Hello to everyone. Hope you are all doing well. It continues to be mild here along the front range this winter. Very little snow and only one cold stretch. Spring is not far off, with March and April historically big snow months for us. So we still have time to get some much needed moisture. I know some parts of the country, especially back east, winter has been what winter is normally like. How has winter been in you neck of the woods?

I’ve been busy the last 10 days working on final edits to my latest book, The Front Range Butcher, after getting it back from my editors. They provided a wonderful amount of feedback, which I’ve incorporated and I think this is the best book in the Jarvis Mann PI series yet. I was excited reading through the story while editing, and I hope everyone who reads it will not put it down until the last of the 400 pages is finished. Release date will be March 27th, with pre-sales available now on Amazon. I will be providing more teasers and posting chapters of the book on my Jarvis Mann PI Facebook page and on the RWeir website in advance, to give everyone a taste of the story. The plot has Jarvis trying to track down a serial killer, while dealing with several other cases pulling him in multiple directions. He will be challenged on many fronts like never before.

We are doing a slow cover reveal for the new book on the Facebook page. Be sure to like the page to see the latest info and cover slowly being revealed. Here is a sneak peek:

The plot for the latest book came about with me wanting Jarvis to go face to face, matching wits with the suspected serial killer, and facing the emotional effects of getting into the psyche of this person. You will see the return of many characters from the other books in the series, and many new ones as well. And story-lines from the last two Jarvis books, Dead Man Code and The Case of the Invisible Souls, play a key role in the story. Though not necessary to have read those books, understanding the backstory is helpful. Much like life, everything Jarvis has done past and present, comes back around, both good and bad. As we all know it can be difficult to be completely free of the past mistakes we make, and he is no different.

There are still more Instafreebie giveaways I’m involved with, featuring my first novel, Tracking A Shadow, where Jarvis is looking for the stalker of his sexy female client. These giveaways feature other Mystery/Thriller/Suspense books, all for free. A great way to find new and exciting authors. Be sure to check them out via the links below.

Intriguing Murder Mysteries ends Feb 9th and features 28 free books

Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense ends Feb 12th and features 67 free books

If you don’t want to go through Instafreebie, anyone can signup for my newsletter, where I will provide you a free copy of Tracking A Shadow. Or you can purchase on your own through most eBook retailers for $2.99. And you can always get the short story that started it all, The Case of the Missing Bubble Gum Card, through most eBook retailers permanently for free. A great introduction to Jarvis Mann PI, as he helps a young man find a lost valuable Ernie Banks bubble gum card and learns an important lesson in the process.

As remember all of the novels, Tracking A Shadow, Twice As Fatal, Blood Brothers, Dead Man Code, and soon, The Front Range Butcher, are available in paperback as well. You can find those on Amazon. If you’d like to buy a signed copy direct from me, contact me via the email address on this newsletter and we can work out costs and getting one shipped to you.

Thanks again for reading the newsletter. Be sure to share with all your friends and family. If you have questions about me or Jarvis and his adventures, don’t hesitate to email me. I love hearing from all of you. Have a wonderful week and stay warm by curling up to a book with the one you love!!

R Weir

When talking with readers or doing interviews, I’m often asked how I plot out my books. Do I outline my story, or do I write it by the seat of my pants? The truth is I get a basic story idea and run with it from there. I do not plot out or outline the story before I write. I let the story take me in a direction as I write it. The general idea, with a beginning, middle and end, is there when I start, but it often changes significantly from what I imagined it would be in the beginning. Dead Man Code is a good example. I knew it would be a murder of a computer tech and would reveal secrets about the company he worked for. But that simple idea morphed into so much more, much of it evolving as I wrote it. No spoilers though, as you’ll have to read the book. I’m a believer in letting the story take me on a journey. At the beginning I’m thinking I will go right, and the next thing you know I’m headed left. It can be much like every day life, where you start a day thinking you’ll be doing one thing, then circumstances and obstacles will take you in a new direction. It can be quite exciting to me personally, on where the story hurtles to. Hopefully it’s the same feeling a reader gets when they dive into my books.

