Josh Lanyon's Blog, page 27

Author! Author! Jess Faraday

Jess Faraday when she's at 'omeGood morning! I haven't done one of my Author! Author! interviews in quite a while, so this morning I'm excited to put aside my banking woes and introduce you to a terrific author of historical mystery (and intrigue), Jess Faraday.

I first became aware of Jess when I read The Affair of the Porcelain Dog (Ira Adler #1) back in 2011. I was immediately struck by her attention to exquisite detail, the refreshing lack of 21st century values and attitudes, and her ability to create memorable, three-dimensional, as in really interesting characters. I was thrilled when Blind Eye Books announced she was doing a new series with them. That series is now the wonderful Simon Pearce Mysteries.

If you're a regular follower of the my blog, you know I like to ask the hard hitting questions of the day. NOT REALLY. I like to ask goofy questions along with the writing questions because, honestly, I think you get a better sense of the person behind the promo machine. ;-)

So without further adieu, Jess Faraday.

JL - Hi Jess! I'm so happy to have you on the blog this morning. Instead of the usual TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, I like to ask authors to describe themselves as if they were characters in a book--except the book is your life story. So give us the book jacket description of the enigmatic émigré Jess Faraday. ;-)



JF - Haha I always feel dorky when I talk about myself, 'cause I'm actually pretty boring. But here goes.

Jess Faraday grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and spent much of her adulthood in Los Angeles. She worked as a high school English teacher, a Russian translator, and a lexicographer before realizing that she always hurried through her work in order to have time to scribble stories at the end of the day. Her first novel, The Affair of the Porcelain Dog, was published in 2011, and she hasn't looked back.

She currently lives in Scotland with her family.

JL - I don't think that's so boring--I would kind of give my eye teeth to live in Scotland for a year--HOWEVER I'm disappointed you left out the meeting-a-handsome-and-dangerous-stranger-on-a- train part. But I understand. THEY MAY BE WATCHING. ;-)

What's the last piece of music you listened to? Did you sing along?



JF - The last piece of music I listened to was "Ca Plane Pour Moi" by Plastic Bertrand, which people will probably recognize from any number of commercials advertising products to Generation X. I didn't sing along, but I did dance along =)



JL - I love that. :-D So...why historicals? Why mysteries? Why historical mysteries?



JF - It sounds like a cliche, but I've always felt drawn to the 19th century, especially in Britain and the U.S. Writing about it gives me the chance to dwell there for a bit.

My first novel-length scribble was a swords and sorcery story. The problem is, I don't read a lot of S&S. It's not my thing. So that made the job harder, I think, because I hadn't absorbed fantasy authors' techniques and genre conventions like I would have, had I been an avid S&S reader. Mysteries came a lot easier, as I read a lot of them and learned by osmosis what readers and publishers are looking for in that kind of a story.

I also find it fascinating to think about how people went about the business of life, love, making a living, and so on, given different technologies and social systems. It's easy to think that people in the past weren't as intelligent or as reasonable as we are, but given the same knowledge bases, technologies, and cultural influences, I'm pretty sure a lot of "modern" people would do things in similar ways.


JL - That's such a great point. And honestly, I think historical fiction feels most real when the author is able to do what you do so well: capture that universality. That shared humanness. Next hard hitting question:  Moriarity versus Irene Adler. Who takes home the tiara? How about Irene Adler versus Ira Adler?

JF - I think Irene Adler is the more interesting character, at least in the original stories. She's complex and has backstory. Moriarty, on the other hand, is intelligent and evil, but there's not really a lot more character development beyond that. Perhaps that's why recent TV adaptations have tried to flesh that character out a bit more. Moriarty was Holmes's equal, but the only one who ever *truly* got one over on the Great Detective was a woman, and I love that.


JL - I love that too! So tell us, what do you love most about writing? What do you like least?



JF - Beginnings are the best! Bright, shiny new ideas and limitless possibilities!


The middle is the worst, because that's when I start to realize the limitations of the work, and of my ability to produce it.


JL - Oh my God. Truthiness. ;-D Then what do you think is the most important thing to remember when creating fully realized main characters?

JF - It's important to remember that we're all human underneath our layers of age, gender, sexuality, race, education, class, etc. Instead of writing a character like *you think* this kind of person would act, step into their skin as a human being, and try to honestly assess how *you* would react, given a different set of limitations and privileges. It's difficult, and you won't always succeed. But it's honest, and honesty is paramount.


Also, never, ever, EVER attempt to write in dialect unless it's *your* dialect. Just don't.


JL - Why, Miz Jess, I do declare! Have you ever broken a bone?



JF - Not one of my own!



JL - (Now I wish I'd put in a follow up question. :-D :-D :-D) I'm enjoying reading your blog on your adventures in Bonnie Scotland. What would you say was your biggest misconception of the, er, auld country before you arrived?


JF - Aside from a couple of wonderful visits many years ago, I hadn't really spent a lot of time in Scotland, though I had spent considerable time down south. I won't say I had things wrong, but there were some things that hadn't occurred to me.

First, just because Scotland is (currently) part of the UK doesn't mean that it's the same as England. Culturally, it's quite different. On top of that, there are a number of regional cultures that are equally Scottish, but different from one another. The different waves of people who settled here -- Celts, Vikings, Normans, English, etc. -- have all left impressions that we still feel today. There's a lot of ethnic diversity from waves of people from outside of Europe as well, though, at least in the cities people seem very well integrated and get on very well with one another.

