A writer's life - it's all fun and games until ....

My dog thinks I'm awesome!

“That was fabulous. When are you releasing the next one?”   

I recently published the fifth novel in my Isla Mujeres Mystery series, Terror Isla, and had enthusiastic fans asking the next day when #6 was due. I took it as a very nice compliment!

I admit, I have posed the same question to many of my favourite authors, such as Carmen Amato, Jinx Schwartz, A.E. Howe, Dawn Lee McKenna, and Nick Russell.

I can almost hear their teeth gnashing in the background. “For pity's sake, I just published that book. Let me take a breath, get some laundry done, or at least walk my dog.”

“Yeah, yeah. Your break is over, now get back to work.”

You are keeping me awake!

I recently stayed awake until two in the morning reading the latest A.E. Howe, Investigator Larry Macklin novel, Spring’s Promise, and then realized his next release wasn’t due until the winter of 2020; that’s more than a year!

Sparky huffed when I groaned aloud, waking him from his beauty sleep.

I was dead tired from reading so late that when I tried to put a travel lid on my morning coffee, I neglected to notice the height of the foamy milk. I shoved on the cap and was promptly sprayed with warm milk and hot coffee. What a great start to the day.

I am in awe of prolific authors who are committed to their craft, producing numerous books with entertaining storylines, quirky characters, and page-turning plots. It’s a tough gig to keep inventing new and believable scenarios for a cast of well-known and at times demanding, egotistical characters. Fictional characters have been known to rebel and change the storyline without the author’s consent. It’s happened to me – more than once.

However, these authors know how to craft a great story and don't seem to take any flak from their characters.

Carmen Amato has a winning series featuring Detective Emilia Cruz in Acapulco, Mexico, plus three standalone thrillers. She recently released Book #7, Russian Mojito. Here's the link: Carmen Amato, Russian Mojito Detective Emilia Cruz

“Survivor of a deadly cartel ambush, Detective Emilia Cruz returns to Acapulco to recover from the trauma. Before she can catch her breath, however, her penniless stepfather is kidnapped.”

Jinx Schwartz, a fiery redhead from Texas, recently published book #11, Just a Happy Camper, in the Hetta Coffey series. Click on this link: Jinx Schwartz Just a Happy Camper

“Hetta Coffey is a sassy Texan with a snazzy yacht, and she's not afraid to use it. She's cruising Mexico's hauntingly beautiful Sea of Cortez when she gets a job offer, she can't refuse.”

A.E. Howe lives in and writes about Florida. He just launched book #13 in the Investigator Larry Macklin’s series. Here's the link to the new book: A.E.Howe Springs Promises Larry Macklin Mysteries

“Excitement is in the air at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office as the date approaches for investigator Larry Macklin’s wedding to his long-time love, Cara. But fate has other plans, and Larry soon finds his personal life taking a backseat to an odd duo of murders.”

Howe also has a humorous new series, The Baron Blasko Mysteries, about a vampire living in a basement. I haven’t tried these yet, but they are on my list.

Dawn Lee McKenna is another amazingly productive author who has twenty or more books, featuring characters in three separate series: The Forgotten Coast Suspense, The Still Water Suspense, and, most recently, The Dismal Florida Suspense series. 

Wow! Just wow. Just one click and it's yours: Dawn Lee McKenna Dismal Florida series

But in this group of my five favourite authors, the prolific award has to go to Nick Russell, who has at least twenty-five novels published. He has two very successful series: Big Lake and John Lee Quarrels. I love ‘em all. His latest, Sweet Tea and Jesus, was fabulous, and he says he is close to releasing another book. The man is a writing machine. Click here to discover fun reads: Nick Russell, John Lee Quarrels series

When a hidden gunman ambushes D.W. Swindle in the driveway of his own home, leaving the Somerton County Sheriff barely clinging to life, every one of his deputies and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is on the hunt for the attacker.

I aspire to be as successful as these folks. I am planning to publish book #6 in March of 2020, but Sparky and I are still discussing the storyline. 

He wants his contract renegotiated after being traumatized in book #5, Terror Isla. 

Here's the link: Isla Mujeres Mystery Terror Isla

To make matters worse, friends Betsy Snider and Tony Garcia just gave me this t-shirt. There is a cute photo of my divo dog, and the words Sparky's Staff, printed on the back. Yep, that's me. The staff.

Cheers from paradise,

Sparky and his staff

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