Though I don’t outline in advance, I do outline as I go along. I use Scrivener to manage the outline. The functions within the program I use are, Character Sketch, to keep track of character names, their place in the story and their physical characteristics. Then I use, Setting Sketch, to keep track of each chapter, with a brief summary on the cards on the digital pegboard of what happens and who is in that chapter. All of these can be organized in folders to better track the plot and refer back to.  My favorite feature of Scrivener is the Name Generator, which helps me come up with character names. It allows me to generate a list of unique names based on country of origin, male or female, first and last names starting with certain first letter, and so on. It is a wonderful program for outlining. Some authors I know use it for writing their story as well. But I still prefer Microsoft Word for this. And Word documents work well with Amazon, Createspace and Draft2Digital, so long as they are properly formatted. There are many books and instructions on websites out there on the proper way to format a file for eBooks and physical books. From the information I’ve gathered, I’ve designed a template that works every time. At least until they change their upload specs, which in the computer world is always a possibility.

I’m continuing to get lots of downloads of my free novel, Tracking A Shadow. This is coming off of several Instafreebie Group Giveaways I’m using right now, adding many new subscribers to this newsletter. If you’ve downloaded my book, or any of the other books in these giveaways, please leave a review for the author on the various review sites out there, after you are done reading. Amazon, Goodreads, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble and any other sites where the book is for sale. Reviews are the lifeblood of authors. I know when I’m looking at a book to purchase, reading reviews can often be a deciding factor. Even something as simple as “Great Book! I Really enjoyed it and will read more by this Author” will not only make the authors day when reading it, but lead to more sales for them, fueling them to write additional great stories to share.

Speaking of those giveaways, here are some of the current ones. Be sure to check them out. There are a lot of great books here free to read, and generally available in all formats used by any eReader out there.

PULSE POUNDING THRILLERS 40 free ebooks TIL FEB 3rd

INTRIGUING MURDER MYSTERIES 28 free ebooks TIL FEB 9th

FREE THRILLER & MYSTERY EBOOKS 7 free ebooks TIL JAN 26th

Thanks again for opening and reading my newsletter. Next month I will continue talking about my writing process, give some background on how Jarvis was born, and hopefully have news on my next Jarvis Mann PI book, The Front Range Butcher. Here is a little teaser from the book:

If you have questions be sure to reply to this email, as I love hearing from readers. And share this newsletter with anyone who is interested in my books. If they sign-up via my website I will give them a free eBook version of, Tracking A Shadow. Thanks again and be sure to share a book with a friend!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable New Year’s celebration and got to spend time with loved ones over these last few holiday weeks. As a family we spent our New Years Eve trying to keep our dog Emma calm, with all the fireworks being set off by many of our neighbors. She begins to pace back and forth, panting heavily with each boom outside, not being able to relax. She loves the outdoors, but wants nothing to do with it, when the fireworks are flying. Even though we planned on getting to bed early, we ended up staying up well past midnight, running Netflix shows with the volume turned up so she couldn’t hear the noise. People don’t consider animals when setting off fireworks, but they can be quite frightening to them.

At the three craft fairs I did during the holiday season, I got a chance to talk with lots people interested in my books. Those one-on-one moments are enjoyable, interacting with people who love to read. The most common question I get is: How do you come up with your ideas? To answer those questions, can be complicated. I often find that ideas spring out of little things. Moments in time when something may happen to you personally or you see happen when out and about. I’m an observer, making mental notes of all going on around me. The birth of an idea can happen almost anywhere. I often take a small idea, making it into a basic framework for a story. Or those small moments can be used as a point in time in my story, where a character will have a reaction to something he sees. It can be those little moments that makes a dull character more interesting; more human. I fill all my stories with those little tidbits, creating depth. Another common question is: How do I plot out my stories? I will discuss that in my next newsletter.

My book, Tracking A Shadow, is featured in another Instafreebie Pure Crime Group Giveaway, with 22 other Mystery/Thriller books, which are free until the end of January. Be sure to check this out. This is a great deal, opening you up to more wonderful authors in this genre.

I’m still waiting to get back the next book, The Front Range Butcher, from my editor, which likely won’t be ready to go until March. But I’ve been busy, working on the follow-up to Butcher, 42 thousand words already written on the tentatively titled, Mann in the Crossfire. This story continues a secondary story-line from Butcher, drawing Jarvis into the crossfire of warring factions, which will make for suspense and intrigue he has not been up against previously. Hopefully this will make for another exciting chapter in the Jarvis Mann PI series.

That is all for now. Be sure to share this newsletter with any friends who are interested in my type of work. Word of mouth is the best friend of indie authors. Those that sign-up for the newsletter can get a free copy of, Tracking A Shadow, either directly on my website or via one of the Instafreebie Giveaways that are currently running. If you have any questions be sure to reply back to this email or click the email link below to send me any questions. I always love hearing from readers and responding to any queries you have. Thanks to all, until next time…

R Weir

Greetings to everyone. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and happy Hanukkah. After a fairly mild fall for us in Colorado, winter solstice has hit in full force just in time for Christmas. Cold and snow, with temps being more like you expect in December, with single digits and below zero wind chills. Those who dream of a white Christmas, got their wish. A couple weeks earlier it was 81 degrees, leaving us to think the tropics had moved to the Rocky Mountain front range. I’ve always loved the stark changes in the four seasons that Colorado provides, except for when driving in it.

