FREE TODAY!

     All the folks living in The Falls want to give their loyal readers a Christmas treat! So, for the next three days, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the latest three eBooks of The Falls small town mystery series are on sale!

     Wednesday, December 23rd, THE FALLS: BAD PENNY (#21 in the series) is FREE at the Kindle store! Thursday, December 24th, THE FALLS: PRODIGAL TWIN (#20) is FREE and Friday, December 25th, THE FALLS: INFERNO (#19) will be FREE!

     We all hope you take advantage of this, if you don't already have the eBook copy of the story!

     Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and have a Joyous Holiday Season...from all of us in The Falls!

'Tis the Season...

     Here's hoping that all of you are enjoying the wonderful, warm, chaotic, magical, and sometimes stressful holiday season! I have just had a colonoscopy and endoscopy done, the first one since the space age, and I'm about three quarters of the way through with the 22nd volume of The Falls small town mystery series. I also had a very pleasant surprise (no, not the C &E)  recently. There was a very flattering article written about my second career (writing) in the local paper, Your Voice News and Views, St. Lucie West/Tradition, by a very talented and remarkably talented reporter/columnist, Shelley Koppel. (skoppel@YourVoiceWeekly.com)

     Her interview on The Falls series , and therefore on me as well, was remarkably well done,  and kind and thoughtful toward an old Scotsman as well. If you get a chance, Google it or check it out on line. Thank you Miss Koppel, I am in your debt.

     I'm working on editing and transposing The Falls: Brotherly Love into paperback at CreateSpace as well. I continue to marvel at how easy it is to work with both Kindle Direct Publishing at Amazon and CreateSpace.com in producing eBooks and paperbacks. My thanks to both companies. They are indeed an independent (Indi) author's best friend.

     The tree is up (nine feet tall, all white lights with only glass, grass, sliver and white ornaments. Beautiful! We have a new fence this year and we have hung garland along each section with a large bow at each post and a wreath on each gate, courtesy of my creative and hard working better half, Carolyn. She amazes me all the time.

     Our daughter Stephenie and her husband Joe will be moving to Italy for the final stop in his 20 year stint in the army. He is now a Lieutenant Colonel. Congratulations Joe! Here's hoping they both have a great time in Italy! Ciao!

     Enjoy the season. And as the dragons would whisper in each of our ears, the greatest gift you can give anyone is the gift of your time and love. Happy holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah to all and to all a good night

Nearly Thanksgiving...

     Well, here we are again...the holiday season is staring us square in the face. Thanksgiving in two days...but the decorations, ads and sales for Christmas have been with us for weeks. When did the two become one? Ah well...I'm not to grip about it two days before Thanksgiving.

     Working on The Falls: The Grass is Always Greener, the 22nd The Falls small town mystery. It has part of the plot in Scotland, while a couple of others are in The Falls. I'm about halfway through and I'm still interested...that's a good sign! Chuckles. Working on editing the 16th Falls novel The Falls: Pretentious Withdrawal, for a CreateSpace paperback. 

     I was interviewed by a local reporter for the newspaper today. If all goes well I will blog about it in the next episode of this blog. I don't like to tempt fate and say too much until it really is in the paper, you know?

     I'm very thankful for all of you readers and for life in general. My family...wife, kids, grandkids and great kids are amazing and wonderful and i love them all dearly. I'm very lucky.

     I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all the fans of The Falls out there...and hope that all of you have a great day filled with family, friends, love, laughter, football and good food! May the dragons flame broiled your bird and may they watch over you all...

The First 13!

     The first 13 books from The Falls small town mystery series are now in paperback! They are available at Amazon.com, CreateSpace.com, and at Barnes & Noble. For those of you who love the feel of a book in your hands, they're here! The rest of them will be available in the near future. Return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Dead-Winter-small-mystery/dp/1497365384/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444062168&sr=1-3&keywords=The+Falls%3A+in+the+dead+of+winter

The Falls: Bad Penny

     JUST RELEASED! The Falls: Bad Penny is the 21st book in The Falls small town mystery series. It has just been released at the Kindle Store! Drake's dark past comes back to haunt him and Cash, Yamato, Horace, Doc and Meg struggle to find and capture Winchester Gibbons, master criminal.

