Interview with a Monster

Thought for the day:  Stowy Jenkins is a deliciously vile character, but thank goodness, we the readers have the good fortune of encountering him from a safe distance. [me]

[image courtesy of morguefile]

A few years ago, as a participant in Yolanda Renee's blog tour to promote her book The Snowman, I had the dubious honor of using my handy-dandy Flight of Fancy gizmo to go to the Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward, Alaska, to interview the creepy-as-hell serial killer Stowie Jenkins, AKA the Snowman. (You can find that earlier interview HERE.)

Well, this time, I didn't sign up to be an official part of her current tour to promote her newest book Murder, Just Because, but it's my pleasure to help her unofficially, because I love HER and I love her book. But ain't no way I'm going back to interview that psycho. Nuh-uh. It was scary enough interviewing that psychopath when he was behind bars, but now, after ten years in the joint, he's escaped, and he's even scarier than before.

[image courtesy of unsplash]

So I did what any reasonable writer would do.

I returned to the handy-dandy Gizmo store and purchased a special attachment for my Flight of Fancy gizmo. It allows me to be... invisible. Ta DA! Pretty smart for an old broad, huh?

Besides,  there was no need for me to do an interview this time, anyway, because professional journalist Denise Cochran already did that in the book. In her family's secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere, Alaska. (Yeah, she's a lot braver than I am.)

But, ya see, the actual give-and-take of the interview isn't included in the book, so I'm gonna take another Flight of Fancy trip just for you guys, so I can observe the interview unseen and tell you all about it. (You're welcome.)

And awaaaaaay we go...

******

Wow! This is some cabin! Cozy and homey, with a nice fire burning in the fireplace. But where the heck is Denise? The creep's over there sitting in a classy-looking wing-backed chair, as if he owned the place... and a number of cameras are pointed in his direction... but no Denise. So what gives? She must be one smart cookie. Obviously smarter than I am...

DENISE'S VOICE: Thank you so much for allowing me to interview you today, Mr. Jenkins, but I'm curious. Would you mind telling our audience why you agreed to it?

ME: (rolling my eyes) Oh puhleeeze. The creep's a publicity slut. Duh.

STOWY:  (grinning into one of the cameras)  You can call me Stowy... or Stone.  Mr. Jenkins was my old man's name.   (He sweeps the room with ice cold blue eyes, pausing for a beat too long as he looks in my direction. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention and a chill dances up my spine.  He can't see me, he can't see me, he can't see me... can he? Then he looks back into the camera, allowing me to breathe again.)  Thank you for hosting me,  Ms. Cochran, but I must say, as much as I appreciate being here in your lovely cabin, I'm more than a little disappointed you aren't actually here with me. I’ve always admired your beauty and your honesty. It would've been so nice to see you... (He grins again.) in the... flesh. 

DENISE'S VOICE: Yeah, well, I appreciate that, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. No point in taking any chances. So why did you agree to come? 

STOWY: (shrugging) I suppose I can't blame you for not wanting to entertain the Snowman face-to-face, but like I said, I admire you, so I would never hurt you. (He pauses for a moment before continuing. Then he gazes into a camera with a pseudo sincere aw shucks look on his face.) I agreed to talk to you so I could assure your devoted listeners that I mean them no harm. My only quarrel is with those people who did me wrong.

DENISE'S VOICE: Is that so? And how exactly have any of those people wronged you, Stowy?

STOWY: (eyes widening and voice rising) Are you kidding? They sent me to prison! For ten years of unmitigated hell. No man should have to endure that kind of treatment, especially me!

DENISE'S VOICE:  Wait a second. Let me get this straight. Isn't it an established fact that you killed those women?

STOWY: Well, technically, yes, but my mother tortured and molested me for years, and she's the real murderer here, not me. I think of myself as more of an... artist. 

DENISE'S VOICE: I see. Are you saying your mother controlled you... that she made you kill? 

STOWY: (with a humorless snort) Not at all. The stupid cow wasn't even aware of my hobby, but when I was nine years old, I saw her kill my father. She fed him her special chicken soup, and then she just stood there watching while he convulsed and died. Then she winked at me, tucked him into bed as if he were merely sleeping, and then waited an hour before calling the paramedics.

DENISE'S VOICE: I see...

STOWY: No, you DON'T see! (He leans toward the camera, his eyes wide and unblinking.)  I'm telling you the old bat was a homicidal maniac! She killed Winnie's mother the same way. (He sits back in his chair and folds his arms across his chest.) She's the one who should have been in prison. Not me.    
          

