ONE WEEK TO GO until the official Launch Event for "The Animal in Man: Violent Mind" at the Book Cellar in Chicago! 

I’m hoping we can pack the house and get a little mini-reunion going for my old Gage Park High School kids and their favorite English teacher. (...did I say ’kids’? You guys’re like 24 now. Holy chr...) Of course, all my friends, family, and fellow sci-fi/fantasy nerds are welcome as well!!  SEE YOU THERE!!

Here is the info: Thursday, Nov. 1, 7:00-9:00 PM at... 

** I do want to inform the original backers (during the contest three years ago) that due to a delay in printing the demand for the books, you unfortunately won’t be receiving your signed copy in your mailbox before this event. I utterly regret this circumstance. I have been assured by my publisher that the copies for the Book Cellar event will be there on time. I am very sorry. I’m flying out to San Francisco to sign YOUR copy of the book as soon as they can print more. I will totally understand if you come out to the event and don’t buy one (another one) because you already have one on the way. **

Those of you who are in Montreal might be interested to know that the Montreal West Public Library will be hosting a Night of Mystery and Suspense this Wednesday, 24 October, at 7:30pm. I will be there, of course, along with John Kalbfleish ("A Stain Upon the Land") and Sheila Kindellan-Sheehan ("Where Bodies Fall", "The Courier Wore Shorts", and many others) to read, meet, and greet. Do stop by if you can!

Meanwhile, we’re at the halfway mark of the Inkshares Mystery & Thriller contest with "Cat’s Paw" in second place. If you enjoyed "A Gentleman’s Murder", I’m sure you’ll love "Cat’s Paw". Do check it out -- as was the case before, your support is what enables books like this to happen.

Speaking of making books happen, there seems to be some good stuff happening on Inkshares right now. I mentioned Z. Z. Traver’s "Gumshoe Rules" back when the contest started, and I still think it’s worth checking out. Aside from that....

"The House That Fell From the Sky" features a house that appears in the middle of the city out of nowhere. A bunch of people are set to enter and investigate, and you know that nothing good can possibly come out of it. A book trailer just went up on the page a few days back, and it gives a pretty nice idea of the sort of flavour and atmosphere we should expect.

For those of you who prefer epic fantasy, there’s "Bane of All Things". The tech level’s a little more advanced than usual -- they’ve got gunpowder -- and it looks like we’ll be dealing with some interesting questions about loyalty.

And of course, don’t forget "Cat’s Paw". Let’s make this book happen!

Dear friends and followers,

It’s Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, so for those of you who celebrate it, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving. For my part, I would like to give thanks for the progress "A Gentleman’s Murder" has made since its release back on 31 July.

• Firstly, that it was released at all. That in itself is a great gift.
  
• Great reviews, both by professional critics and by readers such as yourselves. I’m glad to be bringing some enjoyment into the world.
• Being optioned for TV. That’s rather like winning the lottery with a ticket bought with the winnings from another lottery.

I assume all of the above means, in the words of Sally Field, "You like me! Right now, you like me!" And I hope you like me well enough to consider backing "Cat’s Paw". Important as it is to give thanks for the past, it is as important to look to the future. With this second novel, I want to give you the same degree of enjoyment, if not more, that you and other readers seem to have derived from "A Gentleman’s Murder". Experience has shown that it can be done; all it needs now is your go-ahead.

Quite aside from this, of course, I must thank all of you who’ve expressed your confidence in me with regard to "A Gentleman’s Murder": those of you who backed it, who introduced the book to your friends, and who afterwards wrote reviews of it on Amazon and Goodreads. May you have as much and more to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

It’s October! I waited a couple days to send this update because THE REVISED DRAFT OF ROCK OF AGES IS IN!

I’ve been working incredibly hard for the last three months. Not only have I rewritten over 91,000 words almost from scratch but I’ve read several relevant books to work on my own style, taken the Margaret Atwood Masterclass on Writing, taken a course on the business of being an author, and taken lots of steps to build my platform leading up to the release of the book. I’ve begun blogging on a weekly basis and contributing regularly to the Writing Bloc website and have had several guest posts published as well. I’m committed to making Rock of Ages as successful as it can be!

There will be more rounds of changes to be made. The good news is that each round should get a little easier! This was the big one.

Thank you, as always, for following along on this journey and for all your support and encouragement!

If you’d prefer weekly updates that include links to blog posts and events, be sure to subscribe to my email list at http://eepurl.com/dBsQdP

And then, on a Tuesday like any other, this happened: "Your novel Release Date is November 13, 2018....!"

It’s finally happening thank you, so much, for your continued love and patience. I will be in touch with more details in coming weeks :)