cover reveal

Coming Soon…

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

Y’all probably know this by now, but not only do I enjoy writing about music, I also enjoy creating music! And lo! these past few months, Brother Clyde has been hard at work mixing and mastering my latest musical offerings, and the process is nearly complete!

Yeah, that’s right, it’s time for your annual Charlie Cottrell album release! Here’s the cover, followed by the track listing and some more rambling from me:

Behold! My face in all its bearded glory! And also some white text that says "Charlie Cottrell" and "Beard Situation."

Anyway, the new album is called Beard Situation. Most of the songs on it are brand-spankin’ new!

  1. Love in an Age of Disconnect
  2. Somebody Talked
  3. Bluffing
  4. Dreams in Stereo
  5. Boston Isn’t Ready for Me
  6. Quicksand Hands
  7. Sacre-Coeur
  8. Sarifice
  9. False Dmitry
  10. When You’re Around
  11. Turquoise Cuff
  12. The Revengineers
  13. The Ballad of Yes
  14. Hidden Track – Weird Little Songs

I’m very excited about this album. It does include a few old tunes: “Dreams in Stereo” is the first song I ever wrote completely by myself, and I’ve been trying to get “Revengineers” onto an album for about a decade and a half. It also features two songs co-written with other people: Brother Clyde wrote the chorus for “Quicksand Hands,” while my friend Cristobel Opp wrote the lyrics for “Ballad of Yes.” The album also features an official Hidden Track, which is helpfully labeled as such because such things amuse me to no end.

So, when will it be available? Soonish! I have, like, two things to do on two songs, then Brother Clyde will finish mixing and begin the arduous mastering process (where he will listen to the songs more than any other person on earth, including me, trying to get the acoustic guitar to not drown out every other instrument). When that’s done, the album’s done, and we can send it out to all the streaming services. I’ll eventually get around to producing a physical version, too, for the three of you who still buy CDs.

Quick Cases Cover Reveal and Pre-Order Live!

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

My latest book, the short story collection Quick Cases, is now available for pre-order at Amazon! It’s only $3.99 on Kindle, which I think is a steal. Y’all ready to see the cover for it?

It’s pretty slick, I think. But it’s got nothing on the physical paperback version…

Wrap-around cover!

Anyway, as of the time of this writing, Amazon only shows the Kindle pre-order, but the paperback version should be available as well soon. The book goes live on November 1st, so mark your calendars and make sure your favorite e-reader device is fully charged. This is the longest Hazzard book yet, clocking in at nearly 400 pages (I wrote a lot of short stories, y’all). It also features a Foreword by my brother, Clyde, the only person who ever grocked to me borrowing Eddie’s first name from Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

New Book 2 Cover!

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

In my ongoing effort to unify the style and look of my books, I’m happy to reveal the new cover for book 2, The Hidden Throne! It looks a little something like this:

Pretty snazzy, eh?

Up next will be Book 3, Death Comes Calling, and then all of the books will have covers with the new aesthetic. I’m real excited to see what my cover artist is able to do with the third book.

New Book 1 Cover!

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

Ever since I got that awesome cover for Book 5 a few months back, I’ve been wanting to go back and redo all the old covers for my existing books. I revealed the reworked cover to Book 4 a few weeks ago, and today I’m excited to bring you the new cover for Book 1, The Invisible Crown.

Feast your eyes!

Awesome, right? It’s up for the eBook already, and should be live on the printed version by the end of the day. Like it? Love it? Hate it (please don’t tell me you hate it, because I love it)? Let me know! There’s still the covers for books 2 and 3 to redo, so it may be a couple more months before they’re all uniform in style. But I’m really excited about the new covers.

Book 5: An Ill Wind Blows Cover Reveal and Book Release!

/ xeyeti / 2 Comments

It’s finally done! Book 5 has been edited, the cover is done, and I’m ready to publish!

So, first off, hows about a cover reveal?

Book 5!

Pretty swanky, right? I am right chuffed (as the Brits might say) with this cover. I’ll definitely be using this artist for Book 6 (and probably having them redo the covers to Books 1-4 eventually).

Hows about a synopsis? Well, your wish is my command!

Everyone wants a piece of Eddie Hazzard, Arcadia’s premier private detective and sometimes crime boss. There’s a price on his head, a team of highly-trained assassins on his tail, and now he’s suddenly wanted for a murder he definitely didn’t commit. Not only that, he’s been hired to find the fabled Jewel of Hakido, a priceless diamond, and everyone and anyone knows he’s after it. What will Eddie do? What is the connection between the Seven Ill Winds and Eddie’s ninja leader, Kimiko? Will he find the Jewel in time? Will he survive the case? Or will everything that’s been piling up on top of Eddie for the past several years finally crush him?

Anyway, the book has been submitted to Amazon, and will be live and ready for purchase sometime this week (probably Friday at the latest, I’d assume). I know I’ll be sitting here the rest of the day hitting refresh on the KDP page, waiting for it to shift from “In Review” to “Published.” Both the print and the ebook version are submitted and should be available for purchase soon! I’ll post a link as soon as it’s available.

