C.W. Hawes's Blog

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Pierce Mostyn Going Wide

It’s been a while since I posted on the blog. A lot of thing have been going on in my life. But I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Pierce Mostyn

After experimenting with Pierce Mostyn being exclusive on Amazon, I’m returning the series to a wide distribution. Soon it will be available on Apple, Kobo, Kobo Plus, Barnes & Noble, and a whole host of other outlets.

I’m a big fan of Draft2Digital and will be using them to distribute the series to the entire list of sales outlets they offer writers — including libraries and reading services other than Kindle Unlimited.

The main reason for this move from Amazon exclusivity is because I will be launching Book 9 in the Pierce Mostyn Paranormal Investigations in a Kickstarter campaign. And as I’ll be offering the books in the series in the various pledge levels, they can’t be exclusive to Amazon.

So watch for the launch of Pierce Mostyn #9 later this year via Kickstarter.

My critique group, none of whom read horror, loved the book, so that says something.

On the Home Front

My wife filed for divorce a while back and it is now final. I hate to leave Texas, but not having family or a support network here, and at 72 not wanting to try to create a support network so I can live alone, I decided to move in with my sister and nephew.

It feels good to be welcomed with open arms.

So in a month I’ll be leaving Texas for SoCal. Then I can start reorganizing my life. It will be good to be in a supportive and loving environment.

Virtual Presence

I’ve been largely absent from social media. But as the dust settles, I’ll be returning to help support all those great authors with whom I’ve become friends.

That’s all for now. Until next time, happy reading!

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The post Pierce Mostyn Going Wide first appeared on CW Hawes.

The Slow Burn Mystery

Thrillers are all the rage today. In fact, just about every genre must have thrills and spills starting on page 1. Things blowing up and pistols blazing. And people running. Gotta have people running.

If someone took one of Agatha Christie’s novels, dropped her name, change the character names, and put the book in the 21st century — a dime to a doughnut it wouldn’t sell. Why? Because there’s nothing thrilling going on. The books are puzzles. The sleuth hunting for clues. A game between writer and reader to see if the reader can out guess the sleuth.

Wordle aside, who does puzzles anymore?

Raymond Chandler’s estate has tried unsuccessfully for years to make a cash cow out of Philip Marlowe. They failed. Why? Because Marlowe isn’t thriller material. He’s an introspective armchair philosopher, who happens to also be a private detective, putting together a puzzle to solve a crime. There are some thrilling moments, but the books aren’t thrillers. And never will be if Marlowe stays Marlowe.

I write mysteries. What I’m now calling slow burn mysteries to differentiate them from thrillers. And what some are calling mystery thrillers in order to make mysteries more popular.

Too often I’ve seen people start reading Festival Of Death (Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries, Book 1) on Kindle Unlimited and then quit just before they get to the exciting part. They’ve gone through the build up and leave before the reward.

It’s akin to going to a restaurant, waiting in line, and then leaving just before your name is called.

Why do readers do this? I think this is mostly due to today’s reader expecting a thriller and not getting it. Even when there’s nothing in the book description to lead them to believe the book is a thriller. In the mindset of today’s reader all mystery and suspense novels are thrillers. And that is unfortunate. For both the reader and the writer.

So I’m going to start calling my mysteries (and traditional mysteries in general) — Slow Burn Mysteries.

Now what does slow burn mystery mean?

A book that is a slow burn mystery is a mystery that starts at the beginning and follows the detective through to the grand announcement of who did it.

These are the mysteries of the Golden Era. The mysteries of Christie, Stout, Wentworth, Marsh, the Lockridges, and so many more.

The story generally follows a 5-act structure, as follows:

Act I — We meet the sleuth, the characters, and learn of the problem to be solved.

Act II — The sleuth, having accepted the case, the challenge to solve the crime, begins gathering clues. This is the part where the detective obtains info, but doesn’t see how it all fits together.

Act IIIa — At this point the detective often gets frustrated and may even try to quit. Nothing is making sense.

Midpoint — With the sleuth thinking the case will never be solved, he suddenly obtains a key clue or realizes the true import of something he already found out but misinterpreted.

Act IIIb — Armed with his new knowledge or understanding, the sleuth begins to close in on the villain.

Act IV — The sleuth gathers all he needs to expose the villain and secure justice.