Overall, I would describe people as more community-minded and inclusive than in other places I've lived. Folk are generally kind and helpful, and there's a real effort, systemically, to help people to become and stay involved in society if they want to be. Inclusion of LGBTQ+ folk and racial minorities is also front and center here. There is a strong government campaign promoting LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and racial and religious abuse are punishable by law.

Scotland is also very eco. Edinburgh gets its electricity from recycling food waste, for example. Scotland is also well ahead of the rest of the UK in becoming sustainably-powered and carbon neutral. And woe betide you if someone catches you littering!

On a lighter note, people really do wear kilts. It's mostly for special occasions, but I've also seen older gents walking around in their finery for no reason that I could discern, other than it pleased them to do so. And that makes every day a little brighter, IMO.

JL - I must concur. ;-) Anyway, I was reading an article about how women's sense of identity can be strongly tied to their hair (seriously, I read that) so much so that cutting their hair or drastically changing hair styles can be super stressful. When was the last time you drastically cut or changed your hair?


JF - Haha! About a month ago.

It wasn't intentional.

What I had envisioned was a chin-length angled bob with layers and stacked in the back. I explained this to the 16-year-old apprentice haircutter with the sleeve tattoos and shaved sides of his head. I showed pictures. To which he responded by saying, "You mean like mine?" "No," I said. "Nothing like yours." I showed him some more pictures. However, the idea must have stuck in his mind, because before I could say "Number 5 clipper head," he'd mohawked me on the left side. We both kind of sat there, horrified for a bit, until I said, "Perhaps you could leave it longer on the other side, so I'm not completely bald in the middle of winter." The poor kid glanced around to see if his boss was looking. For a moment I thought he might cry. Then I said, "It's all right. It's only hair. It grows back."  "Really?" he asked. "Really," I said.

JL - hahahahahahahahaaha

JF - In the end, I was mohawked on one side, with a big, layered flop on the other side, and half of a stack in back. It was *a bit* more daring than I would ever have attempted, but I kind of like it now.

I made sure to thank him in front of his boss and give him a tip. When it starts to go shaggy, I'm going back to do it again.


JL - Word to the wise. If your hair person ever says the words FIRE ENGINE RED to you, decline. FORCEFULLY. Like you, Jess, I also tipped GENEROUSLY for the assault. Which I suspect is another feminine trait.

What are you working on now?

JF - Right now I'm struggling with a novel that's a departure in a number of ways.

First, instead of a single first-person point of view, it's 3rd omniscient, with several main characters.

Also, there's an *actual* monster instead of a Scooby-doo type villain who's just after someone's money.

Finally, there are two romances -- a female couple and a male throuple. I've written m/m and f/f, but I've never done a three. It wasn't my intention going in, but sometimes characters *tell* you things. There's also a werewolf, but that isn't the real monster. Ugh.

I used to pretend I was an outliner, but this book has forced me to admit that I'm the pantsiest of pantsers. At least right now.


JL - Oh my gosh. These all sound right up my alley! But it is time now for another hard hitting question of the day. All time favorite dessert. Do you have the recipe?


JF - There was this little Italian restaurant in Pasadena that doesn't exist anymore. They used to serve a martini glass filled with booze-soaked dried fruit, topped with a very small amount of homemade vanilla ice cream that was so rich it was *this* close to being actual butter. That remains my all-time favorite dessert.


JL - Oh. My. Gah. YUM. Describe your writing process. 

JF - Initial rush of enthusiasm.

Scribble out an outline while finishing up the previous project.

Start the new project, realize the outline doesn't work, and pants it for a bit.

Get to about 10K and flail.

Try to outline again.

Rewrite the earlier stuff and flail some more.

Go out for a run.

Flail.

Maybe start training for a race.

Try the outline again. Flail. Curse my choice of profession.

Pants a bit more and realize this book is AWESOME

Realize it's doomed but try to outline the next section anyway.

Breakfast.


JL - LOL. Are you a full-time writer?


JF - Yes. I support myself as a web content writer and editor, while working on fiction as much as I can. It's all freelance, so I have quite a bit of latitude for scheduling.

Little known and highly depressing fact: viral web articles that you know you shouldn't click on but can't help clicking on anyway make literally five or more times more, per word, than painstakingly hand-crafted award-winning fiction. My highest-paid (per-word) piece of writing thus far was entitled "2018's Most Boopable Noses". I wish I was joking. It was a fun article to write, but I ask you.


JL - Yeah, I believe you. A life in the arts is not for the faint of heart. What's out next? Are we going to see more of Simon Pearce? Ira Adler?


JF - On March 10, all of the Simon Pearce stories that were released on KU are coming out in an omnibus in print and all e-book formats. The title is Shadow of Justice. I'd love to write more stories with these characters, but there's nothing contracted yet.

I kind of miss Ira, and have been fiddling with a novella-length book with him.

The next book after Shadow of Justice has the working title "The Fiend in the Fog," but I'm thinking about changing it. It's on schedule for 2021 from Bold Strokes Books. It looks like a monster story on the outside, but is actually about different kinds of relationships and coming to terms with one's own power and responsibility for it (oh GOD that sounds so pretentious. Sorry. But that's really what it's about.)

JL - Well, no, it kind of sounds like an updated approach to Frankenstein. It sounds fascinating. All these projects sound terrific.

Tell us something surprising. Anything. Go on. Surprise us!

JF -It is impossible to find decent Mexican food in Scotland. Either it's not decent, it's not Mexican, or it's not Food. You can get one, sometimes two, but never all three. Sometimes more than one of these is true. But they try, God bless 'em, they try. And they're not shy with the jalapenos, which *almost* makes up for it. On the other hand, fried halloumi seems to be most restaurants' favorite meat substitute, and how can you go wrong with that?

