What's New

 

Good morning, everyone. I hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend, but took the time to remember the reason for the holiday - the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

As always, it has been a busy time here in the old writing room. The big news comes from my cozy mystery, Dead Air. I was fortunate enough to pitch the manuscript to five notable agents this past weekend and I went five-for-five! I was blown away. I knew the pitch and the story were good, and thought that maybe one would want to discuss it further, but all five want a follow up.

It's a process - first you pitch the book. If they like it, they ask for more: a query letter, the first few pages or chapters, a synopsis, maybe the entire manuscript. They review it and decide if they want to pursue it any further. 

The hard part is writing the synopsis. Take a 60K word manuscript and tell the entire story in two pages. Yeah, it's going to be a long week. But I'm excited that it was so well received and gives new life to the manuscript.

As for my latest book, The Pig War and the Pelican Girls, Episode 5 dropped last week. This final episode, "The Bonus Army," tells the story of 25K World War I veterans who descended on Washington, D.C. in 1932. The protest turned into a riot with tanks and soldiers marching in. Years later, the event sparked the creation of the G.I. Bill.

You can stream or download the episode from my website, Public Radio Remix (PRX), or Podbean.

The book itself is doing very well. It's available at your favorite local and online bookstore. 

That's all for now. Until next time...

May 2025 Newsletter

 Hello again, everyone. I hope you all have been doing well. It’s been busy here in the old writing room. A lot has happened recently and a lot more is on the way.

 First off, I hope you have had a chance to catch the latest episode of The Pig War and the Pelican Girls companion podcast. Episode 4 tells the story of a fascinating lady, Stagecoach Mary, only the second woman and the only African American woman to deliver mail and supplies through the wild west of the 1800s for the U.S. Post Office. You can listen on my website (there are also video clips), on Public Radio Remix (PRX), or Podbean. The final episode will drop Tuesday, May 20th.

Speaking of The Pig War and the Pelican Girls book, we had a nice turnout for Independent Bookstore Day at the Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, and soon after, the book had a short write up in a local newspaper. The book is available at your favorite local bookstore and online retailer. If you order online, please consider Bookshop.org. A portion of the sale is donated to independent bookstores across the country.

As for my first cozy mystery, it’s a big week. I’ll be pitching to several agents this weekend. I’m a bit nervous since I’m jumping out of my comfort zone writing non-fiction history and outdoor recreation guides into a new genre. Fingers crossed!

 And speaking of mysteries, I had a great time meeting and interview author Tom Spencer at the Haunted Book Shop for his new novel, The Mystery of the Crooked Man. It is an amazing book and I highly recommend it to you cozy lovers out there. I wrote a review for the Alabama Writers Forum that you can read here.

 Oh, and for those waiting for the release of Notable Women of Alabama, it is scheduled for publication in October. More as we get closer.

 That’s all for now. Until next time…