Thank you, to the Grasslands Book Club for hosting me to discuss North of the Killing Hand and the writing process. Thank you, Stephanie Patterson, for hosting the meeting at her lovely home.
These photos were taken by Grasslands Club President Laurie Melton.
I shared my love of research and tales of things learned during the research phase of writing the four books in the Compass Crimes series. I learned to shoot rifles and handguns. Studying the Felony Murder Rule helped in writing South of Justice. In that story, the main character is a veterinarian and private pilot. As a private pilot, writing the flying scenes came easy. A cool fact about veterinarians–Didjaknow it’s tougher to get into vet school than medical school?
Kudos to veterinarians!
(Oh, and the brace on my wrist is from ice skating with my granddaughter and daughter at Rockefeller Center. It was worth it to entertain them both.)
The club read North of the Killing Hand, which is the prequel in the Compass Crimes series. I drew on travel to Ecuador, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, and Costa Rica to depict the Amazon rain forest, where Nefi Jenkins grows up.
For West of Famous, I stayed on a trawler with Paul and Caryn Frink. They endured a million stupid questions and took me to places in the book. They even let me stay in the engine room and scream while they motored through a waterway. Paul and Caryn allowed me to use their first names and the name of their boat–Seeker–in the book. For the rest of the trawler story, see Call me Trawler Trash and Book Signing on a Boat
The last book in the series involved researching trust funds, money laundering, fraud, and international banking. Many thanks to my go-to investment gurus Conley Thornhill of UBS in Winter Haven, Florida, and David Eachus. East of Evil debuts in May, 2023.
(Psst. The ebook is on sale for $1.99 now. It will be $5.99 after the debut.)
Thank you again, ladies of the Grasslands Book Club! All reviews are deeply appreciated.
