In my last newsletter, I talked about those books I enjoyed in my childhood. Those great kid stories that fueled my imagination, which was pretty gassed up to start with. When I got into my teen years I began writing poetry and song lyrics. It would be therapy for me, a way to deal with the riggers of growing up that we all went through. I didn’t have many friends, so I would express myself, unburding my troubles onto white college ruled paper via an ink pen. This was before personal computers, and I still have many of those hand written pages stored away in filing cabinets. Occasionally I will pull them out and read through them, trying to remember what moment in my life triggered the creation of the verse. I remember my teenage daughter a few years back pulling them out, wanting to read them, getting a deeper understanding of her father and how I struggled and faced those teenage years. The creative bug had bit her as well, and she soon began writing on Wattpad, a venue to explore her creative side, a proud father thrilled I’d passed on the artistic gene to her.

Besides writing poetry, I began finding writers of mystery and thrillers that I enjoyed. As a youngster, Ian Fleming grabbed my imagination with Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. So in my later teen years I began reading his James Bond novels. The hard-nosed, cold and calculating Bond of his books, in many ways different than the suave and debonair man portrayed in the movies. Bond was a chain smoking, hard drinking, womanizer, who somehow got the job done despite his failings. I then found Robert Ludlum, and his Bourne trilogy. Jason Bourne a programmed killer, turning up wounded with no memory of who he was. His desperate struggle trying to understand what he had become before being shot, and why he had chosen the path of an assassin. From there I started reading the Techno-Thrillers by Tom Clancy, enjoying the every-man Jack Ryan and his fight against terrorism. I had immersed myself into those wonderful authors creations.

Reading these stories, and many others, gave me the inspirational itch, and I decided to create my own fictional worlds. In my early twenties I ventured into writing my own novel. After thinking about it, I decided on a retired CIA agent pulled back into the spy business reluctantly, dealing with a terrorist group named AIM. I wrote three novels in the series; The Nuclear Squeeze, With Lethal AIM and Dead End Pursuit. Being this was well before self-publishing, I submitted the first novel to several traditional publishers, but were rejected. Reading through those works now, I could see why, as the stories needed a lot of work. Like many writers I put aside ambitions for a while, focusing on other things. Revisiting my author aspirations with an idea about a down-on-his-luck private detective, I wrote a short story, The Case of the Missing Bubble Gum Card. Again I couldn’t get it published and shelved it and several other ideas for a decade or more. Pulling it out one day about 5 years ago, with my wife’s encouragement, I updated the story and decided on self-publishing it. From there was born the Jarvis Mann Detective series.

As I’m looking back on my writing journey, I will go over the ideas that brought to life my snarky PI. The short story mentioned above, dealt with Jarvis helping a high school student find a lost or stolen Ernie Banks rookie baseball card. A card quite valuable, both monetarily and sentimentally. With nothing better to do, Jarvis takes the case on a Sunday afternoon to track down what happened to it, learning a lesson from the young man in life and friendship along the way. It’s a simple case, that introduces Jarvis, showing his humor and smarts to deduce what happened. It’s 27 pages and can be read in a hour or so. And best of all, it is free via all major eBook retailers. For a taste of what Jarvis is like, click this link, select your ebook retailer of choice and download to your eReader. It is my gift to readers with the hope you will want to read more of the series.

It has been a month since the release of The Front Range Butcher and more reviews continue to come in:

I liked the plot(s) and the author laid it out pretty well, with plenty of action and intrigue, some sarcasm, humor, and sex – Stephen L. Brayton

This was a crazy ride. I really liked the characters, especially Jarvis Mann. He is tough, determined, has a smart mouth, which alienates a lot of people, and is very loyal to those he loves and his clients – Julia

Be sure to get your copy today, via Amazon. It’s available in eBook, paperback and also via the Kindle Unlimited subscription service. Once you start reading it, you won’t be able to put it down! If you’ve read it, email me, as I’d love to hear your thoughts on the latest chapter in the series. Readers feedback is what keeps my creative juices flowing.

Just this week I did a new blog interview, this one on the Better Beta Reads website managed by author Deb Rhodes. Be sure to check it out by clicking this link. If you have a blog or website who interviews authors, please contact me, as I’d be happy to answer any and all questions. I’m also available for podcast and radio interviews as well. Just send me an email and I’ll make the time to be on your show.

Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter and learning more about me and my books. Be sure to share with any other mystery/detective genre fans out there. I’m still offering Tracking A Shadow free for anyone signing up for the newsletter. I hope everyone has a great week. And until next time, keep your Kindle charged and your paperback pages turning.

R Weir