DENISE'S VOICE:   This is all news to me. Did any of this information come out at your trial?

STOWY:  HA! What trial? There was no trial. That was a kangaroo court. A travesty of justice! They put me away for life, and then added ten more life  sentences on top of that. I was railroaded.

DENISE'S VOICE:  But your mother is dead now, right?

STOWY:  (Looking straight at me, he grins broadly, his eyes and white teeth sparkling in the bright lights.) Yesssss, she is.


ME: (With a sudden overpowering urge to run out the door and into the Alaskan wilderness... or at least, back home to do the laundry.) Holy crap.  Can he see me? I hiccup and he furrows his brow in my direction. Shaking, I fumble in my pocket for the gizmo control. Where in the...
                    

STOWY:  And I must say, it was one of my most enjoyable kills. 


ME: I'm outta here!!! (I just remembered... my fella's in desperate need of  clean socks...) Sorry, but if you want to know how the rest of the interview went, you'll have to read the book and figure it out for yourselves.

******************

Murder, Just Because

Short Blurb:

The Snowman is back, and as his bloody rampage continues, terrified Alaskans increasingly doubt Quaid’s abilities. In a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, Jenkins starts picking off the people in Quaid’s life… and drawing closer to the most important person in Quaid’s life...his wife. The Snowman’s cruelty knows no bounds,  but the object of his hate knows no fear!

Tagline:

The Snowman’s cruelty knows no bounds, but the object of his hate knows no fear.

Bio:

Looking for a new adventure, Renee recently moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A storyteller from a very early age, an avid reader, and with an education and background in business and accounting, becoming a writer only made sense. And writing mysteries pure logic.

More titles from Yolanda:

MURDER, JUST BECAUSE

LINKS

Buy Link Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081XHNX69/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Buy Link Smashwords

          https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1008496

Author Links:

          Blog: Defending the Pen

          http://yolandarenee.blogspot.com/

AmazonPage:

https://www.amazon.com/YolandaRenée/e/B008HPQ5PO/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 Twitter:

https://twitter.com/yolandarenee

 Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Murder-Madness-Love-202510393095051/?ref=hl

 Email: yolandarenee@hotmail.com

******************
If you enjoy chilling thrilling books, look no farther. This one will definitely fill the bill. So, for that matter, will all of Ms. Renee's books. While you're hunkered down during this pandemic, you might as well cower under the covers with a good book or two, eh? (But pssstt! It's best to read them during the day...)

                         Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

P.S. I  hope y'all are doing well. Turns out, I WILL be taking the rest of this month off, and I WILL be writing. After reading my poor neglected manuscript, I decided it's just might be worth finishing, after all. So I'll see you guys next month. Take care, y'all!

A Shout-Out for a Super Writer

Thought for the day:  Publishing a book is like being pregnant. By the end, you're just ready to get that baby out! [Carmen de Sousa]

Yes, indeedy. It's that time again.  Yet another month has slipped through our fingers, and it is once again time for our IWSG monthly posts. As always, thanks to our fearless leader, Alex Cavanaugh, for founding this fine group, and thanks to all the other nurturing guys and gals who've helped turn it into the thriving community it is today. I'm telling ya, this group offers better support and lift than the world's most expensive bra. (No pesky underwires, either!) To join this super supportive group of writers and to see links to other participating blogs, please go HERE

Before I go forward, one step backward. Last month's question was about whether or not we'd ever been inspired to write something by a photograph. I said no. Um... oops.  I was wrong.

THIS stunning photo inspired me to write a blog post. (Can ya blame me???) It was taken by photographer Todd Robinson at a KKK rally in a county just north of us in the 1990s.

[If you're interested, you can find that old February, 2013 post right HERE ]

There. Now I feel better. (I didn't mean to lie to ya!)

Now, moving on to this month's question...

Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family tradition/customs in your stories?

Um, probably. It'd only be natural, dontcha think? But rather than pontificate on this subject, I've got something much better to write about... a new book!

Nope, not mine. Somebody much better. It's a brand new release from the lovely Elizabeth Seckman. If you aren't familiar with her, she's one of the sweetest ladies around, and what's more, SHE CAN WRITE!!! Reeeeeeally well!

A person who publishes a book willfully appears before the populace with his pants down. If it is a good book, nothing can hurt him. If it is a bad book, nothing can help him. [Edna St. Vincent Millay]

I'm sure Elisabeth would feel a teensy bit insecure at the prospect of appearing on my blog with her pants down, but honest... she has nothing to worry about! Her books are ALL good. Really!

