Release Day: May 8, 2012 -- The Inquisitor's Key -- and How YOU Can Help

Today, The Inquisitor's Key is officially on sale. As fans of the Body Farm novels already know, The Inquisitor's Key is the seventh and most ambitious novel in the New York Times bestselling series starring ace bone detective Dr. Bill Brockton, who is modeled after renowned forensic anthropologist and founder of the Body Farm Dr. Bill Bass. To celebrate the novel's release -- and to thank you, our dear & devoted readers -- we've decided to give away a whole slew of exciting prizes (...more on that in a moment).

Many readers have asked us -- on Facebook & Twitter, and from the windows of cars speeding by on the street -- whether there will be an eighth novel in the Body Farm series. What will happen to Dr. Brockton? What will become of the illustrious and storied partnership between Jon Jefferson and Dr. Bill Bass after The Inquisitor's Key?

The truth is that the success (i.e., sales) of The Inquisitor's Key will ultimately determine the future of Jefferson Bass. In other words, each one of you, dear readers, can directly influence the future of Jefferson Bass and support the continuation of the Body Farm series.

How Can You Help?

If you enjoy the Body Farm series and want to make sure there's an eighth Jefferson Bass novel to look forward to, here are some things you can do to help. Most of these things will cost you nothing but pay great dividends for Jefferson Bass and the Body Farm series. Most of these things you can accomplish in less than a minute, but their effects will linger on and on...until the end of the Internet, which is to say forever...

—Buy the book. It’s currently selling on Amazon and everywhere else books are sold for a ridiculously low price. Buy it for friends. Buy it for family. Give it as a gift to everyone you know.
—Review the book. On a blog, review site, or on a sandwich board in front of your local bookstore. Any mention, especially noting whatever you really liked about the book, helps immensely.
—Review it on Amazon. Go to the Amazon sales page for the book and tell other readers what you liked about it. A quick and easy way to help get the word out and create interest.
—Review it on Goodreads. Go to the Goodreads page for the book and tell other readers what you liked about it. You can even copy and paste the same review from Amazon right onto Goodreads. We won't tell anyone!
—Make sure local booksellers carry it. The Jefferson Bass series seems to have a strong presence in bookstores, but you can always encourage booksellers who aren’t stocking it.
—Request it from your local library. Making sure your local library knows that people are excited about The Inquisitor's Key not only increases library orders -- which account for a surprising number of actual sales -- but allows multiple people in your area to enjoy the book.
—Spread the word through Twitter and Facebook and your own blogs. Nothing speaks as loudly and clearly as word of mouth. Tell people about The Inquisitor's Key through social media. Share the Jefferson Bass Facebook page with your friends and family. Ask your followers to follow Jefferson Bass on Twitter. Ask people to read this excerpt of the novel. If you are a blogger, please mention The Inquisitor's Key to your readers.
—Come to the book-tour events. Come have lots of fun -- with Jon & Bill & Mr. Bones -- and bring your whole stack of Body Farm novels for us to sign. Bring friends and family to the events as well (the more the merrier). Post your book-tour photos to our Facebook page. Current book-tour schedule here.
—Go to the blog-tour events and leave comments. Our goal with the blog tour is 1.) to provide unique and free content for our fans and 2.) to reach readers who are unfamiliar with Jefferson Bass and the Body Farm series. Remember what we said about word of mouth? Go to these blog-tour events, even ones that have already appeared, and tell potential readers to read The Inquisitor's Key. Current blog-tour schedule here (and more to come).

Did Someone Mention Exciting Prizes?

To thank you for your help keeping the Body Farm series going strong, we'll be giving away one copy of each Body Farm novel and one copy of each of our nonfiction books!

And...we're also giving away a signed copy of:

 And...we're also giving away two never-before-seen mystery prizes to the two fans who prove to be the most devoted of all!  

NOTE: We'll be monitoring incoming reviews on various sites -- Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million -- as well as your shares & shout-outs on Facebook & Twitter, and your comments on blog-tour events. To determine the winners of each prize, we'll keep track of who is saying what, when, where & how often.

Surprisingly, many of the objectives I mentioned above can be accomplished in less than a minute. But word of mouth -- your words, your mouth &/or fingers -- will linger on and on and on for all to see and hear. Thank you for everything in advance!


* Many of the ideas for keeping The Body Farm series going strong originated at Jeff Vandermeer's blog Ecstatic Days.