It has been a busy year. There have been two new books released this spring, and a third is expected this late fall. In addition to the usual machinations of running your own publishing company, there’s the effort to get down 2,000 words a day, design book covers, build paperback books, and keep the home fires stoked. It’s summer, and somewhere there are monstrous fish to be caught. So far, the year has been especially great.
Writing and Publishing:
First out this year was The Ghosts of Buffalo Crossing, released on February 17, 2026. It is the fifth book in the Sheriff Jordan Tynes series. This series is becoming my best-selling mystery series. Jordan Tynes, the sheriff of Park County, Montana (the gateway to Yellowstone National Park), continues to face the same troubles as a big-city cop, but in the most fantastic place in America. The reviews have been great – more are needed. Late this fall, I hope to publish the sixth book in the series, tentatively titled Bones Under the Crazies. Look for the pre-order button soon.
I have the most fun writing nostalgic brozies that tell the stories of The Marigold Gang. The first, The Mystery of the Four Bodies in the Freezer, introduced my five old guys, all over seventy-five, to the world of amateur criminal investigation. The Mystery of the Missing Monte Carlo takes you back to the heyday of rock and roll, hot rods, and the sinister world behind the veil of teenage innocence. Get them. They are worth the ride. While technically cozies, a term that has much room for interpretation, I learned that if it is focused on the male market and features cars and rock and roll, it is a brozie. If it works for you, it works for me.
I’ve given my second-favorite redhead, Sharon O’Mara, a new look and visual direction. I’ve revised all the covers. I’ve moved from static, silhouetted red-and-black schemes to a more personal, illustrative style, with each book standing on its own while a theme runs through them. I also created the woman herself. Meet Sharon O’Mara, the face of a facilitator who sees herself as a female Travis McGee.
2027
The new year will, God willing, bring a new Sharon O’Mara story, focusing on the SF Bay Area, the craziness of the A.I. industry, and its political implications. And maybe a new Alex Polonia thriller that takes our security agent to London and into a terrorist cell. We will see.
Breaking News
However, keep an eye out for a new science fiction novel that I hope will be as controversial as it is creative. I can’t say anything more, but I’m having a ball writing it.
Marketing:
The marketing continues. It’s very easy to dump thousands of dollars into a business that returns just hundreds. You self-publishers know what I’m talking about. Every day, I get laudatory emails and even texts declaring that my stories are up there with the biggies. Just send dinero, lots of dinero, and I’ll be read in Sri Lanka. Actually, some of these are well written. I’ve even scraped the email to use the synopsis they’ve created – sometimes it’s pretty good. But beware, these blood-sucking ticks want your money (or data – see A.I.), nothing more. This isn’t a “be careful” admonition; it’s a run-for-the-hills order. Stay away, snakes in the grass.
For our reader outreach, we are currently using Written Word Media for our limited marketing and outreach. Every other week, we offer one of our ebooks for free. This has been going on for almost two years, and my sales, such as they are, are growing. Freebooksy is the portal; we have given away almost 200,000 ebooks. These are 200,000 readers who didn’t know me or my work – they do now. It is a helluva cheaper way than bookstore tours and book clubs.
I’m learning Amazon Ads – it’s daunting. I’ll keep you posted.
Back to the keyboard, and as Ringo Starr, not John Lennon, said, “I’ve got blisters on my fingers?”
More Later . . . . .
