Catching UP!

Catching UP!

Books that went to press, or back to press this week:

Have to say I am happy to be alive and the DR says I may expect to remain this way.  Sorry I was not up to doing the blog this week. But I was able to do a little editing and spent much of my time correcting the mess I made last week.

WILDFLOWERS FOR THE SENATOR: Coverton Mills Series, Vol. 2, by Lynette Hall Hampton

   All of Jude Winslow's friends know he won't have anything to do with politicians or preachers.  Enter widow, Kay Littleton, a US Senator, who has no idea of his prejudice.

BURIED TRUTH, by Gunter Kaesdorf

    Young Attorney Brooke Wheeler searches for a truth buried under the surface and suppressed by long held secrets.

E-books completed this week:

These are, or will be, for sale at all e-book outlets before the end of next week.

EXTREME INFLUENCE: Fox River Valley Series, Vol. 4, by Ann Nolder Heinz
   Divorced civil engineer Hannah McPherson manages to stay aloof from local politics until a sinister cabal begins to meddle in the decision to bring a controversial entertainment complex to the village.

CHANGELING KILL, Jack Watson series, Vol. 2., by Kathryn Flatt
   Just after private detective Jack Watson vowed not to be choosy about taking any case to end a lull in business, who walks into his office but his ex-wife.

BURIED TRUTH, by Gunter Kaesdorf

    Young Attorney Brooke Wheeler searches for a truth buried under the surface and suppressed by long held secrets. 

EDUCATION CAN BE MURDER, by A. G. Case 

    Newly married, former NYC police homicide Lt. Jo Garcia leaves the city for small upstate community . When the head accountant in the local school district dies at her desk after a late night, Jo faces murder once again.

Print Galleys that went out this week:

 WITHOUT MOM, by David Ravenwood

    Ever since his mother died, David Sinclair, a tenth grader, can’t seem to finish anything he starts. Then David decides to try out for the Heather Heights High School football team as a placekicker and builds his own goalpost for a practice field.

MINISTER'S SHOES, by Celine Rose Mariotti

    Gambling! Casino deals! Embezzlement! An extramarital affair! Murder! Town gossips!
This all happens in Corning, Alabama, a small southern
town where Rev. Castle, a Baptist Minister, solves crimes. 

Work continued or began on the following:

THE TIGER'S CUB: Sequel to Night of the Tiger, by Debi Emmons
   Teresanna's son is all grown up, and stepping out on his own.

SOLID OIL by Russell Hunter
   Intrigue and Lithium mining go hand in hand in this Australian thriller.

WIFE, LOST AND FOUND, by Ludima Gus Burton
   How do you find a missing wife?

A SNUG LIFE SOMEWHERE, by Jan Shapin
   Anna Mae is back in this prequel to A DESIRE PATH.

 

 

Catching UP!

Books that went to press, or back to press this week:

THE GLASS SWAN: Poetry by Bobbi Sinha-Morey

BURIED TRUTH, by Gunter Kaesdorf

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

EXTREME INFLUENCE, by Ann Nolder Heinz

WILDFLOWERS FOR THE SENATOR, by Lynette Hall Hampton

Work began or continued on the following:

SOLID OIL by Russell Hunter
   Intrigue and Lithium mining go hand in hand in this Australian thriller.

WIFE, LOST AND FOUND, by Ludima Gus Burton
   How do you find a missing wife?

A SNUG LIFE SOMEWHERE, by Jan Shapin
   Anna Mae is back in this prequel to A DESIRE PATH.

THE TIGER'S CUB: Sequel to Night of the Tiger, by Debi Emmons
   Teresanna's son is all grown up, and stepping out on his own.

A blanket apology  to everyone I've dealt with this week. Thank you one and all for your patience and forbearance. If I sent you the wrong files, posted them to another author's folder on FilesAnywhere, or answered the wrong question, I AM TRULY SORRY.

Roger has had Bronchitis since March. I have managed to catch it, although he is getting better, and I am sure to, my efficiency level has dropped below bottom. I am doing my best to keep all the work caught up and promise not to be so dense upstairs as soon as i can recover what wits I've been blessed with.

Southern Fried Chicken

What would you do if you uncovered evidence of a 70-year-old murder?
Would you try to find the people involved who might still be living?
 Would you notify the authorities? Or would you “let sleeping dogs lie?”