JL - Having been to Scotland, I can concur--and commiserate. Jess, thank you so much for stopping by the blog. Honestly, I'm a huge fan and wish you every success. Next time you're in LA, let me know, and we'll go find a decent Mexican restaurant. ;-)

Dear Bank of America: Why Bernie's Message Resonates

I don't typically go online to do my complaining about business transactions because nothing works perfectly all the time and I honestly don't expect that. I can put up with a few inconveniences or screw-ups. I AM A PATIENT PERSON. NORMALLY.

But we're not talking about apathetic customer service or Williams Sonoma sending the wrong cake. We're talking about hundreds of dollars of late fees and a damaged credit score.

So here's the story: once upon a time when I was in high school, my mom went with me to Bank of America to set up my very first checking account. And, of course, she had to co-sign for that account because SEE ABOVE: kid in high school (i.e., no money).

I think setting up the account was pretty much the first, last and only transaction my mother made, but who knows? Maybe she covered a bounced check or two when I was in college. I WAS NOT ALWAYS THE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE PERSON YOU SEE BEFORE YOU NOW. Anyway, she's had nothing as in NOTHING to do with the account for probably 40+ years. No debit card, no checks, no online ID, nothing. NADA. ZILCH.

But apparently, a while back, BofA sent out a notice asking her to update her info or...? Who knows. Her access to the account would be limited? Well, you would expect that, I guess, and it wouldn't be a problem for her since it's not her account. Anyway, she claims she never received the notice. Even if she did, I'm sure she would have had no idea what to do with it since it was referring to a bank account she wouldn't recognize.

Last night at 7:00ish PM I received an email telling me my scheduled payments had all been canceled. Then I received an email telling me my debit card had been canceled. Then I received an email telling me my Zelle account had been canceled. I didn't see any of this--and what would I have done anyway after hours?

This morning I went into B of A to pay some bills, and I noticed it was going to pull the money from my business account. UH NO. Paying personal bills with business funds is not okay. Nor is there enough money in that account to cover all these bills. So I kept trying to figure out what was going on, I pop over to my email and  BOOM. I see a long list of canceled transactions and the notice to call B of A if I believe there is a mistake.

Naturally, I believe there is a mistake.

I phone and learn--after waiting TWENTY MINUTES ON HOLD--that, yep, my account has been frozen, my bill pay has been wiped out completely, and no, I wouldn't be notified ahead of time--NO WARNING WHATSOEVER--because the communications only go to the person whose profile is under review. NOT THE PERSON WHO ACTUALLY USES THE ACCOUNT, WHOSE MONEY IS SITTING IN THE ACCOUNT, WHOSE NAME IS ON THE CHECKS AND DEBIT CARD AND PAYROLL.  NO TEXT, NO PHONE CALL, NO EMAIL to let me know what was happening with MY account and MY money.

Why in the name of heaven would the other person on the account--the person who actually uses the account, who is depositing money into the account, writing checks on the account, not be notified? No one could tell me. Or rather, COMPANY POLICY was the uncomfortable answer. But why would there be such an idiotic and illogical policy??? I'M SO SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE was the response because of course there's no good answer. This isn't a security precaution, it's not a safety precaution, it's completely illogical not to contact the person who will be affected and who could maybe even solve the problem.

So the second customer service rep says she can take the freeze off for 72 hours so that I can go in person to my bank and try to figure it out. Oh, but if I want to take my mom off the account, they'll have to close the account and open a new one. WHAT???? WHY????

Also she couldn't re-link my debit card to my account because my card was canceled. But she did think she had straightened out the bill pay situation, although I would have to go in and redo all those payments--now late--from scratch. And yeah, BofA was probably not going to cover all those late fees coz COMPANY POLICY, SORRY.

Except, I couldn't. When I went into the account, it was still pulling the money from the business account. So guess what that means? Let's say my mom WAS a bad guy. BofA JUST GAVE HER ACCESS TO MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT THROUGH THE PAY CENTER EVEN THOUGH SHE'S NEVER BEEN ON MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT. THAT 80 YEAR OLD FIEND COULD HAVE CLEANED OUT MY BUSINESS ACCOUNT,

But honestly, it's not funny. How is that even legal?

So I called BoA back and...yeah, whatever the last one did was wrong and the new one says he's fixed it but it's going to be 24 hours before anything takes effect, meanwhile, yeah, all the old info is gone and has to be redone, SORRY NOT SORRY COMPANY POLICY.

The moral of the story? I'm figuring out what to do with my SIX Bank of America accounts. Is it more trouble to update my mom's info and let her remain on the account OR should I move all the accounts elsewhere OR just some of the accounts? I don't want to reward BofA for horrible and irresponsible business practices (and lousy customer service) with my continued business but who the hell has time to deal with all this bullshit? Not me. Asking me to go in person to my bank to sort out a problem of BofA's manufacturing? Is adding insult to injury. Or vice versa. Anyway, this is why most of us ordinary folks--your customers, BofA--think you are out of control and need to be reined in. We feel we need to be protected against your irresponsible and indefensible COMPANY POLICIES, and if it's not  Bernie, it will be someone else because You're. Out of. Control.

New Release: MURDER AT PIRATE'S COVE

A funny thing happened on the way to writing Murder at Pirate's Cove, but that's a story for another day--and maybe even a writing book. Because, yes, this was a book written *cough* a long time ago and reshaped into something quite different, even worth (IMHO) worth reading.

