Gentle Readers:

Pre-order Today!

I was going to play a trick on you, send the newsletter with a big blank space, showing I was beavering away at this impending deadline (mine — July 8, theirs — August 1) but I just had to say hi *waves wildly* and thank you for pre-ordering THE FINAL CUT. I was astounded to see it spend several days hovering around the top ten on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and it was the #1 Mover & Shaker on B&N. #1, chickens! That’s a number I can get behind, you know?

If you haven’t done your preorder yet, please do! Why am I beating the drum on pre-orders? The first week sales of any book determine whether it makes the bestseller lists — the doozy of them all, the New York Times list — and where it falls on said lists. If THE FINAL CUT does really well, and climbs that list, there will be more books, and that’s what we all want.

So if you haven’t pre-ordered the book, show me some love and get that puppy into your cart, or head on down to your favorite independent store and have them pre-order it for you. Your support on this means the absolute world to me. Mwuah!

WHEN SHADOWS FALL is coming along nicely — with just a week to go until deadline, I think I’ll make it. It’s the time of year when I abandon my friends and family for the wilds of Borneo, AKA my manuscript. I disappear into my office for hours, emerge with my hands aching, drunk on words. For fun and silliness (and to remind myself I go through these steps EVERY SINGLE TIME I write a book), I’ve chronicled my journey in terms of Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Journey on Tao of JT.

Tours

I’m heading to New York for Thrillerfest next week. I’ll be teaching a class on co-writing with my divine co-writer, Catherine, and we’re doing a panel on the same. I hope to see you at one or both of these events!

Get Thee to a Bookstore

There are so many fabulous books coming out this month, I can hardly keep track. Here are my top picks this month:

Catherine Coulter — BOMBSHELL
Alex Kava — STRANDED
Jeff Abbott — DOWNFALL
Jolina Petersheim — THE OUTCAST
Daniel Silva — THE ENGLISH GIRL
Brian Ellison — 1,000 SELFLESS ACTS

I’ve made a commitment to track all my reading this year, so if you’re on Goodreads, friend me, and follow along. I’m always interested in what you’re reading, too!

Contest

Every month there’s a new contest on my site. The July contest is live now — enter to win a signed copy of WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE.

July Recipe — PIZZA! (From SCRATCH, y’all!)

This recipe comes directly from my bestie, author Laura Benedict (you should read her — like, NOW!) who actually showed me how to make this delightful concoction in person, the very first baking done on the new counters.

It looks complicated, but I promise, once you’ve done it a couple of times, it becomes second nature. I’ve taken to making this on Sunday evenings, a lovely new family tradition.

Ingredients

Pizza Dough:

• 1 package highly active yeast
• 1 generous cup King Arthur Bread Flour (keep aside a little flour for kneading)
• ¼ cup cornmeal
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp EVOO
• ⅓ cup of water plus 2 Tbs

• 1 can Dei Fratelli Pizza Sauce (or fresh or canned roma tomatoes — pulse in a food processor and add the rest to taste)
• ¼ cup minced onion
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp Italian seasonings
• ½ tsp red pepper flake
• salt and pepper as needed

• Prep yeast according to package directions: Add it to ⅓ cup warm water, use a whisk to agitate the yeast, get it nice and frothy
• Put flour in the bowl, stir in the salt, then add the oil
• Add ⅓ cup of water, plus 2 Tablespoons to the yeast, then add to dry ingredients
• Mix with a bread hook until dough forms a shaggy, messy, wet and loose ball
• Flour your board, dump dough onto board and knead the dough
• When it’s not quite so messy, place in a bowl, cover with damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 10 minutes (it won’t look risen) I use the microwave light under my stove, that seems to work best.
• Punch down the dough, then let rise again until it doubles in size. (approx. 40 minutes)
• Use this time to make your sauce and prep your toppings.
• Liberally sprinkle pizza peel with cornmeal
• Flour your board again, shape dough into a ball, knead, then press into a circle about the size of your hand.
• Let it rise for 5 minutes on the board (this is the trick, trust me!)
• Shape your dough, flopping it from hand to hand, spinning it over your head, however you want to make it the perfect pizza size
• Put it on the peel, pinch up the edges a bit to create a small fold
• Top with loads of fresh cheese, veggies, spinach, pepperoni — whatever turns your crank
• Moment of Truth — Slide from peel to baking stone or pizza pan
• Cook for 12 minutes at 450 degrees, or until done
• Devour!