Southern Fried Chicken

The Easy Way

Original recipe makes 10 servings Change Servings

• 12 chicken thighs 
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 sprinkle paprika
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place flour in a shallow plate or bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Put the bread crumbs in another shallow plate or bowl and beat the eggs in another bowl.
3. Dredge the chicken piece by piece in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs, until all pieces are coated. Pour the oil into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Add the chicken to the dish and sprinkle with paprika to taste. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then turn pieces over and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and drain on paper towels. Enjoy!

Teddy Bear Cinnamon Rolls

Jessie’s parents hope that she will begin to feel better 

about herself by living in the wooded area of BC’s 

Peace River Region and by learning to take care of animals. 

Teddy Bear Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

1 sleeve

(1 lb. 1.5-oz.) can (5-count) Pillsbury® Grands!® 

Refrigerated Cinnamon Rolls with Icing

8 raisins

4 small red or pink heart candies

1 teaspoon powdered sugar

10 drops red food color

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 9-inch square pan. Separate dough into 5 rolls. Place 4 rolls in center of pan, sides lightly touching. Unroll remaining roll; cut dough into 8 pieces. Bend each piece into U-shape to form ear. On edge of each roll, press 2 "ears" on side facing corners of pan; tuck dough ends under and pinch to attach.
   
• 2 Bake at 350°F. for 25 to 29 minutes or until golden brown. Carefully remove from pan; cool on wire rack. Separate into 4 rolls.
  
• 3 Reserve 1 tablespoon vanilla icing from can of rolls. Spread remaining icing over entire surface of each hot roll. Place 2 raisins on each roll for eyes. Place heart candy in center of each roll for nose.
  
• 4 In small bowl, combine reserved 1 tablespoon icing, powdered sugar and food color; mix well. Spoon icing into small resealable food storage plastic bag; seal bag. Cut tiny hole in one bottom corner of bag. Pipe icing to complete nose and mouth. Pipe icing into center of each ear.
                                                     
  

Why does the sky always have to all?

The Consortium Patriot Acts Part III reaches deeply into the hidden
and sinister world of the international banking system
and the global power brokers who profit from it.

And a hearty welcome home to author
Steven Clark Bradley after
a two-year sabbatical teaching in China.

Question from the e-mail.  Why does the sky always have to fall? Seriously, just when you think things can't possibly get any worse--they DO! I just threw the book I was reading across the room because since they left Rome to search for the holy grail, they have been attacked by five different kinds of bandits, suffered two plagues, survived half a dozen sand storms, lost their rations, and they haven't even gotten as far as Damascus. I'm just too tired to go any further. I know most stories are about a quest. But don't they ever see any butterflies along they way to finding their objective? Can't something pleasant happen now and then????

Answer:  My good friend, Carla Neggers, says of plotting, that you create a character, then you put them in a big hole and throw dirt in on them. Every time they try to climb out (temporary triumph), you throw more dirt (obstacles), until the arrival of what Carla calls the "big gloom" when it appears that there is no way out of the hole at all. It's a hard fact, but true, that what's bad for the protagonist is good for the story.

Now you didn't say what the book is but the usual format for a plot is one quest with three main obstacles, finally the bleak moment (when it would appear the grail is lost forever) and then the resolution (either they find it or they don't) but the issue must be resolved.  

The problem with the book you were reading is that the author set up  more obstacles than you had patience for.  Usually, in our culture three is the magic number. In Native American culture four is the magic number. Cinderella had two stepsisters, but Corn Maiden had three....
 

I had a student once who wrote a story where the heroine was tied to the railroad tracks -- a suspenseful, if trite, plot turn. The hero was riding to the rescue. The train was coming. The heroine was screaming. And then the train ran out of coal . Then the hero came to the rescue. When I asked my student why she had the train run out of coal, she said, "Well, I didn't want it to run over her, in case he didn't get there in time." But it is the possibility that he won't get there that keeps the reader on the edge-of-the-chair, to coin a cliché. 

In your case, my guess would be that the author didn't make the grail important enough for you to believe they would keep on searching after all those bad things had happened....

Underground Chicken Recipe

The earth is totally devastated by an atomic war
and only a few hundred scientists survive
as they hide deep inside the bowels of the earth. 