I have a number of manuscripts like that which came to light when the SO was emptying out our old house. I think it's a sign of trust when you let another person--even your SO--sort through your old journals, manuscripts, love letters, etc. The most embarrassing part is seeing through his eyes the items I saw fit to keep for thirty years. WHY?

I must be more sentimental than I'm willing to acknowledge, although I did give him the okay to toss whatever seemed to need tossing. Manuscripts did not, in his opinion, meet that criteria, so I have been having to relive my junior writing efforts--not to mention my junior typing efforts.

Anyway, Murder at Pirate's Cove is now launched and sailing out upon the  dark and the rolling sea. In some ways rewriting is much, much harder than writing from scratch--and in other crucial ways, it's much easier, because you already did the initial thinking. The initial thinking--even when working from an outline--is what takes so much time. (That and trying to remember what everyone's eye color is and what they all drive and whether you saw fit to give someone a food allergy).

I kept worrying about the lack of romantic content in this, but I suddenly remembered how much romantic content is in Fatal Shadows.  It's nice writing a slow, quiet building of a relationship. Frankly, I really enjoyed the lack of...drama. The lack of angst. Now, it's only the first book, so there is drama and angst ahead, but my intention is for these books to be gentle stories. I mean, yes, of course murder abounds--and a bit of heartbreak too--but the point of a cozy is all's well that end's well.

I wouldn't ONLY want to write this kind of thing, but it's nice in between the more emotionally charged works.

Secret at Skull House comes out next month--in fact, I'm starting that one today (right after we rush to Costco to stock up on supplies--assuming the shelves are not already bare).

Meantime the book is still available at its preorder price

C'est la Vie!

If you've followed me for any length of time you know I have a complicated relationship with travel.

On the one hand, I love visiting new places, filling my brain with new sights and sounds and smells--having the opportunity to finally meet friends who live in far off places. Travel is one of the best things you can do for your writer self.

On the other hand, I get homesick. I miss my dogs and the SO. My flights are always--okay, frequently--delayed or cancelled, my luggage is inevitably lost, and I am always the person with the screaming child behind them or the sniffly and talkative weirdo beside them.

AND YET I KEEP SIGNING ON FOR TRIPS.

And I have done it again. I've agreed to appear at Salon du Livres this year in Paris.

LB Gregg and I are traveling together this time (so it will be a little better--what I hate most of all is traveling ALONE) and we are going to stay in the hotel I used for I Buried a Witch (I won't give the name, you'll have to guess which hotel I was talking about) so I'm really, really looking forward to all of that. I'll be hooking up with some of my Goodreads gang! That's going to be so fun.

And I've never been to France, although I am part French (my peoples are from the Alsace-Lorraine region), so that's exciting.

As you can see, I'm thrilled--and terrified.

Also I'm really worried about our newest little family member Spenser, because the SO is, well, he's not the mothering type. Let's put it that way. My littlest baby could be floating in the pool and the SO probably wouldn't notice for a day or two. :-(

Anyway.

(Dark thoughts for a bright and sunny morning.)

I am going to Paris and that is exciting. CAN U SEE MY EXCITEMENT??? In the meantime I have a book to finish, a book to start, and a nervous breakdown to schedule in between. ;-)

If by some rare chance you will ALSO be in Paris the week of Salon du Livres, my signing schedule is as follows...

Friday March 20 : 3h30-4h25pm
Saturday March 21 : 1h30-2h25pm
Sunday March 22 : 10h30-11h25 am

Stop by and say bonjour!

SNEAK PEEK: MURDER AT PIRATE'S COVE

It's been awhile since I did straight up cozy mystery. So this is quite an interesting creative experiment.

The thing about cozies...it's not just the no onscreen violence and sex. It's the whole tone. The whole attitude. The point of cozies is...COZINESS.

The rule about NEVER KILL A CAT? That came from the world of cozy mystery.  And the sacrosanctness of kitty-cat life--it's not just symbolic. It's fundamental. There is a reason there is no cursing in the world of cozy mystery. WHAT IS THERE TO CURSE ABOUT (unless you're a villain) WHEN YOU KNOW YOUR CAT (AND DOG--AND THEREFORE, NATURALLY, YOUR CHILD AND MOTHER AND BOYFRIEND) IS SAFE.

The point of the cozy mystery is a story where even murder can fray, but not really tear the fabric of society. Which is certainly a comforting thought. And sometimes you need those comforting thoughts.

Anyway, a sneak peek at MURDER AT PIRATE'S COVE, first book in the Secrets and Scrabble series.

BLURB:

