HOOKED: The never-ending book tour has begun. Again.

This is the third book in a year, with one more to come in June. That's four in 15 months. Not that I'm complaining!

By Caitlin Rother

It seems that I just finished the last phase of my never-ending book tour, but here we are for the next round.

At long last, my new thriller, HOOKED, was officially released on Feb. 1! It only took me 19 years to get this one published, but I’m writing my novels much, much faster these days, which is lucky, because it’s the first in a series.

I’m really excited that the book was selected to be part of Amazon’s promotional First Reads program, which meant the ebook version was released a month early so it could catch some buzz. And buzz it did! I am so thrilled that enough readers downloaded the book that it got up to #28 in all of Kindle World (the lower the number, the better the ranking), and hit #1 in all three subcategories for police procedurals and crime thrillers! If you’re not familiar with the First Reads program, it allows Prime members to download the book for free, or at a discount for non-Prime members.

This book is published by Thomas & Mercer, an Amazon imprint, which means I’m encouraging you to buy it on Amazon. You can order it from your local indie, but it may take a while. The reasons are complicated, but it’s boring inside baseball publishing stuff. B&N is a competitor, so they say customers can order a single copy, but it may take weeks to arrive, and they can’t order it in any quantity to stock their shelves. So, I know you don’t hear this from authors often, but please feel free to buy a copy online, even if you are planning to come to one of my events. I will be happy to sign one for you either way.

I’ll be doing a bunch of in-person events to discuss and sign the book, which is the first of the new “Katrina & Goode” series. The sequel, STAGED, comes out on June 16, and is available for pre-order now. (Please let me know if you are an established reviewer or podcaster and would like an ARC.) Books 3 and 4 in the series are already written and under submission with my editor, and I’m working on the second pass of a new novel with entirely different characters. Hopefully I will have some news on that front soon!

I'm posting this partway into my tour, so here is the list of my upcoming events, so you can make a note of the date(s). They are also on my website. I’m so excited that the book is finally coming out! It’s been quite a long journey. It would be helpful if you would RSVP if you’re planning to come to one of these so that I can have enough books available:

—2/22, Noir at the Bar, Knoll’s, Laguna Niguel in OC, 7 pm

—2/26-28, Left Coast Crime in San Francisco, I’m on two panels, signing

—3/7, Noir at the Bar, Kensington Club, Adams Ave., 5:30-7:30pm

—3/14, Rother will discuss switching genres from true crime to crime fiction and sign books with Partners in Crime/Sisters in Crime, at Tierrasanta Branch Library, 11:30am (PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN TIME/VENUE)

—3/21, book signing, B&N in Oceanside, 1 pm

—3/28, San Diego Writers Festival, I will be on a panel in the Black Box Auditorium at 4 pm with a signing to follow

—4/11, Author of the Month presentation, talk/signing, Pacific Highlands Ranch library 3 pm

—8/1, talk/signing: Shifting Genres: Risk & Reward, Market & Craft, California Writers Club, Anaheim Packing House, Anaheim, 9-11 am