Underground Chicken Recipe

Original recipe makes 4 servings Change Servings

• 4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 4 medium baking potatoes

Directions

1. Dig a hole about 1 foot into the ground. Place a layer of hot coals on the bottom, and cover with a 1/2 inch layer of dirt.
2. Rub the chicken breasts with oil, then season with garlic salt, pepper, and oregano. Wrap each breast securely in aluminum foil and place into the hole.
3. Cover the hole with about 6 inches of dirt and allow the chicken to cook for 3 to 4 hours. About 45 minutes before you are ready to eat, wrap the potatoes individually in aluminum foil, and place them in the coals of a campfire to cook. When the potatoes are ready, dig up the chicken and serve with potatoes.

Catching UP!

Newly married, former NYC police Lt. Jo Garcia
investigates a small town murder, while angry, powerful
people try to have her fired, and her new husband’s
life is also put in danger.

Books that went to press or back to press this week:

EDUCATION CAN BE MURDER, by A. G. Case.

   Everyone knows school budgets can be murder, but when the accountant is found dead at her desk, all manner of mayhem breaks loose

   

PARADOX by Terry L. White

   Rae Ann had hopes for a nice, normal life until she saw her boyfriend Skip barrel out from behind that little country store in Paradox in the wake of an armed robbery. 

  

Galleys that went out, or went out again this week:

STRANGER FACES, by Kathryn Flatt

     Tracy Wiley never expected or wanted more adventure, then a desperate CIA agent asks for her help. Tracy feels she owes him for saving her life.

BURIED TRUTH by Gunter Kaesdorf

    In this fast-paced legal thriller, young Attorney Brooke Wheeler searches for a truth buried under the surface and suppressed by long held secrets.

Work began or continued on the following:

SOLID OIL by Russell Hunter
   Intrigue and Lithium mining go hand in hand in this Australian thriller.

WIFE, LOST AND FOUND, by Ludima Gus Burton
   How do you find a missing wife?

A SNUG LIFE SOMEWHERE, by Jan Shapin
   Anna Mae is back in this prequel to A DESIRE PATH.

THE TIGER'S CUB: Sequel to Night of the Tiger, by Debi Emmons
   Teresanna's son is all grown up, and stepping out on his own.

Talapia recipe

When Nancy Hunter meets Peter Allen,  there is definitely 
something worth exploring between them. 

Talapia were plentiful in the Nile
and were a favorite food of Ancient Egypt

3 -4 tilapia fillets, depending on size
1/4 cup breadcrumbs or 1/4 cup crushed Ritz cracker
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt
pepper
garlic powder
olive oil

Directions:

1 Thaw and wash tilapia fillets if frozen. Pat dry on paper towels.

2 Combine crumbs, parmesan, italian seasoning and garlic powder on a plate, mixing well.

3 On a different plate, pour 1 tbsp lemon juice.

4 Working 1 at a time, place a fillet on the plate in the lemon juice, sprinkle with desired amount of kosher salt (be careful about how much salt is in your parmesan, crumbs, and other seasonings), black pepper, and garlic powder. Turn the fillet over in the lemon juice and sprinkle seasoning on the other side.

5 Dredge fillet in the parmesan mixture patting it all over to coat.

6 Place in an oiled baking dish, repeat with remaining fillets.

7 Sprinkle a little lemon juice over fillets and drizzle or spray them lightly with olive oil.

8 Bake at 425ºF for about 20 minutes or until they easily flake with a fork and edges are browning (you can sprinkle some more parmesan on top if desired). You can also bake these faster at 450ºF.

Chess Pie

Tabitha Solo thought nothing of dropping the name of Scot Cunningham 

her late first love, as the inspiration for her first 

hit song, “Dreamer,” but now, the FBI is asking

 about him, and people are following her!

Chess Pie

Original recipe makes 1 - 9 inch pie Change Servings

• 1 (9 inch) pie shell (frozen ready-to-bake is fine)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar

• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•  

• Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a microwave proof bowl, heat and stir in sugar. Allow mixture to cool.
• In a medium bowl, beat eggs until frothy. Add butter mixture to eggs, beating until smooth. Stir in vanilla extract. Pour mixture into pastry shell.
• Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. 

Why can't I get my books into bookstores???

How many people does it take to write a best seller? 
How many of them will live to brag about it? 
In this dark novel of intrigue and deception the line between good guys and bad guys is blurred. 
Very blurred.

