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The Stupor Super Bowl is finished. (I kid, I kid; I actually watched this year and jumped out of my seat screaming when the Cardinals made their 4th-quarter touchdown…alas…) But doesn’t that mean you have more time for reading, now?

You’ll definitely want to make some time for David Baldacci’s latest novel Divine Justice. It’s got a few of his creepiest characters yet, as well as some amazing Camel Club adventures. If you want to learn more, you’ll have to wait for our Wednesday video interview.

However, today you enter to win a free copy — one of ten — today by leaving me a comment telling me who your favorite series author is. (So easy! I’m feeling generous and fatigued today…)

Do note our new giveaway rules, however.  In the interests of spreading the love, we’ll now be drawing our giveaway winners randomly from all the responses we receive.  So, you no longer have to be one of the first people to respond in order to win.  Good luck!

NB: The giveaway is now closed. We’ll post the lucky winners on Monday! Thanks, all, for visiting and commenting. Happy weekend reading!

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I’m thrilled to start the New Year off with a giveaway from an author who really “gets” new media and how it affects publishing — but who also “gets” how much readers love real books. Brad Meltzer has been making readers happy with great stories ever since his first novel, The Tenth Justice, came out in 1997.

His latest book is The Book of Lies, and it combines Meltzer’s love of history and puzzles with his love of comic books. (If you’d like to take a look at any of his Justice League comic books, click here.) It also asks a lot of questions about Cain and Abel, fathers and sons, and what we owe the past versus what the past owes us. There’s a lot packed into this thriller!

But Brad packs a lot into each book tour, too. He never shirks an appearance and is truly gracious to his fans, yet he still manages to find time to do unexpected things (like get his publisher to sponsor a NASCAR vehicle when The Book of Secrets came out), to write a blog, and to run a foundation. One of the things he says that makes sense to me is “Just because it’s a book doesn’t mean you have to sell it like a book.”

In honor of Brad Meltzer, this week’s giveaway question is: Where or how would you sell a book differently? We’ve got ten copies of The Book of Lies to give to the first ten responses that meet our giveaway guidelines.

Tomorrow I’ll have my interview with Brad posted, and I hope you’ll enjoy listening to him talk about the little house in Ohio that inspires him (hint: it’s not where he grew up!).

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NB: Last week it was photo insertion that was giving me fits; today, it’s link insertion. I beg your indulgence as I figure out what WordPress wants from me! Meanwhile, I’m publishing this so there’s something new to read…

When last I wrote, it was to tell you about a new favorite bookstore…it just so happens that I had another fun bookish encounter while I was in NYC. While arriving at the NY1 studios to tape segments on children’s books for the holidays (BTW, our own Reading Rockets has a very cool list here), I literally ran into dynamic mother-daughter author duo Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, who had just finished an interview. I’d talked with them ages ago when I was AOL Books editrix, but had never met either one of them in person. Why am I telling you this, besides the fact that it was awfully cool to have a drive-by author sighting? Because Mary Higgins Clark told me that they will be here in DC in the spring for book promotion and said she would be happy to consider coming to “Author, Author!” for an interview. That’s not a done deal, but I’m hopeful that with a little planning, our team will be able to bring you interviews with one or both of these extremely popular novelists.

Another snapshot: Yesterday I emailed M.J. Rose to congratulate her on a great review from Patrick Anderson in The Washington Post for her new book The Memorist. She had literally just read the review and said she was “floored.” Since a visitor named Carole yesterday asked if we could interview M.J., the answer is a resounding “Yes!” I’ll be in touch with her publicist this week and will let you know as soon as possible when you’ll be able to read that interview. If you haven’t already read Rose’s previous novel in this series, The Reincarnationist, I highly recommend it — these books are really different, and a great way for historical novel fans to get a dose of romantic fantasy (or is it fantastic romance?).

And now for something completely different…a bit of news that makes me very happy. My colleague John Freeman (until last year president of the National Book Critics Circle, and an extremely talented critic) has been named American editor of Granta magazine. The last time John emailed me, earlier in 2008, he was so exhausted from his tenure as head of the NBCC that he said he was heading into seclusion with a case of Fanta and a complete set of “Knight Rider” DVDs. Either he’s completely recovered, or he’s traded those in for a case of Lilt and a complete set of “AbFab” DVDs. Heck, I’ll raise a can of Lilt in congrats for a job well-won by Freeman. I’m looking forward to some really interesting new Yankee content in my beloved Granta, which is the one litmag I almost always make time to read.

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This week our featured title is Karin Slaughter’s new novel Fractured. It’s easy to understand, once you’ve read a Slaughter book, why she’s the number-one-selling thriller writer worldwide. Even if you’re not a fan (and I am), Karin Slaughter balances plot, character, pacing, and atmosphere like a master.

Slaughter first came to fame with her Grant County series, set in a fictional Georgia region and featuring pathologist Sara Linton, her ex-husband and police chief Jeffrey Tolliver, and Detective Lena Adams, whose past personal trauma affects many cases. Slaughter transcended the series “curse” with her mega-bestseller Triptych, but in my opinion has really upped her game by following it with Fractured. Detective Will Trent and his beyond-damaged erstwhile girlfriend trade scenes with Trent and his beyond-furious partner in his latest case, Detective Faith Mitchell, whose reasons for her fury are directly related to Trent.

Interested yet? I hope so, because I’ve got ten copies of Fractured to give away to the first ten readers who leave a comment telling me something you’d like to see on this blog that would bring you back on a regular basis. In fact, I’m so interested in hearing from you that if you’re one of the second group of ten, I’ll send you a Book Maven grab-bag of two never-before-read hardcover books. Let the games begin — and thanks for reading, as always.

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“If you lived in the 60s, you know they felt like they were 20 years long,” says Stephen Carter in this interview as he explains the challenges and joys of writing a thriller that takes place from the 50s on and covers so many different characters and events.

Carter also admits that writing fiction is the hardest thing — “It’s emotionally draining,” he says. Does he have other novels in the works? Watch and find out! You’ll also meet an author who is a true intellectual and a quick wit and watch him discuss his own favorite novelists. Enjoy!

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