Hello to the bevy of new subscribers who will be receiving this newsletter for the first time, many joining via Instafreebie. I am part of the “Fill Your eReader with Free Mystery & Thrillers eBooks” group giveaway, with several other authors. Those of you who downloaded my book, Tracking A Shadow, thank you so much. Hopefully you will get a chance to read and enjoy the first novel in the Jarvis Mann PI series. If you have other reading enthusiasts within your inner circle, some of whom receiving a brand new eReader for the holidays, be sure to share the link with them, as there are 88 Mystery/Thriller books, from many great indie authors, and all FREE!! For those of you who are new to my work, be sure to check out the rest of the books in the Jarvis Mann PI series. There are six in all, with the seventh coming out early next year.

One of those stories, The Case of the Invisible Souls, was free for 5 days right before Christmas. It hit #1 on two Amazon Bestseller lists, and top 5 on two others, staying there for all 5 days of the promo, with several thousand downloads. This is the second book I’ve had hit #1, which is a wonderful feeling and a great gift to receive for Christmas. If you downloaded it, thank you so much!

The cover for the newest book in the Jarvis Mann series is complete. And I have to say is, WOW, it’s an eye popper. My cover designer did a great job in bringing out the visual sense of what I was looking for. With the title, The Front Range Butcher, where Jarvis hunts down a serial killer, it was important to capture the dynamic of what the story was about. A cover reveal is planned, as we get closer to the pre-release date, which hasn’t been set yet. More news on that coming in a future newsletter.

Thanks so much for reading my newsletter. Be sure to reach out with any questions or comments, as I love to hear from readers. And please, oh please, leave a review for any books you read. It is the greatest gift you can give to any author. I know speaking for myself, I read everyone of them. And for those new to my newsletter, be sure to stop by my Website and check out my other books on Amazon. Have a safe and happy New Year!!

A short newsletter today, as I’m plugging a free promo which is running thru December 18th. This is for “The Case of the Invisible Souls: A Jarvis Mann Short Story”. This holiday themed book, has Jarvis helping a homeless veteran, living on the streets of Denver, trying to figure out why other homeless in his area are disappearing. Bringing to light not only the homeless issue in our country, but those of our veterans who are struggling out on the street after serving their country. This is my holiday present to my fans. The book is currently #1 on a couple of Amazon Bestseller lists. Here is the link:

The Case of the Invisible Souls

Another reminder I will be at the Last Chance Gift Fest, which runs from 10 am to 5 pm this Sunday, December 17th, at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont Colorado. I will have paperback versions of my four novels to sign for those interested in purchasing them. Anyone buying a book will receive a free Jarvis Mann T-Shirt. I also have teasers of my latest Jarvis Mann novel “The Front Range Butcher” for everyone to check out. Release date is early next year for the seventh book in the series.

Don’t forget anyone signing up for this newsletter can get a free copy of the first novel, Tracking A Shadow. You can do this via my website or through Instafreebie, where you can get a version in MOBI, EPUB or PDF, of this novel which one reviewer said: “Simply wow! I loved it. I felt like I was transported back in time to the tome’s of the mystery and suspense novels of the 1940s. This book had all you would expect of the gumshoe private I, and the femme fatale of a Dashell Hammett book”. Here are the links you can use to get this book for free:

R Weir Website

Instafreebie

Thanks again everyone for reading this newsletter. Be sure to share with anyone who loves to read. Here is hoping everyone has a wonderful, safe and joyous holiday season. Peace and love to you all!!

Another year of shopping has passed, being bombarded with crazy Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Like many people these days, we do most of our shopping online. I for one hate the crowds and people fighting over the one remaining large screen TV. I’m always amazed the lengths people go through to save a few bucks, throwing common courtesy out the window. It is a mess we try to avoid if at all possible. The bevy of Amazon boxes delivered in a cluster of Prime packaging, on our doorstep seems to be more convenient for us. I’ve been a practical shopper most of my life, getting the things we really need. Maybe one or two excess items, we probably could do without, but indulge on. The shock of the bill coming 30 days later. Hopefully everyone made it through those days unscathed and avoided bankruptcy. If you have any crazy shopping stories to share, please do so by replying to this email or in the comments of the blog on the website. For writers those tales make great fodder for future stories.

