Ron Franscell's Blog, page 4

The Ladder Guy

My father six months ago, so this blog has a special sentimental value to me this year. I hope you think about your dad when you read this. A long time ago, when my kids were very young, my parents visited for an early December weekend, a rare occasion since I’d moved north with my…

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5 Yuletide Crimes: Death doesn’t take a holiday

The song says it’s the most wonderful time of the year—but it has historically been a lot less wonderful for some. Crime doesn’t take a holiday. In fact, evil celebrates those the days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, too. You already know that burglars, muggers, identity thieves, and carjackers run rampant during the holidays,…

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DEAF ROW

IN BOOKSTORES EVERYWHERE FEBRUARY 14, 2023! Retired to a small Colorado mountain town, ex-Denver homicide detective Woodrow “Mountain” Bell yearns only to fade away. He’s failed in so many ways—as a father, a husband, friend, and cop—he fears he’s missed his chance for at a meaningful life. But when he stumbles across a long-forgotten, unsolved…

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In defense of Ebenezer Scrooge

I originally wrote this essay as a newspaper column in 1995. It appears here today with a few minor but festive updates because, well, Scrooge is timeless. No businessman in the history of literature has been as misunderstood as Ebenezer Scrooge. His very name is now a synonym for pinch-fisted churlishness and humbuggery. Why? Certainly…

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

May your holidays be eventful … in the best way!

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We’ll always have mass murder

This essay was originally written just two days after the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in 2012. This weekend’s tragic shooting in Colorado Springs CO and yesterday’s workplace violence in Chesapeake VA make me want to re-run it, as I have several times when such senseless events happen. It appears anew here now, with only minor…

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‘Chilling’ new DEAF ROW cover unveiled!

A great book cover elicits an emotional response. And if it’s done well, a reader will feel the same while reading the book. In the case of the new cover art for DEAF ROW—my first crime fiction in more than 20 years, coming next February from WildBlue Press—artist Tatiana Vila was aiming for menace ……

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DEAF ROW

IN BOOKSTORES EVERYWHERE FEBRUARY 14, 2023! Retired to a small Colorado mountain town, ex-Denver homicide detective Woodrow “Mountain” Bell yearns only to fade away. He’s failed in so many ways—as a father, a husband, friend, and cop—he fears he’s missed his chance for at a meaningful life. But when he stumbles across a long-forgotten, unsolved…

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DEAF ROW, a mystery

IN BOOKSTORES EVERYWHERE FEBRUARY 14, 2023! Retired to a small Colorado mountain town, ex-Denver homicide detective Woodrow “Mountain” Bell yearns only to fade away. He’s failed in so many ways—as a father, a husband, friend, and cop—he fears he’s missed his chance for at a meaningful life. When he stumbles across a long-forgotten, unsolved child…

The post DEAF ROW, a mystery appeared first on Ron Franscell.

DEAF ROW

AT BOOKSTORES EVERYWHERE FEBRUARY 14, 2023! Retired to a small Colorado mountain town, ex-Denver homicide detective Woodrow “Mountain” Bell yearns only to fade away. He’s failed in so many ways—as a father, a husband, friend, and cop—he fears he wasted his chance at a meaningful life. When he stumbles across a long-forgotten, unsolved child murder,…

The post DEAF ROW appeared first on Ron Franscell.