L. A. Starks Newsletter

Writing: The Second Law’s early months, award & some new covers!

Notice a difference? A New Zealand commercial artist designed a new cover for Strike Price to match those of the first and third books. The print edition still has the same pumpjack cover; however, the Kindle e-book edition has the new cover.

Separately, I put together new covers for the three Kindle short stories available. For both the book and the short stories these are only cover changes: the text has not changed.

The Second Law won a first place award from Texas Authors for best international thriller! Our authors’ award dinner, held on a restaurant just off San Antonio’s River Walk was amazing, particularly the opportunity to meet my fellow award winners.

Since its launch ten months ago, The Second Law, Lynn Dayton Thriller #3 has continued to sell well and receive positive reviews, including one from Kirkus. I’ve appreciated opportunities to sign books and meet customers at River Oaks Bookstore in Houston with author Karen Gordon, as well as to sign books and meet customers at eight Barnes & Noble stores in Texas, Oklahoma, and Connecticut. I’ll be at stores in Oklahoma City September 28th and in Plano October 25th.

Promotions: please join me at Goodreads if you haven’t already. Because my Goodreads friend group is 4800+ that’s where I now announce all book and short story discounts and giveaways.


Reading

In the last six months I’ve read 30 books, including seven non-fiction. Among the fiction, I liked Orest Stelmach’s series, with its settings ranging from Hartford, Connecticut to Ukraine and Russia; Never Tell by Lisa Gardner, and all three of Jane Harper’s recent books, set in Australia: The Dry, Force of Nature, and The Lost Man. The book I recommend most highly is Beaumont native Lisa Sandlin’s The Bird Boys, the rare literary, highly original novel that features a compelling plot and of course, wonderful characters. From non-fiction, I was especially impressed by the tempo and never-say-quit investigative reporting in John Carreyou’s Bad Blood about the Theranos fraud.


Energy

I continue to write three articles a month for the open (free) Seeking Alpha platform and five a month for a Marketplace subscriber platform, Econ-Based Energy Investing (EBEI). If you’re interested, here are the open platform and EBEI links: https://seekingalpha.com/author/laura-starks#regular_articles
https://seekingalpha.com/author/laura-starks/research

Until next time,
L.A. Starks
http://lastarksbooks.com


Fiction (books) by L. A. Starks–in reverse order

The Second Law (Lynn Dayton Thriller #3)

  • Print ISBN 9780991110742, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, October 2018, $18.95.
  • E-book ASIN B07JLDGTVL, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, October 2018, $8.99.

Strike Price (Lynn Dayton Thriller #2)

  • Print ISBN 9780991110704, 2nd edition published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, March 2014, $18.95.
  • E-book ASIN B01K5Y406A, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group LLC, August 2016, $6.99.

13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy (Lynn Dayton Thriller #1)

  • 2nd Print ISBN 978-0991110711, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC, August 2016, $18.95.
  • E-book ASIN B015LI65GI, published by Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC, September 2015, $4.99.

Electronic and print editions published by L&L Dreamspell, Brown Books, and StoneThread Publishing are no longer available.

Short stories by L. A. Starks on Amazon Kindle, in reverse order

  • “Josh Rosen & Bubbe” gives additional background on series character Josh Rosen and insight into his relationship with his grandmother when she falls ill. 2014. ASIN: B00O854YKA, $0.99.
  • “A Time for Eating Wild Onions” introduces two key characters in the second Lynn Dayton book, STRIKE PRICE. The tragedy that befalls them profoundly shapes the next generation. 2007. ASIN: B003NE6DGA, $0.99.
  • “Robert and Thérèse Guillard: Choices” is a story about 13 DAYS’ Parisian antagonist and how it feels to fly in a wing suit. 2007. ASIN: B003NE6D74, $0.99.