Monday, June 29, 2015

Bo and Lucky Now Speak French!

Diversion is now available in French from MXM Bookmark:


LLes dealers de drogue ne sont pas toujours dans les rues ; parfois ils sont assis derrière des bureaux ou dans des salles de conférence, vendant leur marchandise dans des flacons pharmaceutiques au lieu de petits sachets de cellophane.

Quand on lui donne le choix entre passer huit années de plus en prison ou utiliser son « expertise » pour assister le Service de Contrôle et de Prévention du Détournement du Bureau des Narcotiques du sud-est, le trafiquant de drogue Richmond « Lucky » Lucklighter n'hésite pas et choisit la proposition qui lui laisse une certaine illusion de liberté. 

Cynique et peu disposé à admettre qu’il a commencé à se soucier de son travail, il compte les jours avant que sa dette ne soit payée. Le seul obstacle avant de récupérer sa vie est le bleu qu’on l’a chargé de former avant de partir ; un bleu qui cite les textes pharmacologiques, n’a pas encore fait ses preuves, et a la tendance – détestable – à voir le bon en chacun... y compris chez la cible de leur enquête.

Avec eux, les méchants n’ont pas la moindre chance... enfin si Lucky et Bo ne s’étranglent pas d’abord...

Find it at MxM Bookmark:
                 Amazon US

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Breaking the Rules

As a writer, I'm constantly trying to improve, be it by taking online classes, doing tons of research, reading informative books and blog posts, or even buying a critiquing program to help me polish my work.

But you know what? Sometimes you just gotta break the rules.

I aspire to write deep third person POV, which means I'm doing all I can writing-wise  to make a reader feel they are the character. And you know what? Lucky Lucklighter splits infinitives. He cusses a lot, and he ends sentences with prepositions. And not just in dialog. That's how he thinks, so that's what appears in the narrative.

Yes, I take pains to form grammatically correct sentences to aid readability, but what if writing out the perfect sentence jerks the reader out of the story because my protagonist has just stepped out of character?

So while my program points out that "ain't happening" is probably not going to get me an A+ on an English homework paper, as long as it helps readers be Lucky for 247 pages, I'll be happy.

Yes, sometimes to tell the story that needs telling, you gotta break those rules.

And speaking of Lucky (and Bo) and rule-breaking, I'm in the home stretch of Redemption (Diversion #5) and am setting a tentative pub date of August 1. Sorry for the delay folks, but I want it to be right.

Also, the covers of the remainder of the series have been updated.





Watch for the Redemption cover reveal in the next few weeks, and I'll leave you with the tentative blurb:

Living is the easy part.

Agent Lucky Lucklighter and his partner escaped Mexico alive, only to plunge into bureaucratic fallout from their mission. Hell, maybe Lucky should have stayed south of the border. Especially when the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau places Bo into rehab, and Lucky’s facing both therapy and an inquiry into a fatal shooting. Watching over his shoulder for a vengeful drug lord or a cartel don calling in favors leaves him scarcely able to imagine a future for them as agents, or as a couple.

Bo Schollenberger once had a vision for their life together, but he’s bowed beneath the fallout of his undercover work. Lucky’s hanging on by his deeply chewed fingernails, clinging to hope by making Bo’s dreams of a home into reality. The last thing he needs is a phone call from a dangerous man who knows too much, summoning him back to Mexico for “an early Christmas present.”

Not when the SNB brass asks tough questions, like “How well do you really know your partner?”

Friday, June 12, 2015

Collusion, Now at Amazon

Collusion, Diversion Book 2, Second Edition, is now available for pre-order at Amazon. Look for it's release on Saturday, June 10.


Dead men can’t love. 

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter “died” in the line of duty while working off a ten-year sentence in service to the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, only to be reborn as Simon “Lucky” Harrison. The newbie he trained, former Marine Bo Schollenberger, is now his partner on (and maybe off) the job. It’s hard to tell when Lucky doesn’t understand relationships or have a clue what any sane human is doing in his bed. Bo’s nice to have around, sure, but there’s none of that picking-out-china-together crap for Lucky. 

While fighting PTSD, memories of a horrid childhood, and a prescription drug addiction, Bo is paying for his mistakes. Using his pharmacy license for the good guys provides the sort of education he never got in school. Undercover with his hard-headed partner, Bo learns that not everything is as it seems in the world of pharmaceuticals. 

When a prescription drug shortage jeopardizes the patients at Rosario Children’s Cancer Center, it not only pits Bo and Lucky against predatory opportunists, but also each other. How can they tell who the villains are? The bad guys don’t wear black hats, but they might wear white coats.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Enter to Win a Copy of Collusion

In celebration of Collusion 2nd edition, an ebook copy is up for grabs at Stumbling Over Chaos, my favorite site to hang out with kitties Chaos and Mayhem, snicker at the Misadventures in Stock Photography, and get my fill of Linkity. 

