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For U.S. residents only, per Goodreads

Win 1 of 100 copies of ‘Night Flight to Murder Town: A Marshall James Thriller.’

Marshall James returns for one more walk down murder’s memory lane in ‘Night Flight to Murder Town, Book  4’. Marshall is thinking of leaving New York City with his husband for a new life away from the hectic pace of the nation’s largest city. But how did he get here in the first place? After three stories detailing his harrowing Hollywood past, where lovers, losers, and a serial killer or two nearly ended his life before he could make something of it, he finally tells us how and why he left LaLa Land for Gotham.

It was 1991 and a Christmas card showed up in the mail. An old flame was inviting him to make the move. L.A. had become a ghost town for Marshall and he was ready to get as far away as he could, as fast as a plane would take him. He caught a night flight to New York, and he soon found himself on a new and deadly path to a future he never saw coming.
Money laundering, drug dealing, murder, and high stakes crimes by high-profile people all welcome him with a lethal embrace. It’s an origin story like no How did he end up here? Why did he stay? And is love possible after all that death and destruction? Find out in Night Flight to Murder Town. You’ll need to fasten your seat belts for this one.

Mark McNease is the author of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, three of which have been best sellers on Kindle. His Linda Sikorsky Mystery, Last Room at the Cliff’s Edge, was called a winner by Publishers Weekly. He has released four Marshall James Thrillers, two Maggie Dahl Mysteries, and three books in the horror/supernatural genre under the name M.A. McNease.

Mark has won two Emmys for Outstanding Children’s Program for Into the Outdoors, a television show he co-created that is now in its 23rd year.

Along with being a current MWA-NY board member, Mark is a Certified Guided Autobiography Instructor, guiding small-group participants through the process of thematic journaling. He also conducts workshops in fiction writing and self-publishing. He leads two adult writers’ groups at two libraries (NJ and PA), and a monthly journaling group for New Hope Celebrates, a local LGBTQ community organization

We just started a 5 week in-person autobiographical writing workshop in Lambertville, scheduled for every Wednesday in April. I love this space, and as a partner with the artists’ collective Soupcon I’m able to use the room whenever it’s available. Look for more in the coming months!

All times are eastern (New Jersey) – 2 Hours in most cases
Register at the links below

IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS IN LAMBERTVILLE
NEW HOPE ADULT WRITERS GROUP
CLINTON ADULT WRITERS GROUP
LIBRARY WORKSHOPS IN MAY
SUMMER 2025 SESSIONS VIA ZOOM IN JULY

ADULT WRITERS GROUPS (ONGOING)

EVERY 2ND  AND 4TH TUESDAY
Adult Writers Group
6:00 – 7:00 pm
Location: New Hope Free Library
93 W. Ferry Street, New Hope, PA
RSVP

LAST WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH
Adult Writers Group
6:00 – 7:00 pm
65 Halstead St, Clinton, Clinton, NJ
REGISTER AT THE LIBRARY WEBSITE

ADDITIONAL LIBRARY WORKSHOPS IN MAY

CLINTON, NJ LIBRARY
Self-Publishing with KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
North County Branch Library
Thursday, May 22
6:00 – 8:00 PM
REGISTER AT THE LIBRARY WEBSITE

After much too long, I finally finished Night Flight to Murder Town, the 4th installment of the Marshall James Thrillers. You can get the eBook everywhere (see links below) and the paperback on Amazon.

LINKS TO BUY

About Night Flight to Murder Town

Marshall James returns in Night Flight to Murder Town, Book 4. Marshall is thinking of leaving New York City with his husband for a new life away from the hectic pace of the nation’s largest city. But how did he get here in the first place? After three stories detailing his harrowing Hollywood past, where lovers, losers, and a serial killer or two nearly ended his life before he could make something of it, he finally tells us how and why he left LaLa Land for Gotham.

It was 1991 and a Christmas card showed up in the mail. An old flame was inviting him to make the move. L.A. had become a ghost town for Marshall and he was ready to get as far away as he  could, as fast as a plane would take him. He caught a night flight to New York, and he soon found himself on a new and deadly path to a future he never saw coming.

Money laundering, drug dealing, murder, and high stakes crimes by high-profile people all welcome him with a lethal embrace. It’s an origin story like no other: How did he end up here? Why did he stay? And is love possible after all that death and destruction? Find out in Night Flight to Murder Town. You’ll need to fasten your seat belts for this one.

This week’s Mark McNease On Topic Substack
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It’s like having your own personal snitch

Why would Amazon want to record everything we say in our homes (which we already knew it could)? Because they can! ‘They’ being Jeff Bezos and whatever nefarious people, agencies and authorities he’s aligned with. I got off Facebook for ethical reasons, but you know they scrub social media for everything you write and post. Alexa was always a little creepy, and now I really don’t want this robotic informant in our house.

I put this together as a handout for tonight’s writers’ group. We’ll be talking about someone’s blog/website and it got me thinking  …

The History of Blogging

Trivia Question: Where did the word “blog” come from? (Answer is below.)

Blogging had its beginnings in the early 1990s. The term “weblog” was coined by Jorn Barger in December 1997, and was later shortened to “blog” by Peter Merholz in 1999. Prior to that blogging can be traced back to the early online diaries and personal pages that began to appear with the advent of the World Wide Web. Early blogs were simple websites where individuals could post updates about their daily lives, thoughts, and interests, serving as a digital extension of personal journaling.

My favorite early blogs:

Pam’s House Blend (Pam Spaulding)
America Blog (John Aravosis)
JoeMyGod (still going after 20-ish years)

I even had my own! MadeMark (where my brand name/imprint came from: MadeMark Publishing).

Remember Blogspot? Wow!

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, blogging platforms like LiveJournal and Blogger emerged, making it easier for people to create and maintain their own blogs. These platforms provided user-friendly interfaces that required no advanced technical knowledge. Anyone could start a blog and thousands of people did. The accessibility and ease of these blogging platforms played a vital role in fostering a sense of community among bloggers, who often linked to each other’s blogs and engaged in lively discussions. (Called a “Blogroll” they invited readers to check out other blogs—although I don’t think mine was ever among them.)