E.Michael Helms's Blog: Michael's Musings, page 2
July 20, 2016
NEW RELEASE by author Alan Black!
Check out my friend and fellow writer Alan Black's newest novel, QUEST FOR THE WHITE WIND. It's fantasy at its best!
“All Tanden wants is a smooth, profitable voyage in the White Wind, but mutineers steal his ship and cargo, kill and kidnap his passengers, and scatter his loyal crew. Now he has to find his crew, cross a hostile, uncharted land, and fight a magician to take back his ship.
Saddled with the most irritating passenger on his ship, he wonders why he doesn’t let her drown, be eaten by dragons, or taken by hostile barbarians.”
Available now at: http://amzn.to/2a0jth9
“All Tanden wants is a smooth, profitable voyage in the White Wind, but mutineers steal his ship and cargo, kill and kidnap his passengers, and scatter his loyal crew. Now he has to find his crew, cross a hostile, uncharted land, and fight a magician to take back his ship.
Saddled with the most irritating passenger on his ship, he wonders why he doesn’t let her drown, be eaten by dragons, or taken by hostile barbarians.”
Available now at: http://amzn.to/2a0jth9
April 28, 2016
#MotiveMeansOpportunity Mystery Short Story Competition!
https://motivemeansopportunity.wordpr...
NO ENTRY FEE!
We’re looking for short mystery stories! Think you can write an engaging and fully-developed mystery in 1,500 words or less? Yeah? All right then, prove it! Enter the first ever MMO Short Short Competition. The winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card, get his or her story published on our amazing website, and he or she will get to return to MMO at a later date to be interviewed by us! Pretty good deal, right? Oh, and I left out the best part: the winner will earn the undying respect of the scribes here at MMO!
Contest Rules:
All stories must be submitted to: motivemeansopportunity16@gmail.com by June 1st. Entries not meeting the guidelines below will be disqualified. Each entrant must provide a legitimate email address. There is a limit of (1) story per person.
Entries must be 1,500 words or less. BE SURE OF YOUR WORD COUNT! Entries exceeding the word limits will be disqualified. Type the exact word count (counting every single word, except the title and contact information) at the top of the manuscript
Your entry must be original, in English, unpublished and unproduced, not accepted by any other publisher or producer at the time of submission.
MotiveMeansOpportunity retains one-time nonexclusive publication rights to the winning entries to be published on MotiveMeansOpportunity. Any piece posted online is considered published.
All manuscripts must be double-spaced. Your name must appear in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Save your manuscripts as Word files (.doc, .docx) or RTF (.rtf). Send your manuscripts to:
motivemeansopportunity16@gmail.com as email attachments.
A Word from the Judges:
We’re putting on this contest for love, not money. We love to read good work, and we want to give emerging writers out there a chance to be published. So, pretty please, don’t give us any grief if your story isn’t selected for publication. Our decisions are final, and we will not provide feedback on any stories. . .unless one of us happens to feel like doing it at the time.
Thanks, and we look forward to reading your work!
NO ENTRY FEE!
We’re looking for short mystery stories! Think you can write an engaging and fully-developed mystery in 1,500 words or less? Yeah? All right then, prove it! Enter the first ever MMO Short Short Competition. The winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card, get his or her story published on our amazing website, and he or she will get to return to MMO at a later date to be interviewed by us! Pretty good deal, right? Oh, and I left out the best part: the winner will earn the undying respect of the scribes here at MMO!
Contest Rules:
All stories must be submitted to: motivemeansopportunity16@gmail.com by June 1st. Entries not meeting the guidelines below will be disqualified. Each entrant must provide a legitimate email address. There is a limit of (1) story per person.
Entries must be 1,500 words or less. BE SURE OF YOUR WORD COUNT! Entries exceeding the word limits will be disqualified. Type the exact word count (counting every single word, except the title and contact information) at the top of the manuscript
Your entry must be original, in English, unpublished and unproduced, not accepted by any other publisher or producer at the time of submission.
MotiveMeansOpportunity retains one-time nonexclusive publication rights to the winning entries to be published on MotiveMeansOpportunity. Any piece posted online is considered published.
All manuscripts must be double-spaced. Your name must appear in the upper left-hand corner of the first page. Save your manuscripts as Word files (.doc, .docx) or RTF (.rtf). Send your manuscripts to:
motivemeansopportunity16@gmail.com as email attachments.
