Northern Minnesota murder ... very cold

Nathan eyed the Possum Bottom Bowling Alley and Lanes ’O Fun warily. This trip was shaping up to be more interesting than he’d anticipated, although his plans had been pretty damn interesting to start with. They were supposed to be on a trip to the Bahamas where he had hoped to pop the Big Question while he and Margaret were lounging on the beach. His daydreams about his vacation hadn’t included a foray to western Minnesota through sub-zero temperatures in order to talk to a small town lawyer about a deceased uncle’s estate on an Indian reservation.



And so begins an adventure for Nathan Stokes and Margaret Dalton. We first met them in Brilliant Disguise, when Nathan helped Nick Baxter in small town Iowa. Now Nathan and Margaret are in Minnesota, where they find a lawyer dead, frozen to the ground.

Yep, that's really happened. I read about it in a newspaper and thought, "Now, I can use that in a book."

This book is one in which my critique friends helped me test a theory about how easy it would be to kill someone in a crowded casino with a skewer from the shrimp at the buffet.

Shadow of Doubt also introduces Grace Jamison, who is the star of Lie to Me (mentioned in February). This book somewhat sets up Grace's story, or at least provides some context for it.

But really, it's all about Nathan and Margaret -- he's so in love with her, she's so in love with him, and they're so different from each other. I love their dialogue, I love the way they interact, and I love the way they protect each other.

Maybe I should bring them back in another book .... hmm.

The deep, dark waters of the lake ...

This is one of my more current books, based on the Arthurian legends. It's one of the Remembered Classics, in which I take some familiar characters and re-imagine them.

I always wondered about Vivian, the Lady of the Lake. The babe who tossed out a sword and decided who would be king. I started thinking about her and wondered, what if a woman had a lake home but she was terrified of deep water?

I started working backwards: why is she terrified of water? Has she always had a lake home? How would she meet the owner of the sword? What kind of business does she have that puts her in the way of a sword?

And then there was him: how did he lose the sword? What's his blind spot? What does he do for a living? How does he find?

Somehow, a book came together, in which Vivian comes into possession of a sword that Able (Arthur Baer LeRoy) is seeking. But is Arthur who he says he is? What does Vivian's ex-husband have to do with it?

Plus, there's that lake and her cabin ... and a cold October day when things get really terrifying.

A gruesome death scene

This is one of the very first books I ever wrote and it's somewhat based on truth.

I knew a man like Tom, someone haunted by Viet Nam and what happened there, a man recruited by a shadowy agency who used his genius for ... I'm not sure what.

I embellished the story but wasn't sure who the hero would be. Then a news story caught my eye about a local small town sheriff who was retiring after 30 years of police work. What would life be like for him now that he was a civilian?

One thought led to another, and this book was born. It has a chilling death scene that still gives me shivers, if I do say so myself.

I rewrote it about 6 times, I think, before I think I got it right. These characters show up in some other books, and characters from Brilliant Disguise show up in this book as well. See if you can spot them!

The first Deadly Landscaping mystery

This book kicked off a 3-book series and it's a series I wasn't sure would ever get published.

At the time (a few years back), my publisher didn't like to do series with the same characters. I'm not sure why, but to make a long story short, I pitched the entire series AFTER I wrote the books. I submitted all 3 books to my editor, all the synopses, the blubs and tag lines: everything all at once.

She read the books, loved them, and helped convince my publisher to pick them up. We released them back to back, one a month, in April, May, and June.

A hectic burst of activity that year, for sure.

Anyway, here's the kickoff book to the Deadly Landscaping Romances, in which Carrie (who has an interesting history with the Whittington family) stands to inherit a million bucks -- maybe. There's the pesky problem of the body in the greenhouse to deal with, her ex-husband who still loves her, and a new boss who might be a new love interest.

And that's just for starters ....

Righter or Writer -- you choose

This book came about because of my casino group. There are a few writer friends who I get together with and we go to a casino and brainstorm ideas for books.

One time we came up with ideas for "books we can't imagine writing" and I came up with "a male writer who writes under a female pen name who falls in love with a woman at a writers' conference, but he can't reveal who he is because he's there in disguise as his alter ego, the female writer".

Well, I took that idea and I twisted it a bit. Yes, the main character is male and it's in his point of view. And yes, he's a famous author writing as a woman. And he does go to a conference in drag, hiding his identity and he kind of likes a woman whom he met in an online forum.

