T - Minus Seven Days

ONE WEEK!

In one week, Blood Atonement hits bookshelves. I’m nervous and beyond excited and worried over things I can’t control like book sales and reviews and whether anyone will read it and whether I’ll ever publish another book after this … (I’ve got two more in the rewrite/editing phase before my agent sends them out to publishers, but you just never know if a book is going to land).

And that, my friends, is the anxiety-inducing truth: You just never know.

When I wrote Blood Atonement I couldn’t have predicted that two wildly popular shows about the Fundamentalist Mormon Church would come out in the months before publication (Netflix’s Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey and Hulu’s Under the Banner of Heaven). Years after their prophet Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison, there’s clearly still a ton of interest in the cult-like goings-on of the FLDS. I hope this bodes well for a thriller tied around the real-life psychological damage done by this sect.

If you live near Vancouver, please join me to celebrate the launch of Blood Atonement at Massy Arts on SUNDAY OCTOBER 23rd 6-8pm. I’ll be joined by authors Erik D’Souza (Death at Halfmoon Bay) and Amber Cowie (Last One Alive). There will be yummy food and books and lively conversation. Massy is asking guests to register in advance, and you can do so by clicking the image below:

I hope to see you there! For those who live too far away, I’m doing several podcasts and online events in the coming weeks. Here’s what’s coming up, plus some easy buying links (books will also be available from Massy Books at the launch):

PRE-ORDER (Paperback & Ebook):

• MASSY BOOKS

• BLACK BOND BOOKS/BOOK WAREHOUSE

• CHAPTERS INDIGO

• AMAZON

• BARNES & NOBLE

• WALMART

• BOOK DEPOSITORY

• KOBO

  Audiobook:

• TANTOR AUDIO

• AUDIBLE

• KOBO

• GOOGLE AUDIOBOOKS

AND DON’T FORGET YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY! :)

• VANCOUVER PUBLIC LIBRARY

I mentioned being nervous about reviews, but I have to admit I’m pleasantly surprised at how much love Blood Atonement’s been getting!

Reviews:

“A dark and poignant psychological thriller with a cult backdrop. Freedman grips right out of the gate with dual timeline narratives that weave together more and more tightly until they meld into a mind-bending twist of a climax.”

- Loreth Anne White, Washington Post bestselling author of The Patient’s Secret

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“Imagines what Sybil would have been like if she were raised in a cult. Blood Atonement is a wild ride exploring the twists and turns of a fractured spirit and a broken community.”

- Tanya Eby, USA Today bestselling author and narrator

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“The Handmaid’s Tale meets All About Eve in this dark and disturbing thriller about a polygamist cult and the children who sought to escape it.”

- C.S. O’Cinneide, Edgar-nominated author of the Candace Starr series

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“Pulls the reader in with the force and fury of a riptide, with beautiful descriptions and masterfully constructed characters.”

-J.J. Dupuis, author of the Creature X mystery series

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“Past wounds and present danger twist together in this dark, propulsive tale that will grip you long into the night. A bloody good book with a heart-rattling end.”

- Eddy Boudel Tan, author of After Elias and The Rebellious Tide

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“Does anyone have some OMG’s I can borrow? I seem to have used all of mine. It’s horrifying without being explicit, which is something that not many authors can pull off. Seriously, I can’t recommend this book enough. Just make sure you clear your schedule, because you won’t want to put it down.” (Read full review HERE)

- Book Nerd’s Brain Candy

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“A flawless story of surviving atrocities and the powerful effects that they will have on the rest of your life. I cannot recommend reading this book enough.” Rread full review HERE)

- Lit and Leta’s Book Review

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“A thought-provoking read, providing a look at life after a cult and portraying the survivors as real people, warts and all. The shocking ending here is a reward of its own, and getting there is a journey through incredible details of life inside Warren Jeffs’ world and inside the mind of a troubled woman.” - First Clue (Read full review HERE)

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“Damn.................. Lmao. You know when you're so emotionally wrecked you just sit in silence and stare out the window? That's how I was when I finished this book. What. A. Banger.” (Read full hilarious review HERE)

- The Girl with the Pink Ski Mask

Wow! Did you make it all the way to the bottom? ;) If you’re still with me, thank you for reading and thank you for your support. I hope to see you on the 23rd or at one of the online events. I’ll leave you with the trailer for Blood Atonement.

xo Shoshona

Signed Book Giveaway!

Signed Book Giveaway!

It’s hard to believe, but The Day She Died has been out for a year! To celebrate, I’ll be giving away three personalized signed copies on my newsletter, which you can sign up for by clicking the button below. I’ll be sending out the May newsletter this coming week, and after that you can expect to receive brief monthly updates, book recommendations, and other giveaways.