First in an adorable new series!
Ellery Page, aspiring screenwriter, Scrabble champion and guy-with-worst-luck-in-the-world-when-it-comes-to-dating, is ready to make a change. So when he learns he's inherited both a failing bookshop and a falling-down mansion in the quaint seaside village of Pirate's Cove in Rhode Island, it's full steam ahead!
Sure enough, the village is charming, its residents amusingly eccentric, and widowed police chief Jack Carson is decidedly yummy (though possibly as straight as he is stern). However, the bookstore is failing, the mansion is falling down, and there's that little drawback of finding rival bookseller—and head of the unwelcoming-committee—Trevor Maples dead during the annual Buccaneer Days celebration.
EXCERPT:
Ellery was quickly getting over his slight and very brief interest in Chief Carson. Chief Carson had turned out to be an insensitive, unimaginative jerk.
Anyway. It had been several hours since Ellery had first crept into The Crow’s Nest store and found Trevor Maples clad in pirate’s costume dead on his floor. Chief Carson had been first on the scene, but to Ellery’s relief, the chief was not the only law enforcement officer in Pirate’s Cove. He actually had a couple of officers in his teeny tiny police department—and the full resources of the Rhode Island State Police. In fact, Ellery had sort of assumed the State Police would take over the investigation, but no. It seemed that at least for now, Chief Carson was still in charge.
And covering the same ground over and over. For example, this was the second time they’d been over the subject of how and why Trevor had decided to turn up dead in Ellery’s bookshop. What else was there to say beyond I. Don’t. Know?
Of course, murder had to be a new experience for the chief too. The nearest thing to crime Pirate’s Cove experienced was a bit of drunk and disorderly on the weekends. Maybe Carson was also feeling defensive. Maybe he was worried the State Police were going to take away his first and only murder case.
“When was the last time you spoke to Maples?” Carson asked. This too was not a new question. Did he think if he changed his wording, he might get a different answer?
“I told you,” Ellery replied. “This afternoon. He offered to buy The Crow’s Nest again. He told me I could name my price—within reason.”
Were Carson’s eyes more green than blue? It was hard to tell. The only thing for sure was they were as bright and hard as sea glass. “And what was your price?”
“I told him I didn’t want to sell.”
The dark and forbidding line of Carson’s brows rose skeptically. “And did he buy that?”
Ellery was momentarily confused. “Did he—?”
Carson said with a trace of impatience, “Did he accept your refusal?”
“Oh. No. I don’t know. I think he thought I was still negotiating for a better price.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
“No?” Carson didn’t bother trying to hide his disbelief.
Ellery shook his head. “I like it here. I told him that. I wouldn’t be going to all this trouble of renovating the shop if my plan was just to sell.”
Carson looked taken aback. Or at least as taken aback as someone like he could look. “You’re planning to stay in Pirate’s Cove?”
“Well, yes. That was the idea. That was my great-aunt’s idea.”
Brow furrowed, Carson jotted down a couple of notes in a small black book. He had long fingers. His hands were tanned and strong but the nails were neatly trimmed and filed. Not exactly conclusive proof, but…  The scratching of his pencil was the only sound filling the void of silence stretching between them.
Ellery watched uneasily. His mind was racing. Carson couldn’t think he’d done it. Could he?  That was preposterous. And yet, there was something going on here, something in Carson’s attitude that made Ellery nervous. What was it that Carson knew and Ellery didn’t?
“How’s the shop doing?” Carson asked, without looking up from his notes.
Ellery shrugged.
Carson raised his head. “Could you be more specific?”
“From what everyone tells me, this is the slow season.”
Carson’s mouth curved without humor. “But you’re turning a profit?”
“No.”
“You’re breaking even?”
Ellery grimaced. “No.”
“You’re losing money.” It was not a question.
Why was Carson hammering away on this point? Ellery said cautiously, “The renovations cost money, but that’s to be expected.”
Carson pushed back in his chair, said almost conversationally, “I remember your aunt. She was quite a character. And not one to beat about the bush. According to her, The Crow’s Nest had been running in the red for some time. The last time I spoke to her, she was weighing whether to sell up or close the doors for good.”
Ellery’s sinking confidence sprang another leek.
“Was she going to sell to Trevor Maples?”
“You tell me.”
Ellery stared into Chief Carson’s eyes. He could see Carson wanted to get his reaction, so okay. His reaction was confusion and guilt. If Aunt Eudora really had agreed to sell to Trevor, Trevor’s persistence made more sense.
“All I know is my great-aunt left the bookstore and her house to me, and I’m doing my best to turn things around. The business is doing as expected for this time of year. If there was an agreement with Trevor, I’m unaware of it. And Mr. Landry, Aunt Eudora’s lawyer, was unaware of it.”
Chief Carson nodded, made another note. “How would you describe your relationship with Mr. Maples?”
Trevor had been telling the truth the whole time. No wonder he had been so impatient and exasperated with Ellery’s decision to stay in Pirate’s Cove. Especially when it was probably obvious that Ellery had no more chance of making The Crow’s Nest a success than Aunt Eudora had. 
“Mr. Page?” Chief Carson’s voice broke through Ellery’s reverie. He stared at the chief. Carson was tall and lean. He had an athletic build, but he didn’t tower, he wasn’t physically imposing. So why did it feel like he was taking up all the space in the small office?
“What?”
 “Tell me about your relationship with Mr. Maples.”
“There was no relationship. He wanted to buy the bookstore. I didn’t want to sell. He wasn’t used to being told no.” Ellery shrugged.
“It’s fair to say the relationship was contentious?”
“I don’t know that it’s fair to say that. It’s not like we exchanged words.” Actually, yes, today’s encounter probably qualified as exchanging words. Both he and Trevor had been testy, and toward the end, Trevor had bordered on threatening. Ellery revised, “It’s not like we came to blows.”
“How many times would you say you and Maples argued?”
Meeting Carson’s cool and steady gaze, Ellery felt the hair on his scalp prickle with unease. “I’m not sure where you’re going with this, Chief, but you saw me in the Salty Dog this evening. I have an alibi. You can confirm my alibi. Right?”
“I saw you in the Salty Dog around eight o’clock this evening. You were there for about forty-five minutes,” Carson agreed. “The ME’s preliminary examination puts Maples’ time of death between five and seven p.m. So as alibis go…”
Ellery could think of nothing to say. Should he keep quiet? Should he keep trying to explain? What was the real-life protocol? He had nothing to hide, and yet it was increasingly clear that Carson believed he was somehow involved.


