Writing News: What’s Coming Up in 2017

It’s been awhile and I wanted to send out a ‘what’s next’ email to subscribers. I’ve been preoccupied with moving to New Jersey, a slow process with an end result I’ve been hoping for the past 10 years.

I’m now happily employed as a cashier at the Giant grocery store in New Hope. Fans of the Kyle Callahan and Detective Linda books will know the area well – it’s where some of the stories have been set, along with New York City.

So … What’s coming your way in 2017?

Murder at the Paisley Parrot: A Marshall James Novel

Marshall James (a variation on my birth name) is a 58-year-old man living in NYC who has beaten the odds several times in his life, most recently as a cancer survivor. He’s now two years past his expiration date, if grave prognoses are to be believed, and he’s decided it’s time to tell a few stories from his days living in Hollywood, circa 1980s.

We begin when a serial killer stalks gay men patronizing the Paisley Parrot bar where Marshall slings drinks for a living. It’s not unlike the very real Lemon Twist I once had a few bourbon and Cokes in. A drinker’s bar where the stools know the feel of the customers, the mob takes its cut, and death comes calling.

Look for Murder at the Paisley Parrot in October.

Horse Road Gun Club Blues: A Detective Linda Novella

About that nickname: think Judge Judy and Dr. Phil. Linda has finally embraced being ‘Detective Linda’ to her wife and closest friends. It’s been a year since Last Room at the Cliff’s Edge, when Linda and Kirsten went to Maine for a long restful weekend and found murder in the room next door.

Now, from their little house in the Jersey woods, comes Horse Road Gun Club Blues. Kirsten is working on her second novel and adjusting well to life among the deer … and the hunters. Linda has given her a handgun for her birthday and, after much hesitation, Kirsten has agreed to learn to use it.

The Horse Road Gun Club is the perfect place for target practice. Linda and Kirsten get to know the members there and head over to the club for a Sunday barbecue. They’re expecting to meet the new club president, only to find out he’s been killed. “A hunting accident?” Linda asks. “Not much of an accident when you’re shot in your own bed,” comes the reply. Mystery ensues as Linda, with Kirsten once again by her side, attempts to solve a killing dangerously close to home.

Look for both books this fall, with new stories to tell in the coming year. You’ll be meeting Maggie Dahl, whose husband died six months after they left New York City for Lambertville, New Jersey, and whose neighbor’s death sets things in motion for a shocking discovery in Black Cat White Paws. And the return of Kyle Callahan as they celebrate a birthday just in time for homicide in The Human Kind.

You’ll hear from me again late summer with a release date or two. Until then, thanks for subscribing.