Randy Overbeck's Blog, page 3

Let's Save Ten Children

Did you know, in the time it takes you to read these few words, ten more children have been sucked into the ugly world of human trafficking? Ten more children are lured off the street, snatched from shelters and stolen from families to serve as sex slaves or worse…in just five minutes! That’s almost 3000 every day, nearly 90,000 each month and an astounding ONE MILLION CHILDREN every year worldwide. Although many are trafficked from Central and South America and Eastern Europe, girls—and they are mostly girls—have been snatched from every state in the union.

But perhaps the greatest injustice is the fact that these horrendous crimes receive so little coverage in most media outlets. And the crazy conspiracy theory about some weird, leftish baby-smuggling ring only serves to divert attention to the very real trafficking networks. Of course, the arrest and suicide of Jeffrey Epstein and the conviction of his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, helped to shed some light on a small portion of this problem the past two years, but even for these high profile cases, the public’s attention is short-lived.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month, designed to raise people’s awareness, so I thought I’d shed a little light as well. In the second entry of my Haunted Shores Mysteries series, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY (2020), the mystery of a murdered bride is entwined with the much greater crime of human trafficking. It is the story of the heartbreak of two families, one whose daughter was murdered on her wedding night and a second, a teenager, who goes missing without a word, sucked into the ugly world of human trafficking.

I chose to set the novel in the quaint town of Cape May, with its remarkable collection of colorful Victorian architecture and a world famous beach.

The beauty and charm of this town created the perfect contrast for the world of human trafficking that operates not that far beyond the city limits. Cape May is located at the end of the Garden State Parkway which is connected to the New Jersey Turnpike and the Pennsylvania Turnpike and close to the I-95 corridor. And where our nation’s freight is moved is where the networks of human traffickers flourish.

I ’m thrilled to share CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY has done quite well, garnering three national awards and even achieving bestseller status this fall. I’m pleased not only because so many have enjoyed my words, but because readers of the novel have perhaps become a little more aware of the scourge of human trafficking and the real toll it can have on families.

This month would be an excellent opportunity to increase your own awareness of this issue and what you can do about it, even in your neck of the woods. Here is a link to a piece on human trafficking and what you can do to help stop this scourge. https://nationaltoday.com/national-human-trafficking-awareness-day/

If you haven’t had a chance to check out my award-winning ghost story/mystery, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY—which also highlights the issue of human trafficking—here’s a link with details. https://www.amazon.com/Crimson-Cape-Haunted-Shores-Mysteries/dp/1509231633/ref=sr_

Whatever else you do this first month of the year, consider those less fortunate, say a prayer for the children caught in human trafficking and educate yourself. It will be time well spent.

CHRISTMAS The Season of Giving

As an author, I’m lucky this Christmastime to be able to count a good many blessings. This year both BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE and CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY achieved bestseller status on Amazon and B & N in 2021!. And all three books in the Haunted Shores Mysteries series earned national awards—Gold Award (Literary Titan) Mystery of the Year (ReaderViews) and Crowned Heart of Excellence (InD’tale Magazine).

But Christmas is a time for giving, and I decided again to devote my December blog to offering a few examples of organizations truly worthy of my and your giving.

If you’re like me, you’ve received urgent pleas and requests in the daily mail from needy groups such as Boys Town or St. Jude’s Hospital or Habitat for Humanity. In fact, the pandemic has left so many of these organizations hurting and desperate, opening their mail to read their entreaties can become an angst-ridden affair for me. But I believe giving is important…and not just gifts to our family and friends. Giving says something about our soul and our heart, especially at Christmas.

But how to decide which groups deserve our support?

Like last year, I have a few recommendations.

2020, with the full onslaught of the pandemic, became the year from hell, the year we had to distance ourselves from neighbors, family and friends—for fear of dying. The stress and anxiety of that year was unlike anything I can remember.

But 2021 has struggled to outdo its predecessor. 2021 has been an unprecedented year of natural disasters and destruction for the US…and the world. In addition to the ravages of the mutating Coronavirus—800 hundred million deaths at last count!—this year we set a record for one of the worst years of wildfires in western North America. As a result of the years-long drought, thousands of horrific and huge fires raged across western US and Canada. As of December 7, the National Interagency Fire Center recorded an astounding 53,340 fires in the west, consuming more than 6.8 million acres for 2021, leaving thousands of families homeless and destitute.