PRE-ORDER AT THE DISCOUNTED PRICE OF $3.99

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am an inveterate reader of women's magazines--I make no apologies for that--and I notice that there are many many articles now days about how Valentine's Day has become some dreadful thing that leaves people wounded and wanting.

I think some of these wounds are self-inflicted, but okay. Back when I was single and emotionally restless, Valentine's Day was generally stressful. There were years I received gifts from multiple romantic interests (none of whom I actually loved) and there were years I felt invisible and uncherished by everyone but my family and dog (the funny thing is those years were not as stressful as the others!).

Before I met the SO I went through a period where I basically swept all emotional entanglements from my life and took a break from romance. I did a huge amount of writing during that period--in fact, a lot of the stories I started back then ended up being books I later sold (including the first two Adrien English novels, The Ghost Wore Yellow Socks, and I Spy Something Bloody). Anyway, that was one of the happiest Valentine's Day of my entire existence. I didn't care that there were no lavish bouquets arriving for me at work for everyone to see. I didn't care that I wasn't going to get dressed up and go to an expensive restaurant. I rented (yes, physically walked into a video rental store--we did not have streaming in days of yore) a couple of classic film noir films I had been wanting to see, made a super nice meal for myself (it was the first time I ever cooked a lobster tail), bought a nice bottle of wine and had a quiet, relaxing and very satisfying evening on my own. I believe I may have ended the night with a third glass of wine and a bubble bath.

A couple of years later I met the SO and that was that. GOODBYE SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH. Kidding of course. But I kind of think that there was a connection between not actively wanting anyone in my life and finding the person I was going to spend a huge chunk of that same life with.

So if I was going to give advice to someone secretly fretting about the state of their Valentine's Day, it would simply be to say that there's a difference between being alone and being lonely, but if you are lonely, it's still better to be lonely on your own than lonely with the wrong person. There's nothing lonelier than that.

ALSO, love will slow you down. Not that I regret love--there's much to be said for loving and being loved--but you can get a lot more writing done when you're single. ;-)

THE DANGEROUS GROUND SERIES playlist

The thing about playlists is I usually devise a playlist based on what I think I know about the story I'm going to write. But that story inevitably changes through the very writing of it--that's the creative process--and when I get to the final stage of editing a book, sometimes the playlist begins to feel like...WHAAAAA?!

So there's often a final, revised playlist. But in this case, as I look over the entire series, these are the songs that have always felt like Will and Taylor to me. I mean, even to the point that if I hear them somewhere, I think about Will and Taylor. :-D That's how real characters become to the author.  I should say some characters--mostly series characters--because there are plenty of books where I wasn't moved to write a playlist or one particular song was all that really resonated.

Anyway, if I look all the previous playlists for the Dangerous Ground series, these are the songs that really stayed with me.

So for your listening enjoyment...

The Quintessential Dangerous Ground Playlist
Gotta Be Tonight - LifehouseEver the Same - Rob ThomasBoom Boom - The AnimalsDrive - The CarsHalfway Gone - LifehouseRenegades - X AmbassadorsScar that Never Heals - Jeremy FisherWhere I Come From - LifehouseA Fire is Burning - OysterbandLet's Go to War - DramaStarlight - MuseChasing Cars - Snow PatrolCrash and Burn - LifehouseLove Runs Out - One RepublicHistory - One DirectionRunaway Train - Soul AsylumFrom Where You Are - LifehouseYou Got Something I Need - One RepublicLong May You Run - Emmy Lou Harris

New Release: BLIND SIDE (Dangerous Ground 6)

cover by Ron PerryYes. FINALLY. The last chapter in the Dangerous Ground series is out!

As I posted elsewhere, winding up a series is kind of a mixed bag. In this case, there's a considerable sigh of relief. I DID IT! But it's also bittersweet because I love Will and Taylor and because Dangerous Ground was/is my second oldest series. The first book came out in 2008 through Loose Id. (Remember that one -- I think it was the first time we--YOU--crashed the LI site) :-D

There's also a fair bit of pressure in winding up a series. Especially such an old series where readers have had way too much time to think about the various final scenarios they want. Main plot lines have to be wound up, but yet there has to be a sense that life goes on for these people. You don't want that feeling of fictional characters who end when the final page of a book is turned. Even though, ahem, these are fictional characters who...well, I won't say end, but who are marking time until the next Christmas coda.

**NOTE: If you purchased through Amazon, but haven't authorized your account to automatically update, there's a possibility you don't have the latest updated version. The final version of the novella has an epilogue. So if you don't have an epilogue, you'll want to go into your kindle account and click the update button. 



BLURB:

It’s a good problem to have: more business than they can comfortably handle on their own.But with resources already overstretched, the last thing former DSS agents and newbie security consultants Will Brandt and Taylor MacAllister need is another client—and the last thing Will needs is for that client to turn out to be an old boyfriend of Taylor’s.
Sure, Will has always known Taylor had a wild past, but he was kind of hoping he’d never have to sit down and have a beer with it. But golden boy Ashe Dekker believes someone is trying to kill him, and Taylor is determined to help, no matter the cost.
It’s a bit of a jolt to have Taylor for once totally disregard his feelings, but Will is equally determined that “the cost” won’t be their relationship—or Taylor’s life.