Resting Rest Face

I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but I have a really hard time not working. Maybe it’s a self-employed/working from home thing, like if I’m not filling my hours and days with as much work as possible I might slip off the edge into some abyss of laziness, or maybe it’s ingrained capitalism: If I’m not pushing pushing pushing, then what is my worth? Or maybe it’s that I love my job (most of the time), and I’m afraid if I step away for too long I’ll lose the creative thread.

Maybe it’s all of the above.

It’s been a hard 2+ years, hasn’t it? I’m so grateful my family has remained healthy and safe. And because I work from home, we’ve had the immense privilege of choosing schooling options for our kids that were often online or outdoors, to minimize risk. But now they are ZOOMED OUT (who even knew that expression back in the before times???). My husband had to move his business to a new location, leaving the space his dad opened forty-two years before. It was hard. Emotional. Scary. And I also changed agents, which you might recall I talked about the last time. I won’t rehash it here, other than to say that losing your agent is incredibly stressful and leads to a lot of self-doubt.

But … we are safe. Healthy. My husband is settled in his new business location, and I love my new agent. LOVE. I’m so grateful. And after two years, we’ve finally made it back to our home in Palm Springs. Our oasis in the sun. It needs a paint job and some TLC after this time of neglect, but then, don’t we all?

I spent the last month doing an overhaul on Changeling, the manuscript you might remember was a finalist in the ECW Press Speculative Fiction Contest. It didn’t win, but I suspect that’s maybe a good thing. If I’d won, I would have been offered a publishing contract. But my agent had some brilliant ideas for how to improve the story, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. Once it’s polished, she’ll send it out on submission to publishing houses and the waiting waiting waiting to see if anyone wants to buy it will begin.

At the moment, I could go on to other writing/research (I’ve got two books in the tank, one that needs a big rewrite and the other in the early stages of a first draft), but instead I’ve decided to take a few moments to RELAX. Read books for pleasure (gasp!). Swim with my kids. Maybe take a few naps. And every time the guilt-monster tells me I should be WORKING, I tell her to shut up.

Speaking of reading, I think this is a perfect time to introduce a new segment for this blog/newsletter where I share some of the books I’ve recently read and loved. So here we go! :)

After Elias

When the airplane piloted by Elias Santos crashes one week before their wedding day, Coen Caraway loses the man he loves and the illusion of happiness he has worked so hard to create. The only thing Elias leaves behind is a recording of his final words, and even Coen is baffled by the cryptic message.

Numb with grief, he takes refuge on the Mexican island that was meant to host their wedding. But as fragments of the past come to the surface in the aftermath of the tragedy, Coen is forced to question everything he thought he knew about Elias and their life together. Beneath his flawed memory lies the truth about Elias — and himself.

From the damp concrete of Vancouver to the spoiled shores of Mexico, After Elias weaves the past with the present to tell a story of doubt, regret, and the fear of losing everything.

In The Deep

Real-estate mogul Martin Cresswell-Smith is the best thing that has ever happened to Ellie. After her daughter’s devastating death, a divorce, and an emotional breakdown, he’s helped her move as far as possible from the grief, the rage, and the monsters of her past. Ellie imagines her new home with Martin in an Australian coastal town will be like living a fairy tale.

 But behind closed doors is another story—one that ends in Martin’s brutal murder. And Ellie seems almost relieved…

​Naturally, everyone thinks Mrs. Cresswell-Smith is guilty.

​Senior Constable Lozza Bianchi has reasonable doubt. She sees evidence of a twisted psychological battle and a couple who seemed to bring out the worst in each other—adultery, abuse, betrayal, and revenge. If anything Ellie says can be believed, that is. As the case takes twist after spiraling twist, Lozza can’t shake the gut instinct that she’s being manipulated. That Ellie is hiding something. That there are secrets yet to surface.

 Lozza has no idea ....

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

Most folks don’t realize how important pre-ordering a books is. It shows bookstores there’s interest in a book, which encourages them to order it from the publisher. I’d be eternally grateful if you could go to your favourite bookstore, whether online or in person, and pre-order the book.

Here are some easy links to find Blood Atonement in your favourite bookstores:

Book Warehouse/Black Bond Books

Chapters/Indigo

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Walmart

Book Depository

Kobo

DESCRIPTION

In a riveting psychological thriller for readers of Lisa Unger and Karin Slaughter, Grace’s healing solitude is shattered when she becomes a suspect in a gruesome series of murders.

