Hello everyone. I wanted to start by apologizing for the duplicate newsletter, which went out on April 22nd. I moved the RWeir.net website over to my new webhost, Hostinger, and my newsletter sending application, Mailerlite, thought it was a new newsletter and emailed it. This was something I thought about, but neglected to turn off the automatic send function. Live and learn. I did get a fantastic amount of opens on the newsletter, even though it went out earlier in the month. If you had missed it the first time, hopefully, you gave it a read the second time around. I’ll do my best not to let it happen again! 🙂

Part of the migration will include a brand new website, with a new domain and email address, which I’m still working through. The old website and email will remain live for quite a while and will be forwarded to the new one once the new site goes live. All the changes should give you a more modern and better experience than the old site, which was about 9 years old and had become too large and hard to navigate. I’m hoping to improve this with the new site. When it does go live, it won’t be fully functional at first, especially when it comes to the E-Commerce functions I’m planning. But those will be in place over time. One of the key features is being able to stage a backup of the new website, where I can add functions and troubleshoot it without affecting the live site. Once the tested changes are fully operational, it’s a simple flip of a setting, and the changes are brought online. Which makes this a win, win for me. Below is a screen capture of part of the Home Page to give you an idea of how it will look.

In the meantime, I scaled back the old site, giving it fewer menus, including putting all the book menus under one main menu. When you click on R. Weir Books, you’ll get sub-menus listing all of my book series, including audiobooks, book previews, and the order form to purchase paperbacks directly from me. Hopefully, this will simplify the old site until the new one is ready to launch. You can find the website via this link.

Besides the website, which has been a learning experience, I’ve been busy with other projects. Working on the yard as the weather has warmed up, and thankfully, we’ve been getting some rain, though it still has been quite dry. Here are a few pictures of our blooming flowers.

For the last several weeks, Dakota and I have been participating in the Westminster Citizens Fire Academy. It’s been eye-opening learning about the life of a firefighter and the work and challenges they encounter. Here are a few pictures of Dakota and me in full firefighting gear. And I’ve included other photos under the Fun Stuff Tab via this link.

Below you’ll see my new tattoo of the logo for the Steel Wheels Cold Mystery book series. As you can see, it’s still healing. But I think it turned out great. I now have two tattoos from two of my book series; the only one missing being the Jarvis Mann logo. I may have to add it to my other arm in a similar location.

A few weeks back, I met with some wonderful folks who formed a book club here in Westminster. The group decided to read my award-winning book, The Front Range Butcher. I had a fabulous time, with the host, Cindy, providing dinner. After dinner, Cindy asked questions of the group and me about the book. If you have a book club, I’d love and come and talk with you if you live here along the Colorado Front Range. If you live outside the area, I can also join you remotely. Just email me and we can work out the details.

I received a lovely email from Tammie, who wanted to tell me she enjoyed the signed book, Tracking A Shadow, that she purchased at an event. She wanted to leave a review on Amazon but had no idea how to post one, so I thought I’d share it with you.

I just wanted to tell you that I just finished reading my autographed copy of Tracking a Shadow. I loved it!! I loved all the Denver references. It was fun to picture myself in those locations. The part where he was at Everett and 1st Avenue was so fun to read as that’s my old neighborhood.

If you haven’t picked up my newest release, Justice For The Forgotten, you can find it on eBook, paperback, and it’s available on Kindle Unlimited. If you want a signed paperback copy, you can order it from my website by filling out and submitting the form. Here are three new 5-Star reviews if you’re on the fence about purchasing.

