Dead Reckoning Virtual Book Tour March 2011

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Join Caitlin Rother, author of the true crime novel, Dead Reckoning (Kensington), as she virtually tours the blogosphere March 1 – 14 2011 on her first virtual book tour with Pump Up Your Book!

About Caitlin Rother

Caitlin Rother is the author of true crime books Dead Reckoning, Body Parts, Twisted Triangle, and Poisoned Love, and the thriller, Naked Addiction. She is also the co-author of My Life, Deleted and Where Hope Begins, soon to be re-released as Deadly Devotion. She is now working on The Makings of a Monster, the story of the rape and murder of beloved teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois.

Rother, a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist, worked as an investigative reporter at daily newspapers for nineteen years before deciding to write books full-time. She is the founder of the San Diego Writing Women blog, and her work has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and The Daily Beast. She has appeared as a crime expert on E! Entertainment, the Oxygen Network, Investigation Discovery, Greta Van Susteren’s “On the Record,” and America at Night.” She also teaches journalism, narrative non-fiction and creative writing at UCSD Extension in San Diego. She is now working on The Makings of a Monster, the story of how John Gardner grew from a caring troubled boy into an angry man who couldn’t control his compulsions to rape and murder beloved teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois.”

You can visit her website at www.caitlinrother.com.

Connect with Caitlin at Twitter and Facebook below!

About Dead Reckoning

In Dead Reckoning, Pulitzer-nominated journalist Caitlin Rother tells the chilling, authoritative story of how Skylar Deleon, a former child actor turned conman and hermaphrodite wanna-be, schemes to kill Tom and Jackie Hawks by tying them to the anchor of their yacht and throwing them overboard – alive – near Newport Beach, California. With the help of his pregnant wife Jennifer and their 10-month-old daughter, Skylar charms the Hawkses into taking him and his two cohorts on a sea trial from which the Hawkses never return. Skylar would have done anything to keep his wife happy, but he also wants a sex operation so badly that he is willing to kill to pay for one. Deeply in debt, the Deleons attempt to steal the Hawkses’ yacht and pillage their bank accounts, not expecting to be thwarted by the Hawkses’ loving family and the Newport Beach Police Department’s incredibly thorough investigation, which spans three counties, two states, and goes into Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Even behind bars, Skylar doesn’t stop scheming as he tries to implicate his own father in the murders, then tries to
solicit hits on several witnesses, including his father and cousin, to prevent them from testifying against him.

Read the excerpt!

Alonso’s role was to help Skylar get “in” with the
owners, Tomand Jackie Hawks, then hold themdown.
The fifty-five-foot trawler wasmoored in the upscale
community of Newport Beach in Orange County, a
sharp contrast to the sprawling mix of urban, industrial,
and suburban areas of Long Beach, where Skylar
lived with his wife, Jennifer, in neighboring Los Angeles
County.
Unlike the spacious homes in Newport,
decorated in the mute beiges and sandstone of the
wealthy, home for Skylar and Jennifer was a cramped
converted garage behind her parents’ duplex. Space
was so tight, the Deleons had to stack their belongings
on the floor and hang their clothing from a pole that
ran between two dressers right next to the bed.
It was a far cry from the opulent mansions featured on
Real Housewives of Orange County Theand The O.C.Contrary to the story he’d told
Alonso about the$3 million a month he’d earned working with Ditech
Funding, Skylar had been fired from his job as appraiser’s
assistant there, and looked at his wealthier
neighbors in “the O.C.” with envy. He coveted their
waterfront homes, boats, and private planes that he
couldn’t afford, and he lied to persuade folks that he
could. Although he wasn’t anywhere near as smart or
capable as Bernie Madoff in building a complex financial
scheme, Skylar’s scam was just as—if not
more—deceitful. And when it came to lying and
manipulating people, Skylar was pretty damn good at
that, too.
The next time he and Alonso met, Skylar said he’d
analyzed photos of the boat’s interior for radios and
weapons, such as spearguns, and had determined the
best way to overcome the couple. Using stun guns and
handcuffs, Alonso would grab Jackie in the galley,
while Skylar took down Tom in the stateroom, where
no one could hear him scream.
Skylar said he’d considered taking Tom scuba
diving and finishing him off underwater, but he’d realized
that would preclude the Hawkses from signing
over the boat title and power-of-attorney documents
Skylar was going to draw up.
“What I’ll do is just take them out to sea and toss
them overboard,” he said.
They purchased two stun guns together, then Skylar
sent Alonso, a former jail guard he’d befriended while
serving time for armed burglary a year earlier, to buy
a couple pairs of handcuffs.
The next day, November 6, Skylar said it was time
to do the deed. By now, Alonso felt it was too late to
extricate himself from the situation. If twenty-fiveyear-
old Skylar really was a hit man, what would prevent
him from harming Alonso? As they drove to the dock, Skylar stopped a couple
blocks away to scope out who was aboard, then called
Tom to pick them up in his dinghy. The Hawkses were
expecting them.
On board, Tom proudly gave them a tour of his
home, but Alonso could see from Skylar’s tone of
voice and body language that he’d changed his mind.
Skylar seemed far too relaxed to kill anyone as he
chatted with Tom for forty-five minutes about possible
modes of payment. Before they left, Skylar made sure
that Tom and Jackie knew he was definitely interested
in purchasing the vessel and would be back for a
lesson on how to operate it.
Skylar told Alonso afterward that he’d changed his
mind once he’d realized that Tom was too muscular
for the two of them to handle this alone. They really
needed a third man. Skylar also sensed some discomfort
on the Hawkses’ part, so he called Jennifer on his
cell phone as soon as they got back to the car.
“Hey, you need to come down, take a look at the
boat, to make these people feel a little more at ease,”
he told her.
So after sending Alonso on his way, Skylar and his
pregnant wife went back on board, pushing their
ten-month-old daughter, Haylie, in a stroller, to do
just that.

