Sheesh, I'm a slacker!

I can't believe it's been six months since I last posted here. I've thought about doing it often enough but every time I did, it was, "maybe tomorrow." Looks like tomorrow never came, or rather it came a few months late.

So a brief update:

The Hollywood thing isn't happening...no big surprise there. It seems that the new TNT show "Rizzoli & Isles" starring Angie Harmon, which is based on Tess Gerritsen's novel character, and a show called "Body of Evidence" planned in the fall by ABC were already slotted and too similar. So WORKING STIFF's Hollywood career is on the shelf. It's kind of ironic given that Tess Gerritsen was kind enough to give me a rocking cover blurb for the book. I'm disappointed, of course, but I'm also looking forward to watching "Rizzoli & Isles" since I've been a Gerritsen fan for years and know the characters well. Plus I've always liked Angie Harmon and the actress who is slated to play medical examiner Maura Isles is another favorite of mine--Sasha Alexander, an NCIS alum.

Back to earth and book stuff...SCARED STIFF has been edited every which way, is in production, and is scheduled for release on August 31st (that's the cover up there). Also coming in August is the paperback version of WORKING STIFF. And book #3 in the series, which I think will be titled FROZEN STIFF, is written and ready to send off to my editor as soon as my agent gets done reading it and giving me her feedback.

I'm planning a fun contest to coincide with the release of SCARED STIFF, giving fans a chance to guess at Mattie Winston's real first name, which is revealed in book #3, but hinted at in both WORKING STIFF and SCARED STIFF (no purchase will be required to enter but reading the books might give you an edge). I'm still on the fence for a first prize, which will be a Kindle, a Nook, or an iPad. But there will be plenty of other fun prizes, too, so stay tuned and bookmark http://www.mattiewinston.com/ for future details.