Decades before, Grace DeRoche escaped the fundamentalist Mormon compound of Brigham and worked to prosecute the leaders. But when loyalists, including her own family, committed mass suicide to avoid jail, Grace retreated into solitude. Racked with guilt and suffering from dissociative identity disorder brought on by childhood abuse, Grace’s life is fragmented and full of blind spots. Dissociative triggers are everywhere, and she never knows when an alter personality will take the reins.

When other Brigham escapees die under suspicious circumstances, Grace’s tenuous hold on reality crumbles. Notes left at each scene quote scripture and accuse the deceased of committing sins so grievous atonement can only be achieved through the spilling of blood. As evidence mounts against her and one of her alter personalities becomes the prime suspect, Grace must determine if she’s a murderer … or the next victim.

I've Signed with a New Agent!

Friends and family who aren’t in “the biz” might think getting a literary agent is kind of like hiring someone to sell your home: Find someone you trust to do a good job and hire them. Simple.

It’s … not like that. At all.

Here are the basic steps for any author trying to get a literary agent:

1. Research. Sift through hundreds of agents/agencies to find those who represent what you write. Make sure they’re legit, honest, have a proven track record, etc. Create a master list. Make a strategy for which groups of agents you’ll query in your first round, second round, third, etc. Now maybe have a drink. Or some chocolate.

2. Write a query letter. This has to be attention grabbing, follow a specific format, explain you and your work in just a few paragraphs, and for heaven’s sake be free of spelling and grammatical errors. (Oh! And you must have at least one completed manuscript ready to go. I guess that’s actually step one. First, write a damn book.)

3. Following each agent’s specific querying guidelines, send out your query letter and sample pages to your first group of agents. Have some more chocolate, because now you’re going to wait and stare into the void for awhile. Like, a long while.

4. Eat chocolate and stare into the void. This will take months.

5. Get rejections from some. Radio silence from others. Maybe if you’re lucky you get a request to send the full manuscript, which they will read within the next few months or so. (It’s important to note that agents are the superheros of the publishing industry, they are the author’s best advocate and the only way to get in the door of most publishing houses, and they are REALLY BUSY. Their first priority is always their clients, so as a querying author you need so … much … patience. Oh, and btw, agents get hundreds of queries a month. HUNDREDS. Seriously.)

6. Query more agents. And then more. As rejections come in you might change your query letter, revisit/re-edit the manuscript to fix problems. Get rejections on full manuscripts. Eat chocolate. Maybe add in some potato chips for variety and nutrition, because potatoes are obviously a vegetable.

7. If you’re lucky … and I mean really REALLY lucky, an agent will like your work and offer representation. At that point you’ll reach out to the other agents who have your query/manuscript to let them know you’ve had an offer. There will be a flurry of activity as you hear from them and have conversations with the offering agent. You may get other offers, and you’ll have conversations with those agents, too (the first time I did this I got three offers of representation. This time I got two and closed down shop because I was certain I’d found my dream agent).

So, I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve signed with Stacey Kondla of The Rights Factory! I look forward to a long and successful partnership. <3

View fullsize

SIGNING THE CONTRACT!

(Oh. One last thing. Let’s call this Step 8. At some point you might find yourself starting over, like I did. This is a really hard place to be, but it happens and it’s usually no one’s fault. In my case, I adore and have enormous respect for my first agent. She sold The Day She Died and Blood Atonement. She is an amazing advocate for my work and I was lucky to be with her. But if you do ever find yourself looking for a new agent, know that you’re going into it with more knowledge and skill than you did the first time, and believe that it will be okay, and that your work will find the right home. <3)

A Lovely and Thoughtful Review of The Day She Died

A huge thank you to Myshara Herbert-McMyn of The Ormsby Review for such a delightful review of THE DAY SHE DIED. Here’s an excerpt I really enjoyed, which touches on Eve’s artwork and how it changes throughout the book:

“Since Eve is an artist, I must touch on her art and how it changes over the course of the novel. The artistic imagery is vivid without being over the top. For example, before her accident Eve is standing in the hallway with her grandmother, Button, looking at her finished pieces. Eve talks about one of her paintings, describing it as a café on the Rue Saint-Honoré. “I’d paint it differently now,” she says. “Tighten the focus to that scatter of bread crumbs, and where the coffee splashed into the saucer. Highlight the imperfections” (p. 18). Like any artist, Eve reflects on how she might improve the simple scene in France.

Another painting shows the Adlers’ backyard in early summer, a peaceful scene of friendship, nature, and love. “Button touched Sara’s painted cheek, traced the flowers clutched against her chest, and ran her finger over the blood-red soil at Sara’s feet” (p. 19). The rest of her paintings are similar, describing scenes or moments in Eve’s life in a gentle and simplistic style.