2021 also brought a record storm and hurricane season to the US. The year brought twenty one named storms including seven hurricanes and four major hurricanes—Elsa which struck the Caribbean and Georgia, Grace which hit the Caribbean and Haiti (two days after a major earthquake!), Ida whose path included Cuba, Louisiana and New York City—and drowned people there in their basements—and Larry which took aim at Nova Scotia and Greenland. Combined together, these storms wreaked destruction of over $70.5 billion in property damage, the fourth worst in history.

Then, as I was penning these words this week, a wave of December tornadoes struck the Midwest, leaving death and destruction in their path across Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky. The National Weather Service believes this week’s fury was the single, deadliest tornado outbreak in US history. And the fact that the destruction hit so close to home made it more real, more personal.

Several times over the past year it’s appeared as if Mother Nature was boiling over with anger…and we were feeling her wrath.

Because of all these disasters, the organizations which are devoted to stepping in and helping those affected put their lives back together have been stretched thin over the past twelve months. In having to respond to so many disasters and crises, their resources have been depleted far faster than they can be replenished. I’m recommending three groups which have strong records and great need.

My first recommendation is the Red Cross. They are often the first line of defense for towns and people struggling to recover from disasters. In a typical year, the Red Cross responds to 64,000 disasters from home fires to the horrendous tornado that struck Mayfield, Kentucky. And 2021 has been anything but a typical year. In fact, the Red Cross responds to a new crisis across the country every eight minutes! And 95% of Red Cross disaster relief workers are volunteers, so you know your donation goes to provide much needed supplies for those struggling through some crisis.

My second suggestion is actually a repeat from last year—the Salvation Army. In addition to the myriad of other services they offer—job training and rehabilitation, homeless shelters, food pantries, veteran services, to name a few—the Salvation Army provides help, support and hope to 800,000 victims of disaster each year. Last year my recommendation stemmed largely from the fact the Salvation Army has one of the best records of all charities for making sure the money donated actually gets to those in need—a remarkable 95 cents out of every dollar. They made my list this year because of their unselfish work with those suffering through disasters and deserve our support.

My third recommendation is more Biblically minded. If you favor supporting religious organizations devoted to helping those in trouble, there are several to choose from but Matthew 25 Ministries is usually near the top of the list. This religious non-profit offers humanitarian aid and disaster relief to individuals, families and entire towns struggling through natural crises. When our local news organizations covered this past week’s tornadoes, the journalists featured a group of volunteers of the local chapter of Matthew 25 Ministries heading out with a truck full of supplies for those in trouble. Donors can be sure that money sent sent to this organization will find their way to where the need is greatest.

More information and details on the disaster relief work provided by these organizations can be found at the websites—as well as a link to donate. That’s how I did it. Of course, these are not the only groups working to support and aid those suffering through natural disasters, but I feel confident any money donated to any of these organization will be buying blankets or bottled water or canned food for families at the lowest time in their lives.

I truly respect those who are able to lend their hands and backs and shoulders to helping others clean up, rebuild and patch their lives back together. Since I’m not able to do that, I’m going to do what I can with a check instead.

On behalf of these and other worthy causes, thanks for your donations and support…and thanks for keeping Christmas “the giving season.”

A SPECIAL THANKSGIVING MESSAGE

This month I lost a long-time friend to this horrid virus. He wasn’t vaccinated, came down with “a cold” mid-October and a few weeks later he passed.

I know this may seem like a strange way to start a Thanksgiving message, but the death of someone I’ve known for more than 55 years weighs heavy on my thoughts today. And reminds me of how much I have to be thankful for. So I thought I’d used this space to share just three things I’m especially thankful for this year…and then I’d like to invite you to share as well.

1) When you’re young, you take so much for granted, not the least of which is tomorrow. The young tend to think they are invincible and even immortal. I know I did. But as you pile up the years, your perspective certainly alters. You lose friends and family and come to realize how fragile life can be. And the past twenty months have demonstrated way too well this fragility of life.

