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Category: My Publishing Journey

July 2019: The Traveling Man has a new cover

July 2019: The Traveling Man has a new cover

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The Traveling Man (book 1) has a new cover. So now its cover matches the other covers in the series. Back when The Computer Heist (book 2) came out, I didn’t know its cover would become the pattern for the rest of the covers. Hindsight, eh? You can take a close up look at the new cover here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019DGN21A

(The content of book 1 has not changed, only the cover.)

The Casino Switcheroo, book 7 of the Travelers series, is off at the copy editor. But to get to The Casino Switcheroo, we have to come through The Murder Run.

The Freeport Robbery (book 4), The Kidnap Victim (book 5), and The Murder Run (book 6) all feature James Denison, first as a mark of sorts, and then later as Mrs. Traveling Man’s love interest. (You remember, don’t you? It’s complicated.)

So when The Murder Run opens, she’s in San Francisco getting up to mischief with a new gal pal, while the Traveling Man’s out east trying to outrun and outgun the killers who tailed him from a safecracking.

It’s one wild ride to the finish line, and when it’s over, they’ll be ready for The Casino Switcheroo. 

Do you need to catch up? You can check out the description to The Murder Run here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M7F95G8

Happy reading!

June 2019: Reminiscing about The Kidnap Victim

June 2019: Reminiscing about The Kidnap Victim

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It’s finally getting warm here in Iowa. The flowers are up. The trees have leaves. We’ve put the furniture out on the screened-in porch. Woo-hoo!

I’m still hard at work on The Casino Switcheroo, book 7 of the Travelers series. Think it’s shaping up into an exciting read. 

In the meantime, to wet your whistle, let’s reminisce about book five, The Kidnap Victim. 

In The Kidnap Victim, Nicole is off with the millionaire James Denison and the Traveling Man is off on a new scam. In the other books, they tag team their way out of any tough spots, but here, where we begin, they have to sort out their own problems by themselves.

So the Traveling Man has to work on tradecraft with a new partner, and Nicole has to explain who she is to the Denison family. That, I thought, would make for an interesting starting place, something we haven’t seen before. Sort of like we’re back at the beginning of The Double Cross, only now the Travelers know all they’ve learned in the meantime.

Add to that the theme of kidnapping and all that entails. For the one who is kidnapped—lack of agency, being controlled, seeking escape. What would that person be thinking about? For the rescuer—developing the rescue plan, fear about what’s being done to the one who’s been kidnapped, and fear that the rescue plan won’t work. Plus anger and the desire for revenge. Who doesn’t hate a kidnapper?

Of course, the Travelers are not going to take their lumps lying down. They’re going to do everything they can to scheme and manipulate their way out of their troubles and into the clear. 

You can check out the book description here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRY2MNJ

If you’re interested in free eBook promos, I’ve found another one. It’s got enough books I haven’t seen before to make it worth sharing with you. https://books.bookfunnel.com/summer-read/ryh7ag5cja

As usual, you get a free eBook for an email list signup. Hope you find a book you enjoy.

Happy reading!

May 2019: Research and The Freeport Robbery

May 2019: Research and The Freeport Robbery

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Hard at work on the next Travelers book, tentatively titled The Casino Switcheroo. Finally done with researching the various details (I’ve shared some of my findings in previous emails).

Research. Research. Research. How does it affect the writing of a Travelers crime thriller?

The Freeport Robbery: The Travelers Book 4 makes a good example of where research led to the premise for a book.

From a The Economist magazine article, I learned about freeports. (I’d never heard of them before!)

Freeports were originally areas at ports where cargo could be moved from one ship to another without going through customs. Quick and easy. No entry into the country. No extra paperwork. But freeports evolved to include vaults, much like bank vaults, where valuable can be stored indefinitely. Nowadays, freeports could be located at airports as well as ship ports.

So if you have diamonds, or art, or gold bars, or anything else that you don’t want to declare and pay taxes on, you could store them in a freeport vault, which isn’t, technically, in any country. It’s between countries. Which got me thinking . . .

What if a bad actor stored a stolen object in a freeport?

