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Category: My Publishing Journey

February 12, 2021: Research and Reading

February 12, 2021: Research and Reading

We’re in the deep freeze here in Iowa. Thought we might escape the worst winter weather this year, then February came howling in with snow and below zero (F) temperatures. Looking forward to some relief in March.

At least it’s good weather to be at the computer writing a new book, which, of course, means research and reading.

On the research side, here’s an article on date rape drugs. The intro to the article says that at least 25% of American women have been sexually assaulted or raped. A pretty sobering statistic.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320409#types

On the reading front, for Christmas, my wife got me an exceptionally good crime thriller about a getaway driver trying to go straight and digging himself in deeper—Blacktop Wasteland by SA Cosby. Haven’t seen it discounted anywhere, but I’m definitely going to be looking for this writer’s next book.

Also, I knew that William F. Buckley had written a series of spy novels featuring CIA agent Blackford Oakes. I’ve been wanting to check one out, and I found the third one—Who’s on First—discounted. Not realistic (for realism there’s George Smiley) but an eccentric and fun cold war thriller (published in 1980), if that’s your cup of tea.

Finally, if you know someone who’d like to try the Travelers series (or if you’re catching up), The Freeport Robbery: The Travelers Book 4 is $2.99 through Monday February 15.

Here’s the universal link so you can shop at your favorite store:

https://books2read.com/u/m2Vz67

That’s all for now. Happy reading!

January 22, 2021: As promised

January 22, 2021: As promised

Just a quick note. 

If you know someone who’d like to try the Travelers series, The Traveling Man eBook is currently free and The Computer Heist eBook is $.99 through January 25. Here are the universal links:

The Traveling Man https://books2read.com/u/bzoz6n

The Computer Heist https://books2read.com/u/bP9Vzz

That’s all for now. Happy reading!

January 12, 2021: New Year’s Reading

January 12, 2021: New Year’s Reading

Back in the day—you know, back when you wandered through bookstores just checking things out—I used to spend some time at the remainder table. (The table of deeply discounted books at the front of the store.) I’d sometimes find a book at that table that seemed interesting enough to take a chance on. If I liked it and it was in a series, I’d probably go to the library, check out the first one or two of the series and give them a read. Then if I was hooked, I’d start buying the rest. You’ve probably done something similar.

With eBooks, my pattern is pretty much the same. Lots of eBooks are occasionally free or discounted, so I’m always on the lookout for an opportunity to check out a series I think might be fun. One way I do this is by subscribing to eBook promotion sites, such as Bookbub or Early Bird Books, where I can check out discounted or free books just like I’m at the remainder table.

Last month, I picked up two books this way: Palm Beach Nasty by Tom Turner and A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais. Got a chance to read them both last week.

Palm Beach Nasty is the first book in Tom Turner’s series featuring police detective Charlie Crawford. I’d read Palm Beach Bedlam (book 8) previously, so I was interested in seeing how the series opened. Palm Beach Nasty did not disappoint. It was a fun read and effectively develops the key characters and overall ambiance of the series. So if you like straight-ahead, fast-paced thrillers with a Florida vibe, you might want to give this series a look.

A Dangerous Man is Robert Crais’s new Elvis Cole/Joe Pike book. (I was surprised to find it discounted.) I’ve read a lot of these books, but it’s been a while, so I’d forgotten just how much I enjoy them, particularly the ones that mainly focus on Joe Pike, who plays Hawk to Elvis Cole’s Spenser (If you catch the Robert B. Parker analogy). Pike is a hard-charging, take-no-prisoners kind of guy, and it’s always a pleasure to see Crais run him through his paces. 

One last note. If you know someone who’d like to try the Travelers series, The Traveling Man eBook is currently free and The Computer Heist eBook will be $.99 for a few days later this month. I’ll send a short email when the dates are set.

That’s all for now. Happy reading!

December 10, 2020: The Dark Web Scam is out now!

December 10, 2020: The Dark Web Scam is out now!

It’s the official release day for The Dark Web Scam: The Travelers Book 9 eBook version!

To celebrate the release, the eBook is $2.99 through December 16. Then the price goes up to $4.99. Here’s the universal link so you can choose your store:

https://books2read.com/u/bw7rjZ

There are some other special promos to celebrate the book 9 release. So if you know someone who’d like to try the Travelers series, now is their chance.