This year has taught me not to take life and health for granted. I’m especially thankful Cathy and I are in fairly good health. Oh, we have the wear and tear of more than a few years on us—and the scars to show it—but overall our health is good and for that, I am truly grateful. When I rise each morning, I try to remember the saying of the nonagenarian (that means 90+ year old) George Burns: “Every day I wake up on this side of the turf is a good day.”

2) This Thanksgiving, as we gathers round the dinner table, my next expression of thanks will be for my family, both immediate and extended.

2021 marks a remarkable 49 years of marriage to my high school sweetheart, Cathy! That alone is hard to wrap my mind around. And we’ve been blessed with three wonderful children who found caring spouses and, best of all, have given us seven incredible grandchildren. I’m grateful for my extended family as well. I’m one of seven brothers who, even though we are scattered across the states, stay in touch and still gather to share a few moments together.

3) 2021 has been a very good year for my writing. I would be remiss if I didn’t add my thanks to readers and reviewers who have been so enthusiastic about my novels. Their responses to all three of my Haunted Shores Mysteries—six national awards so far and scores of five-star reviews—have been truly gratifying.

Of course, I’m never going to post the numbers of a John Grisham or a Stephanie Evanovich—I’d need the power of a major publisher to accomplish that—but I’m very grateful that BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE and CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY both earned “Best Seller” status this year. To all those who have read and enjoyed my ghost stories/mysteries, thanks so much.

Of course, I could list many more. We all have more to be thankful for than we often realize. I’d like to invite you to share just one thing you’re grateful for this Thanksgiving. I believe it will do us all good to focus on the pluses in our lives, what we have and can do, rather than what we cannot do.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. I hope you use this time to treasure those who are close to you.

A Short Halloween Quiz (and answers)

How long has Halloween been celebrated?

100 years? 200 years? 500 years?

Not even close.

Halloween is the only American holiday that has its origin in a Pagan ritual, ancient Roman culture andChristianity. Halloween, or as it was originally called All Hallowed Eve, was declared in the 1100’s as the day before All Saints Day, November 1. But Christian leaders chose that day because they wanted to reframe the Roman festival, Feralia , which has been celebrated since before Christ was born. And the Feralia actually absorbed the ancient Celtic holiday, the Samhain, which had been honored for centuries before.

So what do all these variations of what we call Halloween have in common. They were and are the time of the year to honor the dead and respect the ghosts that still walk among us.

So the answer is somewhere between 2000 and 3000 years!

What is pumpkin pie made of?

No, this is not a trick question.

Without a doubt, pumpkin pie is the most popular Halloween dessert—if you don’t count candy, that is. This time of year you’ll see pumpkin pies everywhere—at restaurants, at Halloween parties, at the grocery. This pie is so popular that, in many households, it sticks around through Thanksgiving celebrations. You’ll find the pie dusted with cinnamon and topped with luscious whipped cream. What won’t you find in most pumpkin pies? Pumpkin.

It turns out that the insides of our beloved jack-o-lantern are practically inedible. Nearly all pumpkin pies are made from canned pumpkin, just like the ones lining the grocery shelves. And, if you run to your pantry to pull out the can you bought last week, the ingredients would probably say “pumpkin” or even “100% pumpkin.” But, aha, it’s a trick. Based on an FDA policy that dates back to 1969, food producers can call any “golden colored squash” pumpkin. So what’s in the pumpkin pie you love? Most likely butternut squash. Somehow, butternut squash pie doesn’t have the same ring though, does it? Bon Appetit!

What is he most popular candy for Halloween?

Our candy choices often reflect our culture and times and, while the practice of trick-or-treating has been fairly consistent for decades, our sweet tooth choices haven’t stayed the same. Good old Babe Ruths dominated the ‘20’s while Three Musketeers became the top choice during the 1930’s. M & M’s claimed the top of the Halloween candy mountain for the decade of the ‘40’s. In the 1950’s, the top choices for Halloween candy were hard candy, especially Atomic Fireballs. (Maybe it had something to do with the space race and the potential of atomic annihilation.) In the 60’s, this top spot was taken over by SweeTarts, the hard candy you suck dry. The next decade saw Halloween munchkins craving chewy sweets life Laffy Taffy. In the ‘80’s the nod went to AirHeads and Nerds Rope. During the last several decades, Reece’s Peanut Butter cups have reigned as Halloween candy king. No surprise, if you’ve seen all the commercials around this time of year.