A Word from the Judges:
We’re putting on this contest for love, not money. We love to read good work, and we want to give emerging writers out there a chance to be published. So, pretty please, don’t give us any grief if your story isn’t selected for publication. Our decisions are final, and we will not provide feedback on any stories. . .unless one of us happens to feel like doing it at the time.
Thanks, and we look forward to reading your work!
April 23, 2016
Give Up to Get Ahead: An Obscure Mystery Novelist Briefly Explains How to Quit Writing a Novel in Order to Grow as a Writer
New Post by Max Everhart
at #MotiveMeansOpportunity -Mystery writers talk shop
Give Up to Get Ahead: An Obscure Mystery Novelist Briefly Explains How to Quit Writing a Novel in Order to Grow as a Writer http://bit.ly/1QSddoF
Discipline trumps talent.
That’s my motto, anyway. You want to be a mystery novelist (or any kind of writer, for that matter) you need to work on your craft. Every day. No exceptions. No excuses. You need to apply your posterior in a chair and type, and type, and type, and stare out the window, and think, and then keep typing until something good appears on that stupid little white screen.
But here’s the rub: a good bit of what you write will, I can assure you with supreme confidence, be crap. At first. Write it anyway. And then edit. And then drink–for courage to soldier on.
Inspire.
So today’s post is meant purely to inspire those of you struggling to write your first book (or your second, or your eighteenth). Below is the first 350 words or so if my first attempt at a mystery novel. I wrote another 30,000 after this, but what you’ll read below is the only bit worth saving. The rest was crap, but writing that crap taught me something invaluable: that I had a “voice.” I just didn’t have anything else yet. The rest of it I would have to work on, and you should, too.
So enjoy this tiny glimpse into my first big failure as a writer.
Say you’re fifty-six years old and you’ve got something you love that isn’t a wife or kids. Suppose it’s a restaurant: a huge hollowed out sailboat made of eighty-year old oak that’s docked in an inlet on the North Carolina coast. Call it SHARKEY’s. Picture a cartoon-y-looking killer shark with white fangs painted on the hull outside. Three massive white sails up top, flapping in the breeze. Go inside and order a strong pomegranate margarita from Kitty, the bartender. Check out the autographed glossies of Jack Nicholas and Catfish Hunter behind the bar. The circular windows to starboard offer a peephole view of the water. Creaking floorboards and the smell of saltwater make you feel like you’re walking the plank for Blackbeard. There are tuna steak sandwiches and homemade potato chips on the menu, plenty of Handy-Wipes for the greasy fingers. When the weather’s nice, a solid eight months out of the year, there are picnic tables on the rectangular deck facing the water, a long pier adjacent to work off those extra jumbo shrimp.
Now, picture yourself there, with your old man paunch, a full head of gray hair, and most of your own teeth. You flash those sparklers at everyone, wear Levis and boat shoes the whole year ‘round. Like most poor boys that figured out a way to keep your belly full, you take pride in your work. Slapping high-fives with little sluggers in ball uniforms. Refilling sweet ice tea for the red-faced tourists. Lying to the Country Club Set about your single-digit handicap, all the fish you’ve caught. You turn a healthy profit and keep a bulk of the cash in a wall-safe at your second-story condo overlooking the Atlantic. But somehow you pick up bad habits like drinking Jim Bean before noon and blabbing to everyone about your nest egg. It isn’t long before someone cracks your safe and now the IRS says you’re in arrears.
So, about to lose the one thing you love, what do you do?
The answer: you invite Jack Burns, local millionaire and quasi-philanthropist, and his idiot son, Greg, over to your bar to see if there is anything you can do to help get Greg elected the Mayor of Kill Devil Island next week.
at #MotiveMeansOpportunity -Mystery writers talk shop
Give Up to Get Ahead: An Obscure Mystery Novelist Briefly Explains How to Quit Writing a Novel in Order to Grow as a Writer http://bit.ly/1QSddoF
Discipline trumps talent.
That’s my motto, anyway. You want to be a mystery novelist (or any kind of writer, for that matter) you need to work on your craft. Every day. No exceptions. No excuses. You need to apply your posterior in a chair and type, and type, and type, and stare out the window, and think, and then keep typing until something good appears on that stupid little white screen.