Here’s what critics are saying!

“We’ve finally found the next Ann Rule! Caitlin Rother writes with heart and suspense. Dead Reckoning is a chilling read by a writer at the top of her game.”

–Gregg Olsen, author of A Twisted Faith

“Rother gives readers compelling insight to an unthinkable American nightmare. A gripping read . . . frank and frightening . . .it sizzles.”

–Aphrodite Jones, host of True Crime for Investigation Discovery network

“A breathless tale of unthinkable events that no true crime fan should miss.”

–Katherine Ramsland, author of The Human Predator

Dead Reckoning Virtual Book Tour Schedule

Tuesday, March 1
Interviewed at Blogcritics
Find out what Caitlin’s least likes about writing!
Book reviewed at Reading, Reading & Life
Kendall at Reading, Reading & Life says “Overall DEAD RECKONING was a good telling of an awful crime. I could not stop shaking my head reading of Skylar’s deceit, lies and the mixed up way his mind works. I do believe he is where he belongs.”

Wednesday, March 2
Book reviewed at Celtic Lady Reviews
Kathleen at Celtic Lady Reviews says “This real story is very well researched and told so professionally that I had a hard time putting this book down. A true story of love, hate, greed and dysfunctional, evil people. This book will appeal to all true crime fans and anyone interested in how the legal system works in murder cases. I highly recommend it.”

Thursday, March 3
Book reviewed at Steph the Bookworm
Stephanie at Steph the Bookworm says “Wow, what an intense and fascinating book!”

Friday, March 4
Book reviewed at Life in Review
Michelle at Life in Review says “I very highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoy true crime! The events and characters are so outrageous that it reads like a novel. It’s mind-blowing that to read about this stuff and then think……and this is real! I really enjoy a good true history or true crime novel and I thought this one was great. It’s written more like a novel, full of suspense, and it draws you in and hooks you.”

Monday, March 7
Book reviewed at The Book Faery Reviews

Tuesday, March 8
Interviewed at The Book Faery Reviews
Book reviewed at Must Read Faster

Wednesday, March 9
Book reviewed at Clandestine Sanctuary
Book reviewed at Colloquium
Chat & book giveaway at Night Owl Reviews Chat

Thursday, March 10
Book reviewed at Dollycas’ Thoughts
Interviewed at Colloquium

Friday, March 11
Book reviewed at Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews

Monday, March 14
Interviewed at Examiner

Caitlin Rother’s DEAD RECKONING VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ‘10 will officially begin on March 1 and end on March 14 ’11. Please contact Dorothy Thompson at thewriterslife@yahoo.com if you are interested in hosting and/or reviewing his book or click here to use the form. Thank you!

UPDATE: DEAD RECKONING VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR IS NOW CLOSED. THANKS TO ALL PARTICIPATING REVIEWERS AND TOUR HOSTS!

If you would like to book your own virtual book tour with us, click here to find out how!

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Question of the Day

How do you make sales happen for you?

A lot of hard work! I sponsor a lot of on line parties, festivals and contests. Book sales don’t magically happen, believe me. An author has to work hard to earn her readers. And then she has to work hard to keep them by giving them something they’ll enjoy reading. I try hard to make my books worth a reader’s time.

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