So in 2020, what was the top choice of trick-or-treaters?

Skittles, with Reece’s and M & M’s close behind.

How many calories in candy will children eat on Halloween?

Halloween is the one night when just about all parents let kids chow down on a little candy. I mean, that’s what all the begging, walking, and trick-or-treating was all about.

Mom, can’t I please have one more Reece’s cup?

According to nutrition experts, American children consume somewhere between 3500 and 7000 calories in candy on Halloween. To put that in perspective, that higher number is more than 13 Big Mac’s and would be the same as wolfing down 200 sugar packets!

Well, kids do all that walking and running on Halloween so they probably run most of that off, right? Wrong! Kids would have to trick-or treat for 180 miles to burn off what they eat.

With all that sugar rushing through the brains of little ones, no wonder teachers dread the day after Halloween!

Enjoy and HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Halloween or All Hallowed Eve

Halloween, the great America tradition, when everyone, young and old, enjoys getting at least a little scared and revels in a little mystery. The night when beggars prowl the streets seeking candy and perhaps a little fright. It’s the only time of year when teens and adults will pay good money to have their pants scared off them at a thousand haunted houses around the country.

An argument can be made that the greatest scares on this night arise from chainsaw killers and raving monsters, blood sucking vampires and howling werewolves or even terrifying aliens. While I admit each and every one of these can set the blood curdling, I’d submit that’s not what Halloween is about, not really.

What we celebrate as Halloween was originally know as All Hallowed Eve. (Well, okay, it actually dates back to an ancient Celtic celebration called Samhain and a Roman holiday, Feralia, both of which were incorporated over the centuries into the Christian All Hallowed Eve.) All Hallowed Eve, later Halloween, was the day Christians honored those who have passed and, on this day, they acknowledged sometimes the dead are still with us. While the traditions of these celebrations differed from culture to culture—for example, the Romans brought offerings to graves and the Celts were required to sacrifice some of their children (yikes!)—the one thread that runs through all three celebrations is the steadfast belief in ghosts. The Celts, the Romans and the early Christians understood there is but a thin veil that separates this world from the next. This autumnal feast, halfway between the end of harvest and the winter solstice, was the day spirits from the other side chose to cross this veil and visit the living.

According to legends, some of these ghosts were friendly, if sometimes mischievous, while others were angry, malevolent and even violent. But those humans celebrating Samhain or Feralia or All Hallowed Eve/Halloween knew that they ignored these visiting spirits at their peril and knew they needed to honor the ghosts.

So while Dracula or Freddie or Ironman might make better costumes for this year’s Halloween celebration—I mean, how do you dress like a ghost anyway—you would do well not to ignore the spirits roaming among us. They require us to honor them and the dead who have gone, because all too soon we will join them.

Oh, by the way, I thought I saw something shimmering behind you.

Don’t look.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/aefb20_3b63d42147da4569842406b96ee72d64/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Happy Halloween! You might want to celebrate the holiday by learning about ghosts reading my Haunted Shores Mysteries, #1 BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE (which is also a #1 Amazon Best Seller) #2 CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY and #3 SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER.

I Can't Believe I Have a Bestseller

When I first began writing seriously, I never did it for the money. I wrote because I have something to say and, I hope, something worth reading. I’ve found I’m far more excited by a readers’ comment of staying up all night to finish my book than by any royalty check. I keep writing because I have more stories to tell and because another reviewer said my last work earned her highest rating—five stars.

But I’m also a realist. In 2018—the latest year we have figures—approximately two million (that’s 2 followed by six zeroes!) new titles were released in the US.

By last count, there were more than six million different titles available to download on Kindle with a click. To get readers to notice my work among this tsunami of books is a daunting task.

So, when I learned last month the first novel in my Haunted Shores Mysteries series, BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE, had become a #1 best seller on both Amazon and

B & N, I was over the moon.