EXCERPT

They went through the reception area door, crossed the hall, navigating ladders and cans of paint, and stepped into the boudoir-pink room that would ultimately be Will’s office. Their building space had previously belonged to a bridal shop, and the walls were painted in delicate shades of peach and pink. Pastel wallpaper borders featured parasols (why parasols?) and wedding cakes and lovebirds nibbling gold bands. None of which projected the appropriate YOUR SAFETY IS IN OUR HANDS! vibe—or even, in Will’s view, a reassuring preview of marriage.
They were hoping to have the renovations finished before the end of the year, but the holidays turned out to be an unexpectedly busy time for contractors. Most of the work at American Eagle was having to be done after-hours—and at a premium price.
Will closed the door to his office. He kept his voice low. “Okay, listen. Dekker is a friend, and I understand that you want to help him, but this is clearly a case for the sheriffs.”
“Sure,” Taylor replied. “That doesn’t mean we can’t take a look around, ask a few questions.”
Will didn’t trust that reasonable tone. “Yes. If that’s all you’re talking about. Because we’ve got to be realistic. You know as well as I do, we’re not in a position to take on another client.”
Taylor shrugged dismissively. “If you don’t want to take Ashe on as a client, that’s okay with me. I wasn’t planning on billing him. I’ll handle this as a favor. In my spare time.”
This was exactly what Will had feared. Taylor had not only already made his mind up, he was busily working out the details before they could even finish identifying what those details might be.
He tried very hard to keep his exasperation from showing. “Whatspare time? You don’t have spare time. Neither of us do.”
“What’s your point, Will?” Taylor rested his hand on his canted hip, and studied him with cool, green eyes.
That—in fairness, unconsciously—cocky posture, that skeptical really? stare, were the reason so many people longed to punch Taylor five seconds after meeting him. It wasn’t really who Taylor was. Or rather, yeah, the confidence, the cynicism, were facets of his personality, but not the main facets, and not traits he typically turned on Will.
Obviously, this was a unique case, and Will needed to respect that. Which he was trying to do.He said, “All I’m saying is, doesn’t it make more sense—isn’t it better for all of us—if we direct Dekker back to the sheriff’s department? And if you don’t feel like that’s enough, we can refer him to another—”
Taylor cut him off. “Uh-uh. We’re not referring him anywhere. Ashe came to me.”
“I know that. That’s why I’m saying—”
“I gave Ashe my word that if he ever needed help, I’d be there. I didn’t say, if you ever need help, I can refer you to someone. I promised I’d be there for him.”
“I get that.” Will did. It would be unreasonable to be irritated with Taylor for making those kinds of promises years before they’d ever met. He wasn’t irritated, and he definitely wasn’t jealous—he didn’t think—but Christ, Taylor could be so bullheaded.
“Do you?” There it was. That hint of cynical smile. “Because that’s not what I’m hearing.”
“What you’re hearing is me trying to work out what’s going to be best for all of us. We’re not bodyguards—”
“We’ve handled plenty of protection details, so don’t give me that. What’s your real beef?”
“My real beef is not two hours ago we landed the kind of job we’ve been hunting since we left the DS, and we both know we don’t actually have the manpower to carry it off.”
“So we’re going to be stretched thin. We should be used to that by now.”
“So, taking on another job—one that’s liable to be as time-consuming and distracting as this one original cover by LC Chasesounds—is not smart.” He shook his head.

“It’ll take a day. Two at most.”
“You’re dreaming.”
“The hell. You think I can’t handle tracking down this Zamarion guy?”
“Of course I don’t think that. But come on, you know what this is going to be. Chasing smoke in the wind.”
“I know.”
“Then you admit it’s not an efficient use of our resources.”
Taylor opened his mouth, and Will added, “And while we’re on the topic of resources, I thought you were frantic to pay Richard back? Just this morning you said again how much you didn’t want to be in debt to him. Which is all the more reason not to take on a pro-bono gig that’s liable to jeopardize the first job we’ve had that might allow us to start paying off that debt.”
Everything Will was saying was true, so it was maddening to have Taylor keep looking at him with that skeptical expression like…what? What did think was really motivating Will?

“I see,” Taylor drawled. “If David Bradley came to us for help, you’d just give him the name of a good local firm and send him on his way?”

You can buy the book:
Amazon

B&N
Kobo
Google Play
iBooks (February 8)
Smashwords 

BLIND SIDE playlist.2

I did have a previous playlist for Blind Side, but it's kind of weird how you pick songs based on the story you think you're going to write, but very often that story changes within the very process of writing it.

So the final playlist actually turned out to be something more like this...

Hello Hurricane - SwitchfootI Won't Back Down - Tom PettyRenegades - X-Ambassadors It is What it Is - LifehouseRunning Down a Dream - Tom PettyIf You're Gone - Matchbox 20Let's Go to War - Nothing MoreHistory - One DirectionTrying Not to Love You - NicklebackHurricane - LifehouseSomewhere Over the Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole
So a lot stayed the same, but key things changed.

Here's What's Coming in 2020!

He's very little and very loud
I'm sort of off my stride after the disconcerting and abrupt end to 2019. I had plans, big plans, and then I got sick and then I got a new puppy and then the puppy ate my homework...

Have you seen my puppy???



Anyway, I'm still trying to figure out what I need to have happen in 2020. I need to be healthier for sure. I need more exercise, I need to eat right, I need to schedule my books more realistically, and I need to take time to rest and relax between projects.

ANY IDEA HOW TO DO THAT? ASKING FOR A FRIEND.