Let's check out her latest, About Us, shall we?

Blurb:

Hayden Matthews isn’t looking for love—she’s trying to get as far from it as possible. She's already wasted eight years in a failed marriage and is ready for a good life. A peaceful life. One where she can raise her daughter to be strong, independent, and happy. But to make that happen, she must fix her own life first.

Cam Vorelli has loved Hayden since he was in grade school. Always in the friend-zone, he stood on the sidelines, his heart breaking, as she said I do to the wrong man. A man he knew didn't deserve her, who could never love her as he did. But what could he say? She was marrying into his family. Cam would never break a holy vow, much less be disloyal to his kin. 

Until he sees the bruises on Hayden. Abuse is a game-changer.

Leaving a husband like Tag, who has a hot temper, a badge, and a gun, is tricky. When Hayden calls Cam for help, she isn't trying to lure him into any romantic webs. She needs someone she can trust, and knowing her soon-to-be ex fears his former NFL cousin is a bonus. 

When Cam comes to her rescue, he isn’t doing it to win her love. He does it because it's the right thing to do. But if she starts to feel the same for him... couldn't it be fate?

Excerpt:

Was she a monster for wanting to be happy? Screw happy. She didn't start the divorce process so she could be 'happy'.  She wasn't a child. She knew 'happy' was an elusive, often selfish goal. Being happy was Tag's thing. He wanted every day of his life to be some sort of party. She hadn't asked for anything so impressive. She didn't ask for a big house or a new car. Hell, she didn't even expect vacations. All she wanted was a simple life, a peaceful life. A life where she knew when her husband said he had to work late that he truly was working late, not diddling the bartender or dropping the grocery money into a slot machine.  She'd have been content with a marriage that simply wasn't miserable.

Kobo: FREE

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/about-us-a-second-chance-novel

Smashwords FREE


https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1004700

Amazon: 99 cents 
https://tinyurl.com/u6xcrob


Elizabeth is a multi-published author of books for people

who are believers in happily-ever-after, true love, and stories with a bit of fun and twists with their plots. The mother of four young men, she tackles laundry daily and is the keeper of the kitchen. She lives along the shores of the Ohio River in West Virginia, but dreams daily of the beach. 

[And she's as cute as a button! sez ME]

Facebook/ Blog/ Website

Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other. 

To Smooth Sailing and Healthy Sales

Thought for the day: How do you make a yacht look younger? Simple... boat-ox.

Smarticus and I grew up on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, so fishing, crabbing and boating are kinda in our blood. Although we've been on all kinds of boats, we've only owned two: a small motorboat and a canoe, and both of them came after we moved to landlocked Atlanta. Go figure, huh?

Oh, I must go down to the sea again
To sail o'er the wind and the surf,
Though I'm not all the keen,
If you know what I mean,
But I must get my money's worth. 
[Des Sleightholme]

Keeping a boat afloat often requires a good bit of money and hard work, but for people who have salt water in their veins and truly love boating, no amount of money or work can cool their ardor. For others, their best two days with a boat are the day they buy it... and the day they sell it.

Some boaters have great fun coming up with clever names for their beloved boats, but we never bothered. However, it's possible that we may have called that fiberglass canoe a name or two when a certain misguided woodpecker kept tapping his little heart out on it every morning before sunrise. But (ahem) no names appropriate for painting on the side of a boat...

On the other hand, some names are sooooo cool. Like these:

• Seas the Day (My favorite!)
• Pier Pressure
• Campbell's Sloop
• Moor Often Than Knot
• Fish and Chicks
• Nauti-buoy
• Row vs. Wade (for the social activist)
• Dock Holiday
• Knot Paid For
• Now Who's the Loser, Dad? (Wouldn't be terribly effective on a small motorboat or canoe.)
• Bacon in the Sun
• Marlin Monroe
• Seaductress
• Sand Witch
• Aquafart
• Fartbutt

(ahem) I suspect a male came up with those last two name. Just a wild guess...

We once spent a mah-velous weekend with a friend on her houseboat, but the idea of living on a boat year-round never particularly appealed to me.  I mean... where would we fit our pool table...?

But some people do live on boats year-round, and they enjoy adventures the rest of us only dream about. Sure, there's lots of routine maintenance and inconvenience involved, (Like no room for a pool table...) but spending part of the year sailing to exotic locations and the rest of the year docked in the home marina with a whole slew of like-minded boat-dwelling fun-loving friends has gotta be pretty darned exciting. Kinda like a perpetual vacation.

