “sea-monster horse”). The smallest seahorses are Pygmy Seahorses, which reach an average size of 0.6-0.8″ (yep, that’s not a typo–the adults are under an inch in length). They can be kept in captivity, but they’re among the most difficult seahorses

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This is Why We Don’t Taunt the ATM*

*I’m neck-deep in legal work this week, and pounding through the 50,000 word-mark on the first draft of the fifth Shinobi Mystery (Tentative Title: “Betrayal at Iga”), so I thought I’d bring back this little gem of knowledge gained in 2011. (For the record, “Tesla” is my son’s original “Blog Pseudonym.”) *** Two nights ago I took Tesla out to practice his driving skills.  After seventeen laps around the neighborhood, he suggested a run to Pinkberry before going home.  (He knows I am unable to resist coconut Pinkberry with fresh raspberries and chocolate chips.) On the way to the Pinkberry we stopped by the bank to

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Making the Choice for Good

My father used to tell me, “Every morning, when you get up, you have a choice. You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution.” Recently, I heard a NPR story about email, and how its widespread acceptance has changed the way we do business…often, not for the better. Regardless of the job we do, we’re more plugged in, turned on, linked up, and connected to one another than any previous generation. Instead of communication taking a week (by mail) or happening face to face (or voice-to-ear, in the case of the phone), the

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Torii: Gateway to a Sacred Space

The entrance to a Shinto shrine (in Japan, but also elsewhere) is customarily marked by a torii, a form of gate which marks the entrance to a sacred space. Torii come in many sizes, and may be made from stone, wood, or other materials, though many (if not the majority) are constructed from wood and painted red. (The color translates “red” from Japanese, even though many Westerners would call it “red-orange”–or, in some cases, simply “orange”). Many shrines have more than one torii, and the gates often grow more frequent the closer visitors get to the shrine’s most sacred spaces.  Fushimi Inari, south of Kyoto, reputedly has over ten

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