But here’s the rub: a good bit of what you write will, I can assure you with supreme confidence, be crap. At first. Write it anyway. And then edit. And then drink–for courage to soldier on.
Inspire.
So today’s post is meant purely to inspire those of you struggling to write your first book (or your second, or your eighteenth). Below is the first 350 words or so if my first attempt at a mystery novel. I wrote another 30,000 after this, but what you’ll read below is the only bit worth saving. The rest was crap, but writing that crap taught me something invaluable: that I had a “voice.” I just didn’t have anything else yet. The rest of it I would have to work on, and you should, too.
So enjoy this tiny glimpse into my first big failure as a writer.
Say you’re fifty-six years old and you’ve got something you love that isn’t a wife or kids. Suppose it’s a restaurant: a huge hollowed out sailboat made of eighty-year old oak that’s docked in an inlet on the North Carolina coast. Call it SHARKEY’s. Picture a cartoon-y-looking killer shark with white fangs painted on the hull outside. Three massive white sails up top, flapping in the breeze. Go inside and order a strong pomegranate margarita from Kitty, the bartender. Check out the autographed glossies of Jack Nicholas and Catfish Hunter behind the bar. The circular windows to starboard offer a peephole view of the water. Creaking floorboards and the smell of saltwater make you feel like you’re walking the plank for Blackbeard. There are tuna steak sandwiches and homemade potato chips on the menu, plenty of Handy-Wipes for the greasy fingers. When the weather’s nice, a solid eight months out of the year, there are picnic tables on the rectangular deck facing the water, a long pier adjacent to work off those extra jumbo shrimp.
Now, picture yourself there, with your old man paunch, a full head of gray hair, and most of your own teeth. You flash those sparklers at everyone, wear Levis and boat shoes the whole year ‘round. Like most poor boys that figured out a way to keep your belly full, you take pride in your work. Slapping high-fives with little sluggers in ball uniforms. Refilling sweet ice tea for the red-faced tourists. Lying to the Country Club Set about your single-digit handicap, all the fish you’ve caught. You turn a healthy profit and keep a bulk of the cash in a wall-safe at your second-story condo overlooking the Atlantic. But somehow you pick up bad habits like drinking Jim Bean before noon and blabbing to everyone about your nest egg. It isn’t long before someone cracks your safe and now the IRS says you’re in arrears.
So, about to lose the one thing you love, what do you do?
The answer: you invite Jack Burns, local millionaire and quasi-philanthropist, and his idiot son, Greg, over to your bar to see if there is anything you can do to help get Greg elected the Mayor of Kill Devil Island next week.
March 31, 2016
My Review of ED, NOT EDDIE: An Eli Sharpe Mystery, by Max Everhart
Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of Everhart's latest Eli Sharpe mystery/thriller. You can get it here for a publisher's special $1.99: http://amzn.to/1Uvonnb
And while you're at it, pick up a FREE copy of PINK ELEPHANT: An Eli Sharpe Mystery Short, here: amzn.to/1pNSpWl
And now, on to my review! (5-stars):
Former shortstop Eli Sharpe may have struck out in his brief stint as a major leaguer with the Devil Rays, but reinvented as private investigator Eli Sharpe, he touches all the bases in this thriller which will have you sitting on the edge of the bleachers. Sharpe goes extra innings to stop an assassin from permanently retiring a top female prospect before she has a chance to ever take the mound.
"Ed" Leviner is a baseball phenom--a female pitcher possessing the "stuff" to be a top prospect and have Major League scouts drooling to sign her to a lucrative contract after pitching her final collegiate game. There's just one hitch standing between Ed and possible riches and fame--someone is threatening to kill her unless she gives up the ball.
Enter Eli Sharpe, former shortstop who had a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sharpe is now a private investigator based in Asheville, NC, whose knowledge about the game is valued throughout the front offices of Major League teams. Sharpe is hired to sniff out who might be behind the death threats directed toward Ms. Leviner. He makes the trip to the small rural town of Cook, SC, where suspects from respected town citizens to backwoods drug-dealers begin to pop up like a whack-a-mole game. What follows is a maze of twists, turns, and red herrings galore. Things are further complicated when Sharpe's former fiancee, Sophie Gibson, now known as vivacious reporter Vivian Vaughn, rolls into Cook with her newsteam to cover the media circus building around the event as game day approaches. Like the Seiko watch Sophie had given Eli years before, the relationship between the two is still ticking.