Of course, I’m not raking in the dough as the publisher had to discount the book and run a special promotion, but still. At a time when the average sales of most all titles don’t even make it into three digits, to see my work soaring into the thousands is, well, okay.

Of course, in this biz, any success brings more expectations, mostly self-imposed—Can I keep the sales moving up? Can I get readers to buy other titles in the series? Will the next entry do as well as the first?

But don’t look for me on the New York Times or USA Today Best Seller list any time soon. Those titles have a much larger publisher with a much greater marketing budget behind them—not to mention name recognition. Still, I’ll take what I can get…and keep pushing for more.

Speaking of marketing, my publisher is running a special on all three titles in my series for the next few days. The best-selling BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE is on sale for only .99 (a steal).

CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY has been reduced to $1.99 and the third installment, SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER (pre-publication) can be had for $2.99. In other words, readers can purchase all three titles for less than any one will cost after the sale. And they will be among the first to get SCARLET when it’s released on September 13.

In case you’re wondering, my royalties on these will be in pennies, not dollars, so I’m not getting rich on the deal. Maybe could I ask you to share this great sale with a friend or two. If a few more readers fall in love with my hero, Darrell, and his beautiful girl and later wife, Erin, I’ll receive more of those compelling readers’ comments. And that will keep me writing.

Which reminds me, I have to get back to my current writing effort about another educator trying to stop a drug dealer in a middle school.

I’m on chapter 44 and I think I know how I’m going to catch the bad guy.

And Then There Were Three...

It’s almost time. In 2019 the Haunted Shores Mysteries were born with the release of BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE. This first entry earned numerous five stars reviews and grabbed a national award.

Then CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY was published last year, smack in the middle of the pandemic. With all that, CRIMSON garnered even more five star reviews from national and international reviewers and picked up two national awards from Literary Titan and Readers View.

These two stories have led to the third entry in the trilogy, SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER, which the Wild Rose Press will release this fall. The date has not yet been set, but Wild Rose Press has released the cover! Where is Crystal River, you say? It’s a beautiful, quiet resort town on the Gulf Coast of Florida with a warm, white sand beach, fresh water springs and renowned running and biking trails through unspoiled forests on the Gulf Coast. But the town’s greatest claim to fame is that it’s the only place in the world humans can swim with manatees. And of course, the area has its own haunted history.Like the first two novels, SCARLET is also a cold-case murder mystery wrapped in a ghost story. And of course, the narrative takes full advantage of the incredible scenery of the incredible town. Readers will be able to enjoy another beach read. Not to mention, the romance between Darrell and Erin comes full circle in this third installment.But I think you’ll find the ghosts in this newest tale the greatest draw. And these are not just any ghosts. This time, Darrell is haunted by the ghosts of two young children and … Well, you’ll need to stay tuned to find out when you’ll be able get your own copy of SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER. Oh, I almost forgot, look below to be among the first to see the cover of SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER. Thanks for your support.

A Few Life Lessons

A FEW LIFE LESSONS

April is my birthday month and this year marked a major milestone—

though I’m not going to divulge which.

Let’s just say, I have enough years behind me that this year’s birthday celebration caused me to pause and take stock—stock of me, my life and what’s important. I don’t know if anyone else is interested, but I thought I’d share a few of the lessons the past decades have crystalized for me.

God gives us all different gifts.

Some of us will never make it to the major leagues or the Broadway stage, or discover the cure for cancer. But that doesn’t mean out talents are any less important. We each need to recognize our own gifts, be grateful for those we have and do our best to polish and perfect them so we can use them for good in the world. It is of little benefit to obsess over those we don’t have or to envy the gifts given to others. God surrounds us with people who have different gifts and other talents and we’d be wise to acknowledge them and allow others to help us. Our lives will be happier and more peaceful with this understanding.

Every day you wake up on this side of the turf is a good day.

I believe I have George Burns to thank for this maxim and

I’m grateful for this tiny piece of wisdom. When you’re young, you tend to take each day, each sunrise and sunset, each snowfall, each spring and each fall for granted. But, as you accumulate a few years, you begin to appreciate the possibility each day can bring. When friends, some even younger than you, pass, you thank God for another morning and another chance to make a difference in the world. Even a day fraught with challenges, obstacles and lousy weather is better than no day at all.

