Welcome to johnbyrnebarry.com, where I’ve just announced my fourth novel, Pirates of Sausalito: Houseboat Wars Murder Mystery.
It started out as a play — in 2023, I wrote and directed ”Sausalypso Houseboat Wars Murder Mystery” at our local community theater, but I finished the play script back in 2020, shortly after the pandemic and we had no idea when live theater would return. I started turning it into a novel, then, and went into high gear once we wrapped up the play last March.
Before the pandemic, I launched my third novel, When I Killed My Father: An Assisted-Suicide Family Thriller. You can read the first three chapters here, and why I wrote it here. And you can purchase it here.
If you want to find out more about me, check out the ABOUT page, where you can read my official and unofficial bio. Scroll down to the video for a guaranteed laugh. Or your money back.
Enjoy. And let me know what you think.
— John
P.S. Sign up below for my occasional letters, where you’ll learn more about my book and my interviews about life and death. And/or follow me on Facebook.
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Creating a Unifying ‘Brand’ for My Book Covers
I have long wanted to create a “brand” for my four books to unify them. Make them look like they belong together. My books are not a series, but they share enough similarities that they do indeed belong together. But the covers do not demonstrate that. Here are the front covers as they exist now […]
‘Bones in the Wash’ — a Political Thriller to Take Your Mind Off Our Current Politics — and It’s Free
For most of the past year, I’ve been hawking my fourth and most recent novel, Pirates of Sausalito. But this month, I’m pitching my first novel, Bones in the Wash: Politics is Tough. Family is Tougher. Set during the 2008 presidential campaign in New Mexico, Bones is...
My New Favorite Review + Why I’m Grateful for Every Reader
My New Favorite Review When I know someone has bought or read my book, I ask for a review. It’s impossible to know if or how much they help sell books, but they do provide social proof, and I know plenty of people who pay attention to reviews for everything...
My Interview With…Well, Me
Q: How did Pirates of Sausalito come about?
I live in Tam Valley, two miles from the Waldo Point houseboat harbor, in Sausalito, where close to 300 floating homes are docked and where, for decades, there was conflict between the artists, hippies, and squatters who lived there and the police, city leaders, and developers determined to evict them and build docks to attract more affluent residents. What became known as the “houseboat wars.”
The more I learned about the turbulent history of the houseboat wars, the more I thought it would make a promising setting for a murder mystery. Conveniently, I’m an actor in a local community theater troupe called the Tam Valley Players, which has performed a murder mystery every year for almost two decades.
I pitched the idea for the play to the troupe and got the green light.
Q: But how did your play become a novel?
That’s an easy question. I finished writing the play in the summer of 2020, during the early months of the pandemic, and I had no idea if and when live theater would ever come back, so I thought, well, if we can’t perform this, why don’t I turn it into a novel?
That turned out to be harder than I expected.
Maniacal Laughs, Musical Stings, and Distinctive Voices — Eight Lessons From Recording My Audiobook
The audiobook of my fourth novel, Pirates of Sausalito: Houseboat Wars Murder Mystery, is now available widely. Here’s how it got produced and what I learned from the process.
Listen to Chapter 1 of ‘Pirates of Sausalito’ Audiobook
Here's Chapter 1 of Pirates of Sausalito: Houseboat Wars Murder Mystery. You can listen to the whole audiobook wherever you find your audiobooks — like Audible ($13.26), Spotify ($13.49), or Apple Books ($12.99). But, between now and Christmas, you can get it...
‘Pirates of Sausalito’ E-Book Is Free November 18, 19, and 20
Recently, I listened to a workshop by author and book marketing expert Tim Grahl, who said he planned to give away 100,000 copies of his new book. Because he wanted it be a best-seller, and books become best-sellers through word-of-mouth. So by giving it away, he's...
‘Pirates of Sausalito’ Audiobook Is Live on AMPlify.
I’m thrilled to announce that the audiobook of Pirates of Sausalito: Houseboat Wars Murder Mystery is now available on AMPlify Audiobooks, narrated by Pro Audio Voices founder Becky Parker Geist, and yours truly, the author of the novel. She performs the women...