A Great Promotion Makes it a Great Time to Visit Magnolia Bluff!

If you've been wondering what goes on in that little town in the Texas Hill Country but have yet to visit the world of Magnolia Bluff, there is no better time than now. Starting Monday September 25th you can get the first book in the series, Death Wears a Crimson Hat for FREE and all the rest of the books for a mere 99¢ each. That's seventeen books for under sixteen bucks!! But don't procrastinate - this deal is only good through Friday September 29th.

If you've already traveled to Magnolia Bluff a couple of times this is also a great opportunity to grab the rest of the series. So, grab a few or grab them all during this limited time promotion. You can find the link at the bottom of this post.

The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles is a multi-author series written by a group called The Underground Authors. Each author brings their own individual take on crime and how it affects the citizens of this small town in the Texas Hill Country. At the time of this promotion, there are seventeen books with numbers eighteen, nineteen, and twenty being released over the next three months.

The authors have all committed to shaking up that little town again with a third year of mystery and suspense beginning in February 2024.

So, come visit us in the sleepy little town with a penchant for murder. You'll find everything from cozy mysteries to psychological thrillers. And although the authors have written vastly different novels within the core mystery genre, the one common thread tying them all together is that they all take place in the same small town with a mix of new and familiar characters throughout. And I can guarantee they are all entertaining.

You can find and purchase all the books in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series by clicking here: MBCC

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

My Journey into the World of Magnolia Bluff, Texas

My Journey into Magnolia Bluff, Texas started as a fan. I loved the idea of a group of authors getting together to promote and support each other's work. I was also intrigued with their group name. They are collectively known as The Underground Authors. I'd already had a great experience with this concept as a member of the WolfPackAuthors, another group of talented writers who banded together to promote and support each other's work. As a member of the WolfPackAuthors we branched out from just promoting our individual writing into collectively putting together two short story anthologies.

The Underground Authors did the same thing. They put together a collection of short stories all centered around one theme--a single picture of a boat. Then, of course, came the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles. A mystery/crime series that spans several sub-genres within that category. Everything from cozy mystery to psychological thrillers. 

I read every book as soon as it was available. There were nine titles released during the first year. I loved the diversity of the stories and the writing styles that each author brought to the table. And I wasn't alone. There were a lot of other readers who also looked forward to each new book. The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series was a hit. 

Somewhere along the way, the group decided to expand as they geared up for the second year of the series. I received an email from author CW Hawes asking me if I would be interested in joining The Underground Authors and writing a book for the series. I jumped at the chance. 

And now, my offering for year two of the series is being released this month, September 18th. 

It's currently on pre-order for a limited time price of just 99¢

Second Chances: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, Book 17

You can get your copy here: SECOND CHANCES

You can also get the entire series by clicking here: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles

Here is the blurb:

Retired New York Police Detective, Brandon Turner wanted to move as far away from the Big Apple as possible.

Pointing a finger at a map, he ends up in Magnolia Bluff, a small town in the Texas Hill Country.

Unfortunately, it's not as easy to retire here as he'd hoped. While exploring a park with his dog and the real-estate agent showing him the property, they discover a body. They report the death and, as far as Turner is concerned, that's where it ends. But it's not that simple.

This body was not the first. There were others and all the evidence points to drugs. The local police are not savvy enough to solve these crimes on their own and ask Turner for help. But the former detective has other ideas. He intends to leave his past life where it belongs... in the past. But he soon realizes that he just can't stay away from the case. Vowing not to work with the local detective, Turner begins his own investigation, putting himself, his dog, and the woman he just met in danger.

Can Turner and the local police set aside their differences long enough to stop a potential drug ring from destroying more lives? The town's residents are counting on it. As for Turner, he just wants to solve the case as soon as possible so he can start enjoying his retirement.

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I hope you'll give Second Chances a try. It's a little bit cozy and a little bit not. I think you'll enjoy it. I know I enjoyed writing it.

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

 Meet Underground Author Team Breakfield and Burkey

Magnolia Bluff, Texas is one of my favorite fictional places to visit. It's a small-town set in the Texas Hill Country whose population seems to be decreasing at a steady rate. Why, you ask? Because this little town's murder rate rivals that of any big city anywhere in the country.

A case in point would be this month's offering from the talented writing team Breakfield and Burkey. Their new book, The Killer Enigma: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles-Book 16 is currently on preorder and will be available on Saturday August 19th.

