Today is the day I release my new book, Justice For The Forgotten. If you pre-ordered the book, thank you so much. It should be available now to read on your Kindle or Kindle app. If you haven’t ordered yet, the 99-cent pre-order price is still available on Amazon until March 9th, when it will go up to $5.99. So get your copy today. If you like paperbacks, you can order from Amazon for $15.99 plus shipping, or a signed copy directly from my website for $15 plus $4 shipping (US Only). Just fill out the form and I’ll get it mailed out. Normally the next business day.
A little history about this new book. I had finished the Divine Devils series and was mulling working on a new series. I wanted it to be different in a few aspects, but still be in the Crime/Mystery genre. I had done the Westminster Citizen’s Police Academy and had talked to a few officers there, hearing some of their challenges. My wife made a suggestion about a person traveling to state parks in a motorhome who solves crimes. I thought the premise was a good idea, but I wanted to flesh it out, thinking it would be odd wherever he went, he ran into a crime. From there I decided on a retired Westminster police officer, who writes a blog about his days on the force and his personal life, as a form of therapy. It’s from this blog where a married couple contact him and he decides to take on a cold case murder. Their dead son, who society had forgotten, his parents in search of justice for the person or persons involved. From this was born the character Donnie Steel and his K-9 companion, Kogel. The book Justice For The Forgotten, the beginning of the Steel Wheels Cold Mystery series.
What makes this book different, is it’s a mixture of first-person and third-person writing. The blog chapters were written in first-person, from Donnie’s point of view, the other chapters are in third-person. I also added a spiritual aspect to the story, with Donnie’s faith being challenged after the death of his long-time wife Wendi, who passed away from cancer. It’s an emotional story while being thrilling at the same time. I hope you enjoy the beginning of this new series, which I’m quite proud of, as it’s some of my best work.
With each new release comes reviews. Here are three early reviews, the first an Editorial Review from Reader’s Favorite.
Donnie is an ex-cop who runs a blog and gets all kinds of requests. In Justice For The Forgotten by R. Weir, he gets one request that catches his eye, and, after a few replies, he decides to meet with the Riveras to hear about their case. After the meetup and some inquiries, Donnie realizes that the details of the case are fishy, from the intimidations to the shoddy investigations by Officer Warren. Enzo Rivera used to work in Rio Celeste before his untimely murder. The town of Rio Celeste is full of mysteries. They have their own paramilitary and do not recognize the authority of the state or federal government. How is everything connected, and will they succeed in stopping Donnie from continuing the investigation to give the Riveras the closure that they deserve?
Justice For The Forgotten by R. Weir is a must-read! The writing is engaging and filled with well-crafted dialogue that brings the story and the well-developed characters to life. I loved the mystery and how Weir utilized suspense to great effect, which kept me on the edge of my seat and looking forward to the events of subsequent chapters. This thought-provoking work also got me thinking about the criminal justice system and how sometimes access to justice can be denied. The plot flowed seamlessly, leaving no room for confusion, and the reader will also appreciate the excellent narration, which adds to the overall beauty of this work. This was an amazing read, and I look forward to reading something else by this talented author: Reviewed by Frank Mutuma for Readers’ Favorite.
It is gripping and, at points, brutal. You can feel the emotions of the characters and the tension of a given situation. It was a page-turner for me and at times I could hear myself say “This is not going to end well!” and “How are you going to get out of that Steel?” – Avis
This read captures you from chapter one. There are plenty of nail-biting moments that make you think that Donnie is not going to come out of. Mr. Weir creates a must-read story woven with deceit, corruption, murder, mystery, and suspense with two strong characters that do not give up – Shelly
I’ve been talking in the newsletter about changes I’m making to my marketing strategy. One change is that I’ve dropped Prolific Works and switched to Book Funnel. For a lower cost, it gives me a great deal more capability to give away free eBooks, create ARC (Advance Reader Copies) teams, and build my newsletter (Welcome to all the new readers!), especially with Group Promotions with other authors, which has already been a big success. Each month I will have links set up in the newsletter for you to check out, with the opportunity to receive free eBooks from authors of similar genres. The process to receive those books is easier, as they are sent directly to your email address or Kindle device. I will start off this month with several different promos for you to check out. Please click on the links, for not only do you get the opportunity to get free or discounted eBooks from other wonderful authors, but it also helps to build my reputation in Book Funnel which will allow me to take full advantage of its functionality. All you have to do is click on the hyperlink built into the giveaway title (normally underlined in blue) and it will take you to the page with all the available books to check out and download.
