Trucker Mystery a Contender for Global Ebook Award

March 13, 2012 - PRLog -- There’s a brave new world in publishing these days, and a Canadian mystery author has started navigating that world, thanks to a trucker in an 18-wheeler.  With two published ebooks to her credit, one of which has been accepted as a Global Ebook Awards nominee, R.E. (Ruth) Donald is working on a third novel in what she calls the Hunter Rayne highway mystery series.  Why ebooks?  According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, the number of Americans owning a digital reading device jumped from 18% in December 2011 to 29% in January 2012.  A rise in ebook sales of 117% in 2011 was reported by the Association of American Publishers, while sales in all print book categories fell.

“It’s the future of publishing, and an exciting one at that,” says Donald.  Digital publishing gives writers an opportunity to connect directly with readers, bypassing the gatekeepers of traditional publishing.  The overriding concern of literary agents and publishing houses is whether or not a book will make enough money to justify the expense of the book’s printing, marketing and distribution.  Agents and publishing houses can’t afford to take many risks with new authors and new ideas, which is why many mystery genre heroes seem so alike: the wise cracking female P.I., the rough around the edges homicide detective, the exceedingly clever defense lawyer, or the ingenuous amateur sleuth.  Breaking the mold, Donald’s “semi-“ professional sleuth is a former homicide detective turned long haul truck driver.

Donald’s main character, Hunter Rayne, is a former RCMP investigator, travelling the highways of western North America in a big blue Freightliner.  Hunter is a very Canadian protagonist:  he’s soft spoken, chivalrous and above all, polite.  Another main character, Hunter’s dispatcher Elspeth Watson on the other hand, is loud, impulsive and swears like a – well – a trucker.  After a painful divorce, Hunter has chosen the solitary life of a long haul trucker in order to avoid emotional entanglements and simplify his life, but thanks to Elspeth he is once again drawn into murder investigations.

“One of the basic tenets of writing is to ‘write what you know’”, says Donald.  “With my twenty years of experience in the transportation industry, it was a natural choice for my series’ milieu.”  Donald’s late husband, Jim Donald, was at one time well-known in the Canadian trucking community and there are elements of him in the character, Hunter Rayne.  “I try to write the kind of mystery novel I like to read, with realistic characters, multiple suspects and an intriguing puzzle to solve.”

The challenge of releasing an ebook without the support of a traditional publisher is in bringing it to the attention of readers who will enjoy it.  With over a million ebooks available on Amazon, and over 4000 “pages” of books in the mystery category alone, many of which were hastily published and poorly edited, it’s hard to get noticed.  Fortunately, a number of websites are springing up that feature information on ebooks of various genres, complete with reviews from readers.  The Global Ebook Awards is another means of identifying ebooks of good quality.  “I don’t expect to get rich,” says Donald, whose paperless novels sell for only $2.99 through all the major ebook retailers, “but I get great satisfaction when a reader tells me they can hardly wait for my next book.”

The first novel in the Hunter Rayne highway mystery series is Slow Curve on the Coquihalla, set in Washington state, B.C. and Alberta.  The second is Ice on the Grapevine, with action starting in California and moving to B.C., where many of the characters are from.  Ice on the Grapevine is a nominee for the 2012 Global EBook Awards, and Donald hopes to be in Santa Barbara, California for the Awards ceremony in August.  She is hard at work on the third novel in the series, set primarily in Whistler, B.C.

Author website: http://redonald.com

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Ebook publisher located in Langley, B.C., Canada. Publisher of the Hunter Rayne highway mystery series by R.E. Donald, including "Slow Curve on the Coquihalla" and "Ice on the Grapevine".