No spoilers here. Let's leave it at this: untimely and suspicious deaths, unlikely lovers, and bloodshed follow as Ed Laviner takes the mound for what could be her final game--ever! This rollicking mystery will grab you from the warm up pages and keep you hooked until the final out.
Very highly recommended!
And while you're at it, pick up a FREE copy of PINK ELEPHANT: An Eli Sharpe Mystery Short, here: amzn.to/1pNSpWl
And now, on to my review! (5-stars):
Former shortstop Eli Sharpe may have struck out in his brief stint as a major leaguer with the Devil Rays, but reinvented as private investigator Eli Sharpe, he touches all the bases in this thriller which will have you sitting on the edge of the bleachers. Sharpe goes extra innings to stop an assassin from permanently retiring a top female prospect before she has a chance to ever take the mound.
"Ed" Leviner is a baseball phenom--a female pitcher possessing the "stuff" to be a top prospect and have Major League scouts drooling to sign her to a lucrative contract after pitching her final collegiate game. There's just one hitch standing between Ed and possible riches and fame--someone is threatening to kill her unless she gives up the ball.
Enter Eli Sharpe, former shortstop who had a brief stint with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Sharpe is now a private investigator based in Asheville, NC, whose knowledge about the game is valued throughout the front offices of Major League teams. Sharpe is hired to sniff out who might be behind the death threats directed toward Ms. Leviner. He makes the trip to the small rural town of Cook, SC, where suspects from respected town citizens to backwoods drug-dealers begin to pop up like a whack-a-mole game. What follows is a maze of twists, turns, and red herrings galore. Things are further complicated when Sharpe's former fiancee, Sophie Gibson, now known as vivacious reporter Vivian Vaughn, rolls into Cook with her newsteam to cover the media circus building around the event as game day approaches. Like the Seiko watch Sophie had given Eli years before, the relationship between the two is still ticking.
No spoilers here. Let's leave it at this: untimely and suspicious deaths, unlikely lovers, and bloodshed follow as Ed Laviner takes the mound for what could be her final game--ever! This rollicking mystery will grab you from the warm up pages and keep you hooked until the final out.
Very highly recommended!
March 7, 2016
Mac Rides Again! -- #DeadlyDunes to launch March 15!
The third book in my Mac McClellan Mystery Series, #Deadly Dunes will be published by Coffeetown/Camel Press on March 15.
Here's what Midwest Book Review had to say about #DeadlyDunes --
Another deftly crafted mystery/suspense masterpiece from author E. Michael Helms, Deadly Dunes is the third title in his outstanding Mac McClellan Mystery series. Very highly recommended reading action/adventure mystery buffs, Deadly Dunes is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. Also very highly recommended are the two earlier titles in this superbly written series: Deadly Catch (9781616148676, $15.95 PB, $9.59 Kindle) and Deadly Ruse (9781616140090, $15.95 PB, $9.59 Kindle, 239 pp).
And here are glowing words from InD'Tale Magazine's review:
When a local archeologist supposedly takes his own life, his sister hires former Marine turned P.I. Mac McClellan to investigate the case. She insists her brother was murdered because of his finds on Five Mile Island off the panhandle coast of Florida. The sister also dies under mysterious circumstances, adding to and removing names from Mac’s list of suspects. More snooping leads to two more deaths and an attempt on Mac’s life, letting him know he’s definitely on the right track. Aided by his girlfriend, Kate, his Doberman puppy named Henry the Eighth, and a female deputy named Dakota, he closes in on the mystery. Can he solve it before it gets too dangerous?
“Deadly Dunes” is a fabulous whodunit, written in first person narrative—think Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe—a la classic hardboiled, detective movie style. The writing is nearly flawless, with a nice arc and plausible storylines. The characters are so fleshed out that this reader could picture Mac, dressed in cargo shorts and flip flops, flipping steaks and burgers on his grill, with his faithful pup at his feet. This being Mac’s first case after becoming a licensed P.I., he made a few mistakes, understandably, that put him in danger, or temporarily led him down the wrong path. All were newbie mistakes that only led to the story’s credibility, in this reviewer’s humble opinion. A story that comes highly recommended!
