Rick Mofina is a former newspaper crime reporter and author of several acclaimed thrillers. He grew up in Ontario, Canada, and began writing in school, selling his first short story at 15 years of age. In those days, he was influenced by Ernest Hemingway, later it was Dostevsky, Faulkner, Chekov, Conrad, James M. Cain, Stephen King, Thomas Harris and James Ellroy, among others. He attended Carleton University in Ottawa, studying Journalism, English Literature, and American Detective Fiction.
After graduation, Rick earned his living working the newspaper police beat. “It put me face-to-face with the best and worst of the human condition,” he told me yesterday. “I was expected to write about it, to derive some sense out of these horrible incidents that made no sense at all, then present it to readers on deadline.”
His newspaper career spanned three decades as he covered murderers on death row in Montana and Texas, a horrific serial killing case in California, an armored car heist in Las Vegas, and the murders of police officers in Alberta. He has flown over Los Angeles with the LAPD, gone on patrol with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic, and has reported from the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East.
Rick learned early on that the tragic events occurring daily on our streets seldom end well, if at all — and he bears this in mind while writing his novels. “I try to apply the fundamental code of most crime fiction, which is the restoration of order to chaos. And I try to start with a ‘grain of truth,’ to build on a solid foundation for compelling story filled with tension.”
Journalism is an elemental tool. It allows the writer to convey a universe of events despite impossible deadlines. But novels, with time suspended, allow you to drill deeper. For example, a well-written news story might powerfully convey the aftermath of a child murder — how it sickened the homicide detective. “An accomplished novelist can take you into the detective’s heart, make you feel what he or she feels witnessing an autopsy, or informing an inconsolable parent, or questioning a lying suspect, or grappling with their own anguish at night when their head touches the pillow and sleep is a fugitive,” Rick said.
Today’s Buffet is led by Rick’s first published crime novel, If Angels Fall. The opening scene shows a toddler abducted from his inattentive father while they are riding San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit System, known as BART. Readers tell Rick that the scene is so convincing, it must have been adapted from a real case he reported in San Francisco. It wasn’t; the scene is entirely fictional. But the seed for that moment of tension arose from a real moment of truth Rick experienced years earlier while working as a cub reporter at the Toronto Star. That summer, tragedy hit the city when a child who vanished under chilling circumstances was later found murdered. Fear gripped the entire metro area for weeks as the story was splashed on the front page of every paper in town.
“In that climate, I was riding Toronto’s subway when I saw a father and his toddler,” Rick recalled. “Dad was hidden behind the newspaper he was reading, one that happened to be blaring the latest news on the tragedy. His little boy was toddling up and down the full length of the subway car aisle, and the father was oblivious. The train would stop. Doors would open. Waves of commuters would rush in and out, even bumping the toddler. Doors would close. The train rumbled to the next station. I became a little angry at the father for not watching his kid. Then I grew a little fearful as my imagination went into overdrive. If I were a crazy person, I could easily abduct that boy without his father noticing until it was too late. ”
That moment haunted Rick for years, until he fashioned it into the opening of If Angels Fall. The book introduced Rick’s first series characters, San Francisco reporter Tom Reed and SFPD Homicide Inspector Walt Sydowski.
Rick is currently based in Ottawa, where he lives with his wife and their two children. He’s a familiar panelist at mystery-writing conferences all over North America. His most recent book, They Disappeared, hit the Kindle in October.
As usual, each book listed here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours (except for the “Kindle Daily Deals” on page 3). Warning: Kindle book promotions can end without notice, so before downloading click the link “See Kindle price at Amazon” to verify that the book is still free. (Prices and availability may differ outside USA.)
If Angels Fall
Mysteries & Thrillers
Author: Rick Mofina
There are some horrors a man can never forget. Sounds so chilling that they can never be silenced. The frantic screams of drowning children. The anguished sobs of the father who couldn’t save them.
How long before those echos give way to whispers only he can hear? To voices that promise redemption — from his private hell…
Tom Reed is a crime reporter with The San Francisco Star whose superb journalistic skills earned him a Pulitzer nomination. But years later, Reed’s life is coming apart. His editor wants him fired. His wife has left him to wrestle with his demons. Alone, Reed is tormented by the fear he may have caused the suicide of an innocent man suspected of murdering a two-year-old girl.
