This weekend marks the start of the NINJA’S DAUGHTER book tour – and I couldn’t be more excited! Here are this weekend’s appearances, with links for directions: Saturday, August 13, 2016: 2:00 PM – Sacramento, CA Reading & Signing: Avid Reader at Tower 1600 Broadway Sacramento, CA 95818 Map Link Sunday, August 14, 2016: 2:00 PM – San Diego, CA Reading & Signing: Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore (Joint Signing with Jeri Westerson, author of A Maiden Weeping) 5843 Balboa Avenue, Suite #100 San Diego, CA 92111 Map Link
Read moreMonth: August 2016
Do You Understand Your Ebook Rights?
Authors need to understand the rights they own before they can make intelligent decisions about which rights to license to a publisher — or even whether to seek traditional publishing or to choose the author-publisher route. Whether you publish traditionally or self-publish, it’s important to understand ebook rights, how they factor into the bundle of copyright-related rights, and what you should–and shouldn’t–give away. Today, I’m guest-blogging at Writers in the Storm about ebook rights and how to manage them properly. Click here to take a look! For those whose tastes run more to the Japanese side of the equation, here’s a photograph
Read moreA Warning For Authors About Signing Books
Apologies in advance for the click-bait title–I didn’t intend it that way, but I couldn’t find a better one that accurately expressed the content of the post. Most authors look forward to signing books. It’s one of the greatest moments in an author’s career, and for many of us it never gets old, no matter how many books we’re asked to sign. Autographed books make wonderful keepsakes, and many readers treasure them for years (if not for a lifetime). However, autographed books can also provide a dangerous opportunity for scammers and identity thieves . . . wherein lies today’s warning. When signing
Read moreThe Irises of Tofuku-ji
During last summer’s visit to Tofuku-ji, I spent some time enjoying the temple’s beautiful flower gardens. Tofuku-ji is famous for its irises (which fortunately bloom in June, when I was in Japan). What are your favorite flowers? Do you like Irises?
Read moreA Visit to Tofuku-ji
I love sharing photographs from my research trips to Japan, both because of my fondness for Japanese culture, history, and architecture and because I like giving context to go along with the images. (I notice a lot of online photos show the setting, but don’t explain it, and I hope my “virtual tours” will help give context to these incredible sites.) Today, we’re visiting Tofuku-ji, a Rinzai Zen Buddhist temple just south of Kyoto that also provided one of the settings for my first Hiro Hattori / Shinobi mystery, Claws of the Cat. In fact, the Sanmon at Tofuku-ji is the oldest such gate in
Read moreThe Japan Writers Conference 2016
I’m pleased and honored to announce that I’ve been chosen to teach at the 9th annual Japan Writers’ Conference, which takes place October 28-29 (2016) in Tokushima, Japan. I’ll be teaching two workshops: “Writing a Killer Mystery” and “Coal to Diamonds: How to Edit Your Manuscript from First Draft to Final Polish.” The conference is free to attend, and the workshops are taught in English, so if you’re in Japan in October, and interested in writing, I hope you’ll plan to attend this wonderful conference! The conference changes locations each year; this year’s site is Tokushima University, a short walk from Tokushima
Read moreJesuits in Samurai Japan
People are often surprised (and sometimes, a little skeptical) to discover that my mystery novels feature a detective team composed of a master ninja and a Portuguese Jesuit priest. Japan was almost entirely closed to Westerners (really, to all outsiders) for much of its history, but opened to Portuguese Jesuits and traders for a short time during the 16th and 17th centuries. (Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu severely restricted foreigners’ interactions with Japan again, beginning in 1609).
Read moreRelease Day for THE NINJA’S DAUGHTER!
It’s finally here! I’m proud to announce that THE NINJA’S DAUGHTER, the fourth Hiro Hattori Novel (Shinobi Mystery) releases today from Seventh Street Books!
Read moreA Visit to Kasuga Shrine (part 2)
Last Monday, we walked along the approach to Kasuga Shrine, which winds through Nara Park (in Nara, Japan). This week, we pass through the massive wooden gates: To the right of the heiden, a garden contains a number of smaller (but still important) shrines: Kasuga Shrine honors four of Japan’s most important Shinto kami: Takemikazuchi-no-mikoto, Futsunushi-no-mikoto, Amenokoyane-no-mikoto, and Himegami. The deities are enshrined within a part of the shrine not normally open to visitors; only the emperor of Japan and the kannushi, or high priest, of Kasuga Shrine are allowed to enter the sacred space. Kasuga Taisha (“Shrine”) is a lovely example of the way Shinto
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