Tickety Boo

Fellow blogger Ellen Jacobson knows all about this kind of life, because she and her hubby happen to live on a spiffy sailboat named Tickety Boo. Unusual name, huh? It's one of their favorite New Zealand expressions, and it means Everything is all good. Besides being a good conversation-starting name and fun to say, it also reminds them of how much they enjoyed living in New Zealand. Cool, huh? Ellen's blog is lots of fun, and NOW... she's turned her first-hand knowledge about boats and the terrific camaraderie among folks in a marina community into a... BOOK! A really GOOD book. A cozy mystery with terrific characters, a head-scratching whodunit, and a healthy dollop of humor. What's not to like? Nothing, I tell you... absolutely nothing! Better yet? This is only the first book of an anticipated series, so there'll be lots more fun and mystery yet to come.

Super cover, isn't it? Nice alliterative title, too. But what's most special about this book is what you'll find inside its cover. To tell the truth, I'm not generally a huge fan of amateur sleuth tales, but I am if the characters are memorably likable and the writing is top-notch. And humor... there's gotta be humor. And this book? It scores well on all counts.

Yep, I fore-sea a great writing career for this gal. I hope this first book makes a huge splash in the reading world.

MURDER AT THE MARINA BY ELLEN JACOBSON | RELEASE INFO

Blurb

A dilapidated sailboat for your anniversary—not very romantic. A dead body on board—even worse.

Mollie McGhie is hoping for diamonds for her tenth wedding anniversary. Instead, her husband presents her with a dilapidated sailboat. Just one problem—she doesn’t know anything about boats, nor does she want to.

When Mollie discovers someone murdered on board, she hopes it will convince her husband that owning a boat is a bad idea. Unfortunately, he’s more determined than ever to fix the boat up and set out to sea.

Mollie finds herself drawn into the tight-knit community living at Palm Tree Marina in Coconut Cove, a small town on the Florida coast. She uncovers a crime ring dealing in stolen marine equipment, investigates an alien abduction, eats way too many chocolate bars, adopts a cat, and learns far more about sailing than she ever wanted to.

Can Mollie discover who the murderer is before her nosiness gets her killed?

A Mollie McGhie Cozy Sailing Mystery #1

Buy Links

Murder at the Marina—A Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery #1

Release Date: June 21, 2018

Print ISBN 978-1-7321602-1-7
eBook ISBN 978-1-7321602-0-0
Mystery

Available at:

Amazon (US) - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CHXQ29Y

Amazon (CA) - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07CHXQ29Y

Amazon (UK) - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CHXQ29Y

Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/murder-at-the-marina

Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-at-the-marina-ellen-jacobson/1128516692

Apple iBooks - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1373848719

Google Play - https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Ellen_Jacobson_Murder_at_the_Marina

Author Bio & Social Media Links

Ellen Jacobson writes mystery and sci-fi/fantasy stories. She is the author of the “Mollie McGhie Sailing Mystery” series. She lives on a sailboat with her husband, exploring the world from the water. When she isn't working on boat projects or seeking out deserted islands, she blogs about their adventures at The Cynical Sailor.

You can connect with Ellen on:

Author Website - https://ellenjacobsonauthor.com/

Author Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/EllenJacobsonAuthor/

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17395138.Ellen_Jacobson

The Cynical Sailor Blog - http://thecynicalsailor.blogspot.com/

The Cynical Sailor Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/TheCynicalSailor/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Ellen__Jacobson

Newsletter Sign-up - http://eepurl.com/dpy5sv

 How about you? Think you'd like to live on a boat? If so, what would you name her?

Just as it always has, the sea still calls to me, but nowadays, I'm afraid I have to tell it to leave me a message. (sigh) Well, time for me to sail off into the sunset. So to speak. (I'm afraid waddle would be a much more accurate description.)

                                     Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

P.S. Hot Flashes and Cold Lemonade will be on sale next week... Monday through Friday... for the paltry sum of ninety-nine cents. Haven't read it yet? Here's your chance to get it on the cheap.

Friends?

Thought for the day:  Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... it has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which gives value to survival. [C.S. Lewis]

[image from Morguefile]

When I was a young girl, a framed piece of embroidery hung on my bedroom wall, and it was comprised of a big sprawling tree, two people standing under it, and the words, Friendship is a sheltering tree.

And that's true, isn't it? Friends pull together and help shelter each other from the many storms in life, while doubling our joys and halving our sorrows. It may not be one big thing that binds us together, but rather, a million little things over the course of time.

