Playing with Fire discussion

Just wanted to share the lovely news that PLAYING WITH FIRE has been nominated for the "best hardcover thriller of the year" award by International Thriller Writers. For a list of all the nominees, please visit the ITW website:

http://thrillerwriters.org/programs/t...

Congrats to Tess!

I posted my review of this book and though it was OK, to me it was just that and not up to Tess' normal higher quality. This read more like the romance books she used to write.

With no offense to Ms. Gerritsen who has written far better thrillers in my opinion, there are dozens of better books out there than are listed in the nominated group.

Well, I WAS happy and thrilled to share the news. But now...

Tess wrote: "Well, I WAS happy and thrilled to share the news. But now..."

I'm sorry if my comments offended or disappointed you, but they were heartfelt re this one work. This does not reflect on what I consider to the the overall high quality of your work. Even this book, as I noted, was OK. Whether or not you agree with me doesn't affect the fact that when you release a book I will be ordering it. I will have every expectation of that new release's high quality.

I would also like to thank you for the many hours of pleasure I've had reading your books and no matter my estimation of Playing With Fire, congratulations.

I've been going through re-reads in recent days, and am going to re-read The Mephisto Club. It's one of my all-time favorites. I can't wait to see your next book come out! I'll be re-reading Playing With Fire, too. The description of the waltz still intrigues me, months after reading the book. ^_^

Congratulations! I can't wait to see what you have in store for us next! <3

Michael, It seems to be a common phenomenon for authors that of the books they've written, the ones that they love most, the ones that have the greatest personal meaning to them, the ones they never stop thinking about, are the very ones readers dislike. PLAYING WITH FIRE was my book of the heart, about the bond all musicians share, even across the centuries. I felt an almost spiritual link to Lorenzo and the story of the Italian Holocaust, which is probably why I was able to compose the music "Incendio." I was just so happy that my fellow authors chose to nominate it, even if readers didn't like it.

Tess wrote: "Michael, It seems to be a common phenomenon for authors that of the books they've written, the ones that they love most, the ones that have the greatest personal meaning to them, the ones they neve..."

Note my words earlier; it was OK. I didn't dislike it, I just didn't like it as well as your other works.

No matter my opinion I am quite happy for you to be able to write a book from your heart and to hell with my opinion. What matters is how it made you feel and my personal opinion shouldn't be allowed to affect your personal feelings.

Good for you for being able to write something that meaningful to you. Oh, and I did enjoy the music.

Tess wrote: ...PLAYING WITH FIRE was my book of the heart, about the bond all musicians share, even across the centuries....

I'm glad you enjoyed writing this book so much. This was the first book I read this year and is still one of my top reads. It was an intense and gratifying reading experience. I've happily recommended it to several people and I can see many more professional accolades coming for this book.