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Blog posts : "General"

CUT YOU DOWN launches!

 

Today is the day the second Wakeland novel, CUT YOU DOWN, arrives in stores. Here's how you can order it:

Amazon (US)      Amazon (CA)     Chapters/Indigo  Barnes & Noble    Book Warehouse    
 Indiebound
 

The book has garnered incredible reviews so far, including a starred rave review from Publishers Weekly. Here's the synopsis: 

No one knows what happened to Tabitha Sorenson, a brilliant but troubled college student who vanished in the aftermath of a scandal involving millions of dollars in school funds Hired to find the missing girl by her professor (and admirer) Dana Essex, private investigator Dave Wakeland is tossed into a world of suburban gangsters, corrupt authorities, and a contract killer with an unhealthy fondness for blades--all of them ready to guard their secrets at any cost.

Aided by Sonia Drego, a police officer and former lover with dangerous secrets of her own, Wakeland's world is upended when the investigation takes a deadly turn. Suspecting he may have been played for a rube by the woman who hired him, the young PI crosses borders--and lines--in his hunt for a sadistic killer, a journey of discovery that takes him from the back alleys of a rapidly modernizing Vancouver to the wilds of Washington State to a disorienting suburban sprawl, where nothing is as it seems.

CUT YOU DOWN is available in hardcover, e-book, audiobook, and trade. Give it a shot. 



Amazon (US)      Amazon (CA)     Chapters/Indigo  Barnes & Noble    Book Warehouse     Indiebound
 

 

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2018 Events

I'll be doing a few events around B.C. and Washington in February and March.
A few other events in the Interior and elsewhere are in the works. But here's what's confirmed:

February: CUT YOU DOWN published
 by Random House Canada and Quercus USA.
Feb 7th is the Cut You Down book launch at the Shebeen Whisky Room, 210 Carrall Street, 7pm. Here's the event's Facebook page.

Feb 7th: Authors on the Radio interview
Feb 13th is the official publication date. 
You can pre-order Cut You Down below:
Amazon (US)    Amazon (CA)    Chapters/Indigo     B&N

Feb 23-25th Galiano Island Lit Fest. Live taping of Charles Demers's Well Reds podcast on Sunday, 12:30-1:30
March 9th: Orca Books, Olympia,Washington
March 12th: Third Place Books, Seattle, Washington, event with Brian Thornton
March 14th: InCite reading series with Sheena Kamal and Nathan Ripley
April 2nd: Noir at the Bar Vancouver

More events TBA

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Starred Reviews, Year-End Awards, and my own best-reads list

It's nice to end the year on a high note: Publishers Weekly gave Cut You Down a starred review "a cleverly tuned commentary on a society that forces its citizens to choose between doing the wrong thing for the right reason and doing the right thing for the wrong reasons," and "Wiebe convincingly brings Raymond Chandler into the 21st century." Read the full review here. 

Invisible Dead was awarded two spots on the Sons of Spade year-end best list: Best PI Novel and Best New PI for Dave Wakeland. The book is in good company, with Sheena Kamal's The Lost Ones and Steve Hamilton's Exit Strategy

I don't have a best-of list, but looking back at what I read this year, here are a few books that stood out to me:

George Saunders's Lincoln in the Bardo took a conceit that could have been nothing but postmodern walking and made it a touching and original polyphonic experience.
Eden Robinson's Son of a Trickster was equally terrific, describing hardscrabble living and unpleasant stuff in a fun, funny, and thoughtful narrative.
They're friends, but I can highly, highly recommend Janie Chang's Dragon Springs Road, David Swinson's Crime Song, and Sheena Kamal's The Lost Ones. The reunion scene in The Lost Ones was incredibly powerful. Crime Song continued and deepened rogue cop Frank Marr's adventures from Swinson's awesome The Second Girl. And Dragon Springs Road was a touching, beautifully-wrought melding of historical fiction and magic realism, in a way that brought out the best of both.

 

For thrillers, Jordan Harper's She Rides Shotgun, Meg Gardiner's Unsub, Don Winslow's The Force, John Le Carre's A Legacy of Spies, and Linwood Barclay's Parting Shot were all really enjoyable. David Chariandy's Brother and Roxane Gay's Hunger were both good, too.
 