 A friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart. [author unknown]

Looking back, I've been blessed with many wonderful friends, but since I started blogging, my concept of friendship has changed in ways I never would've thought possible. Now, some of the men and women I think of as friends... as people I genuinely care about... are people I've never actually met face-to-face. And probably never will.

YOU are very likely one of them.

Today, I was planning to do a blog post about something super cool Smarticus and I did on our anniversary, but my conscience pushed me in a different direction. While he and I were celebrating our 49th anniversary, another blogging author was grieving the death of her husband. I know who Lee is, but she probably doesn't know me from Adam, but still... I felt compelled to do something. 

So I'm going to do what many other bloggers and members of the IWSG have done. I'm going to tell you about her latest book, which was released just two days before her husband died. Needless to say, she can't bear the burden of promoting her book right now, but we, her fellow bloggers and writers, can. This can be our one little thing to show her we care. Our chance to be her sheltering tree.

Perhaps you'd like to mention her new book on your blog? Or some of her many other books? Maybe purchase one or two...? It may not be much, but it's... something.

Her books may be called juvenile fiction, but then... so are the Harry Potter books. I believe this is the third book of a trilogy, so I'm gonna have to start with book one. Care to join me?

Pete’s stuck in medieval England!

Pete and his friend Weasel thought they’d closed the Time Lock. But a young page from medieval times, Peter of Bramwell, goes missing. His absence during a critical moment will forever alter history unless he’s found.

There’s only one solution - fledgling wizard Pete must take the page’s place. Accompanied by Weasel and Fanon, Pete’s alligator familiar, they travel to 1173 England.

But what if the page remains lost - will Pete know what to do when the critical moment arrives? Toss in a grumpy Fanon, the duke’s curious niece, a talking horse, and the Circle of Stones and Pete realizes he’s in over his young wizard head yet again...

Barnes & Noble /Kobo /iTunes /Amazon /Kindle /Foyles /Goodreads / C Lee McKenzie Books

Release date – May 15, 2018

Juvenile Fiction - Fantasy & Magic/Boys & Men

$13.95 Print ISBN 9781939844460

$3.99 EBook ISBN 9781939844477

C. Lee McKenzie has a background in Linguistics and Inter-Cultural Communication, but these days her greatest passion is writing for young readers. When she’s not writing she’s hiking or traveling or practicing yoga or asking a lot questions about things she still doesn’t understand.

************************************************************************************************************

Seeing's as how this is June first, the window has closed for entries to receive an autographed copy of my new book Explosive Beginnings. I will announce the winner on next Wednesday's IWSG post. Good luck!

                                     Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

                                     Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.  [Maya Angelou]

Springing into Action... Very Slowly

Thought for the day: We cannot all do great things in life, but we can all do small things with great love. [Mother Teresa]

Wow, it's hard to believe April's kaput already, isn't it? I thoroughly enjoyed my month-long break from blogging, but I must confess, I didn't exactly accomplish any great things while I was away. It's a good thing the small things matter, too, huh? In addition to the pain-in-the-butt spring cleaning stuff, I did lots of reading, enjoyed a fantabulous visit from a long-time friend, and finished off the month with a visit to our pals in Tennessee.

On second thought, maybe the month was pretty doggone great. Alas, I didn't do any writing, which I've always done during my April breaks in the past, but I did some  very productive research, so I suppose that counts for something. Hopefully, I'm ready to spring into writing action now.

As for doing all that nitty gritty housecleaning? The cruel irony of housework: people only notice it when you don't do it. [Danielle Raine] Ain't that the truth?

 Here's a pic of my friend Caryl and me taken during her visit. Ever since we met in second grade, we were the best of friends for many many years... and then somehow, many more years slipped away while we kept in touch sporadically via email, Facebook, and telephone. This was the first time we saw each other face-to-face in more than forty years, and it was as though we'd never been apart. Smarticus was a real peach, too. He let us sit in the back seat (so we could yak more easily,) while he sat up front... driving Miss Daisies. Caryl and I vowed not to let that many years slip past us again. (Not that there's a snowball's chance in Hades that we could...) Friends are people who know the song in your heart and  can sing it back to you when you forget the words. [author unknown]

Explosive Beginnings officially launched two days ago, and it's off to a pretty good start, so I have no complaints there. I'd better get my arse in gear with Clinging to Hope, though, because some of the people who won early copies through Goodreads are already bugging me about when Book Two is gonna be released. No rest for the weary. Time to ignore the pretty weather and give my muse a swift kick in the keister.