Question from the e-mail: How can I get my book for sale in real book stores? My agent of ten years says I should steer well clear of Print on Demand Publishers (POD), that the very idea of printing books one at a time is "ridiculous" and anyone who self-publishes, has a fool for a publisher. Yet in 10 years, she has not sold even one ms. for me, while I can buy the self-published books of all my friends on amazon.com...

So here's what I'm asking, if POD  is ridiculous, why do so many small press people, like yourself, choose to go that route?  Can it be more ridiculous than having any book that anyone ever sat down and thought up, self-published and crowding the market on the Internet??? 

Answer: We can never get your book into "every bookstore."  And in twenty  years' time, there will be a lot fewer actual book stores around. Your agent is supporting the present standard method of book production and distribution.  The agent is the go-between who tries to get the Publishers interested enough to print and offer your book for sale. The publisher contracts for the book, pays all costs of production and distribution.  They advertise to get customers into the stores to buy. They ship it everywhere and NOBODY pays them Unless the book Sells! Big advertising and national distribution are ways of life for them.  And those are GOOD things when you are a big guy at the top of the system. But they are expensive...

The bad part is that since the advent of Kindle and relations, bookstores have been selling fewer and fewer hard cover and paperback books and their market share for them will continue to drop. All because of the popularity of the "new" e-readers.

 

E-books, the laughing-stock of publishing fifteen years ago, are cutting into the traditional market to the point where many chain bookstores are operating in the red, while electronic file sales are soaring. E-books have many different brands of machines and many different formats. They confuse a lot of people, but more and more they are attracting a large pool of regular customers. 

Others swear they will never touch one, because they like the feel of a "real book" in their hands. 

For any  book to garner sales, Distribution IS the key. Nobody ever bought a book they haven't heard of. Nobody can ever buy a book  that isn't for sale, whether they shop in a bookstore, or on the Internet. But in today's economy, few self-published authors, or even small press publishers like me, have the capital to pay for printing large runs, warehousing paper books and advertising. It costs money to print 6000 copies and sit them in a warehouse somewhere. If they sit there a year, you will have to pay Uncle Sam 15 % of the Retail price for every copy you have left OR dump your inventory in the trash and pay someone to print more.

POD is a new technology that came about after Internet book sales and  computer printers came along. The publisher prepares the book for printing and saves it in portable document format, and distributes the printable PDF FILE, not the actual book. POD books are printed from the file one copy at a time and only after the book has been paid for. 

Traditional publishers who are used to print runs as high as 150,000 find it difficult to believe that of anyone will want to print one book at a a time.

Traditional bookstores CAN buy the books I publish, but few of them seem happy to give me a credit card number with their order. They are used to operating on credit and can be very suspicious of any supplier who wants to be paid when they place the order. But I need that money to pay the printer, who will print the book and mail it to them only AFTER I pay HIM.

More recently, POD presses have been installed in some of the larger B&N bookstores and a customer can order any book I publish, and go and have a capuchino while it is printed right then. That press is like a glorified copy machine, and it produces a "trade paperback." A book that is as large as a hardcover book, but that has a soft cover. The book is printed on acid-free paper, not pulp, so it won't turn yellow or fall apart easily.  There is no book to accrue tax until printing actually takes place, so the file can stay on sale as long as we want without anyone paying inventory tax. It is also a costly technology. It costs much more per copy than any book produced in a real print shop. A POD paperback will cost between $5 and $10 per copy just to print. Add to that the salary and benefits of a Real Person, the training to operate the printer, the cost of paper and the end product usually bears a price only about $10 to $15 below the hard cover edition. 

But here's the part I love. NONE are wasted copies copies. None are sent to fill up landfills around the country, because no book is printed until after it is paid for. Many small press publishers love this idea. They escape all the printing fees and shipping fees, and warehouse fees, and inventory taxes because the print data files are sent electronically to the individual printer stations. 

What is becoming more common, and WILL become even more common still are those "printer stations" in bookstores, where POD books can be printed while you wait. In 10 years or so, there will be one in every mall in America whether there is still a bookstore around it, or not. All anyone will need is the author's name, the title, and the ISBN, and the book file can be downloaded and printed right there and then. You can go on and shop and stop back in an hour to pick up your brand new,"hot off the press," book.

