Josh > Recent Status Updates

Was someone pranking him?
For the first four minutes of his interview with prospective client Alton Beacher, Zach couldn’t quite decide.
Nobody knew the dire financial situation of Davies Detective Agency better than Zachariah Davies, Davies’s former accountant-turned-lead-investigator.
Turned-ONLY-investigator.


*Coming September 2nd on Patreon.*

Based on a true and still unsolved crime. In fact, based on the first true crime documentary I ever watched. Needless to say, the case really stayed with me. This was originally going to be a short story, but a novella feels more realistic. There's a lot I want to explore here, including the topic of "morally dubious podcasters." ;-)

“My family’s been trying to get me to fly to LA for the holidays.”
Ellery’s heart sank. He said with determined good cheer, “They miss you. You haven’t been back in how long? It’s understandable.”
“I miss them too, but I don’t want to go back this year.” Jack gave him a sideways look. “It’s your first Christmas on the island. I want to be here.”
Just like the Grinch, Ellery felt his heart grow three sizes bigger.

Newly released in print. Audio to follow. :-)

Just a quick note to reassure my reader-friends that the book is NOT canceled. As you know by now, I'm writing very slowwwwly, so I needed more time and there was no flexibility on the Amazon preorder which meant I had to cancel. I'll relist in a couple of weeks when the book is ready to go live, Sorry for the confusion!

NOTHING feels better than the day a book goes live. That sweet spot of one book finished (no more second guessing, it's over) and the next not yet started. Oh! , and a really nice supper and drinks and sleeping late...

Okaaay, well, that took longer than I thought! When the time comes, it's going to be really hard to say goodbye to Sam and Jason...

Whoooo…. Whooooo…. WHOOOOO!
Ghostly wailings seemed to issue from the blackened rafters of the Crow’s Nest bookshop.
“What the hell is that noise?” Pirate Cove’s Police Chief Jack Carson stared ceilingward, his blue-green eyes wide with alarm.
Ellery Page, mystery bookshop owner and Jack’s boyfriend, took his oat milk-laced coffee from Jack’s unresisting hand. He said glumly, “The building is haunted.”
“Since when?”

He missed Sam. He would have given a lot just to spend tonight together just sharing a meal and talking.
Jason smiled. “Thanks. It’s always nice hearing your voice.”
Sam said sardonically, “I know. I get that a lot.” Which was pretty humorous.
Jason chuckled, and Sam said in that softer voice he typically reserved for late night calls, “Have a good night, West. I’ll talk to you to tomorrow.”

Sorry for the delay! THE MEGA BOX SET AND COLLECTIONS SALE! is now (finally) live on B&N. That's 50% off ALL my box sets and collections.
USE CODE BNPMEGABOX1
(The sale ends March 7th! )

FATAL SHADOWS: THE COLLECTOR'S EDITION went live on Amazon today. It's...gulp...pricey at $59.99. This special hardcover 20th Anniversary edition includes illustrations, character interviews, and holiday codas--including a new and exclusive short story-length coda written for Christmas 2021--as well as other curiosities.

All in all, over 400 pages of Adrien English and Jake Riordan!

“But if something happened to you, I’d want to know you had been talking about me, thinking of me.”
Sam said curtly, “You can take it for granted that I was thinking of you.”
Jason gave a short laugh. “Okay. Well, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind. And ditto. But some people might need a little more. I think Hans would want some effort made.”
Sam sighed. “You’re too sentimental, West.”

In honor of Q&A with Josh Lanyon's reread of [bookcover:Winter Kill|17261670] I'm doing a little giveaway on Prolific Works. There are 50 copies available for free. It's a first come, first serve basis.

https://claims.prolificworks.com/free...

password: babyitscold

Happy (and, even more, SO relieved) that my creative...malaise seems to have passed. I'm feeling energized and excited again--but part of that new found creative energy is my determination to stick to a new sane and sensible schedule in 2022. Fewer preorders might actually end up meaning more books. We'll see.

“The Deep Dive, huh?”
Jack nodded.
“So really, none of them has much more of an alibi than Odette.”
“Arguable.”
“Yep. Which is why I’m arguing.”
Jack grinned. “And as much as I would love to stay and keep arguing with you, duty calls.” He rose, bent to kiss Ellery—then kissed him again--and was gone.