#DeadlyDunes is available for pre-order now at: http://amzn.to/20xI6Gt
Print and ebook copies will be available at all online bookstores and some mortar/brick booksellers on March 15. If your favorite bookstore doesn't have it, you can ask them to order it and have it in-hand in a few days.
Thanks!
Here's what Midwest Book Review had to say about #DeadlyDunes --
Another deftly crafted mystery/suspense masterpiece from author E. Michael Helms, Deadly Dunes is the third title in his outstanding Mac McClellan Mystery series. Very highly recommended reading action/adventure mystery buffs, Deadly Dunes is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. Also very highly recommended are the two earlier titles in this superbly written series: Deadly Catch (9781616148676, $15.95 PB, $9.59 Kindle) and Deadly Ruse (9781616140090, $15.95 PB, $9.59 Kindle, 239 pp).
And here are glowing words from InD'Tale Magazine's review:
When a local archeologist supposedly takes his own life, his sister hires former Marine turned P.I. Mac McClellan to investigate the case. She insists her brother was murdered because of his finds on Five Mile Island off the panhandle coast of Florida. The sister also dies under mysterious circumstances, adding to and removing names from Mac’s list of suspects. More snooping leads to two more deaths and an attempt on Mac’s life, letting him know he’s definitely on the right track. Aided by his girlfriend, Kate, his Doberman puppy named Henry the Eighth, and a female deputy named Dakota, he closes in on the mystery. Can he solve it before it gets too dangerous?
“Deadly Dunes” is a fabulous whodunit, written in first person narrative—think Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe—a la classic hardboiled, detective movie style. The writing is nearly flawless, with a nice arc and plausible storylines. The characters are so fleshed out that this reader could picture Mac, dressed in cargo shorts and flip flops, flipping steaks and burgers on his grill, with his faithful pup at his feet. This being Mac’s first case after becoming a licensed P.I., he made a few mistakes, understandably, that put him in danger, or temporarily led him down the wrong path. All were newbie mistakes that only led to the story’s credibility, in this reviewer’s humble opinion. A story that comes highly recommended!
#DeadlyDunes is available for pre-order now at: http://amzn.to/20xI6Gt
Print and ebook copies will be available at all online bookstores and some mortar/brick booksellers on March 15. If your favorite bookstore doesn't have it, you can ask them to order it and have it in-hand in a few days.
Thanks!
February 22, 2016
My review of M.J. Payne's THE REMEMBERED SELF
"The Remembered Self," M.J. Payne's graphic memoir of child abuse, is a book of many colors--mostly varying shades of darkness. It is at once both riveting and revolting; compelling and repulsive; a glimpse into Hell on earth under the guise of Christianity.
As one who has suffered from and continues to live with combat-related PTSD, "The Remembered Self" was an incredibly difficult book to slog through. That is NOT an indictment of the book, but rather the horrific, almost unspeakable subject matter it addresses. The author has reached deep within her soul to wrench out a cancerous growth of pure evil and expose it to a world that barely acknowledges the horrors revealed within these pages. THEY DO EXIST -- you have been informed!
The reader is quickly drawn into the story through the mind, heart, and soul of a tragic young child barely old enough to communicate in full, meaningful sentences. She is forced to witness and endure depravities to which no human being, or animal, should ever be subjected. To call it heartrending and painful falls far short of rendering justice to the narrative of this abused but resilient child.
Years later, now a mature woman attempting to make her way in this unjust and often cruel world, she is haunted by recurring nightmares and intrusive thoughts, signs of the horrid upbringing she has buried for the sake of sheer self-survival. In desperation she reaches out for help and is fortunate to find a competent and compassionate therapist. But understanding and healing comes with its own painful price. One can't help but applaud the author's courage in ripping off scabs and enduring the searing pain she surely felt while confronting the demons she had endured and harbored since infancy.
By her selfless act of courage in writing "The Remembered Self," M.J. Payne has left a legacy of healing and hope that others in similar ungodly situations might find even a small portion of solace. Highly recommended!
