By Blood Written Revised and Reissued as Blood Plot
From An Edgar and Shamus Award-winning Author…
…comes a compelling, twisted suspense-thriller guaranteed to keep you up past your bedtime.
At first, it was just research…
Struggling author Michael Schiftmann has received resounding critical acclaim for his novels. The only problem is no one buys or reads them. After several published novels and years of hard work, Michael can’t afford to quit his menial day job.
The sad truth is that readers aren’t interested in great literature—they want glitz, action, sex & violence.
So that’s what Michael decides to give them—shocking, cutting-edge stories of a blood-chillingly efficient yet charming serial killer that are filled with gore and horror.
And to make sure he gets it right, Michael carries research farther than any writer’s ever done before. He decides the only way to accurately depict what it feels like to commit murder is to commit one himself.
The plan succeeds beyond his wildest dreams. His fictional killer is a sensation and Michael becomes a rich, best-selling, celebrity novelist.
Michael and his rising-star literary agent, Taylor Robinson, fall in love, have a steamy, passionate affair, and become engaged. They’re soon a prominent New York literary power couple.
Things have never been better for the no-longer-struggling Michael Schiftmann. There’s just one problem. In doing his research, Michael discovers what it feels like to murder someone, and what he discovers is it feels really good…
And now he can’t stop.
Praise For Steven Womack
A deft, atmosphere-rich novel: smart, funny, with a sense of wry heartbreak. Steven Womack’s Nashville stands out—it is a beautifully drawn backdrop.
—James Ellroy, New York Times best-selling author
of L.A. Confidential
Steven Womack has done for male private eye fiction what Grafton and Paretsky did for women operatives in the Eighties, and if you haven’t heard of him yet, you will…
—Mostly Murder
As an exotic setting for a regional mystery series, Nashville’s got it all… Way Past Dead is a real hoot.
—The New York Times
A memorable, mean-streets tale.
—Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
In the overcrowded field of private eye fiction, Steven Womack stands head and shoulders above most of the herd.
—Best-selling author Val McDermid, Manchester Evening News
Womack’s books feature strong, believable characters, fast-paced, multifaceted plots, a well-defined Nashville setting, and humorous insights galore. Chain of Fools [Nobody’s Chain Lays Straight] is the latest and best in the Harry James Denton saga, a great series by an extraordinarily talented writer.
—The Armchair Detective
“Steve Womack delivers the best opening lines of any book I’ve read in this genre, and his plots and prose take the reader on a wild ride, suspenseful and hilarious simultaneously.” — Amazon Reviewer
“Womack is right up there with Parker, Jance, and Grafton. He writes a fast-moving, humorous, well-plotted detective story. No psychology like Rendell, no agenda like Cornwell. His Nashville hero, Harry Denton, is colorful and likeable, and although he has little money and lives on the edge, he has the charisma of Parker’s Spenser and Jance’s Beaumont. I highly recommend all of the Denton series. I’ve read every one and haven’t been disappointed yet.” —Joan Benny, Amazon Reviewer
Welcome to StevenWomack.com!
Thanks for visiting my website. If you’re not familiar with my work, this is a good place to start.
If you go to the web pages for each of my books, you won’t find a catalog description or a cut-and-paste from the Amazon.com page. I’ve tried to do something different here, which is tell the story behind the story…
Backstory Galore…
What you’ll find instead are my own notes and backstory on where each book came from. Every novel is a story, but every novel has its own story as well. And that’s what I’d like to do here: give you some idea of where each book came from and how it came to be…
Of course, there will still be the occasional obligatory fun self-promotion fluff piece, like pictures of me signing and speaking at Parnassus Books…
Take a look at my Facebook page. I find a lot of really interesting stuff that I like to share:
And for an even bigger thrill: 