BlindSpot
Maggie Smith, Bookcamp Author
May 21, 2024
Puzzle Box Press, 320 pp
$4.99 Ebook
$18.95 Print Amazon Barnes & Noble Bookshop.org
About the Book:
Every move she makes, someone’s watching.
From the author of the award-winning Truth and Other Lies comes a gripping suspense novel about an ambitious prosecutor on the hunt for her sadistic stalker . . . only to be framed for murder when he turns up dead.
Rachel Matthews is used to stress—from the cutthroat world of the district attorney’s office to her escalating clashes with her teenage daughter. So when a stranger sends a lavish bouquet with a macabre message and leaves a disturbing video on her doorstep, she’s quick to act. Teaming up with an old classmate turned private investigator, she wades through old case files, searching for someone harboring a grudge. But before she has time to pinpoint a suspect, her stalker issues a demand—he wants money, lots of it, or he’ll hurt her daughter.
Desperate to protect her child, Rachel agrees but soon finds herself fleeing a bloody crime scene, fearful for her life. Suddenly she’s in the crosshairs of a dangerous and clever enemy, someone who’s manipulated her since Day One, someone who knows her long-buried secrets, someone who’s framing her for murder. Can she solve the puzzle of who wants to destroy her and beat them at their own game before she’s convicted of murder?
Fans of Scott Turow’s Presumed Innocent, Julie Clark’s The Lies I Tell and Heather Chavez’ Before She Finds Me will embrace this taut tale of long-simmering revenge right up to its surprising and twisty climax.
A Brief Interview with the Author
Maggie, welcome and congratulations! How did Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp help you with your newest book?
I spent last summer (2023) revising BlindSpot, the psychological suspense I’m releasing on May 21. I used S.J. as a mentor to discuss a few sticking points that I was struggling with.
Tell us about your book and publishing experience. What did you learn from your first book’s publication that helped you with this second book?
So much! Any debut is probably a trial by fire – you don’t know what you don’t know and the best you can do is try your best to make good decisions while keeping in mind your restrictions in terms of money and time. This time around I was able to concentrate on activities that I felt helped my book get exposure and early reviews but didn’t hire a publicist like I did the first time. My first book was published with a small press here in Wisconsin; for this one, I went the indie route and published it myself, since I felt like a great deal of the marketing was something I did for my debut and could replicate. I also haven’t booked as many interviews and podcast experiences because I wasn’t really sure they resulted in increased sales. Also, this book is in a genre where it is easier to identify readers – there are several dedicated Facebook groups and also blog tours which specialize in suspense/thrillers.
What’s your favorite quote from your book? “Not every story has a happy ending.”
What advice can you share with writers who are looking for their first publishing experience? Find yourself a community of writers, whether it’s through an association nationally or a local author’s group and ask questions. Educate yourself through free blog posts, reading marketing books, listening to podcasts. And start early. You should put up a website and get active on social media at least a year before your book publishes.
Maggie, what’s your favorite writing takeaway from Bookcamp? The key to a great book is in the revision process. That is where you can really take your book from an ordinary story into something that is much more exciting and worth reading.
About the Author:
In a career that’s included work as a journalist, a psychologist, and the founder of a national art
consulting company, Maggie Smith added novelist to her resume with the publication of her debut, Truth and Other Lies, a women’s fiction novel set in Chicago and released in March 2022 by Ten16 Press. It won NIEA’s Juror Grand Prize, the Star Award for Debut Fiction from Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Foreword INDIES Gold Metal for General Fiction, and was selected for the Women’s Book Association Great Group Reads. Her second novel, a psychological suspense called Blindspot, releases in May 2024.
In addition to her writing, Maggie hosts the weekly podcast Hear Us Roar (225+ episodes), blogs monthly for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and is Managing Editor for Chicago Writer’s Association Write City E-Zine. She resides in Milwaukee WI with her husband and her aging but still adorable sheltie. Find more at: https://maggiesmithwriter.com/
