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.

I will be in Deadwood South Dakota on June 10th, for the Wild Deadwood Reads Author event. Authors from many genre’s will be on hand interacting with readers and selling their books. I too will be there with all of my books and information on a new release coming June 24th. If you are in the area stop by. I even have a couple of tickets to give away. Contact me if interested. Check out the Wild Deadwood Reads website for more information.

https://wilddeadwoodreads.wordpress.com/

It has been a long recovery since my motorcycle accident on November 11th. I suffered a serious injury to my right knee, as well as bruising and contusions to my right and left leg, and a badly sprained wrist. I have been rehabbing now since shortly after the accident, and still don’t have complete range of motion but I’m slowly getting there.

During this time I have done no writing at all, though the ideas are there, the time and energy has not been. But over the last month I have now slowly gotten myself back to writing the next Jarvis Mann detective story, The Case of the Invisible Souls. I hope to have the first draft of this short story completed in the next few weeks. I’ve also started the next novel, The Front Range Butcher, with hopes of having it done by the end of the year. So fans of Jarvis don’t worry, his adventures will continue. Stay tuned!!

The next installment of the Jarvis Mann Detective series, Dead Man Code, is now available in paperback. Order your copy today from Amazon at only $10.99 and see if you can crack the code!

Amazon Paperback