I spent the week leading up to Memorial Day working on our latest yard project. Since we moved into the house going on nearly 4 years now, we wanted to replace most of the front grass with more waterwise plants, shrubs, and mulch. In this latest section, we had 300 square feet of sod removed. The front yard is now down to around 25% grass, which is a lot less for me to water and mow. Here are before and after pictures.

Elsewhere in our yard, we have Irises and Columbines blooming thanks to a wet spring. I have more photos on the Fun Stuff page on my website. If you have some pretty flowers or home projects to share, send them my way!

For those who don’t know, like many authors, I use Kindle Direct Publishing for my print-on-demand Paperbacks. Amazon, who owns KDP, recently announced that on June 20th they will be increasing the costs of those books. I’ve investigated this and the 6×9 print size I use for my books is only going up in cost by about 20 cents. So my plans, for now, are not to increase the price of the paperbacks I sell on Amazon or when you buy direct from me. And I have plenty of books on hand to sell at the lower cost point to get me through a good portion of the holiday selling season.

This brings me to a point I’ve made in the past. I’m always thrilled to sell my paperbacks, whether it’s from Amazon or direct from me. But I do make more profit on books purchased from me. Here is why. When you buy from Amazon, there are three costs to the book, the printing cost, the cost of selling the book through the Amazon marketplace, and then the profit I make, which is minuscule, but a double dip for Amazon. When you buy direct from me, there is only that first printing cost, and then my markup. In many cases buying directly from me is cheaper for you, and more profitable for me. Example: purchasing The Divine Devils from Amazon is $16.99 plus shipping. When you buy from me, it’s only $15 with free shipping (US only). As I mentioned, I’m thrilled no matter how you buy the book. But it’s nice not to give Amazon too much of the profit, for I don’t think Mister Bezos needs any more money to pay for his rocket rides into space!

Speaking of books, don’t forget to pick up the latest Jarvis Mann PI novel, Lethal Blues. This story brings Jarvis back after a several-year layoff, to help an old client of his track down a missing friend. Which leads to a murder and an illicit Fentanyl ring. You can read Chapters One and Two on my website, along with previews of other books. The book is available in eBook, Paperback, and on Kindle Unlimited. Or you can buy a signed paperback copy direct from me for $15 with free shipping (US only). You can order any of my other books through my website. Just remember to hit the submit button at the bottom after filling out all the required fields. Books generally get shipped out within two days.

I’ve sent out to my beta readers the first 43 chapters of Divine Retribution. This will be the fourth and likely last book in the Divine Devils series and bring about a resolution to all that has happened in the first three books. My hope is to get the first draft finished before our upcoming trip which I mention below. And if all goes well, have this book out before the end of the year.

We have been busy getting ready for our big trip to South Dakota for the Wild Deadwood Reads Author Event. This will be the sixth year we’ve traveled there, this time in our brand-new motorhome. We will arrive on June 15th and not return until the 23rd. I plan to have lots of pictures from the event as well as the sights we’ll visit throughout the state. If you live in the area be sure to stop by the event. It is free to attend and is held at the Lodge at Deadwood Hotel.

This month there is only one new Prolific Works free eBook giveaway for you to check out. Through the Trees – Mystery and Thriller GG has 34 eBooks available until June 30th via this link.

Last month my daughter Dakota bought her first brand-new car. A 2023 Subaru Forester she had to wait a month to get. A car completely paid for with her own money. A chip off the old block when it comes to saving money, which makes her mother and me proud!

I need to get back to getting ready for our first big summer trip. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or to say hello. I love hearing from all of you.

All the best!!

R Weir