With the holiday season comes opportunities to sell books. I had tables at two craft fairs, one Cherokee Trail High School, and the other Rangeview High School. I met lots of potential fans, sold quite a few books and received lots of sign-ups for this newsletter. A big thanks to those of you who bought the books and are new to my newsletter. A big welcome to you all!! I have one other event coming up in Longmont Colorado, the Last Chance Gift Feast,  at the Boulder County Fairgrounds on December 17th. Should be a busy place, with lots of people to talk and interact with about my stories. I look forward to meeting everyone, and if you are in the area, be sure to stop in. Besides my books there will be lots of other gift items for those last minute shoppers.

Feedback from beta readers on my latest book, was excellent. No major issues with the story, with only minor corrections needed. The Front Range Butcher is now off to my editor/proofreader team for polishing, a process that will take a month or so. Cover designs are being worked on and hopefully finalized by the end of the year. Still shooting for a late January, early February release date. Once pre-sales are available I will let everyone know. I may be setting up some giveaways and contests to go with the release. More about this a in future newsletter. This was clearly the most complex book I’ve written, and hopefully the best one yet in the Jarvis Mann PI series. As one of my beta readers mentioned “It was great and I hope you sell a million”. It was a sentiment I couldn’t argue with!

Be sure to spread the word about my website for those interested in Mystery/Detective stories. Direct them to my website, and when they sign-up I will send them a free eBook of the first novel, Tracking A Shadow. The whole series, 2 short stories and 4 novels, can be purchased on Amazon for $13.95 in eBook format. A bargain price for any voracious readers on your holiday buying list. Links can be found on my RWeir website or via my Amazon author site. Word of mouth is critical for any indie author. And I’m thankful everyday for the promotion my fans provide.

That is all for now. Drop a comment or send and email. I love hearing from each one of you and do my best to respond quickly. I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe and peaceful holiday, filled with food, family and friends.

As I come upon the one-year anniversary of my motorcycle accident, I’m happy to say my health is much better 12 months later. This has been a long year with many challenges, with a few hurdles remaining, but I’ve come a long way since that November 11th night when I crashed into the side of that van and lay on the pavement in horrible pain. I’ve worked hard to get where I am, the goal being to be playing tennis again next spring and get back on a motorcycle, albeit not in the heavy traffic of the city. I have much to be thankful for with the upcoming holiday season, especially all the help my family provided me through these challenging times. I have been blessed in ways I never realized.

Living in Colorado provides many joys. The mountains, wildlife and beautiful scenery are everywhere. One thing I particularly relish about the Centennial State is the crazy weather. We go from Summer to Winter and back again, over the course of a couple of days. Nearly 80 degrees and then snow overnight, and a day later it can be warm again. The leaves have hit the ground, and have been raked up, the trees bare and bracing for full on Winter. Snow comes, melts and comes again, Spring and Summer never far away. It is never boring, but I’ve always enjoyed the weather mood swings. Accept for driving in it… YUCK!!

With the weather changing, I’ve been inside locked away, working on the second read through on the next Jarvis Mann novel, The Front Range Butcher. This is the longest book I’ve written, at over 120k words in length, and the 7th in the series. I’m hoping to get it to beta readers in the next week for feedback. After that, if the reaction is good, then off to an editor. I’ve got an idea of how the cover will look, and I will be working with my cover designer to get that finished. Still shooting for early next year for a release. There is a lot going on in the next chapter of the Jarvis Mann series, as he is facing challenges testing all his physical and mental skills. Snippets of the book are posted each week on my Jarvis Mann Facebook page, so be sure to check them out.

One sleepless night last week, I wrote the first chapter to the next novel. Butcher and this book, tentatively titled, Mann in the Crossfire, are tied together. Like many of my stories, events and characters carryover from book to book, but these two will have two major plot-lines that link. There will be some political intrigue in the story, ripped from today’s headlines. Jarvis will go to new locales and face dangers he’s never faced before. It’s ambitious, so I hope it works.