Book 4 Cover Reveal and Release Date

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

Hey, folks! I’m all finished getting the fourth book of the Hazzard Pay series, Crooked Halos, set up! That means it’s time to get it out there. Here’s the synopsis/back cover blurb for the book:

In Arcadia, no one is innocent. This is true even for Dresden Crowder, Eddie Hazzard’s old partner from his days on the Arcadia police force. While the city considers Crowder to be a hero who sacrificed his health and well-being for the sake of the city, Hazzard knows better: Crowder was a crooked cop who framed Eddie and got him kicked off the force.

Now, Crowder is suddenly back in town with murder on his mind and a patsy to frame. Three guesses as to who the patsy will be. Hazzard has to save Crowder’s would-be victim—who actually wants to be murdered—salvage his own tarnished reputation, and survive against a whole host of villains, all while trying to shut down organized crime once and for all in the city. Poor odds? Little chance of success? Yup, this is definitely a case for Eddie Hazzard.

And here’s the cover:

Cmcottrell_3D.jpg

The book will be available this Friday, August 10th! You can get it from Amazon or from a number of other fine distributors, as is your wont. The dead trees edition will be available this weekend as well, for those who still prefer to read that way.

I keep getting asked about audiobooks and when I’ll have those available. The sort answer: not unless the ebooks or physical books really take off. Audiobooks are expensive, unless you’re doing it yourself (and no one wants to hear me drone on for hours and hours, reading my stuff and being impressed with my own cleverness. Or do they? I don’t know).

But anyway: book! Buy it! I worked really hard on this one for a really long time. I think it is pretty darn good. That is all.

Book Three Cover Reveal (and Release Date!)

/ xeyeti / Leave a comment

I’ve been toiling away behind the scenes, getting things done on the third Hazzard Pay book. The good news is, all that hard work is paying off! The book is almost ready to release into the wild that is Amazon, where hopefully it won’t be eaten by wolves (or a grue. Those things are mean).

Anyway! I’m not the only one who has been hard at work. So has my cover artist, the always-wonderful rebecacovers over at fiverr.com. She’s put together a pretty awesome cover for the new book, which is titled Death Comes Calling. Care to have a look?

Charlie_Cottrell_1_ebook

Spooky and awesome, right? Here’s the blurb that goes along with said book:

Death stalks the streets of Arcadia, and no one is safe.

Eddie Hazzard’s mentor-turned-nemesis, John Bodewell, is out on parole and on his last legs. He’s looking to make amends, but Eddie isn’t having it.

Then Bodewell turns up dead, and Eddie is left with a cryptic message from his old partner hinting that a secret of epic proportions is out there, just waiting to be discovered. Whether he likes it or not, Eddie has to solve the mystery Bodewell’s death left behind. But Eddie’s not the only one after Bodewell’s treasure. If he’s not careful, Eddie might end up just as dead as his old mentor.

Now, for the fun part: the book will be release on March 27th of this year. Hey, that’s my birthday! What wacky guy planned that, I wonder? It’ll be $2.99 for the eBook and $11.99 for the dead tree edition.

So, tell your friends, tell your family, tell your neighbor who loves mysteries but hates having to leave the house: Death Comes Calling on March 27th! It’s definitely not a pointed commentary on my own aging and impending mortality.

The Invisible Crown Cover Reveal!

/ xeyeti / 1 Comment

coverdesignforcottrell

Pre-sale: November 21, 2016

Blog Tour: December 11-18, 2016

Release date: December 19, 2016

About The Invisible Crown:

”The city of Arcadia is a craphole, but it’s my craphole. I’ve walked its streets my entire life, always searching for something: a purpose, a suspect, or a stiff drink. My name’s Eddie Hazzard, and I’m a hard-boiled detective. Yeah, laugh it up. It’s a ridiculous job description, but this is a ridiculous town. It’s full of every cliché you can imagine: corrupt city officials, police officers on the take, greedy businessmen, and crime so organized it has an accounting department, a health plan, and retirement benefits. Which is more than I can say for myself.”

Meet Eddie Hazzard: he’s tenacious, a certain kind of clever, and usually drunk. When a beautiful woman comes into his office and asks him to find her husband, Eddie takes the case because the alternative is having his creditors show up at his door and do terrible things to his limbs. But the case takes a series of bizarre turns, getting Eddie caught up in a tangled web of reluctant cops, sketchy businessmen, and shadowy crime bosses. The deeper he gets, the worse things look. Will Eddie solve the case? Will he save the day? Most importantly, will he get paid?

The Invisible Crown is the first full-length novel of a series featuring Detective Hazzard and the bizarre, bewildering array of tough mobsters, genetically-modified creeps, and ruthless scumbags who inhabit the city of Arcadia.

About Charlie Cottrell:

2016-04-20 11.57.41

WEBSITE /FACEBOOK/TWITTER/INSTAGRAM/GOODREADS

Charlie Cottrell is a history and special education teacher in Northern Virginia by day and a writer of “speculative noir” (near-future, science-fictiony, hard-boiled detective stories) by night. He likes to blend action, mystery, and a healthy dose of humor and sarcasm in his work.  He also writes music and draws comics and thinks he vaguely remembers what free time was, but he’s not one hundred percent sure on that.  Charlie hates tucking in his shirt, because he is a rebel. To read more about Charlie, you can visit him on his website.

If you would like to review The Invisible Crown by Charlie Cottrell or join the blog tour, click here or send an email to royaljamespublishing@gmail.com