Resent with the corrected link to Smoking Hot Mysteries below.

I'll get to the title and theme of this newsletter and the reason for the picture above in a bit. First this:

Last week someone referred to me as a "word jockey." An image immediately appeared in my mind of a helmeted, silk-clad rider with feet in the short stirrups, and the riding quirt slapping the posterior of an equine constructed of words in various fonts. I don't know if that was the image intended by the sobriquet but I was amused by it. What images does it conjure for you?

Book Six is racing to the end--only a couple exciting chapters to go. This book covers some important months in 1776. It's no small job to juggle the historical events and the complications caused by those major obstacles to freedom--like dragons--but I enjoy doing it.

The theme for today's newsletter is mystery, noir, detective, action, and suspicious dames. Why have I chosen this theme? Because my most recently accepted short story will be in Pinup Noir 2 which becomes available on November 3 in both ebook and paperback. My story in the anthology is called "Monica on My Mind" and is a stand alone story set immediately after the events in Smoke. Now you know the reason for the picture above. -- Be warned: I will send a supplement to this newsletter in a day or two with a link to the anthology containing this story. It's not available yet, or I would've included the link with this newsletter.

In honor of the theme for this newsletter, here's a quote from page 2 of Smoke:

I kept watching those pliable lips to see if they would speak again, but she didn’t say anymore. It’s a rare thing that, a dame who won’t tell you more than you want to know. I could tell there was something special about her. But I was troubled…troubled by the thought that she had a husband…and that she wanted me to find him.

Smoke is a fun story with mystery, romance, humor, and action. So when I saw the call for Pinup Noir 2 stories, I knew I would write a winner for it--no question.

Smoking Hot Mysteries are here.

Small town and farm life mysteries are here.

For more exciting mystery, check out The Chaos of China Town by Carey Lewis.

Or Don't Look Back by AJ Faris.

Or the whole box set of the Detective Lagarde series.

You may have noticed that I didn't mention the next paragraph of the collaborative story--no one submitted one.

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Honor Roll with special thanks to these subscribers:

Lois for her stunning review and heroic defense of The Shrinking Zone.

JBudd for reviews of Threading the Rude Eye, In Death Bedrenched, Power to Hurt, The Shrinking Zone, Clamorous Harbingers, Promise of Carnage and Flame, and Truth in Flames

Colleen for leaving ratings for several of my books on Amazon

Rob for leaving a review of Threading the Rude Eye

Michael for leaving reviews of Threading the Rude Eye, and The Shrinking Zone

Mayra for a review of Threading the Rude Eye

Gloria for a review of Threading the Rude Eye

ShannonC for a review of In Death Bedrenched

Jan for reviews of Threading the Rude Eye, Power to Hurt, Clamorous Harbingers, Promise of Carnage and Flame, In Death Bedrenched, The Shrinking Zone, Truth in Flames, Justice in Season, and Justice Resurgent.

Bonnie for a review of In Death Bedrenched.

PAR for a review of Threading the Rude Eye

-There are many other reviews of my books, of course, but I don't know whether those reviewers are also subscribers to this newsletter.