     Just finished editing and publishing the paperback version of The Falls: Thanksgiving (#13 in the series) on CreateSpace this morning as well. It will be averrable at Amazon, CreateSpace and Barnes & Noble in a few days. Two in one day! A new record! Next up to be converted to paperback...The Falls: Pretentious Withdrawal. I've already started editing and converting.

     Phone service had been out for three days her in Port St Lucie, Florida. Florida Light and Power cut the AT&T cable to the cell tower. Our Verizon had been off as well. Hopefully, we will back on later today. 

     Happy Fall! Although in Florida...the seasons are almost indistinguishable! I miss the foliage and even the snow at times. I know, I know, stop whining. I hope you like the new Falls story and the next one is already percolating in my head. May the dragons watch over you all...

The Falls: Inferno...SALE!

     This weekend, from Friday morning at 8:00 AM until Sunday at 5:00 PM, Eastern Time, The Falls: Inferno, the 20th book in The Falls small town mystery series, will be on sale for only $.99 at the Kindle Store, Amazon.com! I'm sending out a huge thank you to the fans of The Falls who have already purchased it. This sale is my way of saying how much I appreciate your loyalty...and a way to make it even more accessible to everyone out there who might like to read it. May the dragons watch over you all... 

The Falls: Inferno...

     The Falls: Inferno has been out as an eBook on Kindle for about two weeks now. If you gotten a chance to read it, I hope you've enjoyed it. As the folks from The Falls and I head head toward our "coming of age" (21) volume, we would like to ask you, our readers, what you would like to see happen in The Falls. If you have a particular thing you'd like to see happen, a relationship you'd like to see expanded, or a neat twist to a plot line, send them to me! The characters in The Falls suggest things all the time! You can either leave a note here on the blog or send your idea to dragonrider32@Yahoo.com. That's what I use as my usual business email.

     My wife, Carolyn is now in the process of Beta reading The Falls: Revenge (#12 in the series) in paperback form. I finished proofreading it a few days ago. I'm also in the process of editing, updating and then transferring the 13th in the series, The Falls: Thanksgiving into CreateSpace format. When that's ready, I'll be sending it to CreateSpace to set up a proof. I'm also in the middle of writing the 21st in the series. It doesn't have a proper name yet. But I'm about a third of the way into it. Yes, I keep busy.

     The summer has been oppressive here on what they call the Treasure Coast of Florida. (We live in a recently created town called Tradition in the middle of the city of Port St Lucie.) It's far from the setting of The falls back in Vermont. But, I remember a number of really hot and humid days back in the heartland of the Green Mountain State when we lived there. I remember horse flies as big as your pinky! Mosquitoes nearly the size of dragon flies! Well, okay...maybe not quite that big. Noseeums! I remember them as well. Anyway, it's hot and humid...you get the idea. New Mexico was hot, but it cooled down at night and it never had the humidity we have here.

     Still working at my stand-up desk. Love it! I wear a Fitbit now and get in my 10,000 steps a day between walking, the gym and walking in place when I'm editing at the desk. Until the next time...may the dragons watch over you...

The Falls: Inferno

     The Falls: Inferno, the 20th volume of the Falls small town series, is now at the Kindle Store, released July 15th! The citizens of The Falls and the surrounding communities are growing more and more concerned as fires are being set in buildings around the area. Starting off with old barns and cabins, the targets of a pyromaniac begin to get larger and closer to the very heart of the village. Whispers abound that should any of the businesses or houses around the town square be set, it might mean the end of the town as they know it. A community watch is initiated.

     Return to The Falls and follow Cash, Yamato, Horace, Sergeant McNealy, Doc and Meg as they hunt for the deranged arsonist! The clock is ticking! Drake receives a disturbing jolt out of the past as well. Lorraine finds a nice young man, but is he, really?

     May the dragons watch over all the citizens of The Falls...