Then Freedman shows what Eve paints after her amnesia and it’s truly horrific:

Gone were the children, the blackberry bushes, and the hazy summer sky. At the top corner, the river still lapped peacefully to the shore. But as it continued down to the centre of the canvas, it transformed into a thick, silver snake. It coiled over and around itself, scales shimmering with hints of green and blue. Red droplets of blood sprayed from fangs to flank. Instead of a tongue, a human arm unfurled from its mouth like a nightmare party whistle. The hand was delicate, the fingernails shiny with dark polish (p. 89).

Each piece of this painting is surreal and terrifying, with everything in opposition to the happy, calm tones of the previous paintings. Something inside Eve’s mind has changed the way she sees the world around her. Many more questions emerge, and the plot thickens.

Fans of Criminal Minds, of thrillers like The Push, and of true crime will love The Day She Died.”

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW HERE.

Junction Reads Interview

This past Sunday I was honoured to do a reading and be interviewed by Alison Gadsby on Junction Reads about The Day She Died and my upcoming book, Blood Atonement. Alison is such a thoughtful interviewer, and I really enjoyed chatting with her. Thank you also to Cayley Brightside for her technical prowess, and congratulations on landing a job at Simon & Schuster!

Please join me this Sunday!

JUNCTION READS

Please join me online this Sunday at 2pm Pacific/5pm Eastern as I chat with Junction Reads about The Day She Died and my upcoming book, Blood Atonement. We recently adopted a cat from the SPCA (see below for gratuitous kitty pics) and my family is thrilled to have a new fur baby to love after several years without — so all donations will go to the BC-SPCA. 

Please register ahead of time for this online even at EVENTBRITE.

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BOOK NEWS

I’m thrilled to announce I recently signed a new book deal with Dundurn Press for my next book, Blood Atonement, to be published October 18th 2022. Stay tuned for more details.

Also, Book Warehouse still has some signed copies of The Day She Died. Please support indie bookstores whenever possible. They are fierce supporters of local authors and deserve all the love they can get.

And now, meet our newest family member. His name is Frankie (after Old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra), and I’m pretty sure he’s part dog. He’s the sweetest. He came home with us this week after his neuter surgery, and he’s been laying on us, demanding pets and cuddles, and generally taking over the house. 

Book News!

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be working with Dundurn Press on a new book, BLOOD ATONEMENT, tentatively scheduled for release in Fall 2022. Stay tuned for details! <3

Instagram Live with Dundurn Press

Join me on Thursday, September 16th at 12pm Eastern/9am Pacific as I chat with Kristina Jagger of Dundurn Press about thriller writing. You can find it on Dundurn’s Instagram Live Feed.

New Book Deal Signed!

I recently signed a new book deal! I’ll share the details once it’s officially announced in Publishers’ Marketplace, but for now I’m grateful to my amazing hubby for encouraging me to put on something nicer than sweatpants so we could celebrate.

It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To

Anyone remember that song? Pretty sure I’m going to cry this week, but I promise it will be tears of gratitude. ( If you’re into embarrassing stories, scroll to the bottom to read about the time my book launch went very, very wrong).

So here we go:

• The Day She Died officially hits bookshelves on Tuesday, April 27th. If you haven’t ordered your book yet, please support an indie bookstore by snagging it from Book Warehouse. They have signed copies.

• I’m having an ONLINE BOOK LAUNCH PARTY on THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH 5:30-6:30PM (Pacific Standard Time), and I’d love for everyone to join me! There will be prizes! :)

JOIN THE BOOK LAUNCH PARTY:

Please reserve your spot HERE. This also enters you into the GIFT GIVEAWAY (see below).

This is the LINK to the zoom event. Just one click and you’ll be there! (And don’t worry, you’ll be automatically muted and you can choose to join without video if you’d prefer not to be seen). https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89455125480?pwd=cXg4TXg3RjBxSnA5Kzh0V3NFNlQ4QT09

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Gift Giveaway!

I’ll be giving away three personalized signed copies of The Day She Died, along with the best maple syrup in the world (I know it seems like a weird gift, but this particular maple syrup has a HUGE spotlight in the book), and the GRAND PRIZE is an original oil on canvas painting by artist Sheryl Walker, which was inspired by the Fraser River setting of the book.

Here’s a better look at the GRAND PRIZE!