Act V — The villain is exposed and hauled off to jail and everything goes back to normal.

If you read a Sherlock Holmes story, or a Nero Wolfe mystery, or a Hercule Poirot novel, they all more or less follow this structure. There are very few to no instances of things blowing up or gun fights taking place. These are drawing room dramas with little violence and bloodshed occurring on stage.

And in spite of Raymond Chandler’s excoriation of British mysteries, his Philip Marlowe novels basically follow this same structure. 

Marlowe goes about gathering clues, while giving us his outlook on life. There are few to no chase scenes. No gun fights. Nothing blowing up. Just Marlowe talking to people and gathering clues. Yet these are some of the most literary crime fiction books you’ll ever read. But they are 100% slow burn.

The slow burn mystery is like the slow burn horror tale: the fuse is burning, getting closer and closer to the powder keg. And then there is the big bang.

Satisfaction awaits you — and it’s worth the wait.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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The post The Slow Burn Mystery first appeared on CW Hawes.

Announcing MBCC 29: When a Sure Thing Fails

 

Today is launch day for When a Sure Thing Fails by James R. Callan, Book 29 in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series.

One could say that Magnolia Bluff is the Bermuda Triangle of Texas. You know, strange things happen to not only the people who live there, but those who visit as well.

Take Eula Moore. She’s visiting the quaint little town and what happens? She’s kidnapped on her very first day she steps foot into town. Now what is the likelihood of that happening to someone visiting anywhere but Magnolia Bluff?

Here’s what Mr. Callan has to say about his latest addition to the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles:

Seventy-eight-year-old Eula Moore is kidnapped on the first day of her vacation in the Texas Hill Country town of Magnolia Bluff. Knocked out by ether, she is transported to a cabin deep in the forest.

Eula is determined to escape, yet realizes she is miles from any town. But escape she does, and when she reports the kidnapping to the police, the detective notes she was not hurt, she did escape, and no ransom was paid. He says, “No harm; no foul.

Incensed by this, Eula decides to find the kidnappers and see justice prevail. She has only the first names of the kidnappers and doesn’t know where she was imprisoned for four days. With the aid of her granddaughter, Crystal, they track down the kidnappers.

But things are not as simple as the kidnapping. Now, Eula and Crystal may have to deal with Four Fingers, a vicious, dangerous man, wanted for multiple murders and other crimes.

Eula has a choice. She can easily walk away and leave all this behind. But can strong-willed Eula, even at age seventy-eight, leave things unresolved? Actually, that’s not in her DNA.

One person in my writer’s group said: “Eula is my kind of grandma — locked and loaded.”

Mr. Callan knows how to deliver spills and thrills in his mysteries. He’s the author of the popular Father Frank series and of You Won’t Know How… Or When, the 4th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

I have my copy. Pick yours up on Amazon.

Comments are always welcome and until next time happy reading!

 

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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The post Announcing MBCC 29: When a Sure Thing Fails first appeared on CW Hawes.

Review: For Boys Who Struggle With Darkness

Richard Schwindt has a knack for creating unique characters.

I’ve read all of his fiction. His works are the epitome of Bradbury’s Dictum: Create your characters, let them do their thing, and there’s your story.

Story flows from the characters. And Richard’s characters are full of story.

In his most recent book, For Boys Who Struggle With Darkness, the 28th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, he gives us a powerful psychologically driven murder mystery. One in which Dr. Mike Kurelek, professor and psychotherapist at Burnet College, struggles with his anger and desire for justice. Anger that wants to see justice accomplished, but is thwarted by the police and the legal system’s bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy’s operate on correct procedure. And sometimes, and perhaps more than sometimes, that mandate to follow correct procedure gets in the way of achieving justice.

Mike struggles with doing what is “right” and doing what is right. In the end, he makes a choice that is consistent with who he is in order to see that justice is done.

Richard Schwindt follows the standard murder mystery format: a world the is functioning normally, which is then turned on its head by murder, and then restored to order by the sleuth solving the crime.

As Raymond Chandler observed, what differentiates one murder mystery from another is style.

And this is where Richard shines. His characters are cut from the fabric of life. In many ways they are much like us. But their world gets turned upside down by murder.

Richard, who is a social worker and psychotherapist himself, shows us the inner workings of what goes through people’s minds when their world is suddenly shattered through no fault of their own. And what they are willing to do to restore order to their lives.