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Inferno-small-town-mystery-ebook/dp/B011H3QS18/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436831488&sr=8-2&keywords=The+Falls%3A+Inferno

Summer Doldrums...

     Okay, whatever is a summer doldrum anyway? Have any of you ever seen one, felt one, given one as a gift? Anyway, we are in the midst of summer...all the fireworks have been shot off...I certainly hope. I like to watch fireworks in the sky done by professionals, but I worry about the people who do their own. Too many bad things happen when you mix fire and gunpowder.

     At the moment, I am editing the next The Falls small town mystery...getting ready to place it on Kindle within the next few days. Have to come up with a cover as well. That will be through myecovermaker.com. I use that for Kindles and CreateSpace.com for paperbacks (including the covers obviously). The Falls: Inferno is about fires being purposely set around the town. It gets more and more tense for the usually calm and cheerful citizens of The Falls. Cash Green organizes the community and they...well you'll have to read the story to see what they do!

     I am checking on the second proof of The Falls: Return, that chronicles the return of Caleb LePaige back to The Falls, along with the cruel and pathetic warden of the prison that he escaped from. That should be available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, etc. in a few weeks. I'm already halfway through editing and converting The Falls: Revenge, over to CreateSpace in paperback form. I have to admit, I'm getting better at editing.

     You can see that I'm busy. We're also putting in a new fence and then doing some landscaping in a few weeks. My wife and I now volunteer once a week at the new hospital in our area Tradition Hospital, a Martin Memorial medical facility. I work as Guest Relations, taking discharged patients out in a wheelchair, while she works in Labor and Delivery. (She wanted to rock the babies, but they don't give her the opportunity.)

     I hope the summer is wearing well on all of you. Keep busy, keep writing and reading. There's always a wonderful story just around the corner! May the dragons watch over you...

Summer Begins...

     Just got back from CA where Carolyn and I were very proud to watch our granddaughter Chelsea graduate from high school. Great soccer player, student and all round great kid! She's headed to Boston University on a soccer scholarship. This is the fourth grandchild to graduate from high school, and the next one in line won't get there for about seven years. Had a great time at our son and daughter-in-law's house along with quite a few other members of the extended family. Our son and his wife always go out of their way to make us feel welcome and a real part of their family. I can't begin to express how good that makes us feel.

     I'm finishing editing The Falls: Return today then the proof is on to Carolyn for her edit as well. I'm not pleased with the cover, so there will be a whole new makeover, picture, cover color and font color. That paperback should be ready to be available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and CreateSpace.com soon.

     Heading into the home stretch with the new book, The Falls: Inferno. About four-fifths of the way done. I'm writing the crucial scene today in fact right after this. The characters have already whispered what should happen. Now let's see if it actually turns out that way. One never knows when an inspiration might strike!

     It's fantasy football league time! I run two leagues for family and friends. One league has drafted and the other one is getting there. I do enjoy playing owner and general manager! Hope that all the dad's out there have a good day. To me, Father's Day is simply a time for me to be thankful for having five of the most wonderful 'kids' imaginable!

     May the dragons watch over you all...

Happy Memorial Day...

     To all those who have served or are now serving...a heartfelt, proud and sincere THANK YOU for all you have done to keep our great nation free and proud. We owe you more than we will ever be able to repay and you will always be in our hearts and memories...

Good morning...

     Here's hoping that everyone is doing well as we head into springtime. (Of course, since we live in Florida, it's already summer here...heat and humidity.) At this point, I'm editing the paperback proof of The Falls: The Trial, or actually I've finished, and now my patient and wonderful wife Carolyn gets to be my Beta Reader. Should have that done as well as editing the template for CreateSpace.com within the next two weeks. Then order one more proof to just check it out and it will be published on CreateSpace, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other book stores. The Falls paperbacks are also on the lists for libraries to purchase as well, so if you'd like to read them and your library doesn't have them, let the librarian know. 

     I'm about a third of the way done with the 20th book in The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: Inferno. Bet you have a pretty good idea what the main plot line is just by the title, right? Well, be patient, there are some twists and turns.

