Cecil M. Wills New Reprint on Sale & Giveaway!

A couple of years ago I bought a small pile of rare hardcover editions of Cecil M. Wills mystery novels.  These included Author in Distress (his debut as a mystery writer), The Chamois Murder and Death Treads.  I read all of them in quick succession, but only reviewed Author in Distress (1934) on the blog.  Shortly after I posted that review I sent a PDF of the entire book to Gavin O'Keefe as a suggestion for a Ramble House reprint. RH has already reprinted Fatal Accident (1936), Wills' sixth detective novel, and I thought it would be a good idea to have another in their catalog. Gavin liked the idea and asked if I wanted to write a foreword.  I agreed and then promptly dropped the ball. Sad forgetful ol' codger that I am.

Flash forward to March-April 2026.  I emailed Gavin again asking if he still wanted to go ahead with the reprint and I had an intro I could offer based on the blog post I wrote.  We emailed back and forth with interesting ideas about how to assemble and present the book.  And now two and a half months later the finished product is available for sale!  You can purchase the book either by visiting the Ramble House site or accessing their small list of titles at Lulu.com (the book printer for this POD reprint). There may be a slight discount if you buy a copy via Ramble House and use the special email address on the page for Author in Distress. 

I received two copies as a standard benefit and today I'm offering one of those books in a giveaway.  Just leave a comment below mentioning any book you think deserves reprinting.  I'll offer those ideas to the "Powers That Be" at Ramble House. That reprint house which offers POD books is now under new management since Gavin and Fender Tucker (the original founder) have stepped aside from the operation.

Next week --around Wednesday or Thursday-- I'll choose one of the comments at random to receive the book. You'll have to send me your physical mailing address in order to get the book. But please! DO NOT leave your address in the comments.  The sinister webcrawlers regularly haunt this blog and I'm afraid they will swallow up your personal information and slam you with unwanted spam and who knows what else. We can arrange a private email exchange to get the necessary info.  This giveaway is open to everyone across the globe.  I will pay either Media Mail rate for within the US or First Class International shipping rate to anywhere outside the USA. Good luck!