We are already garnering sales of our paper titles with this method and we believe that process will continue to grow.  Will this put the "big boys" out of business? No. They will (they already have) just send fewer titles to press every year. While the number of readers will continue to grow larger every year.

Did TV put the movies out of business? 

No. But it reached more people, on a wider level, and through a different process. That's just what is happening with books.

 

 

New York Cheesecake

Ruth Duchamp leaves New York in order to find a way 

to come to terms with a future she fears.

New York Cheesecake

1  pre-prepared deep dish graham cracker crust
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter, plus
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 lb cream cheese, broken into small pieces

Directions:

1 Preheat oven to 350°

2 Blend sour cream, ½ cup sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a blender for 1 minute. Add the cream cheese. Blend until smooth.

4  Pour 2 tablespoons melted butter through the top of the machine. Blend and pour into the pre-prepared crust.
 

5 Bake in the lower third of a 350° oven for 45 minutes.

6 When baking is finished, turn oven on to broil. Broil the cheesecake until the top begins to show attractive spots of brown. Remove from oven.

7 Refrigerate for 4 hours, preferably overnight, before cutting and serving.

Catching UP!

Newly married, former NYC police Lt. Jo Garcia
investigates a small town murder, while angry, powerful
people try to have her fired, and her new husband’s
life is also put in danger.

Books that went to press, or back to press this week: 

EDUCATION CAN BE MURDER, by A. G. Case

BURIED TRUTH, by Gunter Kaesdorf

FREE FALL, Fox River Valley Series, Vol. 4, by Ann Nolder Heinz

A DESIRE PATH, by Jan Shapin

Ever since his mother died, David Sinclair,

can’t seem to finish anything he starts. When his father gripes about money, David decides to

 build's his own practice field.

Galleys that went out, or went out again, this week:

WITHOUT MOM, by David Ravenwood.
   A young man tries to deal with the death of his mother. 

THE GLASS SWAN, by Bobbi Sinha-Morey
   New Age Poetry by Bobbi Sinha-Morey

WILDFLOWERS FOR THE SENATOR, Covington Mills Series, Vol. 2, by Lynette Hall Hampton.
   Because of his past experience with them, all of Jude Winslow's friends know he won't have anything to do with politicians or preachers.  Enter widow, Kay Littleton, a US Senator, who has no idea of his prejudice.

STRANGER FACES, by Kathryn Flatt 
   Tracy Wiley never expected or wanted more adventure, then old friend Kevin Fox, the CIA agent once assigned to protect her, arrives at her door.

DABBLERS: Windsong Lake Series, Vol. 1, by Kathrn Flatt
   Artist Stefanie Durant never expected trouble on her return to Windsong Lake after her Uncle Hank was killed by lightning

EXTREME INFLUENCE, by Ann Nolder Heinz
   Can divorced civil engineer Hannah McPherson is making a new life for herself in a small Illinois town?

Set againdy a background of Mardi Gras, Wife Lost and Found, is 

a new romance by popular author Ludima Gus Burton.

Work began or continued on the following:

SOLID OIL by Russell Hunter
   Intrigue and Lithium mining go hand in hand in this Australian thriller.

WIFE, LOST AND FOUND, by Ludima Gus Burton
   How do you find a missing wife?

A SNUG LIFE SOMEWHERE, by Jan Shapin
   Anna Mae is back in this prequel to A DESIRE PATH.

THE TIGER'S CUB: Sequel to Night of the Tiger, by Debi Emmons
   Teresanna's son is all grown up, and stepping out on his own.

Secrets and lies--writing tip

by Anne and Ivan Kronenfeld

In 1814, a woman of unknown origins graduated from Edinburgh Medical School 

disguised as a man. Dr. James Miranda Barry has the distinction 

of being the first woman doctor in the Western world.

Question from the e-mail:  Recently people at my writers' group complain that my characters "take too many stupid chances." Okay, I write thrillers. Don't they HAVE to?

Answer: Yes, but motivation is the key, there.

You can let a character make any kind of foolish decision or take any kind of dangerous action if you give them a good enough reason for the reader to feel as if they might have done the same thing in the given circumstances. 

In a nutshell, to coin a cliche, that is motivation.  According to my good friend, Alice Orr, Good characters keep secrets, tell lies, and take risks for good reasons. Bad characters keep secrets, tell lies, and take risks, for bad reasons. But they all have a reason to keep secrets, take risks, and tell lies .