     The short free promotion for The Falls: May Flowers, book 8 in the series, was very successful. Two hundred and eighty-three free eBooks went out. I try and do a free promotion every few months. Sort of like giving back to those who can't even afford the $2.99 price. Giving back always feels good, whatever it is you do.

     I'm running ads every day on at least six Facebook pages (over the years I've accumulated a lot of pages where I can reach thousands of readers...always looking for new ones) for the latest in The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: Prodigal Twin. That gets a bit tedious and I hope I don't bore people, but it's necessary. I'm the only publicist I have.

     It's almost the end of the school year. We have another grandchild graduating high school. So we'll be off to celebrate their success in a while. I'm sure many of you have the same type of thing coming up. As a teacher and a principal, I've gone to my share of graduations, and put on quite a few. But watching my grandkids graduate has a special feeling. Okay, okay...I won't get all sappy on you. Let's just say that I love them all...a lot. They mean the world to me...as do our kids...shhh! don't tell them! Our kids did a great job raising them...and they mean the world to us.

     Until next time, keep writing and reading. Remember, words create vast new worlds, inspire our minds, touch our hearts and souls and reach out across every language, race and religion. Words unite us and make each of us special. Words rock!!!!! May the dragons watch over you...

FREE!!!! The Falls: May Flowers!

     The Kindle edition of the 8th volume of The Falls small town mystery series, The Falls: May Flowers, will be free from Mother's Day, May 10th until Thursday, May 14th! If you haven't already gotten this book from The Falls series, here's your chance...for free!

     A very Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, and we'll be thrilled to have you spend part of it with all of us at The Falls! Happy Mother's Day...and a very wonderful May to everyone!

     May the dragons watch over you!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Flowers-small-town-mystery-ebook/dp/B00AQNC5M2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431176967&sr=8-1&keywords=the+falls+may+flowers

The Falls: Prodigal Twin...

     The Falls: Prodigal Twin, the 19th and latest volume of The Falls small town mystery series, is now at the Kindle Store on Amazon.com! Return to The Falls as Sean Frasier gets a surprise guest and both Sean and Yamato find themselves in deadly situations. Lorraine finds herself faced with a difficult choice while Jeremy and Sylvia Jean explore a creepy old house! Join Cash, Yamato, Horace, Doc, Jordan, Meg, Sean, William and Serafina as they strive to find out 'who dunit!' Welcome back to The Falls!

     All the community members and I hope you enjoy this new story! You get to look into another small town, Berington Springs that's a few miles away as the crow flies, as well as walk the familiar streets of West Sugar Shack Falls. After all, it's the town that matters. The town, it's colorful and caring people and the relationships they have built over the years. It's the first of November in Vermont as we peek in on the story, so grab yourself a hot chocolate with little marshmallows and find a comfy place to watch all the action from. Welcome back, we've missed you!

     May the dragons watch over you all...  

Happy Easter...

Happy Easter, to all our friends spread across several states, our wonderful family and to all the caring and kindhearted people we meet on FB. What better time to say we love and appreciate each and every one of you. May the Easter Bunny leave you sweet treats, and may the love and special feelings of the season bring you love and laughter surrounded by those you love and care most about. Reach out and bring a smile to those dearest in your lives. May the dragons watch over you all...

Onward and Upward?

     Happy Easter Eve! Hmmm...does anybody ever really say that, other than me, I mean? Ah well...The Falls: May Flowers is now in paperback on Amazon, and I have finished editing The Falls: Election. Carolyn is about halfway through the Beta read as well. So, within a week, I'll be putting the finished version on CreateSpace and publishing, I would imagine. I'm already starting to edit and transfer the next of The Falls novels (The Falls: The Trial) to the CreateSpace template. I usually place about three small 'chapters' (the amount I write every morning) into one regular chapter with *** in-between to show a change of scene. That means I have to convert the format of each Falls book from their original format on Kindle.