The Traveling Man: The Travelers Book One—Free. https://books2read.com/u/bzoz6n

The Computer Heist: The Travelers Book Two–$0.99. https://books2read.com/u/bP9Vzz

The Blackmail Photos: The Travelers Book Three–$0.99. https://books2read.com/u/3LDZd5

The book 9 description:

How could a little murder-for-hire scam go so wrong?

The Travelers and a computer hacker are operating a dark web con, taking cash from suckers who think they’re hiring contract killers. Easy money. And no one to complain to the police. But when an actual killer comes after them, they’re on the hunt for payback.

Who sent the assassin who killed their partner? And why is he stalking a newspaper reporter? 

Once the Travelers figure out who they’re up against, they set a plan in motion to rob him and take revenge, but as the cat-and-mouse game progresses, and the police get involved, the Travelers find they’re moving through a quagmire of drugs, sex trafficking, and greed where any misstep could lead to the morgue.

The Dark Web Scam is a hard-charging crime thriller. If you like criminal machinations, fast-paced action, and devious plot twists, you’ll love the ninth novel in the Travelers series.

***

Hope you enjoy the new book! (Can’t wait to hear what you think.)

September 22, 2020: The Casino Switcheroo

September 22, 2020: The Casino Switcheroo

Here’s another in the series of emails about the thinking behind a Travelers book.

Always looking for a fresh angle to add that extra oomph to a Travelers thriller, that little extra something to make a particular book special. The Casino Switcheroo was no different.

Back in the prequel, The Double Cross, we found out about how the Travelers came to be, and something about the backstory of the young woman who will chose to become, by story’s end, the female half of the team. But we’ve never touched on who the Traveling Man was or what he did before the action that takes place in The Double Cross.

Who trained him? How did his first mentor find him? How does the Traveling Man feel about this mentor? Those are the questions that led to the creation of Alexander Koenig, the master thief who manipulates and cheats everyone, even his own partners.

And what if Koenig had ulterior motives for pulling the Travelers into a high-stakes scam, and the Traveling Man saw this scam as an opportunity to outmaneuver Koenig and steal the score?

That’s how we ended up with the casino heist that isn’t what it appears to be, and the cast of devious players frantically trying to outfox each other so that they can end up with the score and make their escape before the cops close in. It was lots of fun to write, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.

If you haven’t had a chance to dip into The Casino Switcheroo, you can check it out here:

https://books2read.com/u/3nvrGP

Happy reading!

September 8, 2020: Dark Web Scam

September 8, 2020: Dark Web Scam

Just a short note this time.

Made it through the Derecho (land hurricane) with only a few large limbs down in our yard. And our power was only out for 28 hours. Pure luck! We got everything cleared up just in time for all the college students to reappear for the fall. Exciting times in central Iowa.

Making good progress on the Travelers book 9, tentative titled The Dark Web Scam. It involves the shenanigans that take place after a murder-for-hire scam goes wrong. Been having a lot of fun pulling all the pieces together. Hope you enjoy reading it! Planning to release it later this fall. 

In the meantime, there’re $0.99 eBook deals on the first 3 books of the Travelers series next week. So if you know someone who hasn’t read The Traveling ManThe Computer Heist, or The Blackmail Photos, now’s their chance to give the  series a try. I’ll send out a reminder with the book links on the day the deals start.

That’s all for now. Happy reading!

August 12, 2020: Murder, sex trafficking, and drugs

August 12, 2020: Murder, sex trafficking, and drugs

It’s the dog days of summer. Recently, American Indian sovereignty over reservation land in Oklahoma has been in the news, which reminded me of a true crime book I read this spring—Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. It’s a great read about a series of murders in Oklahoma in the 1920’s with some surprising twists.

Still hammering away on book 9, where there’s a subplot involving sex trafficking, which is a bigger problem than you might think. Here’s a link to some background research, if you’re into reading up on it.

https://humantraffickinghotline.org/type-trafficking/sex-trafficking

And from the “you can’t make this up” file, here’s an article about a pharmacist arrested in a plot to firebomb a rival. Really. Not kidding.

Click on the image to find the article

Finally, if you’re into free eBook promos, here’s two I’m participating in:  The Dial M for Murder—Mystery & Crime Giveaway and The August Crime Giveaway. As usual, you get a free eBook for an email list signup. Hope you find something you like! Here’re the links:

Dial M: https://claims.prolificworks.com/gg/1DjzSWR1VGuxX8iqb3DK

August Crime: https://books.bookfunnel.com/crimegiveaway/wpyjsx57pe

That’s all for now. Happy reading!