Available at: http://amzn.to/1OjLh8v
As one who has suffered from and continues to live with combat-related PTSD, "The Remembered Self" was an incredibly difficult book to slog through. That is NOT an indictment of the book, but rather the horrific, almost unspeakable subject matter it addresses. The author has reached deep within her soul to wrench out a cancerous growth of pure evil and expose it to a world that barely acknowledges the horrors revealed within these pages. THEY DO EXIST -- you have been informed!
The reader is quickly drawn into the story through the mind, heart, and soul of a tragic young child barely old enough to communicate in full, meaningful sentences. She is forced to witness and endure depravities to which no human being, or animal, should ever be subjected. To call it heartrending and painful falls far short of rendering justice to the narrative of this abused but resilient child.
Years later, now a mature woman attempting to make her way in this unjust and often cruel world, she is haunted by recurring nightmares and intrusive thoughts, signs of the horrid upbringing she has buried for the sake of sheer self-survival. In desperation she reaches out for help and is fortunate to find a competent and compassionate therapist. But understanding and healing comes with its own painful price. One can't help but applaud the author's courage in ripping off scabs and enduring the searing pain she surely felt while confronting the demons she had endured and harbored since infancy.
By her selfless act of courage in writing "The Remembered Self," M.J. Payne has left a legacy of healing and hope that others in similar ungodly situations might find even a small portion of solace. Highly recommended!
Available at: http://amzn.to/1OjLh8v
February 19, 2016
Flattering review for DEADLY DUNES!
Here's what Midwest Book Review had to say about Deadly Dunes:
Another deftly crafted mystery/suspense masterpiece from author E. Michael Helms, Deadly Dunes is the third title in his outstanding Mac McClellan Mystery series. Very highly recommended reading action/adventure mystery buffs, Deadly Dunes is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. Also very highly recommended are the two earlier titles in this superbly written series: Deadly Catch (9781616148676, $15.95 PB, $9.59 Kindle) and Deadly Ruse (9781616140090, $15.95 PB, $9.59 Kindle, 239 pp).
"deftly crafted...masterpiece" "outstanding...series" "Very highly recommended"
"enduringly popular addition" "superbly written series" -- WOW, I can feel my head expanding! Anybody know how the South American jungle tribes used to shrink those heads? I might just need a dose of that! Humble me.
Anyway, Deadly Dunes will be available in paperback and just about any ebook format you can imagine at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most other online book retailers. It should be available in brick and mortar stores, also. If not, ask your friendly bookstore person to order it and you'll have it in hand in a few days.
Available now for pre-order: http://amzn.to/20xI6Gt
Another deftly crafted mystery/suspense masterpiece from author E. Michael Helms, Deadly Dunes is the third title in his outstanding Mac McClellan Mystery series. Very highly recommended reading action/adventure mystery buffs, Deadly Dunes is certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library collections. Also very highly recommended are the two earlier titles in this superbly written series: Deadly Catch (9781616148676, $15.95 PB, $9.59 Kindle) and Deadly Ruse (9781616140090, $15.95 PB, $9.59 Kindle, 239 pp).
"deftly crafted...masterpiece" "outstanding...series" "Very highly recommended"
"enduringly popular addition" "superbly written series" -- WOW, I can feel my head expanding! Anybody know how the South American jungle tribes used to shrink those heads? I might just need a dose of that! Humble me.
Anyway, Deadly Dunes will be available in paperback and just about any ebook format you can imagine at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most other online book retailers. It should be available in brick and mortar stores, also. If not, ask your friendly bookstore person to order it and you'll have it in hand in a few days.
Available now for pre-order: http://amzn.to/20xI6Gt
January 12, 2016
$$$ WIN $500.00! $$$
A CHANCE TO WIN $500.00? YOU BET! CHECK IT OUT!
http://www.beccahamiltonbooks.com/giv...
DON'T MISS OUT!
http://www.beccahamiltonbooks.com/giv...
http://www.beccahamiltonbooks.com/giv...
DON'T MISS OUT!
http://www.beccahamiltonbooks.com/giv...
December 8, 2015
My Review: MURDOCK ROCKS SEDONA
Review: MURDOCK ROCKS SEDONA
Against the backdrop of beautiful Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona, author Robert J. Ray weaves a complex and compelling story of lust, greed, ambition, and revenge. Billionaire investor Axel Ackerman’s business partners are dropping like rocks—literally—to their untimely deaths. Ackerman hires Matt Murdock and partner Helene Steinbeck for a twenty-four hour bodyguard gig which soon morphs into a full-fledged investigation to find who’s behind the freefalls. Murder and mayhem abound, pushing Matt and Helene to their limit, while fascinating and sordid characters keep the reader guessing. Tighten those belts for the surprising conclusion to this rollicking ride through the red rocks of Sedona. Matt Murdock at his finest!
