Saturday, March 31, 2007

my dearest manatee


Bill's debut is here!

Bill's website

I'm a big fan of Bill Cameron's writing, so I'm thrilled to be able to finally announce the April 1 release of LOST DOG.

(Okay, I'm a day early, but I've heard the book it out there and people have received their copies from Amazon.)






My take:

On a gray Portland morning, unemployed Peter McKrall searches the park for his niece’s lost stuffed animal, but instead comes upon a dead body. The trauma of the event is an uncomfortable reminder of his own dark history, and soon Peter, a man trying to break a kleptomania habit, finds himself trapped in the middle of an investigation he wants nothing to do with.

Cops make him uncomfortable. Dead people make him uncomfortable. Having his name and face on the evening news makes him uncomfortable.

He’s alone with no one to trust or confide in until he meets Ruby Jane. When a second murder takes place, Peter’s painful past comes back to haunt him and Ruby Jane’s life is put in danger.

LOST DOG by Bill Cameron is a beautifully written and masterful work of character-driven crime fiction. One of the most fascinating and compelling main characters I’ve read in a long time. A bad guy real enough to smell. A plot that fits together like a puzzle.

I was starving for a personal story. Give me real people. Give me a story with truth. As soon as I started LOST DOG my heart began to beat faster. This was the book I’d been craving.

Bill Cameron manages to deftly strip away the distance. Not only does he give us a knockout plot, he gives us real people in real settings. He gives us characters we care about, characters we know and want to know. And like real life, the darkest moments often contain humor. I laughed out loud several times.


SLICE OF PIE, one of Bill's short stories, will be included in the upcoming killer year anthology.

My take:

Real is the word that immediately comes to mind when stepping into a world created by the exceptionally talented Bill Cameron. The landscape he illuminates is one we’ve seen before, but never with such focus or appreciation. Bill shines a light on real life, and suddenly we recognize an object, a person, an emotion. Yes, that’s exactly the way it is… He brings clarity to private spaces, and helps us see the familiar with new eyes.

Bill’s short story, SLICE OF PIE, is a wonderful slice of life, a small and intimate world as immediate as a whiff of moth balls, urinal cake, or Tabu.




I wish Bill a wonderful debut full of great reviews and great sales -- and I hope he gets his butt to Minnesota soon.

14 comments:

Heather Harper said...

Sounds creepy and unsettling enough for my taste. I'll have to check it out.

downward spiral said...

heather, it's a great book.

Anonymous said...

Go, man go!! Congrats Bill! I'm pulling out the credit card and zooming over to Amazon....

Bill Cameron said...

It's so hard to believe it's finally real. Thank you so much, Anne! And thank you too, Heather and Jason. I hope you enjoy my little pup!

:D

Anne McAllister said...

Congratulations, Bill. And Anne, thank you for the review. As soon as I finish off the current ms. I'll be out looking for Lost Dog!

s.w. vaughn said...

Yay, Bill! Sell a few million! :-)

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

Congrats, Bill! Can't wait to check it out! :)

Anonymous said...

So, I go over the Philadelphia Borders to buy out its stock, and I remember, hey, I promised my sister-in-law a copy of Before I Wake. "F" is not far from "C" after all.

I see the method to your madness....

anne frasier said...

anne, i think you'll like it. i'm trying to remember if it's really graphic in places.... bill? i'm thinking it is in a few spots.

jason, lol! and thanks!! were bill and i on the same shelf??? i never thought about that! oh, that's fun!!

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

I finally got my RWR!! And you are right about the cover. haha!! He also reminds me of a young actor--but I can't think of his name. funny!! =D

downward spiral said...

kelly -- lol! glad you finally got your copy! usually RWR has really good covers, so i guess i can forgive them this one time. plus it was entertaining. :D

Jeff said...

Thanks for the recommendation, Anne. I'll be picking up a copy of Lost Dog.

anne frasier said...

jeff, i think you'll really enjoy it.

angie said...

Yep, it's pretty damn good! Great combo of funny and creepy, and I really like the protag.