I'm a fan of Breakfield and Burkey's writing and can't wait to get my hands on this one... 

Get your copy here: The Killer Enigma

This is a wonderful edition to the series and stars JJ, a technology guru and his wife Jo, a renowned supermodel. Magnolia Bluff fans were first introduced to them in last year's, The Flower Enigma, book 5 in the series.

Rox Burkey and Charles Breakfield are the award winning, creative minds behind the popular, bestselling, twelve book, The Enigma Series, as well as ten short stories, and of course, their two books (so far) written for the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series.

Rox Burkey's other job, when not writing her next techno-thriller is a Customer Experience Specialist. She works with businesses located all around the world. Her business and travel experience has allowed her to write realistic fiction stories that are full of humor, romance, intrigue, suspense, and of course, mystery.

Charles Breakfield works as a data/telecom solution architect when not working on his next techno-thriller mystery. He comes from a military family and lived on several military bases in different countries throughout his childhood. The wealth of knowledge he acquired experiencing many different cultures has allowed him to create richly developed characters with various perspectives on life.  

You can find out more about Breakfield and Burkey's books, contests, FREE stuff, as well as enjoy snippets of their stories, book trailers, and audible sections by visiting their website here: Enigma Series

Here is the blurb for The Killer Enigma:

Enough is Enough - JJ rumbled when the Paparazzi invaded dinner                                                      

When JJ and Jo recognize privacy doesn't exist for them, they head back to Magnolia Bluff to check on friends and recapture the small-town anonymity.

They reject the status of urban legends in favor of acceptance and a quiet, peaceful life. A supermodel needs time and space to recharge herself between jobs, and he needs time to adore his wife.

Does Magnolia Bluff hold the answers to their prayers, or will a dark past overtake them?

Past, present, and future collide in a perfect storm no one expected. JJ and Jo need to take action. Chief Tommy Jager states he likes them, but he can't wait for them to get back to their day jobs.

Who will live or die to prevent the truth from being exposed? The answers may be in the graveyard with the fresh flowers.

Their friends are targets - Their dreams are broken - They must fight

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You can order your copy of Breakfield and Burkey's first Magnolia Bluff book, The Flower Enigma: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles - Book 5 by clicking here: The Flower Enigma

 

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

Meet Underground Author, Caleb Pirtle III

A group of writers known as the Underground Authors are the creative minds behind the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series. A different member of the group writes each book, and each author brings their own take on mystery and murder to this little town in the Texas Hill Country.

This month we are treated to the unique writing style of prolific, award-winning author Caleb Pirtle III. Ever since I read his book, Eulogy in Black and White, which is the second book in the Magnolia Bluff series, I've been intrigued with Mr. Pirtle's writing. I've never had a reading experience like the one he provides in his novels. It is a wonderful and satisfying experience I invite everyone to share. His prose moves at a pace that is both quick and easy to read and relaxing to the eyes all at the same time. You can't help but continue to turn the pages wanting to find out what comes next. Not a word is wasted anywhere on the page. His writing will make you sit up and think as a smile crosses your face wondering how he painted such a strong and vibrant visual in your mind with so few words. The answer? It's easy when they are the right words. And Caleb Pirtle III is a master at picking the right words.

He has written over eighty books in his career and gets better with each new story he pens. I'm a fan. I believe once you've read one of his books, you will become a fan too. 

You can find out more about Caleb and his life's work here: Author, Caleb Pirtle III

His newest, Death in the Absence of Rain: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles: book 15 releases on July 20th and is available now for pre-order.

Order it here: Death in the Absence of Rain 

Here is the blurb for the book:

In Texas, it has been a long, hot summer.

Blistering temperatures.

Scorched earth.

An empty sky.

No rain at all.

Trapped in the midst of a generational drought, the water level of Magnolia Bluff’s Burnet Reservoir begins to drop, and the ghost town of Crystalline Flats slowly comes back from the dead.

When the river was dammed to create the reservoir, the flood had overwhelmed the dying old town and left it buried underwater.

Now the ruins are rising like skeletons of stone and wood from their watery grave.

And the secrets of Crystalline Flats are secrets no longer.

They are a dreadful tale of murder.

And who lives and who will kill again to make sure the mysteries from the past remain hidden and silenced forever?

Some believe their past sins were washed away.