Reed’s friend on the case is legendary San Francisco Homicide Inspector, Walt Sydowski, who has one of California’s highest clearance rates. He is also a lonely widower haunted by the fact he cannot solve the girl’s heartbreaking death.
Both men grapple with the past while they race the clock to learn the truth behind a several new abductions that have anguished the Bay Area.
Weighted (The Neumarian Chronicles)
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: Ciara Knight
The Great War of 2185 is over, but my nightmare has just begun. I am being held captive in the Queen’s ship awaiting interrogation. My only possible ally is the princess, but I’m unsure if she is really my friend or a trap set by the Queen to fool me into sharing the secret of my gift. A gift I keep hidden even from myself. It swirls inside my body begging for release, but it is the one thing the Queen can never discover. Will I have the strength to keep the secret? I’ll know the answer soon. If the stories are true about the interrogators, I’ll either be dead or a traitor to my people by morning.
Shadow of Stone (The Pendragon Chronicles)
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: Ruth Nestvold
For over ten years, there has been peace in Britain after Arthur and his warriors soundly defeated the Saxons at the battle of Caer Baddon. But sometimes peace is deceptive …
After a series of hard winters and famine, an alliance of dissatisfied northern kings attack the rich cities of Southern Britain. But in the years of peace, Arthur’s army has grown soft; jealousies and trivialities rip once strong alliances apart. Cador, who is mockingly referred to as “farmer king,” must go to war again. The threat to their way of life throws him together with Yseult, the woman he has secretly loved since he was a youth.
But can their politically expedient marriage help bring peace to Britain again? Or will it only lead to further conflict?
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Pro Bono – The 18-year defense of Caril Ann Fugate
True Accounts
Author: Jeff McArthur
In 1958, 19-year-old Charlie Starkweather went on a murder spree that paralyzed Nebraska, shocked the nation, and left 11 people dead. With him when he was captured was his 14-year-old ex-girlfriend, Caril Fugate. The question soon arose, was Caril a kidnapped victim, or a heartless accomplice?
Appointed to her case, attorney John McArthur initially accepted the assignment out of a sense of constitutional duty. But as he delved deeper, he found that the truth was far more complicated. Against incredible odds, and with a strong belief in her innocence, McArthur remained with Caril and fought for her freedom for 18 years. For this service, he took no pay.
The events in this book still reverberate. Stephen King became a horror writer because of it. Bruce Springsteen wrote a whole album about it. It influenced Terrence Malick, Oliver Stone, Martin Sheen, and Peter Jackson, who wrote his first major movie based on the Starkweather-Fugate incident.
Pro Bono sheds new light on those terrifying and complex events.
Pancho Land (Class H Trilogy)
Political
Author: Raul Ramos y Sanchez
Latino insurgents are waging a bitter civil war. Sarah Evans was once their hostage in Los Angeles, a rebel stronghold in a war-torn Southern California. Now, Sarah has returned to LA. Not for vengeance, but for love. Before long, Sarah is embroiled in a plot to destroy a Midwestern city with a suitcase nuclear weapon, threatening to land Sarah on death row. Meanwhile, the U.S. ethnic conflict escalates, bringing the entire world to the brink of war.
Typist #2 – Spanking the Billionaire Novelist
Contemporary Fiction
Author: Mimi Strong
Bad boy author Smith Wittingham talks his typist into staying at the Vermont cabin.
Tori isn’t about to roll over and play obedient companion. She twists Smith’s words and takes the power position in a new game, one where she gets to spank his naughty butt.
Smith keeps changing the rules, though, and surprising her at every turn. He takes her on a date that ends with sex in public, and she wonders if she’ll ever get enough of him.
When a disturbing secret comes to light, Tori gets the urge to run away once more.
Wood Puzzles
Lifestyle & Home
Author: R Wayne Koepp
Wooden puzzles are perfect gifts for young children, and this book contains 45 puzzles and their patterns. Once you get started creating these fun and colorful toys, you won’t want to stop. You’ll have as much fun creating them as kids enjoy putting them together. There is also a bonus chapter with crafts that are perfect for craft shows or to use up scrap wood. The materials and tools you’ll need for creating wooden puzzles are basic. Wooden puzzles are a great way to learn a new craft or brush up on your woodworking skills.
