Author: Nikolas Larum

Husband, father, family man, teacher, pastor, and business manager

“He took a look over his shoulder. The earth was still below him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply to calm himself. The actions he must take played themselves in his mind once again. Before he could change his mind, he let go. If any spectators had been on the ground, they would have believed it suicide. If they would have been able to observe his descent, they would have been sure that he had died before hitting the ground, for his body would have been seen bouncing off the balconies as it fell, which is exactly what Carlos did.”

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I received word of a public sighting of Carlos de Leon in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I’m on the case!

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A Meme with no President

I’ve been reading Robert Baer’s musings on his hunt for Hajj Radwan in his book The Perfect Kill: 21 Laws for Assassins. When I developed Carlos de Leon, I thought the idea of an assassin/spy that hid among the impoverished and outcasts a novel idea. It appears that Radwan, perhaps the most lethal Middle Eastern assassin in history, did just that.

You won’t find Carlos de Leon in a Monte Carlo casino or cruising down the lane in an Aston Martin. License? What license?

Find him on Amazon and check out the trailer on YouTube.

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This is the first book trailer video that I have produced. I used 123rf.com for the stock photos and Pond5.com for the music. Elements were created and assembled using the Adobe Creative Cloud (the learning curb has been steep!). Video production was done inside Adobe Premiere Pro. Some of the transitions didn’t translate into the mp4 format as well as I would have like (they looked better in my video previewer), but all in all I am very happy with the end result. I look forward to your feedback in the comments section.

Paperback and Kindle editions are available on Amazon.com.

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Last Stop – Gypsy Spy 2016 Tour

I am back for another engaging Saturday afternoon at the Book Exchange Norfolk, December 17th, 12 – 3 p.m. for my final book signing event in 2016. Book Exchange Norfolk is the best of its type that I have ever been in. As a teenager, I spent a substantial amount of my earnings (after rent, food, and gas) on brand new books. If this store had been in my hometown, I would have had more books in my library and more cash in my pocket.

John and his staff are wonderful. The atmosphere in the store is bright and welcoming. They inspect and clean the books they take in. You can pick up old favorites and fairly recent releases for half of what you would pay at Barnes and Noble. Come on out, get a signed copy of Gypsy Spy: The Cold War Files and finish off your Christmas list with books, movies, and music from Book Exchange Norfolk at 116 E Little Creek Road.

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Writing and marketing are two different set of skills. Writing has rules. Marketing is trial and error, guesswork, and a few principles sprinkled in. Writers, if you want a headache learn marketing. If you want to have fun, continue to be creative in as many formats as possible.

Check out the start of my next creative effort: book trailers.

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Olde Towne Book Stroll – Dec. 3rd

The Portsmouth Olde Towne Business Association is sponsoring the 1st Annual Olde Towne Book Stroll on Saturday, December 3rd from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. I will be in the Dave Chance Art Gallery at 610 High Street. This event is a great way for historic Olde Towne to quick off its Christmas season. Below are some of the details from their press release.

“Do you love autographed books?  Do you like to support local authors? Have you ever wanted  to meet the author who wrote your book? Here is your opportunity!         

Join us on Saturday, December 3rd from 10 to 2 pm for the 1st Annual Olde Towne Book Stroll. Local authors will be located in the shops on High Street from Middle to Green Streets. You can meet and greet over 20 local authors, enjoy seeing Olde Towne decked out for the season and win great prizes! This is your opportunity to find that perfect gift for the book lover on your holiday shopping list.

This event will feature a wide range of authors and genres including 4 children’s authors and illustrators, a mother-daughter team, the Sisters in Crime Writers Group with murder mysteries set in Virginia, 2 Portsmouth historians, Mae Breckenridge-Haywood and Dean Burgess, as well as best selling authors Denise Jeffries and E. Ayers.

Additionally, Dean Burgess, will be giving personal tours of Trinity Church. Support Portsmouth Public Art will have their annual Gently Viewed Art Sale at 304 High Street, and visitors can enjoy the Olde Towne Antiques to Flea Market and Farmer’s Market.

The Olde Towne Courtesy Shuttle will provide transportation between shops. Free parking will be available in the city garages on Middle and County Streets.  We hope you will come out and see all that Olde Towne has to offer!”

Click here for more information including a complete list of authors and locations. I look forward to seeing you there!

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