I know, I know! It’s like I’ve dropped off the map! I haven’t gone this long between titles since way back in the beginning, between The Bank of the River and A Haunting in Oregon! Maybe longer.

I’m alive and functional, and I’ve been working on The Massacre Mechanism, the next title in The Downwinders series, since the holidays. The good news is that it’s nearing completion. It’s been a while since I spent time with Deem and Winn (and David and Carma), and it’s very exciting to pick these characters back up and jump into this new adventure. Release date is May 20, so if you haven’t pre-ordered, here’s a link that will get you to Amazon to check it out!

Once again, real historical events in the area fuel the story. Characters from other series appear, new characters are introduced, and existing characters develop, including relationships. The Downwinders has always had a kind of YA feel to it, and I think that keeps going in this book. It’s fast-paced as usual…and it has some surprises that I found very intriguing.

Six weeks away from a release date. Between now and then, it’s lots of editing and re-reading and polishing. I hope you enjoy the finished product! I’m looking forward to your reviews!

I’m very pleased to announce that the next title in The Downwinders series is called “The Massacre Mechanism” and is available for pre-order from Amazon now! The novel will be released in May.

As you know, I hate spoilers, and that goes for books from the past, too, so the book description for The Massacre Mechanism deliberately avoids mentioning things that might be ruined if you haven’t read The Blackham Mansion Haunting. However, whereas The Blackham Mansion Haunting was a fairly self-contained story, The Massacre Mechanism is a much broader tale. If you haven’t yet jumped into The Downwinders from the beginning, now would be an excellent time!

The Massacre Mechanism book description:

Cryptic messages must be deciphered. Traitors must be tracked. And a massacre must be avoided — or instigated, depending on your perspective!

In the delicate moments just before sleep arrives, Winn is plagued with symbols racing through his mind. He has no idea what they mean, but he suspects they’re a message, sent to him from someone trapped in a place where messages aren’t supposed to escape.

With the help of Carma and David, Winn begins a quest to find out what the symbols mean. Along the way, he faces maniacal ghosts and unsavory opportunists. Thankfully, his friend Awan has connections that can help, and soon they discover dangerous, evil forces moving all around them, gathering for a confrontation.

When they uncover the nature of the impending conflict, they’re frightened — terrified of what might happen, terrified of the role they’re expected to play, and terrified for Deem.

The Massacre Mechanism continues the story of The Downwinders, those with “the gift” who operate in the southern United States where fallout from nuclear testing in the sixties horribly shifted the ghosts and other unseen entities that make up “The River” — the place where the gifted can go to see the things that the rest of us cannot. It is a fast-paced paranormal adventure, and the fifth title in The Downwinders series.

Pick up the other titles in The Downwinders Series today!

    

In A Christmas Haunting at Point No Point, the family takes Steven to a birthday dinner in a nearby town, Port Gamble. It’s a beautiful little stretch of historic buildings with an unusual past.

It was originally a company town, built by a lumber firm. In the mid 1800s it was difficult to find mill workers in the west, so the company recruited from the east, and when housing was built the workers wanted a taste of home. The resulting architecture has a New England feel.

Today Port Gamble is a National Historic District, and the restored homes along its scenic Rainier Avenue are a popular tourist draw. Here you’ll find Mrs. Muir’s House of Ghosts and Magic, where Emily and Terrell purchased the flying wish paper they were burning on the beach at Point No Point.

There’s a quiet, small cemetery on a slight hill overlooking the water, where the first U.S. Navy sailor to die in the Pacific, Gustave Englebrecht, is buried. The graveyard is mentioned in the book as being across the street from the restaurant where Steven’s birthday dinner is held.

Port Gamble is also one of the more haunted towns in the Pacific Northwest. It holds an annual ghost conference.

If you ever make a trip to Washington State, a short visit to Port Gamble is worth your time!

Book 11 in The River Series is now available in both Kindle and paperback formats. This is a stand-alone story, meaning it can be enjoyed on its own, without having read the entire series. While it’s a return to a more traditional ghost story, it’s also paced a little different than the other novels. I’d describe it as a slow burn about an imperfect family.

As with most of my novels, it’s set in a real place; in this case, Point No Point, a dangerous spot notorious for shipwrecks. It was the first location in Puget Sound to receive a lighthouse due to the many tragedies that occurred just off its obscured rocks. The towns nearby are sparse and small and filled with character.

In the novel, Steven and Roy travel to Eglon, which is a real town located ten minutes from the Point No Point lighthouse.  It’s a very small community with no commerce. The port at Eglon used to be a much bigger affair, but now is little-used. The community building with the padlock on the door can be seen in the middle of town. It looks innocent enough, standing alone in its little lot, set back from the main road. If you drive up to it on the rough gravel path, its eeriness begins to work on you. It’s dark and silent, and your mind begins to wonder how many things the building has seen over the years.

Here’s a view of cold Puget Sound from the small port at Eglon, looking north. Point No Point is just around the bend on the left in the distance. Many boats lie at the bottom just off that point — three hundred feet down.

More on Point No Point and the history of the area in the days ahead! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading A Christmas Haunting at Point No Point. I promise no spoilers!

Have a very merry and happy holiday!

 

 

 

 

 

Steven’s brother and his family have come to visit for the holidays. Looking for a relaxing and quiet location to enjoy the scenic beauty of Puget Sound, Steven chooses Point No Point, the oldest lighthouse in the region. Here, the lighthouse keeper’s quarters have been remodeled into a vacation rental, and it seems to be the perfect location.

Perfect, if your idea of quiet is loud thumpings coming from the abandoned museum next door. Perfect, if your idea of relaxing is a slow, creeping infection emanating from the shipwrecks just off the shore.

In this stand-alone novel, Steven and his father Roy find their picturesque Christmas holiday turning into a family nightmare as they unravel the haunted secrets from the deadly shores of Point No Point.

A Christmas Haunting at Point No Point is the eleventh novel in The River series, but no prior knowledge of the series is required to enjoy it.

Pre-order your copy at Amazon today! Releases December 11 on Kindle and paperback.