Order now! http://tinyurl.com/pnrjbq2
Against the backdrop of beautiful Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon, Arizona, author Robert J. Ray weaves a complex and compelling story of lust, greed, ambition, and revenge. Billionaire investor Axel Ackerman’s business partners are dropping like rocks—literally—to their untimely deaths. Ackerman hires Matt Murdock and partner Helene Steinbeck for a twenty-four hour bodyguard gig which soon morphs into a full-fledged investigation to find who’s behind the freefalls. Murder and mayhem abound, pushing Matt and Helene to their limit, while fascinating and sordid characters keep the reader guessing. Tighten those belts for the surprising conclusion to this rollicking ride through the red rocks of Sedona. Matt Murdock at his finest!
Order now! http://tinyurl.com/pnrjbq2
October 31, 2015
DEADLY DUNES available for pre-order!
DEADLY DUNES, the third book in the Mac McClellan Mystery series, is now available for pre-order at Amazon.
Hours after hiring Mac McClellan to investigate the supposed suicide of her archaeologist brother, single-mom Jessie dies in a car accident. Jessie had just showed Mac artifacts and a copy of a map Jake found, items that indicate Hernando de Soto and his explorers might have camped on Five Mile Island during the winter of 1539-1540. Studying the map, Mac determines the site lies in the middle of a planned resort, The Dunes. Declaring the area an historic site could shut the project down. Suspicions aroused, he forges ahead, even though he no longer has a paying client.
Everywhere Mac turns, greed abounds, and no one he interviews seems innocent, even Jessie's closest friends the Deckers, who have adopted her teenage daughter. Ron Decker's construction company is building the Dunes, and he is heavily invested in its success. Then there is the oily son and ex-stripper wife of an old curmudgeon who won't sell the one lot the project still needs to acquire. Jake's estranged wife Laurel had plenty to gain from his death, and as Mac continues to dig, he begins to wonder if Jessie herself had more at stake than he was led to believe.
No one is happy about Mac's persistence, and someone is unhappy enough to crash his truck and frame him for yet another murder. But Mac isn't giving up, no matter what the cost.
Book 3 in the Mac McClellan Mystery series.
Release date March 15, 2016. To visit the DEADLY DUNES page at Amazon, go to --> http://tinyurl.com/pmkqmsq
Hours after hiring Mac McClellan to investigate the supposed suicide of her archaeologist brother, single-mom Jessie dies in a car accident. Jessie had just showed Mac artifacts and a copy of a map Jake found, items that indicate Hernando de Soto and his explorers might have camped on Five Mile Island during the winter of 1539-1540. Studying the map, Mac determines the site lies in the middle of a planned resort, The Dunes. Declaring the area an historic site could shut the project down. Suspicions aroused, he forges ahead, even though he no longer has a paying client.
Everywhere Mac turns, greed abounds, and no one he interviews seems innocent, even Jessie's closest friends the Deckers, who have adopted her teenage daughter. Ron Decker's construction company is building the Dunes, and he is heavily invested in its success. Then there is the oily son and ex-stripper wife of an old curmudgeon who won't sell the one lot the project still needs to acquire. Jake's estranged wife Laurel had plenty to gain from his death, and as Mac continues to dig, he begins to wonder if Jessie herself had more at stake than he was led to believe.
No one is happy about Mac's persistence, and someone is unhappy enough to crash his truck and frame him for yet another murder. But Mac isn't giving up, no matter what the cost.
Book 3 in the Mac McClellan Mystery series.
Release date March 15, 2016. To visit the DEADLY DUNES page at Amazon, go to --> http://tinyurl.com/pmkqmsq
Michael's Musings
The giveaway for my Vietnam memoir, THE PROUD BASTARDS, ends on Halloween! If you'd like to add a signed copy to your Trick or Treat bag, then click on the book's thumbnail which will take you to the
...more
- E.Michael Helms's profile
- 291 followers