Charles Campisi's Blue on Blue is one of the most fascinating nonfiction books I've read. Campisi was head of the NYPD's Internal Affairs division, and he talks about the methodology and problems in policing the police. Very timely and interesting.
Naben Ruthnum's Curry covers race, literature, pop culture, the uses of a pseudonym, and the purpose of thrillers, in a readable and personable style. I'm highly anticipating his pseudonymous thriller, Find You in the Dark.

Slightly older books that might have been overlooked: Steve Hamilton's The Lock Artist, Reed Farrell Coleman's Where it Hurts, Bill Buford's Heat, Paul Hawken's Growing a Business, Jill Leovy's Ghettoside and Akhil Sharma's Family Life were all great reads. And I finally got around to reading a few classics: Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, Muriel Spark's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, David Morrell's First Blood (yes it is a classic), Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son, and especially Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon. Every thirty year-old male writer should be forced to read two Morrison books for every Cormac McCarthy he's allowed.

Thanks for reading this, and happy holidays. 

Sam

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Cut You Down book blurbs and synopsis

Order Cut You Down Now:
Amazon (US) Amazon (CA) Chapters/Indigo B&N


Vancouver PI Dave Wakeland is back--this time staring down the knife edge of corruption and murder.

No one knows what happened to Tabitha Sorensen. The brilliant but troubled student seems to have vanished, leaving a deadly trail of missing millions and links to a notorious family of criminals. Hired to find her, Wakeland matches wits and fists with suburban gangsters, corrupt authorities, and a contract killer with a fondness for blades--one of which seems destined for Wakeland's throat. 

Aided by Sonia Drego, a police officer and former lover with dangerous secrets of her own, Wakeland must uncover the deadliest killer that the morally challenged young detective has ever faced. From the back alleys of a rapidly changing Vancouver, to the wilds of Washington, to a suburban sprawl where things aren't what they seem, Wakeland crosses borders--and lines--in a treacherous game of cat and mouse that pushes him to his limits, and threatens everything he cares for.

 

Sam Wiebe does it again with CUT YOU DOWN –

smart and razor-sharp, with a plot that keeps unraveling

all the way to its exciting, unputdownable conclusion."

David Swinson, author of The Second Girl and Crime Song

 

"A highly intelligent and satisfying page-turner."  

 Janie Chang, author of national bestseller Dragon Springs Road

 
"Sam Wiebe pulls no punches in his latest thriller,
CUT YOU DOWN. Gripping, complex, and with an unusual play
on the classic femme fatale trope, this is crime fiction at its best."
Sheena Kamal, author of The Lost Ones

 

Order Cut You Down Now:
Amazon (US)    Amazon (CA)    Chapters/Indigo     B&N

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Cut You Down Book Launch


This February, CUT YOU DOWN will be published by Random House Canada and Quercus USA.
The Cut You Down book launch will be Feb 7th at the Shebeen Whisky Room, 210 Carrall Street, 7pm. Here's the event's Facebook page.

Official publication date is February 13th. You can pre-order it at:
Amazon (US)    Amazon (CA)    Chapters/Indigo     B&N

More events TBA.

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Kamloops Postponement, Audiobook, and more...

Invisible Dead is now available as an audiobook from Blackstone Audio, read by Law and Order alumnus Donald Corren. Here's a link to the CD and MP3 versions on Amazon.

Unfortunately I've had to postpone my involvement in the Kamloops Writers Fest, due to--well, civic duty (I'll be able to say more later). Thanks to Lindsay and the other organizers, and Peter at the Kamloops Chapters, who have both been extremely accommodating with these unforeseen circumstances. I'm hoping to line up make-up events in the Spring. 

I'd never read John Le Carre's The Spy Who Came in From the Cold until last week, and damn. It's a great book, a spy thriller with a touch of noir--nasty, brutish and short. I'm reading his new one now, A Legacy of Spies, which deals with the offspring of some of the characters in Spy. It's also really good. Looking forward to reading Zero Avenue, Dietrich Kalteis's new novel about Vancouver punk musicians in the 70s--I'm saving it for the right moment.

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Audiobook

INVISIBLE DEAD comes out on audiobook October 24th, 2017! You can order it from Audible or Amazon (US).  I'm hoping it will come out in Canada soon...


