March as you know is named after Mars, the Roman god of war. Why? Because a lot of military campaigns began in the spring. Soldiers march. Right? Or did I make that up? Sounds good to me. Also, Mars the planet is named after Mars the god. Why? Because the planet looks red – it’s called the Red Planet – and red is the color of blood. Blood, war. Get it? On a happier note, March 20 is the first day of spring. A time of renewal and rebirth. A good time to begin a military campaign. There may be a contradiction there. Let’s move on.

Saint Patrick’s Day is March 17, a Friday this year. When I was a kid in school, I remember getting pinched if I didn’t wear any green. My wife however was lucky. She has green eyes so she never got pinched. Not fair.

And now for some publishing news. I’m happy to announce, Girl in the Leaves will be published April 27th. This is the 3rd book of the Rebecca Watson Series. The other two are Stone Cold and Minutes to Midnight. I’ve added the book blurb, which was not available in my last newsletter.

While Detective Rebecca Watson wrestles with the possibility that her mother may get away with murder, she responds to the murder-suicide of a family of five and soon discovers they had been in the Witness Protection Program. This greatly complicates her investigation.

Then a few days later, two Eugene Falls College students stumble up on a young woman’s body partially covered with leaves. As Rebecca doubles down to solve both gruesome cases, she faces an emotional trauma of such unspeakable darkness that it makes her question whether she can still do her job.

Once Girl in the Leaves in published I plan on getting started on the next book in the series, Cold. I would like to have this one published by the end of the year. Not sure if I will make that happen or not, but I will keep you posted on the progress. The audiobook for Minutes to Midnight was supposed to be out February 22nd, but my producer came down with Covid so it has been put on hold. Once it’s available, I will let you know.

The final project I hope to complete this year is Interrogation Techniques for Writers. I have taught this at the Killer Nashville Writers Conference over the past three years. Many of those who attended this lecture wanted to know more. Hopefully this is the year I can deliver the book. I did write two blogs if you’d like to read more on the subject. Interrogation Techniques: Verbal Cues and Interrogation Techniques: Part Two Non-Verbal Cues

Hopefully, this will entice the readers who are on the fence. If not, well … I got nothing. But I hope you enjoy my books as much I enjoyed writing it. I have started work on Rebecca’s next novel, The Girl Under the Leaves. It’s looking to be another exciting crime thriller.