When Traveling ...

When traveling in Venice, try not to stay on the Grand Canal anywhere near the Casino. You know, the one where James Bond rolls up to the table in his white dinner jacket, tosses a couple of die, and nails craps. And then, when the lovely young brunette standing beside him spilling out of her red gown asks him his name, he replies, "Bond ... James Bond," with a face that conveys neither happiness nor sadness, but surly intuits, "I'm also available and I've got a big hard gun." Anyway, don't stay at a hotel near the casino because you will be up most of the night due to thunderous beat of Euro-Disco, the lyrics "I'm too sexy for my car ..." replaying in your brain again, and again, and again. Not even James Bond could withstand such a torture without cracking (You listening to me Q?).

But hey, this is Venice so I'm not complaining.

While here I have been retracing the steps of my main characters in The Disappearance of Grace, my Venice stand-alone novel. Hitchcockian in form, the novel is about a solider, an officer, who having returned from the Afghan war suffering from PTSD along with temporary bouts of temporary blindness, attempts to try and reconcile his stressed relationship with his significant other. A painter named Grace. Problem is, while the two are enjoying a quiet lunch in San Marco, Grace suddenly goes missing. Our blind soldier has no choice but to try and find her, blindness be damned.

Yesterday while in Piazza San Marco I saw the exact table where Grace disappears and I saw the exact boat that carries her away to one of Venice's many islands. This is not my first time here but every time I visit I see something different and the experience becomes new again.

Walking the narrow, maze-like corridors of this ancient city is an experience of both claustrophobia and wonder that is not always easily described unless you expose yourself entirely to its magic on your own terms. I tried to get all the emotions right in "Grace" and hopefully I've succeeded. Imagine being half blind and losing the love of your life inside this aquatic city of love and broken hearts? A city that, at times, seems impossible to navigate even when your vision is 20/20.

Tonight I will board the night train to Paris. I've been overseas now for 64 days and will fly home from Paris later this week. I've gathered more material for a new novel or two, while completing a brand new novel called The Breakup.

Europe can be a wonderful place to write, to disappear, to find yourself amongst the eternal ruins. But do not ever try and attempt a good night's sleep by laying your head beside a casino.

WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM

Suddenly, The "Vox" Is Back in Action!!!

"The novel loosely based on the Chris Porco axe murder in Bethlehem, NY"

Most of you know that the "Blogger" version of the wildly popular The Vincent Zandri Vox, has been out of commission for some time. It just disappeared one day, like some of my wives. But now, again, like some of my wives, it has now miraculously, re-appeared.

Like they say, God and Google, work in mysterious ways.

Just a quick update, MURDER BY MOONLIGHT, my newest Moonlight to date is out and about and scoring big in Europe. I'd like to see it score here in the US as well, so please buy a copy for your Kindle or E-Pad or whatever...Or grab a paper copy. Thomas & Mercer has put together a beautiful book. Now this novel is a bit more graphic and scary than some of my others, so be prepared. But it has huge twist at the end that will leave your pits a-sweating...

Cheers and happy reading!!!

WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM

Gone Fishing!

GONE FISHING!

(Back in the office next week...)

Get more Zandri novels: WWW.VINCENTZANDRI.COM

The Innocent is Released!!! Oh How Sweet it Is!!!!

It's been ten years since the publication of my first major thriller, As Catch Can. Back then it was called, The Innocent, but the publisher decided to change the title at the last minute since a sister publisher had an author with the same title, and the editor was very afraid the Bertlesman boys might leave a severed horse head in his bed one night if he were to put out a novel with the same title. So it was changed to As Catch Can.

Now, I'm not complaining. I actually like the title, for a jazz standard. But for a book, it's a tough one to remember. That is, unless you add the "Catch" to it, as in "Catch As Catch Can," which is most definitely not the title. When asked the title of my new novel and I'd respond, "As Catch Can, most people would peer at me quizically, and with upturned brows respond, "Say what?"

