Bill Krieger Mysteries

You may know me as a Mad Man from a NYC ad agency – and I have a confession. I loved writing advertising. So much so that I set my first Frank Leland mystery in that world. And I still can't stop having fun with it. I saw one of those “4 out of 5 dentists recommend...” commercials and thought, “Now there's an idea.” 🤔 Enjoy. 😉 And now a word from our sponsor: 📖 WORKING STIFF: A Frank Leland Mystery 👉 amazon.com/dp/B0FKHKL5B6 #writingcommunity #crimefiction #mysteryfiction #KindleUnlimited #Kindle #amwritingmysteries #booktwitter #shamelessselfpromosunday #indieauthor #writerslife

Today I turn 77! 🎂 One of the great pleasures of being an author is seeing people read your work. Every time I see the pages read for Working Stiff on Kindle Unlimited, it makes me happy. So here's an invitation to celebrate my birthday with me. Pick your own reading challenge: 📖 10 pages to celebrate my birthday month: October. 📖 30 pages to celebrate my birthday: the 30th. 📖 77 pages to celebrate my age. 📖 365 pages to celebrate another trip around the sun. 👉amazon.com/dp/B0FKHKL5B6 Whatever number you choose, thank you for being part of the journey! 🎂 #KindleUnlimited #BirthdayChallenge #BirthdayWishes #WritingCommunity #77AndCounting #BirthdayReading #365DaysAroundTheSun

He'll be missed. I used to think 86 was a nice long life. No longer. ew.com/patrick-stewart-x-men… #WritingCommunity #StarTrek

One of the great pleasures of being a writer is discovering other writers whose work takes you somewhere you didn't expect. I haven't read erotica since I was a young teenager, and I didn't know what to expect when I picked up The Means, by @Aiko, who publishes under the name Kyla Voss. She's a prolific author, and her posts and reviews on X had piqued my curiosity about her as a writer. What I found was a compelling science-fiction story with an engaging protagonist and a premise that grabbed my attention. It's the story of a woman who knowingly trades her intellect for desire. The fantasy of becoming more appealing to the opposite sex becomes a reality, but not without consequences. It struck me that my own Working Stiff grew out of a similar kind of fantasy: what if you could actually kill that boss you can't stand? Two very different books, two very different genres, but both exploring what happens when a fantasy becomes real. To be sure, this is a dark novel for adults 18 and over. It contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and sexual encounters involving multiple partners. If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, give it a look. You can find it here: 👉 amazon.com/dp/B0GZDT2SPX #WritingCommunity #Erotica #SciFi #IndieAuthor

It's been over a year now, but one of the biggest thrills I still get is when I see people reading Working Stiff on Kindle Unlimited. When I see people reading 50, 70, 100, even 200 pages at a clip, it's like an antidote to my imposter syndrome. What makes you feel that way? #KindleUnlimited #CrimeFiction #WritingCommunity #WritersLife

Some say write what you know. Others say write what you're passionate about. I think the magic happens when you can do both. I spent years in advertising, loved the work and the world, and eventually found a way to combine that experience with my love of mysteries. That's how Working Stiff came about. 👉amazon.com/dp/B0FKHKL5B6 Free on Kindle Unlimited #writingcommunity #crimefiction #KindleUnlimited

The first day of every month usually depresses me. KDP reports reset to 0 Orders, 0 Pages read. 😔 So, imagine my surprise and delight when I checked two minutes ago and found that some wonderful new KU reader got 41 pages into Working Stiff this morning. You made my day. Thank you. (How do you deal with the First Day of the Month Sales Blues? Or is that just me?) #WritingCommunity #Amwriting #CrimeFiction #Mysteries #WritersLife #KindleUnlimited #Kindlebooks

How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You're Not Anywhere at All That's how I feel today. (It was also one of my favorite comedy albums by Firesign Theatre in 1969. It featured surreal, satirical audio sketches that ... have absolutely nothing to do with what I'm babbling on about.) 😊 You see my friends challenge each other to write an annual Halloween story, 🐈‍⬛and I had a great idea for one this year. 👻 (I've written most of it – and it would make a great addition to my Frank Leland Short Shots.) But yesterday they announced the get together release date to share these masterpieces. Can't make it. 😔They scheduled it on my birthday, when I'll be off celebrating 🎂with the fam. Don't you just hate it when reality gets in the way of your fantasy life? 🤔 #writingcommunity #writerslift #writerslife #amwriting #crimefiction #KindleUnlimited