I enjoyed watching the growth of the plot which made it easy to read and entertaining as well. This is a fast paced, engaging story and a must read. This is one you don’t want to miss. I look forward to seeing more from this series in the future – Bobbi

One of the things I loved most about this book is how Mr. Weir tackles the themes of justice and redemption. It’s not just about crime & investigation, or catching the bad guys- it’s also about giving a voice to the voiceless and righting the wrongs of the past – Angela

This is such a great book and I highly recommend especially if you love a good mystery with plenty of twists and turns along the way! I am very excited to what the next book as in store for this series and with Donnie and Kogel – Lorralei

I continue to book some great guests for the Bringing Life To Characters podcast. In April, I interviewed Cynthia Swanson, Jodi Burnett, and Aaron Philip Clark. In May, I currently have scheduled Patricia Raybon (May 12th at 6 PM), Ann Parker (May 19th at 6 PM Mountain), and Mark Stevens (May 27th at 6 PM). Ann had to postpone her appearance on the show twice because she and her husband were sick. I’m keeping my fingers crossed this time she’ll be on the show. You can find all of my interviews on my YouTube Page.

Though I’ve only done three shows to date this year, I’ve had three winners of $10 Amazon Gift Cards for stopping by my table, the winners being Mary, Sue, and Diana. They’ve all been contacted and received their gift cards. Congratulations to them. And here are a couple of photos of book buyers from recent events.

My next big author event will be the TropiCon Book Expo & Writing Convention in Branson, Missouri. A long drive ahead of us, but we’re looking forward to meeting new authors and book readers. I’ll be part of the Detective For A Day event, where I get to use my acting chops and play a murder suspect, with everyone in the audience following the clues to decide who the killer is, which should be a lot of fun. And I’ll be on a Vodcasting panel discussing video podcasting. If you’re interested in going to the event, tickets are still available via this link. But hurry, for it begins this Thursday, May 8th.

The new Book Funnel links I’ve been providing have been a magnificent success. Thanks to everyone who has taken advantage of all these wonderful books provided by great authors, and who are new to this newsletter. A hearty Welcome to you all!! Here are a few more this month. I hope you’ll check them out.

Mother’s Day FREE eBooks has 66 free ebooks in various Mystery genres you can download here.

Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense Freebies has 85 free ebooks you can download here.

May Kindle Unlimited Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, & Crime Reads has 98 books, all available to read for free, if you subscribe to Kindle Unlimited. You can find all these books via this link.

Crime Stories – KU in May has 31 books available to read for free via Kindle Unlimited. Find them via this link.

This month, I’m featuring author Jodi Burnett. Jodi is a Colorado native and a mountain girl at heart. She loves writing Mystery and Suspense Thrillers from her small ranch southeast of Denver, where she lives with her husband and their two big dogs. There she dotes on her horses, complains about her cows, and writes to create a home for her imaginings. Burnett is a member of Novelists, Inc. and Sisters in Crime. Get free books by Jodi on her website. And she has her bookstore with great deals on eBooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks from all of her series. Below is one of her most popular.

Caitlyn Reed and her dog, Renegade, are thrown into the midst of murder and intrigue when they discover a dead body while on a trail ride in the black hills of Wyoming. The local sheriff is hell bent on a conviction, and Caitlyn’s brother, Dylan, is in his crosshairs. Desperate to prove his innocence, Caitlyn turns to Deputy Colt Branson for help, but she must grapple with their rocky romantic past to gain his aid. As Caitlyn and Renegade pursue the killer, the investigation catapults their lives in a dangerous new direction, one with mysterious strangers, convoluted clues, and deadly violence. In a whip-cracking turn of events, Caitlyn finds herself under suspicion. When all the chips fall, Caitlyn uncovers shocking evidence that rocks their small-town community to its core. If you like twist and turn plot lines woven with danger, mystery and suspense, you will love Renegade — Book 1 of the Tin Star K9 Series.

I will wrap up the newsletter and get back to designing the new website. Though it’s taking me away from working on my new book, so I’ll probably take a break and get back to the next Jarvis Mann detective story once I return from Branson. For Jarvis is bugging me to get on with the plot! For the foreseeable future, I’ll likely be bouncing back and forth between the two!! I’ll return next month with an update.

All the best!!

R Weir