20% discount on A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS - direct from the publisher

Some of you may know that the real me - Jennie Bentley is a pseudonym - is starting a new series in 2010. Yes, published under my real name, which is Bente Gallagher.

A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS is the book I wrote before the DIY books, the book that started it all. The book that caused the powers that be at Berkley to ask me to write the Do-It-Yourself Home Renovation mysteries. It's written from the point of view of Savannah Martin, new-minted realtor and Southern Belle, in Nashville, Tennessee, who gets more than she bargains for when she stumbles over the dead body of a fellow realtor in an empty house.

Lest you think this is another fluffy cozy, let me set your mind at ease: there's actually a little more to it than that. See, Savannah is recently divorced. After doing everything in her life perfectly, the way she was supposed to do, fully expecting everything to fall into place in its turn and give her the perfect life she was supposed to have, she discovered that her perfect husband was cheating. So Savannah divorced the jerk and went out on her own, for the first time ever. After going from her parents' house to finishing school to university to Bradley's house, she's on her own, and scrambling to make ends meet. As well as questioning all her previous assumptions.

Into this mix falls not only the dead body, but a new guy. And not just any guy. If Margaret Anne Martin, Savannah's sainted mother, could have picked the next guy she'd like to see in her daughter's life, Rafael Collier wouldn't even have made the bottom of the list. Half black, half white trash, with a criminal past, a tattoo, and a Harley-Davidson, he's Margaret Anne's worst nightmare: the boy she - and every other mother in tiny Sweetwater, Tennessee - warned their daughters about.

Now Savannah has to figure out who killed real estate maven Brenda Puckett - the wicked witch of the South - and what Rafe Collier's connection to the house on Potsdam Street is... all while keeping her involvement from her mother.

A CUTTHROAT BUSINESS will be released in trade paper format in June 2010, at a price of $13.95, but for a limited time, you can pre-order it directly from the publisher for 20% off. If it sounds like something you'd enjoy, please make my day!

Here's the LINK!

"Spackled and Spooked" made the IMBA list!

The Independent Mystery Booksellers Association's bestsellers for August 2009:

Softcover

1 – Steig Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Vintage
2 – Aaron Elkins, Uneasy Relations, Berkley
3 – Juliet Blackwell, Secondhand Spirits, Berkley
4 – Michael Connelly, The Brass Verdict, Little Brown
5 - Rhys Bowen, A Royal Pain, Berkley
6 – tie
Elizabeth Lynn Casey, Sew Deadly, Berkley
Jennie Bentley, Spackled and Spooked, Berkley
8 – Ellen Crosby, The Bordeaux Betrayal, Pocket
9 - Deborah Crombie, Where Memories Lie, Avon
10 – Michael Koryta, Envy the Night, St. Martin’s


Woot! Woot! Woot!

It's all about MEEEEE!

OK, so I've been bad about taking pictures of all the fun stuff that's been happening to me lately. The launch party at Sherlock's Books in Lebanon went by without pictures. The signing at Davis-Kidd, ditto, along with - of course - the TV interview. There were people taking pictures at Killer Nashville last weekend, but I wasn't among them, so if there are pictures of me floating around out there, I haven't seen'em. I also forgot the camera when I did Evening with an Author at Tinney Contemporary last Thursday night.

But today, I remembered the camera. I even remembered to put batteries in it before I left. Therefore, I am able to give you the following three photos from Mysteries and More, the only bona fide "mysteries only" bookstore in Nashville!

Here I am with Mary and Gregg Bruss, the lovely owners of Mysteries and More; thank you so much for having me!

Here I am with my independent publicist, Tom Robinson from Author and Book Media, without whom Spackled and Spooked as well as Fatal Fixer-Upper would be in a lot fewer places.

And here I am with one of the many lovely folks who came out to support me and Mysteries and More by buying one or both of my books! Thanks so much to all of you!

If you're interested in an autographed copy of Fatal Fixer-Upper or Spackled and Spooked, talk to Greg and Mary; they've got'em! You can order from Mysteries and More right HERE.

That's it for now; I'm done with signings and appearances until the Southern Festival of Books in October. It's time to get busy writing DIY#4, tentatively titled Mortar and Murder.

Catch you later!

Woo-Hoo!!!

"Spackled and Spooked" hit #5 on Barnes and Noble's bestseller lists this week. That's up six places from last year, when "Fatal Fixer-Upper" hit #11. We've not only broken into the Top 10, but the Top 5!

Here it is, from the tower at Barnes and Noble in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where the fine folks were happy to have me sign stock last week. Notice the stellar company I'm keeping. And notice especially the cover of "Sew Deadly," across and two spaces down from "Spackled and Spooked," in the lower right hand corner of the picture

"Sew Deadly" was written by my fellow Good Girl and Berkley Babe, Laura Bradford, AKA Elizabeth Lynn Casey, and it was released on the same day as "Spackled and Spooked." It's the first in the Southern Sewing Circle mysteries, also from Berkley Prime Crime. Best of luck to Laura/Elizabeth Lynn on her release!

So there you have it. And if you were among the many nice people who bought "Spackled and Spooked" at a Barnes and Noble near you in the past week, thanks for your help in making my book a best seller! I couldn't be happier!

Contest Over

Spackled and Spooked hit stores yesterday, officially, and that marks the end of the contest on my website for this time.

Congratulations to Beth Pripstein of Baltimore, who won the books and subscription to DIY-Ideas Magazine. Thanks to everyone who signed up for the newsletter in the past few weeks.

If you'll give me a day or two, I'll come up with another contest of some sort - and you won't have to sign up for the newsletter again to play!

Enter to win

Want a signed copy of "Fatal Fixer-Upper"? Or a signed copy of "Spackled and Spooked" (once I get my hands on one)?

Here's your chance. Sign up for my newsletter anytime between right now and August 4th, 2009 - when "Spackled and Spooked" hits shelves - and you could be the lucky winner! I'll pick one name at random and send copies of "Spackled and Spooked" and "Fatal Fixer-Upper," as well as a subscription to DIY-Ideas Magazine, where Avery (and I) get lots of our renovating ideas!

Here's the place to go: Newsletter

Be sure to respond to the email that comes your way, confirming that yes, you do want to receive Jennie Bentley's (very infrequent) newsletter.

Thanks, y'all! And good luck!

Check me out, I'm on BookPage!

Many of you may not know this, since I didn't myself until last year, but venerable BookPage - you know, the newspaper-looking magazine you pick up at your local library - is headquartered here in Nashville.

Last fall, just before the release of "Fatal Fixer-Upper," I had occasion to visit their offices and meet with the fine folks over there. At the time, they promised me they'd put me on their then-in-progress brand new website.

So I waited, and waited, and waited some more.

I'd almost given up hope, but now, just in time for the release of "Spackled and Spooked," they're ready! You can check out my article HERE, and while you're on the BookPage website anyway, be sure to have a look at everything else, as well. Lots of good stuff there!