Best of the Net, for sure. ❤️

So for the last couple of years my Beta Readers challenged each other to write a short story for Halloween. Being an old advertising guy, I branded them "SHORT SHOTS" (because that's what we Mad Men do. We brand everything.) 😉 The first one was called The Candy Corn Caper. The second one was called The Needle in the Candy Stack. (You can download "Needle" free at my website billkriegermysteries.com.) It's a fun read. But after two stories that focused on Trick or Treating, I wanted to change things up this year – and I think I've come up with another free tasty treat. It's called DEAD MAN TALKING. I'm hoping to get it out by All Hallow's Eve ... but you never know... it could turn out to be my first novella...) #writerscommunity #crimefiction #amwriting #amreadingmysteries #indieauthors #writerslife #writingcommunity

Uh-oh. I interrupted writing the first draft of my third Frank Leland mystery when I got feedback from Beta Readers, and returned to it to make substantial (and really great) changes. But then my Beta Readers threw out their annual challenge of writing a short story for Halloween. I love those things and immediately had an interesting idea. So I worked on that... ... and the more I worked, the more involved it became ... until finally, I realized I had something that would be too long to be a short story but too short to be a full blown novel. I've never written a novella before. What does one do with it? Sell it? Give it away as a freebie to followers who enjoy your character? What do you do with yours? #writingcommunity #writerslife #indieauthor #amwriting #amediting

If you love poetry, take a listen. Definitely worth your time. 👏

It's Labor Day. So here's a story about a little piece of work I finally learned to own... For years I had a black baseball cap that said WRITER. When I got it, I'd already written for some pretty great organizations: NARAL, Amnesty International, The Wilderness Society, Habitat for Humanity. I'd won about 45 awards for this work. But I felt awkward wearing the hat. It made me feel like an imposter. Like a civilian putting on a military uniform and borrowing someone else's valor. So I didn't wear it. Then I published Working Stiff, the murder mystery I'd always wanted to write. Last week, on vacation at the beach, I finally put the hat on. People kept stopping me on the boardwalk: “Great hat.” One guy saw me twice and complimented it both times. Then, in a restaurant, someone leaving his table stopped when he saw it. “Writer? What's your name?” I told him. “What did you write?” “Working Stiff.” “I'll remember that.” Two days later, I noticed another ebook sale. Coincidence? Could be. Maybe he bought it. Maybe he didn't. But here's what I know: For the first time, I didn't feel like I was pretending. I was wearing the hat because I finally had earned it. And apparently, it makes a pretty good conversation starter. #WritingCommunity #IndieAuthor #WritersLife

I just got back from a week at the beach, and coming home to see you including me in this list was such a wonderful surprise. Thank you! Your support and kindness are truly #HeavenSent. ❤️ Wishing you all the best with your upcoming release, Heaven Sent Rescue, the fourth book in your series. 👍

I told you I was meeting with my beta readers Friday night to get their feedback on the new Frank Leland mystery. Well, I got it. And it was terrific. Not because they told me everything was perfect. They didn't. They asked the questions I needed them to ask. They were engaged deeply enough with the story to identify exactly where it wasn't yet doing what I wanted it to do. They helped me catch big-picture issues like pacing, plot holes, and reader engagement that are surprisingly easy to miss after months of self-revision. That's actually one of the best things a writer can hear before publication. The story is there. Now I need to make it better. Back to the keyboard. #writerscommunity #writerslife #Amwriting #Amediting

This is a great question, and I dug through my media files to answer it. It gets a little promotional after the main video ends but skip that part.

Anxiously awaiting feedback from Beta Readers on the second half of my second Frank Leland mystery, which I'll get tomorrow night. They did brilliantly on the first half, which led me to significantly revise the opening of the book (redirecting one major character's relationship with another), and I'm just so grateful for their feedback. How open are you to feedback that challenges you, and requires some serious rewriting? #WritingCommunity #WritersLife #amwriting #amediting