 

I like that cover! Donald Corren, the audiobook narrator, did a whole lot of episodes of the original Law & Order, which is pretty cool.

I missed Bouchercon this year and will likely miss at least one other event due to a certain civic duty which I can't get into at this time--think Henry Fonda and Lee J Cobb--but I'll be lining up a lot of stuff for next year!

 

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Invisible Dead nominated for the City of Vancouver Book Award!

Invisible Dead has been shortlisted for the City of Vancouver Book Award!
 
I'm honoured to be among such a great list of nominated books, including Carleigh Baker's Bad Endings, Pandas on the Eastside by Gabrielle Prendergast, and Susan Point: Spindle Whorl by Grant Arnold, Ian M. Thom, Susan Point, Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse, Thomas Cannell, Myrtle Mckay, and William McLennan.
 
The announcement came with a very flattering description of the novel: "This fast-paced thriller set in Vancouver’s criminal underworld follows a private investigator on a journey to solve an unsolvable mystery."
 
'It's an honour just to be nominated' is a cliche, but it's a true cliche--as far as I know a crime novel has never won or been shortlisted. I take a measure of pride in that, and I'm glad to be in such good company.
 

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September

My story "Off the Trail" was published in the September issue of Mysterical-E magazine. You can read it here. 

November 1st is the next Noir at the Bar Vancouver, and the lineup looks great: Jackie Bateman, Linda Richards, Janie Chang, Dietrich Kalteis, and more. Very excited for this.

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End of Summer; Bouchercon; Cut You Down

I was interviewed by Will Viharo for his "Author of the Week" column on Digital Media Ghost. We talked about CanLit, crime fiction, genre snobbery, and the Pacific Northwest.  

My story "Albuquerque" was published by Suspense magazine's June 2017 issue. It was originally written for a Neil Young-themed anthology which, sadly got shelved.
The story is about a group of security professionals working for a large agricultural company, bullying small farmers, until one of them begins to have a change of heart. I based it on an article I read about the devious tactics companies like Monsanto use to enforce their patents.

This year's WORD Vancouver lineup is stacked, including great local authors like Janie Chang, Carleigh Baker, Mercedes Eng, Dietrich Kalteis, Dina del Bucchia, and many others. I'll be moderating a panel on mystery fiction, Sunday September 24th at 4:00.

I'll also be at Bouchercon this year in Toronto--my panel is "Writers Under 40", Saturday October 14th from 1-2. Should be fun.

What will be even MORE fun is Noir at the Bar Toronto, hosted by Rob Brunet and Tanis Mallow, and featuring David Swinson and a host of other great writers. That's October 11th at the Rivoli.

For the past few weeks I've been working on revisions for Cut You Down, the second Wakeland novel, which will be published this February. After the umpteenth revision, sometimes you lose perspective and enthusiasm. But in this case I feel much more confident in the book. I'm happy with it, maybe for the first time since I finished the first draft. That's one of the mysteries of writing--each book is its own thing.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great last few weeks of summer.

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ThrillerFest and Invisible Dead Reviews

I'm back from ThrillerFest, which was a hell of a lot of fun. Thanks to D.P. Lyle and Kim Howe for inviting me to teach a class on character at CraftFest. Kim and Adam Hamdy are my fellow authors at Quercus USA, and the conference presented the perfect chance to get to meet them. The Quercus team are as cool and enthusiastic in real life as I hoped. Nathaniel, Amelia, Amanda and Elyse were terrific to hang out with. I got to meet Walter Mosley, David Morrell, Peter James, and I had a great but brief chat with John Lescroart, about focusing on writing instead of publishing. After a week of business, it was reassurance that what matters in the end is the work itself, rather than the deal.

I got to stay at the Barclay, where Hemingway wrote From Here to Eternity, which was also cool.

Reviews for INVISIBLE DEAD are still coming in, and on the whole are very complimentary. David Nemeth's review really gets the book. Here's a link.

The Quercus team shared with me their proposed cover for CUT YOU DOWN, and I like it a lot. I'll reveal it here soon.
 

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INVISIBLE DEAD Release Day

Invisible Dead is out today stateside and internationally from Quercus/Hachette. (It was released in Canada last June by Random House.)

Yesterday I did an interview with Paperback Radio. The host, Willem, asked how it felt to win literary awards. And obviously it feels great. But that stuff is so beside the point.