So as I look over my sales for last year--and I think sales (take home pay) is the only real indicator if you're on the right track**--my overall numbers are up. Amazon is up by over 2K, which...I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's reversing a two-year trend of staying flat--and the previous two year trend dipping down (9K in 2015 and another 6K in 2016) Basically I'm earning about 3K more than I did in 2013) which is...probably confusing. I hate math. On the bright side, my wide sales are way up--but a lot of that was based on translations and mobile games and stuff, and those aren't regular or reliable earnings.

Well, in fact, nothing in this game is regular or reliable. ;-)

What I'm trying to say is 2019 was an improvement and I need to do more of whatever I did, which was basically write more books.

My goal is to publish a book a month. Which is fine and dandy, and I hope that happens, but...

Anyway, there are a whole host of books that should be written this year, but because I don't think it's a great idea to start the year out feeling overwhelmed, I'm only looking at the first six months.

So first, Blind Side at the end of January. This novella--they were all novellas, so I don't want to hear bitching about book length--is the final chapter in the series. I love Will and Taylor, and I want to go out on a high note. The books were always fun and action-packed and a little bit of a Very Special Episode feel, and I want to carry that right through to the end.

It's a good problem to have: more business than they can comfortably handle on their own.
But with resources already overstretched, the last thing former DSS Agents and newbie security consultants Will Brandt and Taylor MacAllister need is another client--and the last thing Will needs is for that client to turn out to be an old boyfriend of Taylor's.
Sure, Will has always known Taylor had a wild past, but he was kind of hoping he'd never have to sit down and have a beer with it. But golden boy Ashe Dekker believes someone is trying to kill him, and Taylor is determined to help, no matter what the cost.

It's a little bit of a jolt to have Taylor for once totally disregard his feelings, but Will is equally determined that "the cost" won't be their relationship--or Taylor's life.
I do believe ending the series is the right call because the preorders on this one are lower than any of the other preorders, barring Haunted Heart: Spring. You--me--have to be pragmatic about these things. In other words, in order to earn a living I have to mostly write what people seem most interested in reading.

Oh! Adrian Bisson is back to narrate the audio. :-)

Then in February comes Murder in Pirate's Cove, which is the first book in a new gay cozy mystery series. I come from a mainstream cozy background, so I'm on familiar ground here--but is the m/m audience? That's what's going to be interesting with this experiment. And it is an experiment in that it's the first new release that I'm going to put immediately into Kindle Unlimited.

Please note: if you do not buy through Amazon, preorder this book now. It's listed at a reduced price--which will change once the book goes into Kindle Unlimited, which is going to be within a week of going live. Preorder and you can get it for less and you won't have to be irritated about the fact that the series is not going to be wide for a while.  

In March comes Secret at Skull House, the next book in the Secrets and Scrabble series, and it's the exact same deal. Buy the book now at the reduced price or forever hold your peace.

Also in March, I'll be attending Livre Paris.  That's going to be exciting--I've never been to France! I do have relatives there, but I don't think I'm going to try to look them up. Anyway, if you're going to the "most popular book event in France," I hope you'll drop by to say bonjour!

MEANWHILE in other news, it's the 20th Anniversary of The Adrien English Mysteries and I've put the whole series into Kindle Unlimited.

AND over on Patreon, I've started Hide and Seek, an exclusive-to-Patreon novel.

For museum curator Andrew Allison, the sleepy little village of Safehaven Harbor in Maine has always lived up to its name—until now. Fleeing an abusive relationship, Andy has returned to Safehaven for a few weeks while he figures out the future and helps his elderly Uncle Cuthbert run his antiques shop. But when Andy arrives, he learns Uncle Cuthbert is in the hospital, critically injured, the victim of a late-night break-in.
Worse, the first message on the shop answering machine is from Marcus, Andy's ex, demanding to know Andy's whereabouts.
Nor does the bad news stop there. It seems whoever broke into Second Chance Heirlooms is still looking for that mysterious whatever. Something they didn't find the first time. Something they now believe Andy has.
Something worth killing for?
The good news is former bad boy Quinn Rafferty, Andy's high school crush, is back in town and apparently interested in renewing their acquaintanceship.
Quinn is not a man to run from things that go bump in the night, be they mysterious midnight prowlers or a relationship-shy fish-out-of-water museum curator.
But Quinn has a few secrets of his own…
OF COURSE HE DOES!
Then in April comes Bell, Book and Scandal. This book will conclude the original three-book story arc, however, given that there's still so much to explore with these characters and this world--not to mention that this was my best selling series in 2019 (!?!?) I've decided to continue with the characters and their wacky, witchy world.
Also in April, I hope (you can see why I'm starting to get nervous) comes Haunted Heart: Spring. I'm honestly not sure if this book will conclude the storyline or not. I won't know until I'm deep into the writing. 
THEN I'm taking a break and switching over to a long-postponed non-fiction project called Mr. and Mrs. Murder. That's going to take at least a couple of months, so there probably will not be anything out from me...maybe the third book in the Secrets and Scandal series. I'm just not sure.
So that then leaves The Movie-Town Murders (the probably final Art of Murder book) and The 12.2 Percent Solution (the definitely final Holmes & Moriarity). I want those out before the end of the year, but things have a way of changing and right now I just can't seem to see that far ahead. I want to get through these immediate jumps first before I make any other commitments. But yeah, those books are supposed to happen this year, and I assume they will if I can stay healthy and focused.
Anyway, that's the plan for 2020! SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Whew. I think I need to lie down and have a rest now. ;-) 










**Actually, the only REAL indicator of whether you're on the right track is how happy you are. Are you happy most of the time? Then you're successful.