     Today I take my iMac and place it back upstairs on the standup/sitdown desk. It's been okay sitting at the dining room table while recuperating from the toe surgery, but I'll be glad to get back up to the writing loft again. I enjoy standing while I write now. I'm back at the gym and will start swimming Tuesday. (We swim Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday...go to the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday after our walk which we do 6 days a week). Sunday is sleep in day. Okay, okay...I only sleep until 7:00 or so at the latest, but that's getting up when I wake up rather than the alarm waking me at 6:00 like the other six mornings. Chuckles...big difference huh?

     Well, Carolyn's got the duck in the sink thawing out for Easter dinner and the Easter Bunny is prepping himself (or herself) for the rigorous trip around the world to deliver eggs, candy and baskets! May your day be filled with small pleasures and as always, may the dragons watch over you...

Huge Sale!

     The Falls: County Fair, the latest in The Falls small town mystery series, will be on sale this Thursday through Saturday (March 26th -March 28th) for $.99 at the Kindle Store! It's to thank all the kind and caring readers who return to The Falls and follow along with Sheriff Cash Green, Deputies Ericka Yamato and Horace Scofield as well as Doc Stone, Meg Monroe and the Frasier brothers. Return to The Falls and may the dragons watch over you...

The Dining Room Table...

     I'm writing this from my dining room table. My standup desk is left upstairs and we are mutually wishing I was there. I had surgery on the toe next to the big toe on my left foot. I had to have the bone shaved down considerably as it was affecting my walking and rubbing on the big toe. It's been coming for years. Had it done Wednesday. Here it is Friday and I feel a bit frustrated and like the proverbial bump on a log...sadly out of place. It aches, but not badly and getting around is like walking on eggshells. 

     Anyway...enough of a pity party. The second proof for The Falls: May Flowers is on its way from CreateSpace.com and then, after a quick look through, I'll give the okay to have it available on Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, CreateSpace.com, etc. If you're interested, it takes about four or five days usually after I approve the proof for it to be available on Amazon (its immediately available at CreateSpace.com) and two to three weeks for Barnes and Noble and other book stores to list it.

     The initial proof for The Falls: Election, the next in the series, is being shipped. That will take Carolyn and I about three weeks or so to go through carefully. So it should be ready for approval in a little over a month. In the meantime, I'm working on The Falls: Prodigal Twin, nineteenth in the series as an eBook for Kindle. I'm on page 93 on the Word document I believe, which translates to about two thirds of the ways through. The Falls: County Fair is still the latest on the Kindle "shelves".

     Spring in Florida is in the mid 80's and the AC runs quite a bit during the day (we keep it at 78 degrees). I'm not sure I'll ever really get used to Florida weather. I'm an old Vermont boy, by way of Scottish, English and Irish ancestors. All of those locations together can't equal the humid and heat of a Florida summer, trust me.

     So here I sit, one leg up, trying to get comfortable and wishing the healing along. May your day be filled with small pleasures and may the dragons watch over you...

The Space Center and River Excursion...

     My sister Ann and her grandson Spencer were here for the past 5 days. They live in the frosty climes of Vermont (Yes, right around the corner from where The Falls is located!) and needed a break from Old Man Winter. We had a great time gong with them to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Florida (where we had taken my daughter Stephanie and her husband Joe a few months earlier). We also took a pleasant two hour tour on the St. Lucie River which was kind of neat as well as visiting a local botanical garden (with the largest collection of Bonsai trees in the world), and several restaurants including Chuck's Seafood in Ft. Pierce and Longhorn in Tradition. We also engaged in  two nights worth of serious and enthusiastic card playing with the game Sevens! (If you don't know how to play it...check it out!) We even checked out the new heating system in the community pool.

     They went back on Friday, flew into Boston and drove home from there. With the amount of snow, ice and freezing temperatures up in New England, I'm surprised we haven't had more visitors this winter! Anyway, for the past week, I have taken a break from writing, some advertising and checking FB, Twitter and my blog. We also had a break from our morning walks, trips to the gym. Now that we are back in our regular pattern, life goes on as usual.

     I should have the edit for The Falls: May Flowers ready for CreateSpace soon and that will make the first eight of The Falls stories in paperback at CreateSpace.com, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I have already started transposing the next Falls novel, The Falls: Election, into the template for CreateSpace.