And what if an insurance company hired a consultant to get the object back so that they wouldn’t have to pay off the insurance claim?

And what if the consultant had an ulterior motive for helping the insurance company?

And how would our con artists get involved in this scheme? What would be in it for them?

From these ideas we end up with insurance investigator Aaron Rickover, FBI agent Grace Mosley, millionaire James Denison and a cross-country chase for the Cellini casket.

You can check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NHN3VZ

Happy reading!

P.S. If you’d like to see what a million dollars in hundreds would look like, click here: http://www.cockeyed.com/inside/million/million_dollars.html

April 2019: Story Arcs in the Travelers Series Books 1-3

April 2019: Story Arcs in the Travelers Series Books 1-3

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First off, thanks for your reviews on Amazon. They really do help other readers find these books.

I’ve been trying to think of something special to share with those of you who’ve been reading right along without creating spoilers for newer readers. Here goes—

In each of the Travelers books, there is always a main plot—a crime that turns complicated. That’s the main event of each book. For example:

Book 1: the land swindle and the money laundry

Book 2: the theft of the computer program

Book 3: the blackmail of the wannabe congressman

But, usually, there is also a subplot that moves along from one book to the next, with more or less emphasis. For the first three books, the subplot is, for lack of a better word, the Travelers’ shared mid-life crisis. Is he still up to the task of taking care of business? Does she still believe in him? Can they trust each other? Can they re-cement their relationship? Should they each go their own way?

If you’ve read the prequel, The Double Cross, you’ve got their starting point as a comparison—how they met and started grifting together, and how their relationship developed into a trust that enables them to take on all comers.

Now in book 1, The Traveling Man, the mid-life crisis subplot is very important to the action in the first half (Have they assumed the wrong things about each other? What are the dangerous repercussions of those assumptions?), then slips to the back burner for the second half and for book 2, The Computer Heist, as they try to feel their way back to their old comfortable pattern.

But the issue jumps to the front again in book 3, The Blackmail Photos, where previously unknown hopes and dreams collide with a treacherous reality and where, by the end, the mid-life crisis issue has been transmuted into a different sort of concern, which get explored in books 4 through 6.

My hope is that the subplots make the books more fun to read by making the characters more complex and more realistic. But that’s for you to judge.

If you haven’t read the first three books, you can pick them up as a discounted eBook boxed set here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FWC9BFK

And if you’ve read The Traveling Man, but not books 2 and 3, you can pick them up as a discounted eBook boxed set here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0788QZRQ8

Finally, if you’re into free eBook promos, the Page Turning Mystery/Thriller Giveaway, a free book in exchange for an email list signup, is live now. There are 64 eBooks in the promo, with enough new ones to make it worth a look. And even though the link says “cozyreaders,” this list contains eBooks that cover the spectrum from cozy to hardboiled. Here’s the link: https://books.bookfunnel.com/cozyreaders/1wet1az9hk

Happy reading!

The Murder Run Release

The Murder Run Release

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Woo Hoo! The Murder Run: The Travelers Book Six is now out. To say Thank You to all of you, the eBook will be $0.99 until January 25. Then it will go up to $4.99, so now is the time to grab it. Here’s the description:

Never cheat a partner. Always get revenge. . .

The Traveling Man takes on a quick and easy safecracking job…easy until his partners are murdered and he’s on the run.

His wife is trying to settle into her new role as a rich man’s girlfriend, so she isn’t at his side.

Who are these killers who are after him? And how are they connected to the government agency that wants the envelope he took from the safe?

With the help of a new associate, he tracks the killers until he’s steered into a trap. They think he’s cornered, but he’s still got one ace up his sleeve. . .

The Murder Run is a gritty, hard-boiled crime thriller. If you like criminal intrigue, surprising plot twists, and high-speed action, you’ll love the sixth novel in the Travelers series.

Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M7F95G8

As part of The Murder Run release, The Traveling Man: The Travelers Book One will be free January 23-25, so if you know someone who might like this series, this is their time to give it a try.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of the new book!

