A Publishing Update

Phew! It’s been a while since I’ve been here. I had hoped to get back to blogging on a regular basis, but that thing called LIFE got in the way (Rich sick for over a year, nearly died, made a full recovery … all is well).

I’ve been writing again, and I’ve recently published two of the three books I’ve been working on for over a year.

The first is number eight in the Two Sisters and a Journalist series – Murder Breaks the Bank. I’m still enjoying writing the antics of Jo and her family, and I don’t have plans to end the series.

 

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, a man hires the investigative firm of Two Sisters and a Journalist to protect him. Jo Wheeler accompanies him to the bank with disastrous results. Jo, Pepper, and Jackie must now scramble to find out who murdered their client before Sergeant Rorski sends the wrong man to prison.

A rash of car vandalism and a Brussels sprouts caper also keep the three women on their toes, and it doesn’t help Jo’s mounting headache that Mama is preparing a comedy routine for open mic night at a favorite pub.

The second book, Stanley Pearl, is a standalone novel written from a male point of view. Before you ask how I could write from this perspective, let me assure you that Stanley was easily cobbled together from my three brothers, my husband, my son, and four male dogs that used to inhabit our home … but mostly my brother who is some type of corporate auditor and fits Stanley quite well. I enjoyed writing this book and have billed it as “romance, suspense and a splash of humor.”

Stanley Pearl’s life has been turned upside down. His wife ran off with another man, leaving Stanley to raise his teenage son alone. He takes the summer off from his accounting position to stay home with his son and write the novel he always dreamed of writing.

When a wealthy client demands Stanley help her nephew with his less than legal accounting, he has no choice but to say yes. Before he can deliver the finished work, his client is abducted, and Stanley soon discovers he has something the captors want.

A waitress at the coffee shop where he has been writing offers to help Stanley by introducing him to her ex-CIA brother. There’s no denying the chemistry between Teresa and Stanley, but can he stay alive long enough to explore the possibility of a relationship?

The third book, Delicious Death, is in progress. It’s the first in a new cozy mystery series set in fictitious Appleseed, Ohio. I’d love to publish this book in July, but I suspect August is more realistic.

On a personal level, I’m still playing that silly Don’t Starve video game, but I corralled Rich into playing it with me, so we’re playing the Don’t Starve Together version – daily. It helped to distract him when he was sick, and we have fun together, so there you go. I can’t leave it alone, and Rich has become an enabler.

The motorcycle has been cleaned and prepped, and Rich took it out for a spin yesterday. I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to ride this year when I recently had a knee go on the fritz, but it has settled down nicely, and I think we’ll be meeting friends for ice cream at the horse manure stand soon.

Hope everyone who pops in here is well. Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there!