But there's also a mystery thrown in there, one from the old Hollywood days ("old" in this case being the 1980s). I had so much fun researching for this book and coming up with ideas for how my main character can pass as a woman at a writing conference.

So here's Righter, about a writer out to right a wrong.

Travel back in time ...

I wrote this book at a low point in my life and writing it really helped me through a bad place.

I was laid off and unemployed for about 6 months. I know, it doesn't sound like a long time, does it? But man, it felt like forever!

I was living in Minnesota at the time and I was always fascinated by the Jesse James connection to Northfield, Minnesota and the botched bank robbery that took place there.

I decided to drive to Northfield and wander about and see where it all happened, so to speak. While doing so, I came up with the idea for this book. I had to research the time period, the James gang, farming practices, legal issues ... you name it, I read about it. It took me quite a bit of time to figure out how to make it work, and that made the unemployment time go so much faster.

This is the first of three History Patrol books. These are my "reincarnation love stories with a time travel twist" in which two lovers are reincarnated far in the future. They're sent back in time to reconcile the problems they had when they were alive. One catch: one of them doesn't know about the reincarnation, and one does. And the one who does is reincarnated as an animal companion who can't reveal the secret.

In Penance, the pair is Penelope, who doesn't realize that Jim, her dog companion, is really her lover in a former life. They're forced to live through the events that got them killed, but this time Jim has a chance to undo the wrong he did.

These three History Patrol books are among my favorites because they're complicated but really simple at heart: two people who are connected through life and death, who need to make it work.

What a great idea for a series!

Another sale! Just in time for spring

Going on sale for 2 weeks only, the first of the Deadly Landscaping Romances. This is a 3-book series I wrote a couple of years ago about a woman who makes a career change after she's laid off from her high-tech job.

She decides to get a degree in horticulture and as part of that, she lands a job working for a local nursery/landscape company. But first she finds a dead body in a greenhouse, and it turns out her new boss might be one of the suspects in the murder.

Oh, and then she inherits a million dollars and finds out her ex-husband is still in love with her. It's about then that life gets really complicated ....

And the epic continues!

I am making amazing progress on the Endless American Dream series. I'm almost done with book 4. I have Booker's chapters finished, 2 more Emma chapters to write, then 7 Drew chapters to write. I think I can finish it by December 1 (my goal), then assemble it all and do some critical editing.

In January I want to start writing a new mystery and kick off my new adventure: a year of promo. I do little or no promotion for my books, so I'm designating 2015 as The Year of Promotion. I'll focus on promotion every day, in some way shape or form, along with my writing. I hope to work on the Dream series from March until December next year.

I also want to find a publisher for my Children's Classic Mysteries (my re-write of the Arthur story, Peter Pan, etc.) I'm not getting any feedback from the editor I pitched to, so I'm going to move on and find someone else. Or Wild Rose, but I'm not sure they're right for them.

I shall report back on my progress, of course.

Tomorrow I'm off to the casino to plot a new book (see note above about writing in January). Wish me luck on the slots!

Progress progress progress

I'm feverishly working on the Endless American Dream series. I took a week to just think about the plot for the next 3 books (Volume 2), so I have a clear sense of direction to work toward. I'm about halfway done with Book 4, have a large amount of Book 5 blocked out, and have a glimmer of ideas for Book 6.

My goal was to work on this until Dec. 31 this year, but I may extend that goal. Or I may shift my focus briefly and write another mystery (I have ideas simmering), then come back to this more or less full-time.

I have 4 mysteries in the bag, ready to release, and am waiting to hear back from an editor about whether she wants them or not. If she does -- yay! I'm set for a few years, and can focus on the Dream series. If not, I'll have to hone them and continue to shop them around, or self-pub them, but I'd rather have a publisher for those books.

So in short: keeping busy! I'll report back  on if I get a contract or not. Fingers crossed!

Are you ready for a ghost?

My ghost story is finally ready!

Click this to find it on Amazon in digital form.

And click this to find it in print. You can also order it in print through Amazon (rather than create an account here at Createspace), but I'll be honest: if you order using this link, I get more money.

Just sayin' ....

I'm pleased with how this turned out. This is a book I never thought would see the light of day -- I originally wrote it about 8 years ago, and it had a whole different twist to it. It was going to be a Woman's Fiction sort of book, about coming to terms with getting older, etc.