“FRASER RIVER SUNSET” 9X12 Oil on Canvas by Sheryl Walker

The Tale of the Book Launch Gone Wrong

My publicist once set me up on a tour of Southern California to celebrate the release of my second book, Impact Winter. We were on vacation in nearby Palm Springs, and it seemed like something fun to do while in town. Most of the tour stops were the kind where I’d have a table at a Barnes & Noble for a couple hours. I’d set up my book display and chat with customers. It was good casual fun, with the added bonus of being able to shop for books afterward. :)

But then I showed up at this place on the outskirts of L.A. It was off on its own in a more industrial area, which meant there would be no casual walk-by traffic. This should have been my first clue that things were about to go embarrassingly wrong. When I entered the store, there was no one inside except the employees. There were, however, rows of empty chairs and a buffet table where cheese and fruit plates were lovingly laid out.

Oh. There was also a giant cake.

They’d clearly planned for an actual book launch event. In L.A. Where I didn’t know anybody. For a moment, I considered running. Instead, I took a deep breath and explained that there’d been a horrible misunderstanding and no one was coming except me. I apologized exactly ten thousand times, really tapping into my Canadian heritage. Then I sat chatting with one of the employees about books and writing while pretending I wasn’t on the verge of tears and thinking, how much will they judge me if I grab a fork and dig right into that cake? It looked delicious.

April Goodness

BOOK LAUNCH APRIL 27TH

As The Day She Died moves into launch sequence (T minus 24 days!) I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who has generously given of their time and effort in the lead-up to the big day. Everyone I’ve reached out to has been welcoming and enthusiastic, and I’ve found my eyes burning with grateful tears on more than one occasion. More on that below, but first:

If you haven’t pre-ordered yet, please do so from BOOK WAREHOUSE. They are the official bookseller for the launch, and they have SIGNED COPIES!

Due to Covid, the BOOK LAUNCH will be a VIRTUAL EVENT. As much as I’m going to miss seeing friends and family and lovely readers in person, it’s pretty cool that people can attend from anywhere in the world while wearing sweatpants. (I guarantee that’s what I’ll be wearing. Sweats are now my daily uniform and I don’t think I can go back to the before times. Pants with buttons and zippers? Come on.)

I’d be honoured if you’d join me for an hour on THURSDAY, APRIL 29TH @ 5:30pm (Pacific Standard Time). Please pre-register for the event HERE. Below are the full details:

You saw that gift-giveaway part, right? Stay tuned for more details on that. And trust me, it’s really cool.

I mentioned feeling overwhelming gratitude? Here are just a few amazing people (and businesses) to whom I’m eternally indebted:

Sam Wiebe, award-winning author of the Wakeland novels, for giving The Day She Died an advanced read and an amazing endorsement, and for agreeing to MC the Virtual Launch!

Award-winning singer and songwriter Stacey Joy, for agreeing to share one of her songs at the Virtual Launch. You guys, she’s incredible. I can’t wait!

Book Warehouse for being the official bookseller of the launch, and the JCC Jewish Book Festival and Waldman Library for graciously hosting the event. I seriously don’t know how I’d handle all the technical stuff without them.

Everyone at Dundurn Press for being such fierce champions of me and my work. I am just so, so grateful. You are all amazing.

Authors Owen Laukkanen, June Hutton, Elle Wild, and R.M. Greenaway for reading advanced copies of the book and giving such kind endorsements.

Author C.S. O'Cinneide of She Kills Lit for giving an unexpected and marvellous review. You can read it HERE.

Author Joanna VanderVlugt for her podcast interview on JCV Art Studio (Upcoming!)

And of course the amazing, incredible, generous, kind, and super easy to talk to Terry Shepherd for hosting me at AUTHORS ON THE AIR. Click on the image to listen to the interview.

And the talented Shantal Freedman for creating this book trailer. If you haven’t seen it yet, hold onto your … hats? Pants? I don’t know. Just hold on. It’s incredible. <3

Review from C.S. O'Cinneide of SHE KILLS LIT

I just have to share this amazing and unexpected review from C.S. O'Cinneide of SHE KILLS LIT. Here’s part of it, and you can read the rest HERE.

“This book has more twists than a Yoga Spine class. I like to think that I’m pretty good at spotting the big reveals before the author pulls the curtain away, but Freedman staged an unexpected reversal on me more than once in this book. What’s more, there were times I thought the characters were behaving inappropriately and that I, the “experienced reader” had spotted an inconsistency. But later, the character and the behavior were completely explained, and I was left with egg on my face — which I didn’t even mind because the way Freedman pulled off fooling me was just that cool.  The fact that the book is evocatively written in a league that holds its own with literary fiction (think Ashley Audrain’s The Push) didn’t hurt either.

You don’t win Best Debut (Suspense Magazine) for your first book because you don’t know how to hold a reader by the bookmark and squeeze. And in this latest novel, S.M. Freedman does not disappoint. The Day She Died will be a day you won’t soon forget.”

