The Fourth of July...

     Okay, so it's October 21st. But to me it's the Fourth of July. Just submitted the re-edited and templated manuscript/cover/etc. of The Falls: Fourth of July to CreateSpace. I should be able to order a proof tomorrow sometime. That will make the sixth The Falls book in print...paperback print not digital print. Not bad...

     It's been a hectic few days. We just got back from a trip to VT (sister) and CN (son) and were preparing to leave on a Disney 4 night cruise (from Port Canaveral, FL to Nassau, Castaway Cay and back) this last Sunday. But we received news that Carolyn's mom, Felicia, who has been in a wonderful medical/wellness facility in CA had passed away Saturday night. We cancelled the trip and Carolyn and I (mostly Carolyn) have spent the last few days on the phone with our kids, her sister and arraigning things to bring her mom from CA to VT where she will be buried next to her husband, Frank, Carolyn's dad. She'll be headed there for a few days. Her mom and dad were great people...they will always be loved and will be missed by the whole family.

     I have to stay home. I have several doctors' visits in the next few days for tests and prep appointments that can't be rescheduled or missed. I will have a little procedure to straighten my sinus and remove a bone spur that's been bothering me for some time now the second week in November. That will be good so I'm actually looking forward to it. (Don't remind me I said that the day after the surgery!)

     Back to writing. I'm busy writing the eighteenth in The Falls small town mystery series. No title yet...waiting for inspiration. I seem to have more and more fun with each book. I wondered if I would get tired of writing one series but it seems that I have fallen in love with the little town in Vermont and the lovable, colorful and sometimes unpredictable inhabitants. I can honestly say that I have never had 'writers' block'. I walk up to the sit down/stand up desk and simply start writing. I write a chapter a day, edit it right afterwards and then in the afternoon, I work on transposing the digital Kindle versions into CreateSpace worthy paperbacks. Carolyn reads the chapter from the day before and gives me feedback on our daily walks. It works for me. Everyone has their own process.

     So for now, may the dragons watch over you and don't forget to get the candy for all the spooks and goblins for Halloween!

From Vermont to Connecticut and Back Again...

     Hey there! We've been gone for awhile...traveling up to Connecticut to see our wonderful son Craig and his lovely wife Debbie and then on to Vermont visiting with my sister, Ann McFarren and her husband Don. Ann is the most gifted oil painter I now. She also does great watercolors. We helped Ann and Don work Art in the Park up in Rutland ( we were the grunt help!)and got a chance to experience New England in the fall. Cool nights, foliage and breakfast at Sugar and Spice, the famous pancake house up on the mountain road. Had two great dinners with my sweet niece Sheri and her wonderful family and my wonderful cousin Judie.

     I arrived back home to find that the last The Falls small town mystery series book, The Falls: Coldblooded, that I had hurried to publish on Kindle before I left, needed a good edit. One of my writer friends, Kate Shannon, was kind enough to gently let me know. So since Wednesday, I have been busy editing and then republishing Coldblooded. It's now back on Amazon Kindle, absent a few dozen typos and glitches. Thanks Kate.

      At this point, The Falls: Making a List, Checking it Twice, the fifth volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is now in paperback at Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace, Amazon, etc. Just received three author copies in the mail. I always send for 3 author copies after okaying the last proof, just to have them on hand. I brought my sister copies of the first four books when we visited. Seems so nice to have the actual book in my hands. I am constantly amazed at the high quality of paper that CreateSpace utilizes.

     I'll be starting the 18th volume of The Falls series this morning. The plot has already been hinted at in the last book Coldblooded. But there are always several story lines running through the books. It is based on a town after all! Everybody needs to get into the act!

     We finally sold our house on North Padre Island just off Corpus Christi in Texas. Praise be! We had originally bought it as a retirement home because we couldn't afford any houses in Florida where our youngest grandkids live. Then the market in FL crashed and suddenly we could. That's when we bought in Tradition (Port St. Lucie). We have hung onto the house in Texas so we wouldn't be selling for a loss. One thing I do know...the taxes and insurance costs in Texas were astronomical! We won't miss those even though the house itself was beautiful and on a canal that went right into the Gulf. It had a dock and a double lot. I truly hope the new owners enjoy it.

     So, now I'm off to write, at my standup desk of course, and wish you all the best of Saturdays! May the dragons watch over you all...

The Falls: Coldblooded...

JUST RELEASED! The Falls: Coldblooded, the seventeenth and latest in The Falls small town mystery series, is at the Kindle Store! Ruth Graham, rogue ex-FBI agent has returned. Fresh from murdering her former FBI supervisor, Rich Meadows, she travels north to hunt down Sergeant McNealy of the Vermont State Police and Sheriff Cash Green. At the same time, the food truck caravan invades The Falls and a rash of home and business robberies ensues! Alice Farmington Puddlington finds that a charming and handsome Irish writer has found his way into her heart! It's August, so return to The Falls, and follow Cash Green, Ericka Yamato, Horace Scofield, Doc Stone and Meg Monroe as they find out 'who dunit'! Grab a frosty lemonade and put your feet up! Return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Coldblooded-small-town-mystery-ebook/dp/B00O6FTWWM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1412513870&sr=8-2&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Coldblooded