I am an ardent admirer of Richard Schwindt’s fiction. It has everything to create the most satisfying movies of the mind.

In Dr. Mike Kurelek, he has created a most memorable character. One of the best in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series.

Pick up your copy of For Boys Who Struggle With Darkness today on Amazon.

Comments are always welcome and until next time happy reading!

 

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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The post Review: For Boys Who Struggle With Darkness first appeared on CW Hawes.

For Boys Who Struggle With Darkness is Coming Soon

 

We all have our demons, and for Dr. Mike Kurelek anger is one of his.

Richard Schwindt, social worker and therapist, knows a lot about the demons people have, which makes his fiction so very lifelike.

We see ourselves in his characters and that draws us into his books.

I’ve known Richard for quite some time now. He is an amazing author. His fiction is laced with humor, action, suspense, and introspection, presented in an easy to read style.

When the Underground Authors were first being gather together, Richard was an easy suggestion for me to make to the late Caleb Pirtle. And Caleb, already familiar with Richard’s work, immediately sent an invite.

Richard’s main contribution to the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles is Dr. Mike Kurelek. Through him we get to see the inner workings of Burnet College and Burnet Medical Center.

Kurelek is a professor and a practicing therapist. He is also very good with a bow and arrow.

The good doctor professor made his first appearance in The Shine from a Girl in the Lake. He returned in Men Lying Dead in a Field. 

And now we have his third appearance in For Boys Who Struggle With Darkness. Here is a teaser to whet your appetite:

When clinical psychologist Dr. Michael Kurelek’s elderly best friend is savagely beaten in a home invasion, rage pushes him to the limits of his emotional control.

After nearly choking a woman abuser to death in O’Gara’s bar, he turns his attention back to the new students at Burnet College, and his pregnant wife, Sue. 

But his anger – and the sociopathic attackers – don’t go away. 

Locked out of the investigation by the Magnolia Bluff police department; Mike goes rogue, enlisting the help of friends, family, and two troubled young women with their own reason for vengeance.

For Boys Who Struggle With Darkness is on pre-order right now for 99¢. The book goes live September 20, 2024. I’ve ordered my copy. Why don’t you order yours?

I’ll be back with a review sometime after the 20th.

In the meantime, check out Richard’s website to see all of his books and learn more about him.

Comments are always welcome and until next time happy reading!

 

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea.
Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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The post For Boys Who Struggle With Darkness is Coming Soon first appeared on CW Hawes.

What Is Going On With The Website?

The short answer to the question in the title is that I’m having my website updated.

It is a work in progress and things may get a bit wonky before the dust settles.

I have been wanting to revamp my website for a long time. But the cost of getting the site revamped has always been the reason to put it off. 

After all, I’m retired and am living on a fixed income. Although being a government worker, I was on a fixed income for 20 years prior to retiring. Once at the top of my pay grade – there were no more raises. Only insufficient cost of living adjustments.

For me, living on a fixed income has been a way of life for most of my life. Hence the hesitation to drop big bucks on a website overhaul.

But a few weeks ago when I couldn’t get into my site, I knew I had a major problem. The techie at HostGator jury-rigged things so the site was working again, but I knew I was on borrowed time.

Even so, I hemmed and hawed over spending the money. And just as I decided to scrap my site, because I didn’t have the money to fix it, and use my Blogger mirror site instead of the WordPress site, cash arrived. Now I could revamp the very aged and obsolete WordPress site.

So if things look a little weird every now and then, it is because this site is a work in progress and will hopefully be all shiny soon.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

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The post What Is Going On With The Website? first appeared on CW Hawes.

A Wrong Turn Over on Threads That Bind

Some of you may already know I write a periodic post on the Threads That Bind blog. It’s a forum for lovers of the dark in literature, film, and what have you.

The other day my friend Jack Tyler posted a top-drawer short tale about what ifs. Read it here.

I very much like Jack’s writing. The storytelling is straight forward, the dialogue is realistic, the characters are lifelike, and the description is just right.

In this story, you can see how much we learn about the characters from just the dialogue. The sign of a master craftsman.

“Wrong Turn” is the kind of story that draws you in and gets you thinking about the turns in your own life — both good and bad. A trip down What If Lane.