Jack said after a moment, “It’s mutual. I think your mom really wants you to come back to New York.”
Ellery shrugged. “She does. But.”
“But?”
“I don’t see that for myself. I’m happy in Pirate’s Cove. I feel at home here. I know it probably sounds odd because I’ve only lived here a few months, but I feel like I belong.”
“You do belong.”
They smiled into each other’s eyes.

Not the year I'd hoped for. (Which, of course, is true for most of us.) I've struggled with the reality that I'm just not going to hit the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year. But it's time to face facts. So another reshuffling of my publishing schedule. I know from past experience that trying to force the words doesn't make for good books or healthy authors. I'm frustrated and disappointed.

Just launched my own Author Direct "storefront." Not all my audio books are for sale--some titles are still exclusive to Audible (but some things will NOT be on Audible). Right now I'm running a HUGE sale--almost everything is 50% off--to celebrate the launch.
Come and check it out! https://bit.ly/3czt0Li

I always forget to share stuff like this. :-D But if you'd like to read MURDER AT PIRATE'S COVE (the first book in my M/M Cozy Mystery series) for FREE, it's a serialized read at Barnes and Noble this month:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/readou...

Flashbacks or no flashbacks? Trying to decide...

“Like being a cop. Only with boats and swords.”
“More hangings.”
Yikes. Yes. More hangings.
“What do you think about capital punishment?”
Jack gave a funny laugh. “Are you nervous?”
Ellery rewound the last few lines of their dialog, laughed too—he did kind of sound like he was conducting a job interview. He had to admit, “A little.”
“Why?” Jack’s light gaze was quizzical. “It’s just me.”

This has been pushed back to February of 2022 to give myself a little breathing room for the two "big" books of the year: The Movie-Town Murders and The 12-2 Per-Cent Solution. I've had to come to the conclusion that I just can't do more than six books a year. I admire those who can!

Despite the obstacles thrown in my path as I reached the home stretch (YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW), it's out and I'm very happy with it. I've got to say, it's really a difficult and delicate task to break up the rampant murders with the occasional less violent, less dramatic crimes, but that *has* to happen in a long-running cozy series. Right now, I'm loving that challenge. We'll see how I feel after book eight. :-D

I really, really, REALLY did not want to have to adjust any publishing dates this year, but I'm still navigating the schedule I set up last year when I was DELUSIONAL about how much I would get done in a day/week/month. Rushing isn't good for the books--or me. In most cases, the change is only a matter of days, but Murder is Served is getting bumped all the way to early 2022.

I plan on starting Body at Buccaneer Bay immediately after following Scandal at the Salty Dog. These next few books within the series all take place within weeks of the last one, which is kind of fun. The subplots are all firmly interwoven between each of these installments. I don't know if I'll do the whole series this way--as of now I'm undecided on how long the series will run.

Slowly but surely, we're getting there...

“Hey, if you think I’m a liar, so be it.”
Jack caught his arm. “I don’t think you’re a liar,” he said. “And I don’t want to fight with you.”
“I don’t want to fight with you either.”
Jack expelled a long breath. His shoulders relaxed a little. “So let’s not fight. Tell me what happened. Start from your decision to come here.”

Time for a general update! Two books down and five more to go this year. So far I'm focused, energized and really loving the work. I'm not sure why, because it's not like I handled last year very well. In fact, pandemic-induced emotional and creative paralysis pretty much defined 2020 for me. I guess just the promise of light at the end of the tunnel is enough right now? Anyway, one day--and one project--at a time.

I had this notion that I would write two totally nutty contemporary gothic novellas. WHY? Because I just want to write some light, funny, goofy things this year, and somehow this was the idea that came to me. Is it a good idea? Well... If I enjoy writing it and it entertains a few readers, then yes. I will consider it a success. Ask me again, when the project is finished. :-D

Moving into the queue behind Scandal at the Salty Dog comes the next installment in the series--and then I have some recalculating to do. I think this will be the last of the series this year. I'll save the next two (three?) books for 2022.