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...