It is now T - 27 days until The Day She Died hits bookshelves. It’s available for pre-order from all major retailers, and if you want a signed copy you can order from the official bookseller BOOK WAREHOUSE.

Anxiety and a Goodreads Giveaway

After a bazillion days of rain, yesterday sparked gloriously sunny in Vancouver. I spotted snowdrops in the mud, and the tiny promise of buds on a cherry tree—and for the first time in months, I breathed. On my way to pick up the kids, I sat in traffic and watched a woman who waited for the light to change, her bike propped between her legs. She pulled her helmet from her head to free her sweat-dampened hair, and tipped her face toward the sun.

Seeing her look of bliss, some of the noise and worry pressing my shoulders interminably toward the earth—Covid Democracy White Supremacy Kids in Cages Famine Economic Collapse Global Warming Mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples Unfettered Capitalism I could go on forever but my anxiety-monster just awoke and it looks hungry so I’m going to tiptoe away very very slowly—some of this worry melted away and I felt … momentarily lightened.

I even got a brief moment of respite from my own more personal list of worries. So, now I’m going to let you in on a little secret. As cool and exciting as it is to have a book marching toward publication, it’s also really nerve-wracking. I feel an enormous sense of obligation toward my publisher. After all, they believed in my story enough to invest in it, and I want their investment to prove fruitful. So, I worry. Am I doing enough? Am I being enough?

But for just a moment, as I watched that woman tip her face toward the kiss of the sun, I was able to take a breath and reflect on how awesome this moment truly is. Advanced Reading Copies of The Day She Died are being well received (I’m so grateful to the authors who took the time to read and give their endorsement – you can see their reviews below), and for those who are so inclined, it’s available for review on Netgalley. You can also enter to win a free advanced copy from Goodreads until February 12th. Pre-orders are available from all major book retailers. I’ve been asked if it will be available on audiobook, and the answer is YES. Here’s the audiobook pre-order link.

It’s raining again today, but I’m holding on to a bit of yesterday’s sunshiny peace, and I’m wishing you the same.

PRE-ORDER THE DAY SHE DIED

Hello lovely readers!

Exciting news! The Day She Died is now available for pre-order. I'm really delighted with it, and if any of you had already been thinking about recommending or buying it, I wanted to ask you a favour. 

It's become very important these days for books to get a good spike of online pre-order sales before they’re released. Pre-orders signal to bookstores that they need to stock up on the title. This can make a huge difference to overall sales. 

So if you can think of anyone who would enjoy a copy of the book, I'd be really grateful if you ordered a copy today. And also, thank you so much for your support and enthusiasm! 

You can pre-order on:

AMAZON CHAPTERS-INDIGO WALMART BOOK WAREHOUSE BARNES & NOBLE BOOK DEPOSITORY

Eve Gold’s birthdays are killers, and her twenty-seventh birthday proves to be no different. But for the up-and-coming Vancouver artist, facing death isn’t the real shock — it’s what comes after.

Recovering from a near-fatal accident, Eve is determined to return to the life she’s always wanted: a successful artistic career, marriage to the man who once broke her heart, and another chance at motherhood. But brain damage leaves her forgetful, confused, and tortured by repressed memories of a deeply troubled childhood, where her innocence was stolen one lie — and one suspicious death — at a time.

As the dark, twisted pages unfold, Eve must choose between clinging to the lies that helped her survive her childhood and unearthing the secrets she buried long ago.

Happy Pandemukkah

Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!

Yesterday I spent more time in the kitchen than I did writing or editing, but it was so worth it. The house filled with the aroma of homemade jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot) and potato latkes — oh that heavenly mixture of fried onion, strawberry jam, and sugar covered dough … sigh. It’s almost enough to make this year feel no different from any other year.

Yeah. Almost.

Heaven!

My youngest was especially excited for Hanukkah this year. She created a countdown calendar and faithfully marked off the days, until the first night was finally finally FINALLY here.

So excited!

Most of my family gathered for a joyful evening lighting the menorah, opening presents, and spinning the dreidel. But we are under restrictions here in the Lower Mainland not to visit indoors with those outside our household, so one important person was missing. We celebrated with my mom via FaceTime. I’m so glad we have the technology to stay connected to those we love during this pandemic, and I’m ever so grateful that my loved ones are healthy and powering through these unprecedented times with only emotional bumps and scrapes. I know it’s so much worse for so many. We are not all on the same boat. My heart aches for those losing their lives, losing their loved ones, losing their jobs, losing their security …

2020 has been so dark. But the candles on our menorah glowed extra bright last night, as did the joy on my children’s faces. And though it was different this year, everyone I love most in this world was together — thanks to modern technology. I am grateful.