Now those sins are back to haunt the guilty.

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Get your copy of Caleb's other Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles book, Eulogy in Black and White by clicking here: Eulogy

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

A Few Fun Summer Reading Suggestions

If you're anything like me, you have more books sitting on your TBR (To Be Read) list than you'll be able to read in your lifetime. I know I have a crazy amount on my list. But the one thing I like to do is prioritize what I want to read at this time of the year. I'll add new titles or move books already on my list up to the top. I try to choose those I might enjoy most during the dog days of summer. 

I have compiled a few that I've enjoyed over the years that I think will provide a terrific reading experience on the beach, by the pool, or just sitting in your favorite chair with the air conditioner blowing in your face. Of course, I realize that not everyone has the same taste, but these are all good stories written by talented authors and are definitely worth reading. Who knows? You might discover something different from your norm that surprises you. 

These are just a few of my favorites. The list is made up of a couple of big-name authors and a couple of my favorite indie authors. If I put every author whose work I've loved reading on this list, it would be never ending. So, I kept it short with only eight books. I've enjoyed reading all of these and I think they are the perfect summer reads. 

If you want more information on any of the books here, just click the title and you'll find yourself on the Amazon page:

Enough Rope by Lawrence Block. This is a huge collection of short stories that features Block at his best. All his favorite characters are here - Cat burglar extraordinaire Bernie Rhodenbarr, Keller the wistful hitman, and Private Eye Matt Scudder just to name a few. This collection clocks in at just under 900 pages and it is worth spending time on each and every one of them.

Red Right Return (Buck Reilly Adventure Series book one) by John H Cunningham. I discovered this fun adventures series about ten years ago. Set in the Florida Keys, this book is filled with thrills and chills as we follow along with Buck on his treasure hunting adventures. There are ten books in the series, and all are super reads.

Festival of Death: A Justinia Wright Investigator Mystery (book one) by CW Hawes. Hawes treats the reader to some of the best character driven mysteries in the book market today. If you're a fan of Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, Marcia Muller, and Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe then you will not only love this book, but you'll love the entire series. And there are eight for you to enjoy.

The Monkey Idol: Decker & Callie Adventure by K.D. McNiven. If you enjoy high octane adventure in the spirit of Indiana Jones, this book will fit the bill and then some. A Jungle romp at its finest. I guarantee that once you've read The Monkey Idol, you will crave more of Decker & Callie. Luckily there are three books in this wonderful series with more to come.

Map of Bones: A Sigma Force Novel by James Rollins. This was the first book I read in this wonderful series filled with mystery, adventure, history, and sci-fi elements all blended together for hours of fascinating reading. This is book two in a series that currently spans seventeen books.

Geller's Find by Sandra Cox. Every book I've read by this author has been filled with interesting characters set inside meticulously crafted plots that together deliver some of the best stories I've read. This one blends archeology, time travel, and romance into a fun, exciting trip back to the old west. One of my favorite books by Ms. Cox.

Deadly Declarations (The Indie Retirement Mystery Series book one) by Landis Wade. This is a fun mystery that centers around an unlikely group of retirees who set out to solve a murder and a 250 yr old colonial period mystery about the disappearance of North Carolina's Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. A great murder mystery with a historical twist. 

And last but certainly not least - this is my personal favorite book for 🌞summer🌞 reading fun...

Jaws by Peter Benchley. No explanation needed for this one. This is the quintessential summer bestseller that spawned a blockbuster movie that was responsible for keeping a generation of folks out of the water back in 1975. It was a phenomenon that all started with this novel. I read this one every summer just for the fun of it. Great movie. Better book.

And there you have it. Some you may have already discovered, but maybe there's a book on this list that you haven't read yet. If that's the case, I hope you'll give it a try. These are all Joe approved and will help you survive the next few months while you're sipping a cold drink on your favorite beach, lazing out by the pool, or sitting on your front porch hoping for a cool breeze to tickle your nose.

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

Meet Underground Author, Richard Schwindt

Magnolia Bluff  - A small town in the Texas Hill Country that people are just dying to visit

Men Lying Dead in a Field: Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, book 14 by Richard Schwindt is set to release on Tuesday June 20th. Richard is no stranger to the world of small-town murder and mystery. This is his second book for the series. His first was the very popular and well received, The Shine from a Girl in the Lake.