So now here we are ten years later. As Catch Can which received awesome reviews from the New York Post, The Boston Herold, etc. and authors like Harlan Coben (see below) and was translated into several languages, was quickly pulled off the B&N front shelves after 6 weeks to make room for something else. That's how the big monster bookstores work (what a joy it will be to see them crash and burn!) It also was remaindered within a years and half of its original pub date. In other words, dear reader, it was never given a chance (and here the pub was cutting checks for a quarter of a million bucks for me. You explain the logic!)

Now, with the advent of the new indy publishing, EBooks, Kindle and the new digital age and my new awesome publishers, StoneHouse Ink and StoneGate Ink, As Catch Can or, The Innocent, is alive and well again, and destined to become a bestseller. Some fans still think of it as my best book. Even DreamWorks thought so when they gave it three reads in anticipation of purchasing the movie rights. Too bad my agent at the time was on crack and busy writing his own novel and negotiating his own deals with Holywood.

Ok, time to let go of the past and embrace the now and the present. I hope you dig The Innocent as much as I dug writing it!!!!

To order click on the word "Catch!"

Accolades and Sling Blades:


It's been a year since Jack Marconi's wife was killed. Ever since, he's been slipping up at his job as warden at an upstate New York prison. It makes him the perfect patsy when a cop-killer breaks out--with the help of someone on the inside. Throwing himself into the hunt for the fleeing con, Jack doesn't see what's coming.

Suddenly the walls are closing in. And in the next twenty-four hours, Jack will defy direct orders, tamper with evidence, kidnap the con's girlfriend--and run from the law with a .45 hidden beneath his sports coat. Because Jack Marconi, keeper of laws, men, secrets, and memories, has been set up--by a conspiracy that has turned everyone he ever trusted into an enemy. And everything he ever believed in into the worst kind of lie.

Reviews for "The Innocent" (formally, As Catch Can)

"If you want a novel that runs wild like a caged beast let loose, Zandri is the man."
--(Albany)

"Sensational...masterful...brilliant."
--New York Post

"Probably the most arresting first crime novel to break into print this season."
--Boston Herald

"A thriller that has depth and substance, wickedness and compassion."
--The Times-Union (Albany)

"Vincent Zandri explodes onto the scene with the debut thriller of the year. As Catch Can is gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting. Don't miss it."
--Harlan Coben, author of The Final Detail

"A Satisfying Yarn."
--Chicago Tribune
"Compelling...As Catch Can pulls you in with rat-a-tat prose, kinetic pacing...characters are authentic, and the punchy dialogue rings true. Zandri's staccato prose moves As Catch Can at a steady, suspenseful pace."
--Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel

"Exciting...An Engrossing Thriller...the descriptions of life behind bars will stand your hair on end."
--Rocky Mountain News

"Readers will be held captive by prose that pounds as steadily as an elevated pulse... Vincent Zandri nails readers' attention."
--Boston Herald

"A smoking gun of a debut novel. The rough and tumble pages turn quicker than men turn on each other."
--Albany Times-Union

Please turn the page for more extraordinary acclaim...

"The story line is non-stop action and the flashback to Attica is eerily brilliant. If this debut is any indication of his work, readers will demand a lifetime sentence of novels by Vincent Zandri."
--I Love a Mystery

"A tough-minded, involving novel...Zandri writes strong prose that rarely strains for effect, and some of his scenes...achieve a powerful hallucinatory horror."
--Publishers Weekly

"A classic detective tale."
--The Record (Troy, NY)

"[Zandri] demonstrates an uncanny knack for exposition, introducing new characters and narrative possibilities with the confidence of an old pro....Zandri does a superb job creating interlocking puzzle pieces."
--San Diego Union-Tribune

"This is a tough, stylish, heartbreaking car accident of a book: You don't want to look but you can't look away. Zandri's a terrific writer and he tells a terrific story."
--Don Winslow, author of The Death and Life of Bobby Z

"Satisfying."
--Kirkus Reviews