The first is March Crime – Short Stories and New Releases with 33 great short story eBooks to check out until March 31st.
Take the Darker Path Crime Thrillers Mystery and Suspense with 98 fabulous eBooks to check out until March 20th.
The link below is for Mystery/Thriller/Suspense books, a few of which are on sale and/or available on Kindle Unlimited. Clicking on the book title on the page will take you to the website hosting the book where you can purchase it. My book Justice For the Forgotten is included.
MAYHEM & MOTIVES: Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Reads with 122 wonderful eBooks to browse through until March 31st.
Next is a link for a promo for several crime book series which are available on Kindle Unlimited. If you subscribe to KU you should check these out to add to your reading list, which includes my Divine Devils series.
Series Promotion – Crime Story March 2025 – Kindle Unlimited has 15 series to add to your KU reading list.
Another aspect of Book Funnel is how it works when someone signs up for my newsletter. Before I had to send the book to each person that signs up. Now new sign-ups get an email with the links to download the eBook automatically. I’ve now added two free eBooks for each user who signs up. The Case of the Missing Bubble Gum Card and Tracking A Shadow. If you didn’t get either of those eBooks when you signed up, you can easily download them now via the links embedded above in both book titles. These will only work if you’re already signed up for Book Funnel in conjunction with my Mailerlite service, which will verify your email address before allowing the download.
Another marketing tactic is getting my paperback books on shelves for people to find. Thanks to CAL (Colorado Author League), I was able to get six of my books, including Justice For The Forgotten, in a local coffee shop, along with several other CAL authors. A Creative Corner Coffee Shop is located at 3965 West 73rd Ave in Westminster, Colorado. If you live in the area, stop in and check out all the CAL books, and the other handmade crafts they sell there. Oh and yes they do have coffee too.
I’ve been working on getting more honest reviews for some of my previous books. Lethal Blues, book 9 in the Jarvis Mann PI series, recently got several new reviews. Here are snippets of a few of them.
You do not want to miss the twists and turns of this mystery. This is a fast-paced, hard to put down story that is easy to read and engaging – Bobbi.
With elements of murder, crime, danger, hidden agendas, gangs, drama, adventure, action, violence, drugs, and more, you will not be disappointed with Weir’s work – Jenni
Lethal Blues was a suspense-filled book that kept you intrigued and made it an easy read. Jarvis Mann’s witty personality and sarcastic comments made the book even more enjoyable – Lacie
You can also enjoy this reading of Chapter 1 of Lethal Blues on YouTube.
One event I have coming up is Left Coast Crime, held at the Denver Downtown Westin Hotel. I’m thrilled I’ll be on a panel with several other wonderful authors; the subject: Crime in Colorado, which will be held on March 13th from 1:15-2PM. One panelist, Helen Starbuck, has been a guest on my Bringing Life to Characters podcast. The others on the panel are, Marie Sutro, Patricia Raybon, and Cynthia Swanson. I’m hoping all will be guests on the podcast in the future. And I’ll have a few copies of my books available to purchase in the Left Coast Crime bookstore at the hotel.
As for Bringing Live to Characters, I’ve had several more wonderful guests this past month. I interviewed the sister writing team of Blythe Hudson and Carter Fielding, who were both on the other side of the world, where thankfully technology didn’t fail us. Next, it was Elizabeth Crowens where we talked about her life working in Hollywood and the movie industry and her wonderful books, many with real-life Hollywood Legends in the storyline. And then finally, I talked with Manual Ramos who is one of the guests of honor for Left Coast Crime. Future guests include award-winning and best-selling author Sara Paretsky on March 6th at 10AM Mountain time. Sara also is a guest of honor for Left Coast Crime. And then on March 11th at 6PM Mountain time I’ll have Lori Herbst, who will also be attending Left Coast Crime. You can find all my video interviews with these wonderful authors on my YouTube Page.
I will finish with one more plug to buy my new release, Justice For The Forgotten. If you’re still on the fence, you can check out the first three chapters, Prologue, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 on my website. Be sure to share with your book-reading friends the incredible 99 cent deal for the eBook, which will expire March 9th. And of course I would love it if you’d leave an honest review on Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub.
All the best!!
R Weir