Beautiful Battlefields
Religion & Spirituality
Author: Bo Stern
Where is God in the midst of this? You’ve probably heard that question or perhaps asked it yourself. In the battle for your joy, your marriage, your finances, your health, an emptiness creeps in. Where is the peace You promised, God? Bo Stern has been there—and is still there. Yet in studying the battles in Scripture, she came to a startling conclusion: God is using these fierce fights in our lives for an astonishing purpose.
How to Discover Best-Selling Nonfiction eBook Ideas – The Bulletproof Strategy
Business & Investing
Author: Steve Scott
You’re wasting time listening to the standard advice about Kindle publishing. You can’t write about just any topic and expect it will become a best-selling eBook. The truth is the Amazon marketplace is full of fickle readers. Most will only read a specific type of nonfiction book. If you’re not writing about these topics, then no one is going to buy your book. It’s that simple.
As an expert on niche research, I know what it takes to find proven, profitable markets. I use four free websites to discover where people are spending money. In my book, I show you these sites. Plus I teach you how to find the right niche that matches your background and personal interests.
The key to making a killing on Kindle is to follow a publisher’s model. You don’t succeed with a single title. Your best best is to locate a hidden niche full of hungry buyers who will buy everything you publish. That’s how the top authors really make money with Amazon eBooks.
Deja (Deja series)
Biographies & Memoirs
Author: Tajana Sutton
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After witnessing the murder-suicide of her parents at age 10, being mistreated by her grandmother and betrayed in past relationships, Deja finally found peace in her life. Her best friend Jade introduced her to Xavier Jones. He was the partner and cousin of Jade’s boyfriend, Jay.
She got everything a woman could ever want: the man, the ring, and the baby. But Jay’s ex, Mona, felt that was her position and she wouldn’t stop until she reclaimed the spot.
Deja 2: Unfinished Business (Deja series)
Political
Author: Tajana Sutton
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Despite all the drama Deja and Jade had to endure just to be with millionaires Xavier and Jay, they were finally happy and drama-free. Mona and Latasha were finally out of their lives, or are they?
After years of hurtful childhood memories, Deja was now content with the life she was dealt and Jade had finally gotten what she longed for. They lived very happy and wealthy lives until they got the shock of a lifetime. The one person they thought was long gone is back for revenge. He wants what he feels belong to him. His plan is to take down any and everybody that gets in his way. But, will Xavier and Jay let that go down?
Only the Truth
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Pat Brown
Billy Ray Hutchins is a lonel,y uneducated man living in the hills of Arkansas. He brings home a young drifter he met at the railroad tracks, the mysterious Charlene. He becomes her Sweet Billy Ray and his love for Charlene is steady and uncomplicated — until the sheriff shows up to take her away in handcuffs.
With the only woman he has ever loved behind bars for the coldblooded murder of the old man across the road, a confused and devastated Billy Ray sets out on a quest to find the truth, only the truth, whether it leads him to be able to save his Charlene from a death sentence or it frees him from her spell.
Ferris’ Bluff
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Fred Limberg
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Ace is on the run from everyone, it seems. He’s running from a busted Witness Protection Program assignment, an international collection of gangsters and arms merchants he pissed off while working undercover, and worst of all—from his own scarred self-image and the nightmares that haunt him.
After two lonely years on the road he risks a short visit with his old friend, Granville Tubbs, who lives in the sleepy small town of Ferris’ Bluff, Arkansas. He hasn’t even had a tingle that anyone has been on his trail for almost a year. What could go wrong in a few days?
Plenty, it turns out. But some things go right, too…shotgun ambushes aside.
Chameleon (The Ripple Trilogy-2)
Children’s eBooks
Author: Cidney Swanson
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Sixteen-year-old Samantha Ruiz has a lot on her mind. The crush who kissed her but changed his mind. The BFF who thinks Sam is in an abusive relationship. The Nazi-geneticist who wanted Sam dead but now wants her alive. All this, and she’s still dealing with a tendency to disappear into thin air. When Sam learns of her nemesis Helmann’s Nazi-like plan to re-establish a Thousand-Year Reign, she’s determined to fight him. Along with Will and Mickie, Sam flees to France to meet Sir Walter–their best hope for stopping Helmann’s brave new world.