That is all for now, as I need to get back to editing. Remember anyone signing up for this newsletter can get a free copy of the first Jarvis Mann novel, Tracking A Shadow. If you have friends who like the old-style Noir detective novels, with modern stories, be sure to tell them to sign up. All my books are available on Amazon. If you don’t have them all be sure to complete the set. They make great gifts for all the voracious readers in your family. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Last month I mentioned I had stopped working to get my health back to where it needs to be. I’ve always been one of those lucky ones in my now 58 years, where health was never an issue. It was a struggle at times to get myself back to where I was before the accident. Now that I’ve been home, I’ve had time to do some needed work around the house, most of it outside. Colorado is not a good place for growing grass, though many try. It takes constant care and watering to have a luscious green lawn. We have gradually been going more to a xeriscape concept, with plants that require little watering, and mulch to cover the ground. My wife also wanted to create a bird area in the front that would attract smaller birds of all kinds. Here is a picture of how the front yard started:

Then after several weeks of work it looks like this:

The physical challenge this provided me was therapeutic. And mentally it was great getting to work at my own pace, with no pressure to complete the task. Not to mention the added value it brings to our home.

Now I’m working on backyard, though not in as bad a shape, it still needed work. First was planting a tree to replace one that died years ago and mulching a small section where the grass wasn’t growing.

All and all, I’m enjoying this time away from the pressures of work. With my motto, Yard work, good for you physically, and good for the soul.

The extra time is also being spent on finishing the next Jarvis Mann Detective novel. I’m closing in on completing the first draft, with 89k worth of words written to date. Teasers have been posted on the Facebook Jarvis Mann Page, so be sure to check them out. I’m hoping to complete that first draft in a few weeks, then it’s going back through and doing rewrites, before reaching out to beta readers for feedback. If you’d like to beta read be sure to let me know. Beta readers are invaluable to Indie Authors and have helped my books immensely. And be sure to pick up the latest Jarvis Mann Short Story, The Case of the Invisible Souls. It’s only 99 cents and has been receiving great reviews on Amazon.

That is all for now. Be sure to share this newsletter with any other interested readers of my books. If they sign up for this newsletter, they will receive a free eBook copy of the first novel in the series, Tracking A Shadow. For those of you who live in the Denver area, I will be at the Mile High City Books & Bounty Paring Event on October 14th, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Cherry Creek. I will be there selling and signing books, and interacting with readers. You can get more information on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/805964869539614/

Thanks again. Fall is here, so get out and rake those leaves with smile. 🙂

At the end of July I decided to take a break from my full-time job. It had become too stressful and made it difficult on my health, especially since I’m still trying to recover from my motorcycle accident back in November of last year. This extra time is allowing me the freedom to do several things.

First is to get healthy again. I’m been doing physical therapy non-stop since the accident, and I’ve come a long ways. But working full-time made it difficult to do those exercises each day. Now I’m doing them daily and it’s making a difference. Hopefully I can get back my full range of motion. I know I’ll never be completely pain free, but being able to do the things I love, like riding again and playing tennis, are major goals I plan to accomplish.

Next is working around the house. Part of the the rehab is to do chores at home that require physical activity. One of the projects is re-doing our front yard. I’ve been working on it a little at a time, with Kim and Dakota’s help, and hopefully in the next two weeks it will be complete. Once done it will be a vast improvement on the dead grass that isn’t meant to grow in Colorado soil. I will post pictures when it’s finished.

And thirdly, is writing. I’ve been working on the next Jarvis Mann PI novel daily. Title is “The Front Range Butcher” where he goes up against a gruesome serial killer. There are several other plot lines is this story, that will lead into the next book, tentatively titled “Mann in the Middle”. Jarvis will be going up against a new foe, a man we saw short glimpses of in the short story “The Case of the Invisible Souls”. I’m 55k words into the story, so I’m about half-way through the first draft. If all goes well, the hope is this novel will be ready by later this year or early next year. I will keep you posted.

In the meantime be sure the tell all your friends about the Jarvis Mann Series and direct them to this website. Anyone who signs up will receive a free eBook version of the first Jarvis Mann PI novel “Tracking A Shadow”. And be sure you check out the latest short story “The Case of the Invisible Souls”. Reaction and reviews have been great. I plan on talking a little bit about it in my next blog post, as the story covers an important subject, homeless veterans.

Thanks for reading. I hope everyone is enjoying summer, as fall is on the horizon.

It has been a while, but Jarvis Mann is returning June 24th, in a short story titled “The Case of the Invisible Souls”.

With Christmas a few weeks away and happy these last few months had been quiet, Jarvis Mann decides to take on an interesting case. A homeless veteran knocks on his door with a story of how several of his homeless companions have been bribed and taxied away never to return. Taking pause to the man’s story at first, Jarvis digs deeper learning of plans to clear out the homeless. When the man is attacked, and seriously injured, Jarvis goes undercover, learning more about life on the streets than he ever knew, becoming one of the Invisible Souls in search of an answer.

Pre-order it today, for only 99 cents on Amazon.