May 18 – 24: “How do you obtain advance reviews?”

This week we’re joined by ITW members R. G. Belsky, Paul Levine, Elena Taylor, Tim Tigner, Michael Ledwidge, Kaye Schmitz, Kate White, Nick Thacker and Martin Roy Hill, and we’re asking them, as an author, how do you obtain advance reviews for new releases? Scroll down to the “comments” section to follow along. You won’t want to miss it!

Kaye Schmitz, author of the award-winning novel, THE CONSORT CONSPIRACY, releases her second novel, ON DEADLY GROUNDS, on May 8, 2020. Active in the writing community, she is a member of the Florida Writers’ Association, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She is an active speaker and teaches a writer’s workshop, “We All Have a Story to Tell.” Ms. Schmitz makes her home in St. Augustine, FL, where she lives with her husband, Michael.

Kate White, the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, is the New York Times bestselling author of six stand-alone psychological thrillers, including Have You Seen Me? (April ’20)) and eight Bailey Weggins mysteries, including Such a Perfect Wife, which was just nominated for an International Thriller Writers Book Award. She is also the editor of The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook.

R. G. Belsky is an author of crime fiction and a journalist in New York City. His newest mystery, THE LAST SCOOP, will be published in May 2020 by Oceanview. It is the third in a series featuring Clare Carlson, the news director for a New York City TV station. The first Clare Carlson book, YESTERDAY’S NEWS, came out in 2018. It won the David Award at Deadly Ink for Best Mystery of 2018. The second Clare Carlson book, BELOW THE FOLD, was in 2019. He also is the author of two thrillers written under the pen name of Dana Perry – THE SILENT VICTIM 2019) and THE GOLDEN GIRL (June, 2020).

Paul Levine worked as a newspaper reporter, a law professor and a trial lawyer before becoming a full-time novelist. Obviously, he cannot hold a job. Paul claims that writing fiction comes naturally: he told whoppers for many years in his legal briefs. His books have been translated into 23 languages, none of which he can read. In Germany, his first novel, “TO SPEAK FOR THE DEAD,” has recently been published as “In Vertretung Der Toten.”

Elena Taylor wrote the humorous Eddie Shoes Mystery Series under the name Elena Hartwell. Now she returns to her dramatic roots—she spent over 20 years in the theater—with this darker, more psychological tale. When she’s not writing, she’s either working with writers one-on-one as a developmental editor with Allegory Editing, or spending time with her two horses at the stables or her two cats, one dog, and one husband at their home in beautiful Snoqualmie Valley, Washington.

Nick Thacker is the USA Today bestselling author of action-adventure thrillers and mysteries, including the Harvey Bennett Thrillers series. Often mentioned as a cross between Clive Cussler and James Rollins, his stories are written in a fast-paced, punchy style. He lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, two kids, two dogs, and a tortoise.

A Special Forces veteran and former biotech CEO, Tim Tigner lived and worked all over the world before turning to writing full-time. He now has a dozen bestsellers to his name, including the Watch What You Wish For series, which begins with The Price of Time, an Amazon Top-100 Bestseller of 2019. His latest novel, Boundless Ambition, is the fifth in the popular Kyle Achilles series. Google “Tigner” to learn more.

Michael Ledwidge is the author of seventeen novels, the last dozen being New York Times bestsellers co-written with James Patterson. With twenty million copies in print, their Michael Bennett series is the highest selling New York City detective series of all time. One of their novels, Zoo, became a three-season CBS television series. He lives in Connecticut.

Martin Roy Hill is the author of the Linus Schag, NCIS, thrillers, the Peter Brandt thrillers, and the award-winning short story collection DUTY, and EDEN: A Sci-Fi Novella. Martin’s short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, ALT HIST: The Journal of Historical Fiction and Alternative History, Mystery Weekly Magazine, Crimson Streets, Nebula Rift, Devolution Z, and others. His latest Linus Schag thriller, The Butcher’s Bill, was named 2017 Best Suspense Thriller by the Best Indie Books Awards, the 2017 Clue Award for Mystery and Suspense from the Chanticleer International Book Awards, 2018 First Place for Adult Fiction from the California Author Project, and the 2018 Silver Medal for Thrillers from the Readers Favorite Book Awards.