June 23, 2020: Summertime Reading and the Dark Web

June 23, 2020: Summertime Reading and the Dark Web

Hope you’re enjoying your summer, getting some time to relax and read some fun books.

Recently read James Lee Burke’s The Last Car to Elysian Fields, which is a classic Dave Robicheaux crime thriller, featuring a lot of south Louisiana local color and a solid hard-to-figure-out crime.

Another series I really like is Alan Furst’s Night Soldiers novels, which are spy novels set during and just before World War 2. If you like history, and a well told tale, you’ll get a kick out of these.

I’m hard at work on the Travelers book 9 (no title yet), which starts out with some dark web shenanigans. Here’s a link where you can learn some background about the dark web, if you care for that sort of thing.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3249765/what-is-the-dark-web-how-to-access-it-and-what-youll-find.html

Finally, if you’re into free eBook promos, here’s one I’m participating in:  The Art of the Arcane Suspense and Thriller Giveaway. I think it’s got enough new books to make it worth a look. As usual, you get a free eBook for an email list signup. Hope you find something you like! Here’s the link:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/aota-thiller-giveaway-1506/9j6nwd80wx 

That’s all for now. Happy reading!

May 22, 2020: Thicker Than Thieves is out now!

May 22, 2020: Thicker Than Thieves is out now!

It’s the official release day for Thicker Than Thieves: The Travelers Book 8 (eBook version)!

To celebrate the release, book 8 is $0.99 everywhere through May 28. Then the price goes up to $4.99. Here’s the link:

https://books2read.com/u/megY8g

Here’s the list of the other special promos to celebrate the book 8 release. So if you know someone who’d like to try the series, now is their chance.

The Traveling Man: The Travelers Book One—Free through May 26.

The Computer Heist: The Travelers Book Two–$0.99 countdown deal through May 28.

The Blackmail Photos: The Travelers Book Three–$0.99 countdown deal through May 28.

The Freeport Robbery: The Travelers Book Four–$0.99 countdown deal through May 28.

On my Thicker Than Thieves Amazon page, I can scroll down to see the complete series, but if that’s not what you see on your page, here’s the link to the series page where you can find all these deals:

(Sorry that the countdown deals are only in the US and the UK, but Jeff Bezos has made it clear that I don’t make the rules.)

Here’s the book 8 description if you haven’t seen it:

Mob diamonds, white nationalists, and Middle Eastern jihadis …

On the prowl to steal a crime cartel’s diamond shipment, the Travelers zero in on the smugglers—an Iranian American pair of brother and sister oriental carpet importers. They have twelve weeks to manipulate the smugglers, figure out the details of the diamond delivery, and escape with the diamonds without tipping off the cartel.

But Middle Eastern jihadis hoping to create chaos in the US and white nationalists intent on a terrorist act bigger than the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing also have plans for the smugglers.

And when the FBI gets wind of these plots, the Travelers’ plans are suddenly careening sideways….

Thicker Than Thieves is a roller-coaster ride through a mine field of danger and conspiracy. If you like mind-boggling suspense, unpredictable plot twists, and criminal intrigue, you’ll love the eighth novel in the Travelers series.

***

Hope you enjoy the new book! (Can’t wait to hear what you think.)

April 21, 2020: Safety First

April 21, 2020: Safety First

Life is still stranger than fiction. I’m taking every precaution and I hope you are too. (Whatever those are wherever you’re at.)

We’re still closing in to the countdown to Thicker Than Thieves: The Travelers Book 8. Everything takes a little longer during the pandemic. In the meantime, here’re a few public service articles:

First, an article that describes what’s going on when you need a ventilator to help you breathe. Scary but important info.

Second, an article about DIY facemasks: what to make them out of, how to make them, and how to clean them. There have been several of these articles. This one is a pretty decent overview, I think.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/04/07/answers-your-diy-face-mask-questions-including-what-material-you-should-use/?tid=ss_mail

Third, a website where you can see international, national and state COVID-19 projections (keeping in mind that projections are only as good as the underlying data):

https://covid19.healthdata.org/

On a lighter note, if you’re into free eBook promos, here’s one I’m participating in:  Message in a Bottle: Mystery and Thriller Group Giveaway. I think it’s got enough new books to make it worth a look. As usual, you get a free eBook for an email list signup. Hope you find something you like! Here’s the link:

https://claims.prolificworks.com/gg/5wcG2E0mPoufqE4fkjVj

Happy reading!