     My thoughtful wife Carolyn bought me a comfort standing mat for my standup desk. It's about three feet wide and two feet deep and works well. I can certainly tell the difference. I can even stand barefooted now if I want and write. Thank you, Sweetheart!

     Ah well...onward and upward! Take care and may the dragons watch over you...

Playing With Fire...

     On February 14th, I was honored to be a part of the annual BookIt! program at the Morningside Library in Port St, Lucie. Between the library in Ft. Pierce and the one in Port St. Lucie, there were 45 local authors represented. 

     One of those authors was David Tienter. He has written several novels, one of which is Playing With Fire. The story is about a crusty, older ex-special forces Marine who is asked to find a lost hiker on the Appalachian Trail. This unusual hero finds evidence of a brutal murder and the hunt is on for a monster who needs to kill. It's fast-paced action as the hero follows the trail of the killer all the way down to the Florida Keys and then back up to The Trail once again. If your taste runs to thrillers and action-adventure you'd do well to check the book out. You can find both the Kindle and paperback versions on Amazon.com. I found the book to be a fast read and an excellent story. David also exhibited a good dose of down home humor as the book went along.

http://www.amazon.com/Playing-Fire-David-Tienter/dp/0692262040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424720433&sr=8-1&keywords=Playing+with+Fire+David+Tienter

BookIt!

     Well, Carolyn and I attended the BookIt! local authors presentation at one of the nearby libraries yesterday. There were 45 local authors who were selected to attend and it was held between two libraries in the area. The Morningside Library in Port St. Lucie was where we went from 10-1 (It was the coldest day of the winter for us in Florida! And we were outside in an enclosed area!) and the Ft. Pierce Library held the other part of the celebration from 1-4 that afternoon.

     It was interesting to meet some of the local writers. Funny, writers are a solitary lot in many cases. We do our work alone, and spend most of our time planning and developing our craft alone. To see that many authors together at tables with their wares and different approaches (and there were lots of different approaches!) was different. I realize that many writers belong to groups and go to conventions, and I may do that eventually, but right now, I am heavily involved with getting my stories out there for people to read. Sometimes that's a hit or miss, and try, try again endeavor. I have learned a number of things from other writers and bloggers online, for which I am eternally grateful. 

     The proof for The Falls: May Flowers arrived Thursday and I'm in the process of editing the paperback. The Falls: Cupid's Arrow in paperback form is now for sale at Barnes & Noble, CreateSpace.com, Amazon.com, etc. That makes the first seven of The Falls books available in paperback with one almost there. The Falls: County Fair is out on Kindle and I'm advertising that almost everyday on FB and Twitter.

     The first quarter of The Falls: Prodigal Twin is written (first and second drafts) and I work on it almost every morning. I edit either a paperback proof or transfer a word document to a CreateSpace template almost every afternoon. Yes, I am a creature of habit, as we have discussed before. I am a worker bee, not enough posturing for a drone.

     Here's hoping you all had a wonderful and warm Happy Valentine's Day! As I grow older, the meaning of Valentine's Day has subtly changed. Now, I simply want the ones I love, family and friends, to be happy, healthy and be able to enjoy the world around them. That brings me happiness.

     NFL combine coming up, which Carolyn and I enjoy...but I am having football withdrawal. Another football-less Sunday...sigh. Ah, well. We are watching the fifth year of Downton Abby on Blu-ray and loving it. Can't remember a series I've liked better. (Although we love NCIS, The Big Bang Theory, Castle, Bones and others.)

     'Til next time, remember to be yourself. Whoever that may be. Trying to be somebody else, for whatever reason, just doesn't ever quite make it. Enjoy the day...and may the dragons watch over you...

VALENTINE'S DAY SALE!

       Just for Valentine's Day! The Falls: Cupid's Arrow, the seventh in The Falls small town mystery series, will be on sale for $.99 at the Kindle Store from Saturday, February 7th until Wednesday, February 11th! (Paperback editions of the book are also available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and CreateSpace.com.)

