Tag Archives: new book

The Unforgiving Town

Starting a New Book

I was feeling a little lost after sending Missing the Deadline, no. 7 in my Isabel Long Mystery Series, to my publisher, darkstroke books. Then, I realized I needed to get cracking on another. And so I have. It’s actually a book idea that’s been buzzing inside my brain since The Sacred Dog was published in December. I wanted to write a sequel. And so last week I began The Unforgiving Town.

That’s certainly an ominous title for a book. But if you’ve read The Sacred Dog — and thank you if you did — you will understand what this book could be about. For those of you who haven’t, I am not going to be a spoilsport. What I will say is that one of the characters from the first book returns home after doing time for a despicable crime. The character has nowhere else to go but the same town where it happened. It appears this character learned life lessons while in prison and is a changed person, but is the town willing to accept that? Except for a cousin who reached out, I seriously doubt it, which will set up a lot of tension. Of course, this book is set in the fictional hilltowns of Western Massachusetts like most of my books.

But first I had to do research about sentencing and prison. I reached out to two lawyers who do criminal cases and got no response. But then I remembered I had a valuable resource in my brother, Tony, who worked in the prison system for many years until he retired. Our conversation plus the research I did online gave me such useful information. I was ready to move onto the next step.

The big question in my mind was how far into the future would The Unforgiving Town take place. I decided on fifteen years. The first book took place in 1984. The second would be in 1999, which also works given the uncertainty many people felt about what the turn of the century would bring.

Next, I needed to decide which of my characters would still be alive. How old would they be? What would the characters from the first book be doing although that will play out as I write this book.

Then, I got my paperback copy of The Sacred Dog and put bookmarks in the chapters involving this character in case I need them for reference.

All of the above took place over a couple of days. I was ready. I created a new doc in my laptop with the slug The Unforgiving Town. I wrote the first five hundred words Thursday, April 10. The next day, I did the same, and given that’s my pace for writing, I will continue, with exceptions like a camping trip. 

I like what I’ve written so far. The first chapter is called Back Home. It feels right in the telling.

LINK: Curious about The Sacred Dog? Just click on the title and it will send you to Amazon. Thank you if you do.

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hilltowns, Western Massachusetts

Up Next: The Sacred Dog

I am pleased to report that my publisher, darkstroke books, has agreed to take on my novel The Sacred Dog. This book isn’t part of my Isabel Long Mystery Series. But it has one of my favorite settings — the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts.

The official release is Dec. 27, and darkstroke will make the formal announcement when the Kindle version is ready to pre-order. But let me tell you a little about The Sacred Dog.

The Sacred Dog is the first book I completed at the start of the millennium. We were living then in Worthington, one of the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts. At that time I was immersed in the area, editing stories for the daily newspaper where I worked. Before that, I was the hill town reporter. Plus our family was involved in the town. So, I had lots of inspiration there.

I was able to sign on with an agent, Dan Green of Pom Inc., who tried his darndest to sell it to a publishing house. This was long before digital books and writers had easy access to self-publish. But it didn’t work out and I’ve held onto the book since then. Once in a great while, I’d print it out and get out the red pen, or edit it on the screen. Now, I am happy it will be available to readers.

The story is basically about bad blood between two men — Frank Hooker and Al Kitchen — and that feud’s ultimate climax. Frank Hooker owns The Sacred Dog, the only bar in town, where the locals gather to drink beer, gab, and get away from their families. The only person not welcome is Al Kitchen, but Frank has his reason — he blames him for his brother, Wes’s death. But after an appeal from the grandmother who raised him, Al is allowed to have two beers. Frank figures it’s better to keep his eye on someone he doesn’t trust or like.

Al Kitchen is a hell raiser, no surprise considering the grandfather who raised him was a drunk and an abuser. About the only good thing the man did was teach him to hit a baseball well. But Al always has his kerosene-smelling granny on his side even as an adult. Al was in the car crash that killed his best buddy, Wes, but he wasn’t at the wheel — a fact Frank won’t accept.

Frank’s life is about to change now that his ex-wife and their daughter have returned after living in Florida for three years. Verona says she misses her old life although coming back might mean facing a dark secret that involves both men. 

All is about to come to a reckoning.

I certainly will be writing in the future more about the characters, setting, and why the bar is called The Sacred Dog. 

So sit tight. Besides, I have another book coming out — Following the Lead, No. 6 in my Isabel Long Mystery Series. It has a Nov. 3 release but you can pre-order now, which is helpful to authors. And thank you if you already have. Here is the link: https://mybook.to/followingthelead

ABOUT THE PHOTO ABOVE: That’s the opening page. The chapter is called King of the Road, a favorite tune among the drinkers at The Dog, as they call it.

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