For the second year in a row, I'm giving away a short story for Christmas. Last year, I shared the very first Pete and Zoe mystery, a short story published in 2006 in Mysterical-E Magazine . This year, I've written an original Christmas story about the night Zoe met Pete. It's set eight years prior to Circle of Influence and was a lot of fun to create. And yes, it's free. But there is a catch. It will be posted on a members-only page on my website and the only way you can get the password is by subscribing to my newsletter. I'll send an e-blast containing the password out to subscribers on Christmas Eve. A week or so later, Uneasy Prey goes live for pre-orders, so I'll send another newsletter with the buy-link and with the new cover art! And then I won't bother you again until spring, so don't be worried about me spamming your inbox. If you're already a subscriber, thank you. If you haven't joined my mailing list yet, click here to s...

I spent all last week in Book Jail again. On Monday, I traveled to Aston PA, south of Philly to meet up with Ramona Long and Kim Gray for a weeklong writing retreat. Wendy Tyson joined us for a couple of nights too. The house is old but feels like home, reminding me a bit of my grandparents' farmhouse. My writing space there was small but comfy. Deer came to greet us at dawn and at dusk. But most importantly, I managed to write "The End" not once, but twice! I finished the first draft of Zoe Chambers Mystery #7. And I started and finished a Zoe Chambers short story, which will be posted on my website on Christmas Eve. The short story is free but there's a catch. The page it'll be on is password protected and the ONLY way to get the password is to subscribe to my newsletter. You can sign up here . I promise I won't swamp your inbox with newsletters. But you will get the short story and you'll get a sneak peek of the cover of Une...