R. Marquez's Blog, page 5

Missed it by this Much

I tried very hard to finish the Couper Conundrum by the end of the year (2015), but I’m going to miss my self-imposed deadline by a week or so. I wanted to add a few more touches, and I couldn’t make myself publish it knowing that I could have made it a wee bit better. I’m anal like that.

However, I’ve had a stern talk with myself and this will be the last round of edits; I promise. For you who will be sad that the series is over, I hope you’ll enjoy how I ended it. I can’t wait to hear via reviews or email (through my website) what you think of it.

Remember, Couper, Washington will continue to live via the Carol Karuso Mystery series. The first book is titled Fallen Angel. The second and third books are tentatively titled Lothario Lost, and The Lovesick Detective. This series will be a trilogy, unless the books sell well. The series will feature characters from the Matty Cruz Adventure series, but will be written in a different light. Carol’s story is complicated, and she’ll view life in a world-weary, wise-cracking manner. However, she is as dedicated to doing the right thing as her best friend was.

After I finish the first chapter of Fallen Angel (draft version), I will post it on this blog. I encourage my readers to tell me what they think.

Have a Happy New Year, everyone. May 2016 be a splendid one for all of us.

The Incidental Blog

Just a quick post to let everyone know that my experimental blog is getting views, likes on FB, and even comments. It's turned out to be a good tool for keeping my readers informed. Thus, I've decided to keep it. I've redubbed it the Incidental Blog, and I promise to continue to post, at least, once a month. 
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Bridge near Leavenworth, Washington

The Couper Conundrum Available for Sale on Amazon

The Couper Conundrum is now available for purchase on Amazon at the pre-order price of $2.99. 

Though it will say that the book won't be available until March 2016, I should have it out much earlier than that, perhaps even in December 2015.

The book will be made available at other vendor sites soon afterwards.  Then I'll get the paperback version ready.

I hope all my readers enjoy how I ended Matty Cruz's last adventure. 

Don't forget, The Carol Karuso Mysteries are coming in 2016.

Holiday Guilt

I hope that all of you had a great Thanksgiving. Mine was nice. A young relative who I haven't seen during the holidays in many years shared it with me, and better yet he cooked.
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The day after, I'm filled with pie and guilt. Surprisingly, not about the pie. Though I have an approaching deadline, I played hooky for two days.

When one over indulges with food, the best thing to do is to go back to normal eating as soon as possible to shed those extra pounds. And though I have two phone calls to make to friends and family, and yes they do go long, I have to get back on schedule finishing the Couper Conundrum. Birdhouse in Winter The good news is that I'm so close to being done with the book, I can see the finish line beckoning me. The story and storytelling phase is over, though I might continue to tweak them, and I've arrived at the editing or tedious stage. This is when I concentrate on the prose itself. I go through the manuscript making sure I haven't overused words and checking for inconsistencies, while trying not to introduce new errors. Next week, I’ll be in the polishing phase. That’s when I check my grammar and punctuation. Oh, joy.

I've decided to put the book on pre-sale in December on Amazon. Though it may say that the book won't be published until the end of February, barring some horrific event, it could be out as early as the end of December.

To my readers who are waiting to see how the series ends, I solemnly promise not to play hooky again till Christmas time. I can’t make the same promise about eating pie.

Goody-bye Matty, Hello Carol

As I finish the last book in the Matty Cruz Adventure series, I'm both sad and happy.  I truly love all the characters I've created, especially Matty Cruz, and the city of Couper, where all crimes are possible. 

Like Matty, my career abruptly ended early, and I had to quickly pick a place outside of California where I hoped my money would stretch further. I'd visited the Pacific Northwest only once before, but I never forgot how beautiful it was. So when deciding on a location to retire, I threw my usual caution to the wind and moved here.

Like Matty, my first year was rough. I was depressed after losing my job, moving away from family and friends, and entering a lower economic status.  In addition, not everyone in my new city welcomed me, and I often felt like a stranger in a strangeland. Though fortunately for me, no one tried to kill or kidnap me like they did poor Matty. Now, it's almost a decade later, and though no place is perfect, I truly love it here and have no regrets. 

Now, I'm eager to write something new, and I hope my decision to do a spin-off series centered around Matty's best friend, Carol Karuso, will be a good one.  I'm ready to go darker, sexier, and more deadly, and I'm sure redheaded Carol will be the perfect woman to do that for me.  Also, I don't have to abandon my imaginary friends from the Matty Cruz books as they will be doing crossovers in the new series.

What's on the Agenda?

My plan is to have The Couper Conundrum available for purchase in December 2015, and the first Carol Karuso Mystery, Fallen Angel, finished sometime  in 2016.

I hope you enjoy both.

The Experimental Blog

First things, first,
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Yeah, this is my favorite holiday. I hope you all have a great one.

Why the Experimental Blog?

I've debated whether to have a blog for a long time. I haven't done one because I didn't think I'd have the time or enough interesting stuff to say. But I'm really enjoying my social interaction on Facebook, and I've noticed an uptick on the number of hits my website is getting, so I've decided this might be a good time to experiment with one.

How often will I blog?

I'll commit to doing it at least once a month. I may do more if I have something interesting I want to share with my readers. I'll do this for six months and then reassess. If I get few folks going to the blog page or making comments, I'll assume I'm talking to myself. Then I'll either discontinue it or just use it to post my newsletters which talk about upcoming publications.

My 2nd blog will be posted today or tomorrow.

Living in the Pacific Northwest

My birdhouse in the snow.

   Though I've made my home in the Pacific Northwest for several years, I'm still in awe of its beauty. Every time I see the glorious mountain ranges, volcanoes, rivers, and tall trees, I feel blessed to live here. The surroundings, the people, and the culture have inspired me to write my mystery stories.

  The summers here are idyllic and even the rain doesn't bother me. After the first few months, I never bothered with an umbrella, again. Even the winters are bearable. It can be chilly, but mostly it rains, or we have a sprinkling of snow now and again. Nothing a weatherproof coat with a hoodie can't handle. 

  However, today everything is blanketed by snow. Since I've moved here, we've had only one major snowstorm (for us that means snow that doesn't disappear in a day).This will be the second time that I’ve seen the city become a white wonderland.

  This weather is perfect for me to work on my novel, the 3rd in the Couver series, "The Couver Vendetta." It should be finished in the next few months.

  Take care.

  R.