So treat yourself to a shorty about taking the wrong turn. It’s a bit sad, a touch philosophical, packs a hidden punch, and is very simply a whole lot of very good.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

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The post A Wrong Turn Over on Threads That Bind first appeared on CW Hawes.

What is Success to You?

The Underground Authors, of which I am one, just finished a promotional campaign and sale.

Twelve authors and 27 books, plus I tossed my Justinia Wright mystery series of 9 books into the mix, and that was a heck of a lot of books to be had for a buck during the 3 days of the promo.

But the question came up when it was over — was the campaign a success? Some said yes, and some said no.

However to actually determine if the promo was a success or not, we must first define success.

According to my old paper Webster’s New World Dictionary, Second College Edition, success means:

1. orig., result; outcome

2. a) a favorable or satisfactory outcome or result. b) something having such an outcome

3. the gaining of wealth, fame, rank, etc.

4. a successful person

Definition 4 begs the question, what does successful mean? The dictionary says:

coming about, taking place, or turning out to be as was hoped for [a successful mission]Having achieved success; specify., having gained wealth, fame, etc.

It is easy to see successful definition 1 relates to success definition 2a. Successful definition 2 relates to success definition 3.

So I ask, was the campaign a success for me?

If I use the combo success 3 and successful 2, the answer is no. I gained no wealth, fame, glory, rank, prestige, recognition, power, what have you. Which means the campaign was a failure and I was unsuccessful.

However, if I use success definition 2a and successful definition 1, then the answer could be yes. The campaign was successful and I was a success. Because it all depends on how you define “a favorable or satisfactory outcome.”

The first 19 days of August were miserable. I struggled to sell books and get page reads. And then came the campaign and suddenly, in 3 days, I tripled what I’d earned in the previous 19.

The outcome was favorable vis-à-vis the previous 19 days of the month.

But I can also say the promo was a failure. Why? Because I tied my Justinia Wright mystery series to the campaign in order to get sales and KU page reads and I got not a single one.

You see, success depends on how you define it. For me, the promotional sale was a success on the one hand, because of its positive outcome. On the other hand, it was a failure because of its negative outcome.

So when you ask yourself, am I a successful writer — you need to define as specifically as you can what is success for you in this venture.

Ask yourself what do you want to achieve?

Lots of money?Fame and glory?Power?Recognition?Lots of readers?

Once you’ve decided what it is you specifically want to achieve, then make a plan on how to get there.

If you achieve your goal on the first try, fabulous. If you don’t, revise the plan and try again. Keep trying and revising until you succeed. 

And don’t forget to check your goal. Perhaps you’ve set it too high. Perhaps your definition of success needs revision.

If you define success as selling a million copies of your book every year, that might be a bit lofty. And no plan is going to reach that goal.

Most books don’t even sell 500 copies in their first year, and then virtually nothing after that.

So a more realistic definition of success would be to sell 100 copies of your book in its first year and then repeat the performance in the second year and then for year 3 set a higher goal.

The keys to success are simple:

Define success for you as specifically as you can so you can measure progress.Create a plan to enable you to be successful. Dreaming and wishing and hoping don’t work. Only work works.

Hope this is of help.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

 

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

 

And don’t forget to catch the latest book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series: The Ransom Enigma.

And it’s still only 99¢ on Amazon.

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The post What is Success to You? first appeared on CW Hawes.

Big Sale and a Book Launch

It’s a triple play today through Thursday.

Magnolia Bluff Sale

Second Chances by Joe Congel is free 20-22 August. That’s today, tomorrow, and Thursday. Grab your copy at Amazon.

And get the rest of the books in the series for only 99¢ each. Grab them on Amazon.

MBCC Book Launch

Book 27 of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles is now live. The Ransom Enigma. Written by the dynamic duo of Breakfield & Burkey.

Get the book on Amazon.

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries

I’ve put the Justinia Wright series on sale through Thursday to give you extra crime fiction reading.

Now is the time to stock up on the books you’re missing before I start adding more books to the series.

Minnesota’s answer to Nero Wolfe is available on

Amazon for 99¢

So pick yourself up a pile of good reads for dirt cheap.

These pixels gotta go and the price can’t be better.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with three bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

Share This!
The post Big Sale and a Book Launch first appeared on CW Hawes.