I savor the opportunity to drink from the nectar of life for another day.

All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

This quote, originally penned by Edmund Burke in 1729, has been shared, in slightly different language, by such notables as John F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Over the decades, I have witnessed this truth revealed, often in stark reality. There are major evils the world has witnessed and allowed by our collective silences like the genocides in Asia and Africa and more recently, the beating of innocent Asian-Americans in our country.

But this maxim holds true for smaller evils as well. In my life, I’ve watched as bullies belittled and made fun of the weak and the different. I’ve seen tyrannical bosses ridicule, emaciate and chastise those under their charge for no other reason than that they could. I’ve watched as these evils have perpetuated, spread, and even triumphed, because good men (and women) did nothing. I’ve tried to speak up when I could but, if I’m honest with myself, I’d have to admit there were times I did nothing. I’m not proud of those failures and will try to do something any chance I get to confront evil.

It’s okay to make mistakes. Everything you do need not be perfect.

No one wants to look bad or foolish, and failing and making mistakes makes you look bad. There’s no way around this.

But I’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, the only path to success is through your own mistakes, errors and bloopers. When I’m giving guidance to my grandkids—and they will tell you I’m very generous with my advice—they’ve often asked, “How do you know so much?” My quick response is because I’ve lived long enough to screw up a lot of things, which brings howls of laughter. Even though my answer is flippant, it is also true. As I look back, I realize that almost anything I’ve had any success with—teaching, parenting, leading schools, writing—I first experienced major failures trying. The years have taught me success resides in continuing on in spite of feeling foolish and learning from my mistakes.

The clearest appraisal of one’s life is the impact you’ve had on others.

As I’ve piled up decades of living, I’ve learned that your worth is not based on wealth or how many possessions you own or which car you drive. Not only can you not take any of those things with you (on the other side of the turf), but the accumulation of these things often do very little for others, on this side of the turf.

I want my life to be judged by how I impacted the lives of others. Did I bring joy or solace to those who needed it? Did I provide help or advice or support when those around me struggled? Did I treat others, especially those who are different or have less than me, with respect and understanding? Did I inspire others by my words or actions to do better? I hope, when I “shuffle off this mortal coil” (Shakespeare), others will believe their lives are better because their lives intersected with mine.

Looking over the humble post, I’ll admit these lines are not the most inspirational words ever written nor are my lessons particularly unique or earth-shattering. But, as I appraise my last seventy years (oops, I wrote that), these are the truths which rise to the top and I thought worth sharing.

I’m sure, with your own life experience of years—or even decades—you certainly have achieved your own wisdom and understanding and no doubt have gained your own maxims. I’m sure life has taught you a lesson or two that now guides your life. Please take a few minutes to leave a comment and share your own life lesson. I’m always looking for new insight and we’re never too old to learn.

Peace, and make today as good as it can be.

Celebrating Women's History Month

March is Women’s History Month and all month media outlets, networks and websites have been sharing stories of remarkable achievements by women, both famous and little known. In the patriarchal society of our nation—and for that matter, much of the world—this recognition is long overdue. As a long-time educator, I’ve witnessed first-hand the difference so many women teachers have made in the lives of children of various ages, races and backgrounds.

It is no overstatement to say that a great many female teachers have saved the lives—intellectually, psychologically and even physically—of thousands of children.

But today I’d like to call attention to a group of women and girls who seldom make the network news or catch the attention of the press. Even as we salute the accomplishments of outstanding women, we should use this time to reflect on the fate of a huge group of women who never get recognized or even acknowledged, those who are sacrificed in the same patriarchal society—the victims of human trafficking.

Just a few stats about this horrible exploitation may suffice:

Today there are almost FOUR MILLION women trapped into human trafficking and slavery worldwide. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that more than 5000 TEEN GIRLS (usually runaways) are sucked into the world of prostitution and human trafficking each year. Profits from the illicit trade of human trafficking are estimated to be a staggering $120 billion annually! There are more people—women and men—trapped in human trafficking and slavery today than at any time in human history.

Perhaps, though, the saddest aspect of this horrific scourge on the human race is the

fact that hardly anyone notices. Although cases like Jeffrey Epstein and fashion mogul Peter Nygard, have garnered some headlines, the toll of human trafficking goes largely unrecognized.