I wish the same for all of you. <3

Book Deal News!

Nothing feels official until you see it in Publishers Marketplace. 😁 I’m thrilled to announce a new book deal with Dundurn Press. Audio rights have sold to Tantor Media. I believe publication will be fall of 2020, but stay tuned!

I'd like to give a huge shout-out to my favourite editor, Hannah Sullivan, for making THE DAY SHE DIED readable, and to my awesome agent Kim Lionetti at BookEnds for being smarter and more persistent than me. <3

In other news, THE FAITHFUL is on sale in the US Kindle store for $0.99, thanks to the amazing team at Thomas & Mercer who continue to promote my first book baby.

Big News and Speed Dating, Writer Style

You may have noticed this plan for a for monthly blog or newsletter has gone sadly awry.
 
Truth is, there hasn’t been much to report until now. I’ve been working on the third book in The Faithful series and two standalone suspense novels, but sometimes life—and by life I mean my children—gets in the way.
 
We pulled our daughter from Kindergarten in November and I threw myself into homeschooling. Because hey, I’ve got those teacher skills (nope) and it will be a piece of cake (double nope). For the record, teachers are underappreciated heroes, and I bow to their greatness for all eternity. Thankfully, we’ve found a better fit for school this fall, and she’s ready to tackle new adventures. And much as I enjoyed this time with her, so am I. 
 
So, back to writing and full steam ahead.
 
In July, I attended Thrillerfest in New York. I was honoured to speak on a panel about writing cops into fiction, but the highlights were a day spent honing my craft with Steve Berry, and the terror that is Pitchfest.
 
Ever done speed dating? Pitchfest is speed dating with agents. And yes, one usually gets an agent before they get a publisher, but backwards is my middle name.
 
The writing business is subjective and ever changing. Finding the right agent felt like Mission: Impossible. After dozens of emails, ten agents had requested the manuscript and I was (impatiently) waiting for word. But nothing beats meeting someone in person. 
 
During Pitchfest I met seven someones, which netted seven requests for the manuscript. Of those, I think five weren’t just being polite. I sensed I’d just met my agent, but I had no clue who it was.
 
Then came the offers. It’s strange to go from trying to grab someone’s—anyone’s—attention, to sifting through multiple offers. It’s humbling, it’s exciting, and it’s actually really stressful. Because they were all great choices, but who was the best fit for me? After questions and research and way too much coffee, it required a leap of faith.
 
I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve signed with Kim Lionetti at BookEnds Literary Agency. She is amazing, and BookEnds feels like a great fit for both my professional goals and personal values. 
 
Soon the new manuscripts will make their way to publishers' desks, and hopefully find a happy home. <3
 
Wishing you a beautiful rest of the summer, until we meet again. 
 
Shoshona xo
  

A FEW PICTURES FROM NEW YORK

With my Author Relations Manager Sarah Shaw at the Thomas & Mercer rooftop cocktail party (and the amazing view of the Empire State Building!), with dear friends Hannah Sullivan (editor & author) and Andrea Domanski (author) exploring New York, and with Tanya Eby, narrator extraordinaire of both The Faithful and Impact Winter.  

George RR Martin, a panel with (L-R) Lee Child, Robert Dugoni, Peter James, Lynda LaPlante & Karin Slaughter, Lee Child interviews Megan Abbot, and the lineup forms for Pitchfest. 

All We Are Saying ...

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON WORLDWISEWRITERS.

Montreal. 1969. A lifetime ago, or yesterday, depending on your point of view. John Lennon had just married Yoko Ono, and for their honeymoon they invited the press to hang out by their bedside while they sang about peace. Not my idea of a romantic honeymoon, but hey, I’m not burdened by the responsibility of being famous during a time of war. Of having to decide whether or not to use my influence to fight for what I believe in. It’s something I’ve been thinking about recently. On my way up or down the stairs to the basement, I find myself pausing to look at the two pictures that hang on the landing, reflecting on this moment in the history of the world—and this moment in the history of my family.
 

The man holding the camera is my great uncle, George Cree. For decades he was a photographer for the Montreal Gazette, and his lens captured many significant moments in Canadian history: Famous faces, royal visits, all kinds of political strife and upheaval—and the time a musician and his new bride laid in bed to promote peace. My Uncle Geordie went into that room in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel to cover John and Yoko’s Bed-In. He came out with photographs that would be a highlight of his career, and a pen drawing casually scribbled by Lennon and handed to my uncle, almost as an afterthought. I doubt he had any idea how much that little drawing would mean to my uncle. To my whole family.