     Happy Valentine's Day from all of us at The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-Cupids-Arrow-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B009252DAE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423138170&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Falls%3A+cupid%27s+arrow

The Falls: County Fair...JUST RELEASED!

     The County Fair is coming to The Falls! And with it comes a team of thieves and criminals who work on the midway as carnies by day and break into and steal from local stores by night. Sylvia Jean finds out something fascinating about Melinda, the TA in her economics course. At the same time, William, Sean and Serafina find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation in the Big Apple! It's fall in the Green Mountains of Vermont and the colorful characters in the community are enjoying the few days they have left before the first snow storm of the winter. Join Cash Green, Ericka Yamato, Horace Scofield, Doc Stone and Meg Monroe as you return to The Falls!

http://www.amazon.com/Falls-County-Fair-small-mystery-ebook/dp/B00SK4TKMM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422709793&sr=8-1&keywords=the+falls+county+fair

Book It! Information...

     For those of you who have been following my humble writing career, I thought you might be interested that I will be exhibiting and selling books at the Book It! Celebration at the Morningside Library in Port St. Lucie on Saturday, February 14th, 2015. Please find attached a photo of the flyer I was sent. May the dragons watch over us all...

Editing the Proof...

     Well, I just finished up revising the proof for The Falls: Cupid's Arrow and submitted it for review back into CreateSpace. I should hear back in 24 hours or so. They are very consistent and excellent about keeping to a schedule. I had more things to fix with this one than normal, and I had to change the cover picture as well (a bit blurry when I saw the paperback proof). Once I get back the second proof and skim through it, I'll order three to have here at home as usual.

     Thanks goes to my patient and caring wife, Carolyn once again for being a Beta Reader. The two of us together are it. Sometimes I feel like I'm juggling way too many jobs trying to write, edit, be the cover creator, publish on Kindle (for the eBooks) and on CreateSpace (for the paperbacks) and then advertise as well on Facebook and Twitter. (Have a told you that I'm no technical genius and I have to figure stuff out a lot?!) But other times I feel good about doing it all. My second career, I guess!

     The Falls: County Fair was just published on Kindle a couple of days ago. The eighteenth volume of The Falls small town mystery series. Did I ever think there would be eighteen of them? I don't know what I thought back in the beginning. But I liked the characters and the setting and it just seemed natural to continue on with new plots and a few twists and turns as I went. Small town Vermont is where I grew up, so I have a knowledge of the area and of the people. The characters are what make the series. Each book, they get more and more solidified, and the readers get to know each of the inhabitants as they go in and out of the stories. That's what I like as a reader, getting to know and care about the characters...so I have to assume there are readers out there that like the same thing.

     February 14th I will be taking part of the Book It! program at the Port St. Lucie Library. I will be exhibiting, selling, signing books, at the Morningside Branch of the Library, from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM. There are over 35 Treasure Coast authors participating and I am looking forward to meeting them. I picked up some plastic display cases to use for posters and have been working on brochures and posters for the occasion. I also got my first group of business cards from Vistaprint to hand out. Should be interesting. The library will provide a table, two chairs, a black table cloth and Wi-fi for the event. They will be advertising for it as well. I'll let you know how it goes.

     The wind is whistling around the house and my hanging plats out on the trees in the yard are getting a free ride! May the dragons watch over you all...

     

January Doldrums...

     Have you ever had them, the January Doldrums I mean? It's supposedly the slightly depressed, lethargic feeling that people who live in a heavy winter area sometimes get after the holidays in January or February. Goes along with being housebound from deep snow, ice and severe cold temperatures. Frankly, I can't ever remember having them, and since I now live in Florida (after 43 years in Vermont and 17 years in New Mexico) I don't assume I will. 

     That doesn't mean I can't connect with the feeling. Sometimes, when you get caught up in the daily grind, I think we all feel that way. For some it takes on the lethargic tendencies, for others, we get a bit down or have a small but not insignificant pity party without even realizing that's what we're doing. (Come on...you know you know what I'm talking about.)