Dead: The Ugly Beginning
Horror
Author: TW Brown
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The unthinkable has happened. The dead are walking! Humanity’s fragile thread may be reaching its bitter end. Individuals and groups struggle to survive…some at any cost.
Will there be anybody left? Or, is this just…The Ugly Beginning?
Two Moons of Sera (Vol. 1 of 4)
Coming of Age
Author: Pavarti K Tyler
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In a world where water and earth teem with life, Serafay is an anomaly. The result of genetic experiments on her mother’s water-borne line Serafay will have to face the very people responsible to discover who she really is. But is she the only one?
Getting Organized: Improving Focus, Organization and Productivity
Business & Investing
Author: Chris Crouch
- $9.99 List Price
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Getting Organized is a collection of simple ideas that address at least six major issues that could be generating chaos and disorder in your life. The ideas are presented in a simple format, with specific suggestions on how to put each idea to work, so busy people can find the time to read and try them.
Even if you’ve tried unsuccessfully to get organized before, consider reading this book. You’ll find effective solutions to your organizing challenges and will enjoy the benefits for years to come.
City of Darkness (City of Mystery)
Historical Fiction
Author: Kim Wright
City of Darkness takes place in 1888 London, where Jack the Ripper roams the streets with impunity and Scotland Yard seems helpless to stop him.
The science of forensics may be in its infancy but a few detectives – Trevor Welles among them – recognize that they are dealing with a different sort of killer, a “modern criminal” who chooses his victims at random. If Jack is to be caught, he won’t be caught with Scotland Yard’s normal methods of deduction for there is no logic to this madness. The question is no longer “Why was the victim killed?” but rather “How was the victim killed?” For the first time in the history of detection, science is trumping deductive reasoning.
Dying To Forget (The Station)
Arts & Photography
Author: Trish Marie Dawson
Piper Willow dies the summer after her high school graduation but she doesn’t make it to Heaven or Hell…instead she finds herself in a spiritual terminal called the Station. She’s given only two choices: Return to Earth as the subconscious for a person in need of some outside assistance, or move on and spend an eternity lost in her own sorrow and pain.
Does Piper have what it takes to save a life – to be the nagging voice inside someone else’s head – or will she fail and end up lost and tormented in limbo…forever?
The Shoulders of Giants (A Jake Abraham Mystery)
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Jim Cliff
A missing girl. A ruthless killer. A rookie P.I.
Jake Abraham is a child of the 80s, brought up by Jim Rockford, Thomas Magnum and three beautiful girls who worked for a man named Charlie. He’s loving his new job as a Private Investigator and already has his first client — a disgraced former police captain whose daughter has disappeared.
When the girl shows up dead, Jake is drawn into a dangerous world of organised crime, police corruption, infidelity and serial murder.
With a terrified city in the grip of a killer who’s always one step ahead of the police, how can a raw young P.I. hope to make a difference?
Capture
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Roger Smith
As four-year-old Sunny Exley drowns in the icy waters off a luxury beach house, her father, Nick, smokes weed on the shore and her mother, Caroline, is lost in the arms of a lover. Hidden on nearby boulders, rent-a-cop Vernon Saul watches the child die and chooses to act only when it is too late.
In the days following Sunny’s death, gutted by grief and guilt, Nick falls under the spell of Vernon who presents himself as a friend in time of need. When the sinister Vernon’s true motives are revealed, Nick is drawn into a spiral of manipulation and murder that leaves him fighting for his sanity and his life.
Guitar Scales Handbook: A Step-By-Step, 100-Lesson Guide to Scales, Music Theory, and Fretboard Theory
Music
Author: Damon Ferrante
Guitar Scales Handbook is a 130-Page Book and Video Course for learning scales, music theory, and fretboard theory. It is designed to work very well in Kindle, iPad, iPhone, and eBook platforms. The book is organized in a 100-lesson format that takes you step by step through scales, the notes on the guitar neck, intervals, and music theory. Each lesson builds on the next and the book is designed for beginners through advanced / virtuoso guitarists.
The Healing Game
Advice & How-to
Author: Bill Brids, Maureen Morrissey-Capen
Bill Brids and Maureen Morrissey-Capen are parents who have experienced the adverse effects that opiate addiction had upon their respective families. After meeting at a Boston area support group, a friendship based on advocating family recovery was born.