Then I had an idea to turn it into a mystery story. There are still some of those elements of WF in there, but mainly this is a mystery about who killed the heroine's husband and why. Along the way she *may* find romance again. Even I don't know if she will.

How's that for a "happy for now" ending!

Where is she and what is she doing?

I am still here, really. And no excuses: I'm writing like crazy, working at the Paycheck Job, and traveling, too. But now it's mid-July and guess what? I don't have any travel planned until September! I am avoiding thinking about a *possible* business trip I may have to take.

Nope, not thinking about that. ::covering ears and singing:: So hang in there. Soon I'll have a chance to focus on my blog again and on promotion and all the other oddities that make up publishing. Soon I'll finish my current WIP and there will be news galore.

Gilt will be coming soon (remember Gilt: my ghost firefighter?) And at the end of the year is Righter, a revenge-gone-wrong.

That will bring my total to 30 books in 6 years.

And you know what? After that, I may just take a vacation.

April 1, no fooling

As I noted in my Real Blog, I think I have resolution on my literary legal issues. My other legal issues (with the buyer of my house in MN) is another matter and one which I don't want to discuss in a public forum (hmpf).

So here we are, it's April, and I'm LOOKING AHEAD. I have a new book ready to release and here's the pretty cover. This is my firefighter-ghost book, and I am loving the cover because it's got all the elements from the story: the hands in the background, the fire, the firefighter.

Whee!

I hope to release Gilt in early May after I proofread it ONE MORE TIME. After what happened with Mist, I am not taking any chances.

That still irks the crap out of me. Anyway, I'll announce here when Gilt is ready for consumption. After that, it's on to Righter. Then next year it will be Twistered, Flyer, and Wholes (Oz, Peter Pan, and Alice). And after that -- who knows? Maybe the Endless American Dream series will finally release.

Fun times ahead!

Updates, updates, & more updates

I am prepping a book for release this spring (or later this spring, I should say, since it appears we are going to actually have a spring season for once instead of just going right into summer).

I digress. The weather is so unusual I comment on it all the time.

Anyway: I'm prepping a book for release and I am peering at every word, my angst about typos, etc., making me super paranoid. I'm sure something will slip past, but I hope it isn't as egregious as the ones in Mist.

Sigh.

And I'm making HUGE strides in writing the Endless American Dream series. It's a 3-volume, 9 book series ... no wait. It'll be 3 volumes and 9 books for the FIRST series. Then 3 books for the next 2 series. Then the 3 book series that finishes it (already published).

Confused? I'm not because (drum roll) I have a super WIKI that keeps track of everything. When I start publishing the series, I'll open the Wiki to the public. Until then, suffice it to say: it is AWESOME and I love it because I can keep track of EVERYTHING.

My plans for the Childhood Murder Series may be on hold. I am having a lawyer vet my plans. I want to make sure I am not violating copyright or anything.

Sigh again.

If it turns out I can't do the CMS, then I'll change the people in the books and make them just basic mysteries. But the CMS was a great idea (is a great idea. I have hopes it'll pass legal muster).

April will be busy with the RT Convention in Chicago, but other than that, it's nose to the grindstone for me! In between gardening and swimming and other fun things. So there you are: more irons in the fire than can be handled at once, but hey, that's how I roll. I'll post covers as I get 'em and release dates when I know.

Happy spring!

No writing done, but ideas galore

I just returned from the Love Is Murder conference, which means I didn't have any time to do any writing for several days. BUT (and it's a big one, heh heh) I found the time away from my keyboard to be so very useful.

Why?

Allow me to tell you! I came up the titles for my next 3 books in my "good-bye America" series (the dystopian futuristic series). And I discovered the titles for each part of those 3 books, so 9 titles. Whee! I also had an epiphany about a couple more of my back list titles. I think I'll request the rights back and that led me to think of titles, and what do you know? I figured out titles for those AND what I want for cover art.

So stay tuned here -- looks like a busy few months coming up!

Ah, good intentions

Well, I meant to update my Welcome blog on a daily basis, but alas, life intruded. I got busy.

I am going to update it twice a week from now on. When I can -- for example, I'm traveling this weekend, going to Chicago for the Love Is Murder conference. So I probably won't update it on Saturday. But by gum, I'll try to update it on Wednesday before I leave!

As to book news: I'm working on 2 new books. One is a hush-hush secret because it's part of a new, um, type of murder mystery (and that's all I'll say for now). I hope to have it out later this year. It's like Twistered, in a way. It's called Woulds and I'm very excited about it.