So hurry on over and get your name in the hat for the drawing. Say hi to May, Chaos and their Pet Mom Chris while you're there. 


Dead men can’t love.

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter “died” in the line of duty while working off a ten-year sentence in service to the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, only to be reborn as Simon “Lucky” Harrison. The newbie he trained, former Marine Bo Schollenberger, is now his partner on (and maybe off) the job. It’s hard to tell when Lucky doesn’t understand relationships or have a clue what any sane human is doing in his bed. Bo’s nice to have around, sure, but there’s none of that picking-out-china-together crap for Lucky.

While fighting PTSD, memories of a horrid childhood, and a prescription drug addiction, Bo is paying for his mistakes. Using his pharmacy license for the good guys provides the sort of education he never got in school. Undercover with his hard-headed partner, Bo learns that not everything is as it seems in the world of pharmaceuticals.

When a prescription drug shortage jeopardizes the patients at Rosario Children’s Cancer Center, it not only pits Bo and Lucky against predatory opportunists, but also each other. How can they tell who the villains are? The bad guys don’t wear black hats, but they might wear white coats.

Available from Rocky Ridge Books, June 20. 

Cover Reveal and Enter to Win!

Hey, y'all! To celebrate the Diversion series' new look, I'm giving away an ebook copy of each of the four books, as a set.

Visit these fine blogs for the cover reveals, and to enter the drawing.

http://www.parkerwilliamsauthor.com 
http://www.cateashwood.com/cates-blog 
http://www.andrewqgordon.com 
https://mikkysworldofbooks.blogspot.fr/ 
http://www.inkedrainbowreads.com 
http://www.bayoubookjunkie.blogspot.com
http://www.bfdbookblog.net
http://www.scatteredthoughtsandroguewords.com/
http://www.facebook.com/happilyeverchapter
http://www.rainbowgoldreviews.wordpress.com
http://divinemagazine.net/book-stuff/blog-tours
http://www.fangirlmomentsandmytwocents.blogspot.com
http://wickedfaeriesreviews.blogspot.com
http://www.cdescoteauxwrites.com/blog/
http://www.Twochicksobsessed.com
http://www.lovebytesreviews.com
http://www.mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com/
http://www.dawnsreadingnook.blogspot.com
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.com/

Diversions's New Look, or Why I Changed the Diversion Series' Covers

You may have noticed that Collusion, the second Diversion book, has been out of print, and on Goodreads has been sporting an ode to Bo's chaps instead of an actual cover (thanks, P.D. Singer!). Well, there's a reason for that.


Yes, Collusion will be available again on June 20th from Rocky Ridge Books. Same story, brushed up with what I've learned since the original publication, and sporting a shiny new cover, courtesy of phenomenal artist L.C. Chase. 



Dead men can’t love.

Former drug trafficker Richmond “Lucky” Lucklighter “died” in the line of duty while working off a ten-year sentence in service to the Southeastern Narcotics Bureau, only to be reborn as Simon “Lucky” Harrison. The newbie he trained, former Marine Bo Schollenberger, is now his partner on (and maybe off) the job. It’s hard to tell when Lucky doesn’t understand relationships or have a clue what any sane human is doing in his bed. Bo’s nice to have around, sure, but there’s none of that picking-out-china-together crap for Lucky.

While fighting PTSD, memories of a horrid childhood, and a prescription drug addiction, Bo is paying for his mistakes. Using his pharmacy license for the good guys provides the sort of education he never got in school. Undercover with his hard-headed partner, Bo learns that not everything is as it seems in the world of pharmaceuticals.

When a prescription drug shortage jeopardizes the patients at Rosario Children’s Cancer Center, it not only pits Bo and Lucky against predatory opportunists, but also each other. How can they tell who the villains are? The bad guys don’t wear black hats, but they might wear white coats.

*** 

But while I was at it, I had L.C. design covers for the rest of the series as well. "Why?" you ask. Well, while I love the original covers she created, and one even featured my good friend Clay, it's very hard to get a man who's 6'1" to look like 5'6" Lucky, although Clay makes a fantastic Lucky otherwise. Also, the model I chose for Bo from stock art has a limited number of photos available, and he's starting to show up everywhere. 

The solution? Frantic author hollers for artist and says, "What do you have in mind?"

I trust L.C. a lot. And I'm sure you'll agree that she did an outstanding job, and her design is far more sustainable as I've planned at least four more books in this series. So, without further ado, here are the other covers in the series, which will appear on the books starting June 20, Collusion's release date.