     Okay...enough of that. At present I'm working on editing the paperback proof of The Falls: Cupid's Arrow. It's been hard to get to with the holidays and lots of doctors and dentist appointments. Seems like almost everyday we've had to go out and do something. Three-quarters of the way through and I'm determined to get it done soon. I have also finished The Falls: County Fair, 18th volume of The Falls series. I'm editing that and getting it ready for Kindle publishing in the mornings and editing the proof in the afternoon at this point. I need to put together an cover for County Fair as well and retake the cover photo for Cupid's Arrow...that will come fairly soon. I'd like to get County Fair on Kindle by next week.

     Christmas decorations are down...and that's saying something. We put up quite a lot, more each year. Now my wife is busily cleaning for her sister and brother-in-law to come and visit fairly soon. I just purchased my first non-Daytimer monthly planner in about thirty-five years. They were out of 2015 planners. Interesting.  I tried to buy in December and they were already out. Shakes my head. The world is crazy and getting crazier. Am I the only one who is tired of businesses pushing the calendar ahead farther and farther each year? By the way, I use Jeep Liberty cruisers in all The Falls books. Do you think I should send a letter to the Jeep company and let them know that? Been thinking about it. 

     Ah, well. May the dragons watch over you and may your new year be interesting, teach you a few things and make you smile. 'Til the next time...

New Year's Resolutions...

     Happy New Year! Here's hoping that you and your family and friends had a great holiday season and are ready and eager for the new year. Seems as though there were quite a few snafus this last year for lots of people...we can only hope that 2015 is a better, more gentler, kinder new year. 

     Well, I finished transferring The Falls: Cupid's Arrow into the CreateSpace template, saved it in pdf and entered it in the CreateSpace book creator. Got the proof back a few days ago and I'm working on editing it. That's not going very fast due to the scrambled schedules during this time of year (for instance this afternoon I'll be taking the ornaments off the Christmas tree and disassembling it...a 3-4 hour job). (The schedule is why I haven't posted in a while as well.) I should be done in a week or so though. Then I'll sign in to the website, make the changes, redo the cover picture (the last one came out a bit blurry) and then submit it once again. Then I'll order the proof and if it looks okay...the seventh book in The Falls small town mystery series will be in print in Barnes & Noble, Amazon.co, CreateSpace.com and bookstores everywhere! Yeah!

     Ran out of my daily planner from Day-Timer. I have a new one ordered but it isn't here yet. Grrr. Hate improvising without it. Yes, I am a patterned person. How'd you guess? Wink, wink. Guess what? Getting hearing aids sometime in the next couple of weeks. Don't know how I feel about it. They aren't your grandmother's hearing aids. Small, very powerful and able to be altered through a computer program as needed. Most people won't even notice them...they're over the ear with a practically invisible plastic tube into my ear. I have been missing more lately...words of TV, garbled conversations when around a crowd...that sort of thing. But I will admit...makes me feel a bit old. If it makes a difference in what I hear, it will override that emotion I believe.

     We did our usual Christmas marathon, driving over to see our son Patrick in North Port on the other side of Florida Christmas Eve (2 hours and 45 minutes) then over Alligator Alley and to out daughter Dynese in Ft Lauderdale (another 3 and a half hours) and then home (another hour and a half). Love seeing them all, not so crazy about the trip. We might go back to the northeast (son Craig and sister Ann) for Christmas next year...we'll see. You know, it seems as though we always go and visit other people. Seems like it should start to go the other way eventually.

     Standup desk is better and better. Love the feeling and expending a few more calories while I write. My white board is about filled up and I have five to seven more scenes left to write in The Falls: County Fair, the 18th in the series. That should be out in Kindle format within two to three weeks. Oh! I was accepted in the Book It! local authors in Port St Lucie in February. There should be 38 local authors set up at the library. I'll get a table two chairs, black tablecloth and wireless access. I'll provide the books, business cards and pamphlets. It's mostly for exposure...I haven't done much advertising locally...mostly over the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, etc. I'll write more about it in the next blog entry.

     Until then, may the dragons watch over you...and may your days be filled with small pleasures...