The networks of prostitution and human trafficking operate in every state in the U.S. and every country in the world, but these crimes are seldom a priority for either the news media or the police.

“An injustice that goes unnoticed is an Injustice that goes unchallenged.”—Equal, Not Exploited

That’s why, two years ago, when I wrote my latest novel, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY, I chose to set the murder mystery in the center of the far greater plague of human trafficking. My hope is that, as readers work to solve the whodunnit or indulge in the eerie ghost story or even savor the sweet romance of Darrell and Erin, they will also gain an insight into this very ugly world. And perhaps, just perhaps, they will choose to educate themselves about the problem of human trafficking and what they can do about it.

So, this month as we acknowledge the voices of amazing women of all races,

backgrounds and ages, let’s also take a few moments to ponder the fate of women who can’t speak for themselves--those trapped in the web of human trafficking.

Below are a few of the organizations and groups fighting these horrific crimes and

working to rescue victims of human trafficking. Click on them to learn more about their heroic efforts and what you can do to help.

At DeliverFund, their focus is to use technology to create and maintain the most comprehensive database of criminal human traffickers and share this information with law enforcement. They also use these resources to identify trafficking victims and, once rescued, get them help and support.

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is focused on addressing all forms of sexual

abuse, exposing systems of sexual exploitation and seeking the healing of victims.

Rights4Girls is focused on creating a world where girls can live out their potential and changing policies that criminalize girls trapped in gender based violence.

The Equality Model Organization prioritize decriminalizing those who have trafficked,

providing support who those who escape the sex trade and holding accountable those who profit from sex trafficking.

You can check out my new novel, CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY here.

New Years Resolutions Fun

Well, 2020 is finally done, over, caput. Thank God. Sometimes it felt like it would last forever. And with the turning of the calendar comes the inevitable onslaught of New Year’s Resolutions, you know, those casual promises we make on January 1 that we’re under no legal obligation to fulfill. This year, with everything we’ve been through, I thought we all might benefit from a little more RELIEF than RESOLVE. So I collected a few resolutions that might offer a chuckle for you. Let’s face it you need it, you need it.

Typically New Year’ Resolutions fall into about five categories. The first is Starting Over, or as I call it this year LOSE THAT “2020 FEELING.”

Try these on for size.

Buy all leftover 2020 calendars and burn them.
Tattoo “New Year, New Me” on your arm.
Never take HomeGoods trips for granted, ever again.

The next most popular category is RELATIONSHIPS, you know all that stuff about making yourself a better person. With the toxic year of 2020 in the rearview mirror, here are a few with a little different take on the subject.

Keep kicking ass and taking names, because detailed record-keeping is important.
Don’t text that ,nasty person back. You know the one. We ,all, have one.
Be just a little nicer to people who do exactly what I want.

No set of resolutions would be complete without a few commitments to improve our FINANCES and with all the economic challenges of the past year, these take on added importance in 2021.

Spend less than $1825 on coffee at Starbucks.
Stop buying worthless junk on eBay—because QVC has better specials.
Lower my bills by digging a hole to bury them in.

Just about everyone includes a resolution or two about PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENT like losing weight or getting in shape. I found a few of this ilk I thought you’d especially appreciate this year. (My favorite is number 11.)

Lose weight by hiding it somewhere you’ll never find it.
Get in shape. I choose round.
Unfriend every person who shares their unsolicited diet or exercise regimen.

No collection of resolutions would be complete without a few about improving our WORK LIFE. If we’re able to still be working, 2020 did more to change our working conditions than any other year in recent memory. So here are three especially appropriate for 2021!

Check my work email ,at least, once this year.
Actually put on a full outfit for Zoom calls (although let’s be real, business-on-top-PJs-below never hurt anyone).
Don’t bore the boss with the same excuse for taking leave. Think up new ones…or just cough.

To be serious for a second, here is my suggestion for a 2021 resolution:

Be kind to yourself and others. After what we’ve been through, we all need a little kindness this year.

I hope 2021 holds only the best for you and yours.

Peace, stay safe and healthy!—Randy Overbeck