Getting something written is difficult, full stop. Getting something you're written that you're proud of...it doesn't happen often, to me at least. But I'm proud of this book, in a way that I haven't been with anything else I've written.

The fact that two reputable publishers have agreed to put out a fucking private eye novel--set in fucking Canada--well, it's the nicest lunacy.

Sometimes I lose track of that, how lucky I am to be at this point.

I hope you give the book a chance, and that if you do, you enjoy it.

My article from Crimespree Magazine on music, crime fiction, and Invisible Dead

An Invisible Dead Q&A on The Big Thrill website, home of the International Thriller Writers. 

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This Week's Events; Craft Fest; Radio Stuff

Tomorrow night I'll be a guest at the South Hill branch of the Vancouver Public Library to talk with their book club about Invisible Dead. Jinder the book club host is terrific, and I really enjoyed co-hosting the Asian Mystery Writers book club with her last fall as part of the Writer in Residence program. It'll be nice to catch up with her, and to talk about my book.

This Saturday is Authors for Indies. Usually I run around to three or four bookstores, but this year I'm just doing 32 Books in North Vancouver from 3-5 pm. After that, though, I'll probably be back in East Van lurking aound Pulp Fiction on Main or one of the breweries nearby.

Sunday I'll be on Paperback Radio, talking about Invisible Dead. There are a few guest blogs and such that I'll be doing to promote the book.

May 2nd Invisible Dead comes out in the States and internationally. I'll be doing a few events in May, including a book signing at Seattle Mystery Bookshop on May 20th, Saturday, at noon. That same night I'll be a guest on Noir on the Radio, a show hosted by Greg Barth. 

This July I'll be in New York for Craft Fest and Thriller Fest, the conference put on by the International Thriller Writers. I've never done this conference before, but it should be a blast. Any chance to drop into the Mysterious Bookshop and The Strand is welcome. 

Thanks for reading through this litany of events. I'm currently at work on Wakeland Book 3, waiting for my Canadian and American editors to finish their edits of Book 2, Cut You Down.

I read the Shining a couple weeks ago, and was reminded how goddamn amazing Stephen King is. Right now I'm reading Salem's Lot, which is also really good. I usually don't read two books at once, but I started Jill Leovy's Ghettoside and was hooked instantly. Between reading those two and watching season three of Bosch, I'm pretty well-stocked for entertainment.

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Seattle Mystery Bookshop Event

Saturday May 20th at noon I'll be signing copies of Invisible Dead at Seattle Mystery Bookshop. Looking forward to it! 

You can pre-order at at http://www.seattlemystery.com

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Spring 2017 Events

I'll be doing a few events in the Winter/Spring 2017. Here are the details: 

Feb 22: Real Vancouver Writers, Grunt Gallery, 350 E 2nd Ave #116, Vancouver. Doors at 7, readings start at 7:30.
I'll be reading with Adele Barclay, Danila Botha, Jonina Kirton, David Ly, and Cole Nowicki. Hosted by Dina Del Bucchia and Sean Cranbury.

Apr 20: Arthur Ellis event, VPL Central. I'll be moderating the shortlist event panel, featuring Katherine Prairie, Elle Wild, Merrilee Robson, Marty Allen, and Cathy Ace.

Apr 25 : Book Club event, VPL South Hill branch, 7pm. I'll be discussing INVISIBLE DEAD with Jinder and the members of their book club. I believe drop-ins are ok.

I've also confirmed my participation in the Kamloops Writers Festival in November, but that's a ways off. Hope to see you out at one of these events!

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Heel Turn

My story "Heel Turn," about pro wrestling and racism (and boy do those things overlap), is in the latest issue of The Matador Review. Crude language abounds.

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Happy New Year...

My residency with the VPL was one of the most rewarding experiences in my career. The events were well-attended and seemed to help aspiring writers, which means a lot to me--my goal when I started was to put on events I'd want to attend. I think it was successful. Most of that success can be attributed to the library staff, and the writers and artists who gave their time. Thank you!

The Globe and Mail did a write-up on the residency here. Aside from a couple factual errors, it's a nice piece, and again, the credit for the success goes to everyone involved. The VPL is world-class.