The other is the first book in my dystopian America series. I anticipate 7 books in all for that series, spanning three generations of one family. Yes, it's ambitious, but I'm determined. I love these characters and the story, so I'm plugging away at it.

I go back and forth between the two, and it's working very very well. I usually focus on one book at a time, but I'm finding I have a fresh approach to each book after a day or two away from it. So stay tuned here for more about Woulds -- I'm curious how it will be received (lips are zipped, no more talk!)

As reviews come in for Mist, I'll report back here on my self-publishing experiment. I haven't been disappointed so far, but I haven't been wowed yet, either. But my stories are out there so I figure, it's all good. Ever the optimist, that's me!

A quick update, to tell you what is coming

The good news is, I'm busy writing and am almost done with my latest book (Righter, which is about a man who tries to set things right and who is also a writer. Punny, no?)

In January, I hope to release Mist, followed in April by Twistered, followed in August by Gilt then finishing the year in December with Righter. I'm going the Indy route with these, putting them on Smashwords, etc. I believe I will have Mist available at CreateSpace as well, because it is an awesome book with a gorgeous cover and I love it. So there.

I'll update here once a month or when I can. I'm under the gun at the Paycheck Job, we're being sued by the person who bought our old house, we're still getting settled in the new house, and I'm traveling a lot. Other than that, I've got tons of time to chat!

Now, that's an odd experience

I got a voice mail from the mail order pharmacy (part of my medical plan) last night that said they needed to verify my address. Since I recently moved to a new state, I figured, sure -- makes sense to me.

I called the 800 number this morning and got a cheerful recording. I expected that I would be directed to a menu with "Press 1 to talk to a human", "Press 2 to be annoyed for 30 minutes", and so on.

Instead I got a recording that said, "Your privacy is important ... this will be monitored .. yada yada" I listened with half an ear. Then I heard, "To be sure we're correct, is this {my name here}"?

I sat up straighter. Whoa. How did they know ... yikes. They tracked back the phone number, right? I answered "Yes". Then the recording proceeded with "We need to verify your address. Is it {my address here}?" I answered "Yes" again and I got a cheerful, "Thank you. That's all we needed. We'll process your order."

I don't know whether to be creeped out or relieved it was so easy. I mean, pizza places do a reverse lookup when I order pizza, right ("What's your phone number? Okay, is this {my address here}?") Why shouldn't medical people do it ...

But I still have the eerie feeling I am no longer in stealth mode. I've moved and now They know where I am.

Settling in

I'm finally settled in the new house and getting some time to relax. I have some huge deadlines at the Paycheck Job, so that's keeping me busy, and my spare time seems to be whittled down to a minute here and there.

But hey: we're in, we like the new house, and we're finding our way around our new city. I hope to be back in a few weeks with more publishing news, a new book maybe, and some updates on my latest Work in Progress.

Until then: enjoy these final days of summer ... soon we'll be cocooned for winter!

Back in the saddle ...

Well, not really.

I've unpacked my office(s) and am ready to write. Yes, I have 2 offices: one for the Day Job (the Paycheck Work) and one for me and my writing. I need to keep them both separate, so although they've physically near each other, I have two desks, two rooms, and two separate lives, much as I always did -- only now, it's in the same house!

It's been hard to get into a writing groove because we are busy with Installing: new TV, new computer system, pot bins in the kitchen, rearranging cabinets, finding where boxes are ... I've only been able to steal a minute here and there for writing, which is frustrating. I want a Schedule. I want Routine.

I didn't realize how I loved my old writing routine: come home from work, do a spot of promotional work, eat dinner, relax then write. Now that my Office is near my Home Office, I feel like I'm tethered to the Paycheck Job. I have to learn to filter that out. I should be able to do that soon once the Paycheck deadlines are past.

For now ... I like it -- I like the new town, the new house, the flow of things. It's going to be fine.

If I can just find .... {insert item here ...}

I'm sure it's there somewhere!

Yep. She's busy, all right

You know, I have no idea where the time has gone. Yikes.

Three books out in 3 months.

Two more books self-published.

One more book ready to upload.

Two more books to upload at the end of the year.

One more in progress.

A new series planned.

Oh, and I'm still working full-time, packing to move, and yes, I have a social life.

The merry-go-round continues! I'll try to update one web site/blog or another on a weekly basis. Until then: please do a bit of shopping (see the tab above) and have a fun summer!