As the friendship strengthened, Brids and Morrissey-Capen discovered that other parents of opiate addicts had lost hope that recovery from heroin addiction even existed. The two parents decided to write this book to show parents that recovery happens every day. It captures the true stories of three young heroin addicts, as told to these parent-authors.
I Love Green Smoothies – 50 Recipes To Get You Started
Advice & How-to
Author: Katherine Stromick
Katherine Stromick, a yoga instructor and mother of two boys, has seen firsthand what the power of Green Smoothies has done for her and her family. In this book Katherine shares her personal story of what an impact drinking Green Smoothies has had on her life as well as that of her children as well as sharing some of her best Green Smoothie Recipes.
The Threshold Child
Children’s eBooks
Author: Callie Kanno
Adesina was trained from childhood to serve her land as a warrior and a spy. When she is selected to combat a group of seditious magic users, she must summon all of her talents–some of which have been buried in the deepest part of her.
There’s a Monster in My Bed
Children’s eBooks
Author: Petra Craddock, Jeff Newsted
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In this preschool picture book, a little girl is scared when she thinks there is a monster in her bed. However, she is in for a big surprise when she discovers what’s really hiding under her covers.
Long Live the King (The Charlemagne Saga)
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Guy Cote
Josie Ersman escapes a life of deception in America to make a fresh start in Germany. But she soon finds that her new world is more dangerous than the one she left behind.
Her German employer plans to clone Charlemagne, the greatest medieval king, and install him at the head of the European Union. But there is an age old secret concerning who is buried in Charlemagne’s tomb. Will they attempt to clone the magnificent monarch or an evil imposter?
Earth to Kat Vespucci (Kat Vespucci series)
Humor & Entertainment
Author: Ingrid Anders, Clayton Thomas
What do you do when your sweetheart of five years dumps you for someone else before your senior year of college? Flee the country, obviously. A Jersey girl through and through, Kat Vespucci is a conservative American college student who escapes a nasty break-up by spending her senior year studying abroad in Berlin, Germany. She really wanted to travel to London, but her parents insisted she learn something about her roots. Having rarely left her home state of New Jersey, let alone traveled to a foreign country, Kat is completely unprepared for what lies ahead.
Make A Cake From Scratch With 31 Homemade Cake Recipes!
Cookbooks, Food & Wine
Author: Jenny Collins
There is nothing like the welcoming aroma of home-baked cakes as you walk into a kitchen, this book “Make a Cake from Scratch With 31 Homemade Cake Recipes” is a collection of cake recipes for you to try out at home from the classic Victoria Sandwich Cake to a Blackberry and Almond Picnic Cake.
Some of the best cakes in the world are home-baked. It’s still a great way to get the family together in the kitchen.
Down Home
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Gail Roughton
Everybody knows everybody else’s business in Turkey Creek. The town knows Maggie Kincaid hasn’t spoken to her father in twenty-five years. It knows Billy Brayton was killed in basic training after Big John Kincaid railroaded him out of town and into the army. Nobody was surprised. For sure, Big John wasn’t going to let his daughter keep time with the local bad boy. Not for long. But the town’s missing a few pieces of the puzzle. Billy Brayton’s not dead. He’s back. He’s home. And it’s payback time.
Dreaming of a Father’s Love (A Tale from the Ohio Valley)
Parenting & Relationships
Author: Sharon A. Lavy
Sara Brubaker was two years old when an Old German Baptist Brethren couple adopted her. She has become a beautiful woman, and works as a secretary for Alexander’s. Now she’s torn between wanting to live in the normal world of fun and fashion, or joining the Dunkards, sometimes called Old Orders, to truly belong with her adoptive family. But does she really want to look … Amish?
Birdie Alexander thinks if she works at the family business hard enough and long enough she will gain her father’s love. Can she learn a thing or two from the German Baptist secretary?
Analysis Without Paralysis: 12 Tools to Make Better Strategic Decisions
Business & Investing
Author: Babette E. Bensoussan, Craig S. Fleisher
Interpreting business data has become mission critical for professionals in all types of businesses. This book shows how to apply analytical tools without having to mire themselves in advanced math or arcane theory. It teaches the fundamentals of business analysis through the use of 12 core tools. Each tool will make the way readers assess and interpret their business’ data more effective, accurate, and actionable.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks and the Kindle Daily Deal here on page 2
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