A couple weeks ago I was reading the National Post's Top 99 Books list when it dawned on me that they had more novels about people turning into plants and animals than genre fiction. I may have shared this criticism with one or two people on social media...

...then a week later, the Post asked me to write a best-of list to address that oversight. I agreed. Here's my "Top Ten" list, titled "Reviewing the Evidence."

Let me say, I'm NOT a critic, and make no claim to objectivity or a clear view of the mystery/crime field. A lot of great authors didn't make the list simply because their books are still piled on my TBR shelf. The Post cut my "honourable mentions" addendum, which is below:

Rather Be the Devil by Ian Rankin (My family forbade me on pain of death from buying this because it was going to be a Christmas gift.)
Charcoal Joe by Walter Mosley
The Silent Dead by Tetsuya Honda
Cold Girl by R.M. Greenaway 
Strange Things Done by Elle Wild
Wilde Lake by Laura Lippman
Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty
IQ by Joe Ide 
Umbrella Man by Peggy Blair
A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny
Revolver by Duane Swierczynski

The second comment on the article is hilariously negative: "For shame, surely you can do better." I really, really can't.

Anyway, Happy New Year to you all. I've got a story coming out in early January and a very cool anthology project in the works. We'll see what else 2017 has in store.

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Cut You Down, Writers Fest, and November Events

The second Wakeland novel has a name, cover and publication date. CUT YOU DOWN will come out June 6th 2017 in Canada and the US. INVISIBLE DEAD will be released in America on May 2nd, 2017. I'm incredibly excited about this!

 

The Vancouver Writers Fest wrapped up last weekend. I was on a panel with Michael Koryta and Peter Robinson, moderated by Lonnie Propas. The first event I ever saw at the Writers Fest was Peter interviewing Ian Rankin, Denise Mina, Stuart MacBride, and Wayne Arthurson, so to be on the stage with Peter was a little surreal. The second event was a 'Sunday Tea" reading series where I read with Sharon Olds, Adam Hassett, Robert Olin Butler, Clea Young, and Eimer McBride. I'm very grateful for being included with such esteemed company--and now I can say I've read with 2.5 Pulitzer winners!

November will be a busy month. Tonight (the first) I'm part of an Asian Mystery Book Club featuring SG Wong, who will be in attendance to lead the discussion. Here's what else is going on:

November 2nd: Noir at the Bar Vancouver at the Sheen Whisk(e)y Room: This will be fun! A lot of out of town special guests, including Terry Shames, Will Viharo, and Michael Pool, who's launching his Fast Women and Neon Lights anthology. 

November 3rd: Alternate Histories Panel at the VPL Central Branch. I'm moderating a panel featuring SG Wong, Dietrich Kalteis, E.C. Bell and Janie Chang.

November 7th: I'm on a Giller Light Bash featuring Aislinn Hunter and Lisa Charleyboy. Should be fun!

I have a bunch of workshops and consults I'm doing with the Vancouver Public Library as their Writer in Residence. Please check vpl.ca/events for all of them.

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US Publisher for Invisible Dead and other News

The first month of being the VPL Writer in Residence has been amazing. The opening event was terrific, with some people calling it the best event the VPL has ever offered (note: I am one of the people saying that, and not for any involvement of myself. The panelists were incredible.) The workshops so far have been fun and interesting, and I'm amazed at the creativity of the community. Tonight's scriptwriting workshop will hopefully continue that trend.

Quercus/Little Brown will be publishing INVISIBLE DEAD next year, around the time the second Wakeland novel comes out in Canada. Obviously I'm thrilled about this. Speaking of the second novel, I've been working on the edits for it, and just got it off to my editor Craig Pyette at Random House. Craig helped write Roddy Piper's memoir, which looks incredible, and there's a terrific article by him about the collaboration with Piper in the National Post.

Anyway, I'm very excited to be working with so many cool people. And tomorrow I'm onstage at the Vancouver Writers Fest with Peter Robinson and Michael Koryta! Things don't get better than this.

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Writer in Residence

I'm proud to announce that I'm the Vancouver Public Library's 2016 Writer in Residence!

This fall I'll be running workshops, offering consultations, and moderating some terrific panels. All the events are online at VPL.ca/events , and the official announcement is here: http://www.vpl.ca/news/details/vpl_writer_in_residence_2016

 

 

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