Jon F. Merz

 by Jon F. Merz

Custom US Postage Stamps Featuring THE KENSEI

Here’s a cool way to get your holiday mailing done and help spread the word about THE KENSEI’s release in just about six weeks: customized US postage featuring cover art from the book along with a tag line. These are first class 44 cent stamps that you can use on any piece of mail – holiday cards, packages, bill payments, whatever. And if you order today and use the code JINGLESALE46 you get an additional $5 (five bucks) off your order. So one sheet of twenty stamps costs only $13.55. Click on the image to order or GO HERE TO GET STAMPS.

Thanks for helping spread the word about THE KENSEI. January 18th is just around the corner!

in lawson / novels / promotion & publicity / publishing / Tour 2011 / vampires / writing 1 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

A Little Contest…

It’s the Tuesday before a holiday and I know you’re not really working, right? After all you’re reading this, thinking about how in a few days you’ll be feasting on the Thanksgiving fare and enjoying some days off with friends and family. Good times, good times…

So, let’s have some fun. I’ve got a brand new never-before-seen Lawson Vampire short story coming out from St. Martin’s in advance of THE KENSEI in January, but I want a few of you to have a chance to read this before my editor does. This is an exclusive chance to read something brand new in the Lawson Vampire universe.

All you’ve got to do is copy & post this snippet

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kensei-Lawson-Vampire-Novel/dp/0312662238">
<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51d9dFSHMaL._SL500_AA300_.jpg">
</a>I cannot wait for my friend Jon F. Merz's newest hardboiled Lawson Vampire
novel to hit shelves in January 2011!  This is a great urban fantasy series
that is like James Bond with fangs! These are not your typical
vampires; Lawson is a serious badass and this time he
heads to Japan for some ninjutsu training when things
go really wrong.  If you like great supernatural action
and bone-crunching realistic fight scenes, this is
definitely for you.  Check it out!

on your Facebook page or blog or message board and then comment out here on my Facebook Fan Page with a link to where you posted the snippet.  I’m trying to get a lot more notice for THE KENSEI and by posting this snippet or a modified equivalent online, it boosts the number of hits on Google and other search engines.

Five people who do this will be randomly selected to read through DEAD DROP before anyone else!  This is a quick contest, so get cracking and I’ll pick the winners later on.  Have fun!  The more places you post the snippet, the more chances you have to win!

in ebooks / lawson / novels / promotion & publicity / short stories / vampires / writing 1 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

A Unique Gift Idea

So here’s a little experiment I thought I’d try this year. If you’ve got someone hard to shop for on your list, how about giving them the gift of immortality?

Well, it’s immortality as in being featured in the pages of a customized Lawson Vampire short story. Here’s the scoop: I’ll write a custom Lawson Vampire short story featuring the person of your choice (presumably the receiver of the gift) and we’ll correspond so I get their particulars, description, including whether you’d like them to be a good guy or a bad guy and if you have any thoughts on anything else you’d like to see in the story. The story will be about 2,000 words long and I will print it out, bind it with a nice cover, sign and personalize it, and make sure you have it in your hands to give them in time for the holidays.

Obviously, this is a limited offer, since I can only agree to take on a few of these. But I thought it would be fun to see if there’s any interest and also provide you with a unique way to give a fun gift this season.

Just $99 bucks for this fun gift idea. If you’re interested, click the Buy Button below to use Paypal or simply email me at jonfmerz AT verizon DOT net if you’d prefer to pay another way. The sooner, the better since time is ticking away!





in ebooks / gifts / how I write / lawson / novels / promotion & publicity / publishing / short stories / vampires / writing 1 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

DEAD DROP Cover Art

Here’s a look at the cover art for the exclusive Lawson Vampire e-story DEAD DROP, to be published by St. Martin’s in advance of THE KENSEI’s debut in January. You’ll be able to get this story for FREE just by signing up for the download. I’ll post complete details as soon as I have them.

I am currently writing this story – it’s never been seen before, which makes it a nice extra for fans of the series. Let me know your thoughts below and be sure to visit THE KENSEI’s official page at the St. Martin’s website and share it around everywhere.

The more buzz we create, the more likely we’ll see some more Lawson Vampire novels in the near future, so please share, retweet, graffiti, tattoo, smoke signal, whatever to help spread the word! Thanks!

in ebooks / lawson / novels / promotion & publicity / publishing / short stories / vampires / writing 1 comments
 by Jon F. Merz

Booklist Reviews THE KENSEI

Industry trade BOOKLIST weighs in on THE KENSEI with this nice review:

After several years, Merz offers a new novel (following Syndicate, 2003) starring vampire secret agent Lawson. This time, Lawson is in Japan on vacation. But trouble arrives almost immediately—on the train from the airport—when an assassin tries to take down a young Japanese man and his girlfriend. Lawson’s interference is more than just annoying, as the assassin he kills was a member of the local yakuza, the Kensei, and now the mob wants vengeance. When Lawson’s former KGB agent girlfriend arrives with troubles of her own, his vacation is no longer the least bit relaxing. All this sounds like the set-up for a typical action adventure or espionage novel, but, of course, Lawson is a vampire who works for the vampire governing council, specializing in keeping vampires secret and fixing their problems. Other than being crazy strong and very quick to heal (excellent attributes for a secret agent), Lawson is more like Jason Bourne than Dracula, making this a vampire mystery with broad appeal.

Also, St. Martin’s will be releasing an exclusive never-before-seen Lawson Vampire e-story called DEAD DROP in advance of THE KENSEI’s release. Cover art will be coming soon.

And finally, take a moment to head over here to St. Martin’s official page for the book. Your click helps show the publisher that a lot of folks are interested in the series! Thanks!

in ebooks / lawson / ninjutsu / novels / promotion & publicity / publishing / THE FIXER TV series / vampires / website / writing 1 comments