As you can probably tell, this is the monthly IWSG post, and as always, many thanks go to our fearless leader, Alex Cavanaugh, for founding this fine group, and to all the other nurturing guys and gals who've helped turn it into the thriving community it is today. To join this super supportive group of writers and to see links to other participating blogs, please go HERE

In light of how I spent my April (cough!cough!) writing time, this month's question is rather appropriate:

It's spring! Does this season inspire you to write more than others, or not? 

Um... NOT! Unfortunately. Not this year, anyway. During the long dreary drab days of winter, it's much easier to snuggle down in the house with a pen and notebook than it is when the colors and scents (achoo!) of spring are calling to me from right outside the window. All I can say is it's a good thing I don't live at the beach. I'd never write anything. Ever.

How about you? Are you more productive this time of year, or does the beauty of the season hijack your attention? (And to those of you who still haven't escaped winter's clutches, I apologize. Take heart. Winter can't possibly last forever.)

                                      Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

The Countdown Begins

Thought for the day:  Good things come to (s)he who waits.

I sure hope that thought for the day is correct, because I'm currently waiting (and waiting...!) for the AWOL AOL to come back up so I can access my email. ARRRRRGH! Talk about frustrating.

Oh well. It's April, people! Glory be, it's time for me to consider donning snow shoes to make it easier to plow through pollen as high as an elephant's eye so I can pull weeds, dig holes, plant plants and admire the profusion of beautiful flowers on every side. Woo-HOO! It's time to breathe in deeply (while wearing a mask, of course...) and enjoy the gorgeous springtime temperatures while they last. Here in Georgia, sweltering weather is always lurking in the shadows and could mug(gy) us at any minute.

It's also time for the monthly IWSG post, which is the only reason I'm here. April is typically my month to unplug from blogging so I can concentrate on writing, do some yard work, and give the dustballs around the house a good cleaning, but I decided to hang around long enough to participate with fellow IWSG-ers first. (It wasn't terribly difficult to tear myself away from the riveting job of scrubbing and treating our kitchen cabinets...) As always, thanks to our fearless leader, Alex Cavanaugh, for founding this fine group, and thanks to all the other nurturing guys and gals who've helped turn it into the thriving community it is today. To join this super supportive group of writers and to see links to other participating blogs, please go HERE

GUESS WHAT???

Book One of the Blast Rites trilogy is almost ready to launch!

 Just LOOK at that cover! Isn't it gorgeous?

Valerie-Jael Tups took that breathtaking sunrise photo, and Anne Gallagher added the swallow silhouette and lettering  to turn it into the perfect cover to capture the essence of my story. It makes my heart sing every time I look at it. So, bottom line, in this long journey to publication, we're finally nearing the finish line.

Wanta see the back-cover blurb? (As if you  had a choice... here it comes, ready or not!)

Maybe this time will be different.

Terrible things happen to the people he cares about the most, so it’s safer for Archie Jaworski to simply stop caring. He doesn’t give a flying fandango what anybody says about him, keeps every relationship shallow, and does unto others before they can do unto him.

And then, shortly before he leaves the Army, he spots a pretty widow and her two kids, and all bets are off.

His war hero uncle says he’s not good enough for that perfect little lady, but Archie’s determined to prove him wrong. No matter how many threats his uncle and his fellow officers make to scare him away from their buddy’s widow, and no matter what it takes, he’s determined to meet that family and to seduce that skirt.

What’s more, if she’s a decent cook, he might even marry her.

Archie plans his courtship to the smallest detail, but the one thing he forgets to do is keep his feelings under wraps. He doesn’t mean to care about them, but the allure of finally being part of something normal, something good, is more than he can resist. 

Maybe this time, no one has to die.

                                                                                      

Explosive Beginnings is a thrilling roller coaster ride through the 1950s, featuring surprising twists and a shocking finish I didn't see coming. Gripping!!!    Robynne Rand, author of THE MECHANIC NEXT DOOR

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Once a date is set, Explosive Beginnings will be available for pre-order through Amazon, and a bunch of e-version copies will also be up for grabs through a Goodreads giveaway. (Feeling lucky?) As soon as those two things are revved up and set to launch, I'll let ya know. NOTE: Some people may be offended by the language and content of this book, but like Truman Capote said, You can't blame a writer for what the characters say. ☺


            Good luck to everyone participating in the A-Z Challenge. 
                                      See y'all next month. 

                Until then, take care of yourselves. And each other.                  

                                              Not YET... but SOON!