January 2019: Happy New Year with The Murder Run

January 2019: Happy New Year with The Murder Run

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We had a full house over the holidays. Watched a few holiday classics—Bad Santa and A Christmas Story this year, played some board games, managed to cage that extra piece of pecan pie before my son gobbled it up. But now it’s back to work. It’s going to be a busy January.

The Murder Run: The Travelers Book Six will be released later this month. To say Thank You to all of you, the eBook will be $0.99 from January 16-25. Then it will go up to $4.99, so this is the time to grab it. I’ll send a reminder on January 16.

As part of The Murder Run release, The Traveling Man: The Travelers Book One, will be free January 23-25, so if you know someone who might like this series, this is their time to give it a try. I’ll also send a reminder on January 23.

And finally, if you’re into free eBook promos, the Ring in the New Year eBook promo, a free book in exchange for an email list signup, is live now. There are 65 eBooks in the promo, with enough new ones to make it worth a look. Here’s the link:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/free_mystery/uwh7z0fvuv

Happy New Year!

December 2018: Happy Holidays and Hotel room safes

December 2018: Happy Holidays and Hotel room safes

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First off, and most importantly, I want to wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

For Thanksgiving, we went out to Los Angeles to visit our daughter. Ate the usual amount of too much Thanksgiving dinner. Plus we got a chance to visit the Huntington Library and Gardens. Famous old books and beautiful gardens—something fun for every member of the family.

The Murder Run: The Travelers Book Six will be released in January. Finally. To say Thank You to all of you, the eBook will be $0.99 for the first week, then it will go up to its usual price of $3.99. I’ll let you know all the details next month. Here’s the tentative description:

Never cheat a partner. Always get revenge. . .

The Traveling Man takes on a quick and easy safecracking job…easy until his partners are murdered and he’s on the run.

His wife is away playing a rich man’s girlfriend, so she doesn’t have his back.

 Who are these killers who are after him? And how are they connected to the government agency that wants the envelope he took from the safe?

With the help of a new associate, he tracks the killers until he’s steered into a trap. They think he’s cornered, but he’s still got one ace up his sleeve. . . 

The Murder Run is a gritty, hard-boiled crime thriller. If you like criminal intrigue, surprising plot twists, and high-speed action, you love the sixth novel in the Travelers series.

 

Two final items:

While searching for free eBook promotions, I found two for the end of this month: Free Thrillers to Stuff that New Kindle and Darkest Days. I’ll send out a short note with the links as soon as I have all the info.

Also, while doing research about hotel room safes, I found info about how to gain access without the passcode.

How to open Hotel room safes: https://www.corporatetravelsafety.com/safety-tips/hotel-room-safes-they-may-not-be-as-safe-as-you-thought-they-were/

https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/5409619/how-to-check-a-hotel-safe-is-secure-always-do-this-trick-before-leaving-valuables-inside/

Happy holidays

November 2018: Happy Thanksgiving

November 2018: Happy Thanksgiving

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It’s hard to believe that it’s the start of the fall/winter holiday season. We had a good number of Trick-or-Treaters on Halloween this year, the leaves are off the trees, and Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. Lot’s of fun family time ahead.

I’m still working feverishly on finishing up The Murder Run: The Travelers Book 6. (All the details have to be just right!) So this month, I’d like to share a little bit of my thinking about the writing of the third book, The Blackmail Photos.

The Blackmail Photos concerns the classic honey pot, where a mark is seduced to be blackmailed. This is straightforward business for the Travelers. No man is going to be able to resist her charms or stand up to his closing of the trap. But I wondered…just how many ways could this plan go wrong? What would be some interesting or surprising problems to propel the plot? And how could this plot expand on what we know about the Travelers’ relationship from the first and second books? So that’s how we end up with the horndog would-be congressman, the scheming wife, and the sheriff brother in-law. And from there, well, it’s off to the races. Just how will their motivations and desires clash with the Travelers’? And how will the Travelers gain the upper hand?

Finally, right now The Traveling Man is $0.99, and The Computer Heist is currently $0.99 on a countdown deal until November 14. So if you’re new, or you know someone who would enjoy the series, here’s the link to the series page: Click here

Happy Thanksgiving to all my US friends! Until next month…