The main character is Dr. Micheal Kurelek, a clinical psychologist who seems to keep finding himself in danger. He is a superb protagonist for Richard's Magnolia Bluff stories. He's not someone you'd expect to find solving murders. But it works. It's works extremely well.

Richard has also written several other mysteries, including The Death in Sioux Lookout trilogy and the Tony Price paranormal detective mysteries. Beyond that, Richard is also a social worker and therapist and has written several self-help books in those fields. A busy man indeed.

He is an accomplished storyteller with a unique ability to grab you and keep you engaged. Any of his many books will get you hooked. But I suggest his newest, Men Lying Dead in a Field. The title alone has me intrigued. You can preorder it NOW on Amazon and start enjoying it on Tuesday.

Order it here: Men Lying Dead in a Field

Here is the blurb for the book: 

In Book 14 of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, Dr. Michael Kurelek is caught unaware when his father appears in Magnolia Bluff, just released from sniper duty in Ukraine. When a stranger turns up dead shortly after, shot through the heart in a field outside of town, Mike needs to act. His investigation will place him in the sights of a deadly adversary. Everyone has a secret, but someone is killing psychologists, and Michael Kurelek could be next on the list.

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You can find all of Richard's books here: Richard Schwindt's Amazon Page

Here are the covers for the other titles mentioned in this post:

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

 Staying Focused in the Summertime 

Let the games begin!

What is it about summer that makes us lose our minds and abandon all sense of normalcy? Work becomes... ugh, work, and we will try to do anything in our power to avoid it. I think it goes back to when we were kids. We couldn't wait for school to end and those ten glorious weeks of fun to begin. We were free to do whatever we wanted, even if that meant nothing at all. And as we grew into adulthood, we continued to try to hold onto the innocence of a time when it was perfectly okay to just kick back and enjoy ourselves without a care in the world. Some of us take extravagant vacations while others merely steal away an extra day or two for an extended beach weekend. But all of us at some point during the summer months try to slow down, even if it's just a little bit, and enjoy some of what this time of year has to offer. 

Summer fun has officially reached the Carolinas. For me, it's going to be a fun and somewhat busy season - Going to baseball games (MLB & MiLB), watching (or at least staying up to date on) three of the four world class grand slam tennis tournaments (French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open), A trip to the beach (Charleston, SC) in late June, cooking out by the pool almost nightly, two trips up to NY (one in July for the Baseball HOF induction ceremony, the other in late August to visit family), and the grandkids (as well as friends and some of the neighbors) taking over my backyard pool all summer long. There are a multitude of reasons to help me lose focus on my writing during this time of year.

But I have a book being released in September. September 18th to be exact. So, somehow, I need to keep my writing schedule intact during all the summertime commotion buzzing around me. And just how am I going to accomplish that? Mainly I'm going to pivot. Actually, I've already started to pivot in preparation for what's to come over the next three months.

My writing schedule has been pretty consistent over the winter and spring. I am at my desk by nine in the morning, lunch at one o'clock, take care of any errands I need to run, back at the desk by three-thirty, finish up at six-thirty. That gives me seven hours of uninterrupted writing time each day. Since I'm still working a part time job a couple days a week, I adhere to this schedule four days out of seven, with Sundays off. If I'm on a roll during a writing day, I might grab an hour or two in the evening after dinner... sometimes.

With the extracurricular activities the summer brings, I have moved my writing start time to seven in the morning and then working straight through until two o'clock. Same seven hours of time each day but freeing me up earlier in the afternoons and evenings for any grandkid activities, any ballgames, or, if the mood strikes, having a cocktail or two by the pool.

During the first two weeks of July, and in August, I will pivot again to stay focused and on schedule while preparing for the aforementioned trips. 

But as they say, the best laid plans... I fully expect some bumps in the road as I travel through this summer pivoting plan. For example: our six-year-old grandson will be staying with us every other week all summer. Let me repeat that - ALL SUMMER. Ever try to concentrate on a writing project while a six-year-old tugs at your shorts wanting to play or go swimming? As a grandparent, it's hard to say no to that adorable face and those pleading eyes. So, as I pivot one way, he will have me pivoting a completely different way during the weeks he is here. All the more reason I need to stay focused on what needs to be accomplished during the weeks he's not here.

I am looking forward to these next ten weeks or so, and I will learn to live by the words, a body in motion tends to stay in motion. It's the only way I will be able to make it all work. 🌞

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As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