That reason is the character’s motivation. One reason writers of romantic suspense get criticized is because the dimwit heroine always goes blindly into the House of Hell that is obviously filled with weird characters and murderers, just because she is determined to solve the mystery herself, when any sane person would go away and call the police.  If she does that, she’s an Idiot!! 

Now suppose her baby sister is inside and the nitwit heroine knows her sister will die if she calls the police, then she has a Good Reason to go sneaking around Hell House trying to find out stuff.

At the revered, but declining, artists' colony, Green Gardens, ex-

stripper,  Midnight Bunting retreats to write a tell-all book.

When she is found dead in Gabriel Hardy’s bed, 

suspicion falls on everyone. 

Midnight Cocktail

Ingredients

1 cup chocolate-flavored vodka
1 cup vanilla-flavored vodka
1/2 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
Ice
Chocolate-covered espresso beans, for garnish
Chocolate shavings, for garnish

Directions

Chill 2 martini glasses. In a large martini shaker, add the chocolate vodka, vanilla vodka, coffee liqueur and fill with ice. Shake the cocktail well for 30 seconds. Pour the cocktail into the glasses and garnish with espresso beans and shaved chocolate.

Challah Recipe

 

Lydia was burned out by her work as a midwife until 

destiny called her to be an aid to the birth of Jesus.

 

Challah Recipe

 

 

• 3 ½ cups of warm water
• 2-3 T of derma brown sugar or honey
• 2 T of dry yeast
• 1 T of salt
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup of sesame oil
• 1+ kg of whole-wheat flour (you can replace some of the whole-wheat with rye)

Combine first three ingredients, let yeast dissolve and bubble.

Add salt, egg, oil, and half of the flour. Stir and let sit about ½ hour.

Add the rest of the flour until a nice, elastic dough forms.

Oil bowl and let the dough rise, covered with a towel until doubled in size (depending on climate 1-2 hours).

Braid, shape, decorate if desired with sesame seeds and put into oven at 350 for about 35 minutes, until you can hear a hollow sound when the bread is tapped on the bottom.

Options: 

I always put in about a ¼ cup of wheat germ to all my baked goods to give extra fiber and vitamins. You can also add sautéed onions and garlic, or tomatoes, garlic, and rosemary, or sliced olives for a delicious addition and knead it into the dough before baking.

 

Catching UP!

Young Attorney Brooke Wheeler searches for a truth
buried under the surface and suppressed by long held
secrets.

Books that have gone to press, or back to press this week:

A DESIRE PATH, by Jan Shapin

FREE FALL: Fox River Valley Series, Vol. 2, by Ann Nolder Heinz

BURIED TRUTH, by Gunter Kaesdorf

 An extramarital affair! Murder! Town gossips!
This all happens in Corning, Alabama, a small southern
town where Rev. Castle, a Baptist Minister, solves crimes.

Galleys that went out, or went out again, this week: 

MINISTER'S SHOES, by Celihne Rose Mariotti

WILDFLOWERS FOR THE SENATOR, by Lynette Hall Hampton




  

SOLID OIL is a work of mainstream fiction centered
on the battle for possession of the
"oil of the 21st century" - lithium.

Work began or continued on the following:

SOLID OIL by Russell Hunter
   Intrigue and Lithium mining go hand in hand in this Australian thriller.


WIFE, LOST AND FOUND, by Ludima Gus Burton
   How do you find a missing wife?


WILDFLOWERS FOR THE SENATOR, by Lynette Hall Hampton
   Because of his past experience with them, all of Jude Winslow's friends know he won't have anything to do with politicians or preachers.


A SNUG LIFE SOMEWHERE, by Jan Shapin
   Anna Mae is back in this prequel to A DESIRE PATH.


STRANGER FACES, by Kathryn Flatt
   Tracy Wiley never expected or wanted more adventure.  Then old friend Kevin Fox, the C.I.A. agent once assigned to protect her, arrives at her door.

EXTREME INFLUENCE, by Ann Nolder Heinz
   Can divorced civil engineer Hannah McPherson is making a new life for herself in a small Illinois town?

NOTE of Irritation!

Someone is sending spam from my arlinechase@comcast.net. I never use that address in "Reply to:" so if you get one from me, please don't open or anwer it. Never click on the blue line in such a message.  

The Internet is a wonderful too. Too bad some folks insist on abusing it.