There\u2019s a new book coming, and it\u2019s called Field of Bones. Joanna Brady #18 goes on sale September 4. \u00a0(Wait, how can there be that many of those already? \u00a0Didn\u2019t I just start writing them yesterday? \u00a0I guess time flies when you\u2019re having fun.)<\/p>\n
Spoiler alert: \u00a0In this book JOANNA HAS THE BABY! \u00a0It\u2019s a girl! \u00a0The last time Joanna was expecting, the story-line for Denny\u2019s pregnancy and birth meandered through three separate books. This time it\u2019s only two. Oh, and she WINS THE ELECTION! \u00a0The problem is, if she didn\u2019t win, that would most likely mean the end of the series. I\u2019m not ready for that, and I doubt my readers are, either.<\/p>\n
Regular readers of my blog have already seen this information, but newsletter readers may not be aware of it, so I\u2019m repeating it, just to be on the safe side. I\u2019m having issues with my right shoulder. It doesn\u2019t interfere with typing\u2014I\u2019m icing it right now\u2014but it interferes with traveling. Things like dragging luggage around airports or lifting it into an overhead compartment aren\u2019t in my wheelhouse right now. So for this time out, I\u2019ve taken the book tour off the table. \u00a0That\u2019s why there are no scheduled events posted\u2014there aren\u2019t any. Some retailers will have signed but not personalized books available. Barnes and Noble stores will have a limited number available nationwide. Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Mostly Books in Tucson, and V.J. Books in Portland will have signed books as well. \u00a0(By the way, the last one mentioned is an on-line presence only\u2014no brick and mortar.) \u00a0In addition, copies of Field of Bones sold by Costco will have an additional piece in it\u2014an essay recounting the story of how a chance encounter with a serial killer in 1970 ended up bringing me into the world of mystery writing some fifteen years later.<\/p>\n
All that is to say I\u2019m sorry I won\u2019t have a chance to meet up with any of you on the road, but them\u2019s the breaks.<\/p>\n
Where did this book come from? One of the characters, Latisha Marcum, showed up in my head and wouldn\u2019t go away. She is by turns naive, tough, resilient, brave, stubborn, and ultimately believably triumphant. The thing is, she didn\u2019t go away even after I finished writing the book. A week or so after I completed the manuscript, I had a dream about Latisha in which the two of us sat down and had a long conversation. I knew I was the writer. She had no idea. \u00a0It\u2019s the first and only time in all my years of being a writer that I actually dreamt about one of my characters.<\/p>\n
Most of the action in FOB, as we call it around here, takes place in the corner of Arizona that stretches from Douglas east to the New Mexico border, right along with the border with Mexico. People in Cochise County routinely refer to those two entities as New Mexico and Old Mexico respectively. Whenever I make that differentiation in one of my books, I receive E-MOOs \u00a0(E-mails of Outrage) explaining in high dudgeon that there\u2019s no such thing as Old Mexico. \u00a0Sometimes, however, that\u2019s what you get to do when you write regional books\u2014you get to BE regional.<\/p>\n
That seemingly empty corner of Arizona comes loaded with history. \u00a0Skeleton Canyon in the Peloncillo Mountains is where Geronimo surrendered. The Mormon Battalion passed through Skeleton Canyon, too, where they found the terrain so steep that they had to disassemble their wagons and raise and lower them and their livestock by using a block and tackle. And it was here in the San Bernardino Valley that Texas John Slaughter lived and ranched while also serving as the Sheriff of Cochise County. I find Arizona endlessly fascinating, and I hope my readers do, too.<\/p>\n
One of the advantages of writing a series is watching as a character evolves over time. \u00a0We\u2019ve seen Joanna\u2019s daughter, Jenny, grow up before our eyes. In this book, she\u2019s off to college. \u00a0Not only is Joanna juggling two little ones in FOB, a kindergartener and a newborn, she\u2019s also struggling with a new role in life. \u00a0In the previous book, Downfall, she was preoccupied with the details of losing her mother and stepfather and with planning Eleanor\u2019s and George\u2019s joint funeral and memorial services. Now she\u2019s stepping out as the \u201colder generation.\u201d She\u2019s now the grownup in the room because she has to be. Let\u2019s see how she handles it.<\/p>\n
Enjoy, and happy Dog Days of Summer.<\/p>\n
Avoid the heat wherever possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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