Give Peace a Chance.

For many this sentiment is a quaint, impossible dream … a naiveté. For others it’s a reason to go on when the darkness closes in. For me it’s a wish—blind or otherwise—that my children will live in a world where equality and kindness prevail. It’s a prayer that my daughter will never be discriminated against for her gender, that my son will feel safe wearing a Kippah upon his head. That I will one day not feel a thrill of fear by this kind of public admission of my family’s Judaism. That my children will live to raise the next generation, so that they may raise the next, and the next, and so on ad infinitum. 

I often pause on the landing that leads down to my basement to spend a moment with my uncle, who was hilarious and gentle and kind. He is the first person I notice in that photo, not the man with the guitar. More and more I think about the things my uncle saw with his eyes and through his lens. I think about how he dropped out of school during The Depression, how he was a tail gunner with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, how he was a witness to history, both the good and the bad.

History. It’s not long before my gaze travels to the man with the guitar. He used his voice to mobilize those who were sleeping, because he believed that peace was more than an abstract concept or a pie-in-the-sky wish. And it occurs to me that, like everything in life, there is no way to make your wishes a reality unless you’re willing to mobilize. My voice doesn’t need to reach millions to make a valuable contribution. If it reaches just one, it can make a difference. And so I pause on the landing to ponder. What will my contribution be?

And yours?

S.M. Freedman

Hollywood for the Socially Awkward

Originally posted on the WorldWiseWriters blog. 

I’m a writer for a reason. Well, a number of reasons, I guess. But one of the main ones is that I like staying in my jammies all day and talking to people I invent in my head. But with THE FAITHFUL republished last fall and the sequel coming out early this summer, I knew the time had come to push away from my desk, put on some grownup clothes, and try not to be too socially awkward with the other humans. 

Sisters in Crime, an outstanding organization to which I belong, was hosting a conference at Universal City aimed at teaching writers the ins and outs of “the biz.” When they announced it I signed up immediately—almost on a whim. And because I was so speedy, I ended up being one of the few chosen to pitch my novel to a Hollywood exec. This caused a faint stir of anxiety, I’ll admit. I’d already been feeling the trepidation any introvert feels when suddenly exposed, pale and blinking, to the world of social interaction—but talking to some Hollywood exec about my work was screaming distance from my comfort zone.

Well, inevitably, the first day of the conference arrived. I was pitching that afternoon. Thank goodness the first speaker of the day was Pam Veasey, an Emmy nominated writer currently working on CSI: Cyber. She gave a great talk on the art of the pitch, and I took notes like my life depended on it. I’m pretty sure it did. Afterward, those of us scheduled to pitch were brought to a separate room to get some help. My group was lucky enough to get Pam. She was amazing, listening as we bumbled our way through our pitches and giving extraordinary advice on how to improve them. 

Any of you who have read THE FAITHFUL know it’s a complex book, with multiple characters and storylines that eventually come together. My biggest challenge was trying to find a way to describe it in less than five minutes, in a way that not only made sense but also sounded interesting. So here’s where I’d gotten on my own:

“Uhhhhhh … so … I wrote this book?” Followed by an awkward silence.

Brilliant, right? I thought so. Well, okay. Maybe it wasn’t quite that bad, but I did ramble a bit and Pam cut the nonsense and gave me several key points to hit upon. Soooooo grateful! 

Five minutes can feel like an eternity, or it can flash by in seconds. My five minutes was like a lighting bolt. I’d been told to watch for my handler, who would return to the room to signal that my time was up. Being a true Canadian, I got so worried I’d inconvenience someone by talking too long that I spent half the pitch checking the door behind me, just to make sure. It may have made me look a wee bit twitchy, come to think of it. 

Post-pitch and pre-drink

The man I pitched to is the founder of a very successful production company, and he’s been involved in projects like Spider Man and Guns, Girls and Gambling, to name a couple. Gulp. But he was very kind and attentive, he asked to keep a copy of my book, and I didn’t feel like I was dying a slow, painful death. I flew from the meeting with the same relief I imagine those wasps feel when my husband saves them from drowning in our pool.

The rest of the conference was truly amazing and informative, and I got over my social awkwardness enough to meet some amazing authors. So much talent in one room, it was inspiring!

I came home with a renewed sense of excitement for the job I’m fortunate enough to do, and I’m more in love with Hollywood than ever. What strange magic! I hope to be back very, very soon.

Thank you, Sisters in Crime! It was outstanding.

Me with fellow authors Terri Nolan, Kathy Hegarty Krevat, Judith Gonda & G.M. Malliet