PREORDER The Dream Machine Now for $0.99

Well, well, well. The Dream Machine  is finally here (almost).

Right now, you can preorder the sixth book in my paranormal mystery series starring everybody's favorite everyman, Eddie McCloskey, for less than a buck!

The preorder discount is over when the book releases, February 1st. I'll also be running some other deals on January 31st in case you're still playing catch-up. More to come on that soon ;-)

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I've wanted to write this particular book for many years, but only just got around to it. When the idea first came to me, though, it was a standalone horror novel and did not feature Eddie McCloskey. It was a very different book.

I put that idea aside, tried some other things, got cranking on the Eddie books, did some short fiction, worked on historical novels, and one day had an epiphany, realizing I could take this older idea and turn it into one of Eddie's adventures.

It took me longer than I wanted to write this one for many reasons, most of them good. In 2015, I tried to get some other books (under pen names) out there and worked on collaborative projects with fellow author, Nathanael Green. I spent a lot of time working on shorter, serialized fiction (which has yet to see the light of day!). I decided to rebrand my Eddie books too with new blurbs and covers and some marketing...

Long story short, I tried doing too many different things in 2015 and as a result The Dream Machine kept getting pushed back.

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I'm real excited for this book. It takes Eddie in a different direction but stays firmly in paranormal territory. Characters from a previous book return. And I really pushed myself to make this the fastest read in the series. I'm excited to get feedback here.

I'm also hard at work on the seventh book in the series, tentatively titled The Possessed. I'm loving this one too and plan to have much less of a gap between #6 and #7 than there was between #5 and #6.

If you do pick up The Dream Machine, please consider leaving me a review on Amazon! And stay tuned for some upcoming deals!

The Unearthed Passes 50 Reviews on Amazon

I want to take this opportunity to thank all the readers who've left me reviews of The Unearthed on Amazon to date. When I first pushed the book out, I was hoping I'd one day just have fifty readers, never mind reviewers.

The series has come a long way since that day in September, 2014 when I hit publish. Since then I've finished three more books in the series and have the next two planned out. I don't know where the series will go from there. Every time I tell myself, "Okay, that's enough, I'm all out of ideas for Eddie" it isn't long before I'm thinking about him again and that's usually when 2 or 3 more stories come to mind.

I'd love to write a long series about Eddie, kind of in the way MacDonald did for McGee and Child is doing for Reacher right now. Don't know if my frustratingly limited imagination can conjure up enough plots for Eddie and keep him interesting enough to justify an extended series, but we'll see. After all that's part of the fun and challenge.

2015 is not even half over, but I can honestly say it will go down as one of the most interesting, challenging, and fun years ever for me. I'm looking forward to the second half of the year - right now the plan is to release two more Eddie books and also the next two in the historical series I'm writing with my buddy, Nathanael Green. Hopefully I'll put out a few standalones as well.

I'll never forget the first few reviews I got on Amazon. Those brave, early readers decided to give me a shot, and for that I'll be forever grateful.

go raibh maith agaibh, folks.

And no, I can't pronounce that properly.

***

I mentioned standalones above and it looks like I'll put out a couple middle-grade/YA books this year. Very excited about those, but not expecting a ton of sales. Both are standalones (which don't fare as well as series books) and, kind of like when I released The Unearthed, I'll be happy if I have fifty readers for both.

COVER REVEAL - The Dream Machine (#6 in The Unearthed series)

No idea when this book will be out.

But I'm considering an experiment on this one. If I focused solely on this project, could I publish in three months? In two? I have no idea, but it would be interesting to find out...

Anyway, here's the kick-ass cover. It really sets an eerie mood and has a dreamlike quality about it. Which is perfect for the book.

To paraphrase Peter O'Toole...

...the f***ing book is done!

FREE TODAY AND TOMORROW

GET E FOR FREE TODAY AND TOMORROW

E will be FREE on Thursday and Friday

Grab your free copy later this week.

Of if you can't wait till then, E is only a dollar here.

GET YOUR FREE COPY OF IN THE BLOOD

HERE

When I wrote In The Blood, my intention was to tell a simple, standalone story about a family driven apart by a viral outbreak and the difficult decisions they were forced to make to survive while trying to retain their humanity. I had a blast writing it as I got the chance to tell some of it from a zombie’s perspective. To me the story wasn’t about whether the Robinsons reunited as a family. What was more important was exploring the decisions they made along the way, so that at the end of the story the reader could fill in the blanks and come up with what they thought happened next.

Lo and behold, readers enjoyed the story enough that they started asking me for a sequel. In my mind that was an interesting hypothetical—I’d never intended there to be one. But the demand was there, so I sat down and started thinking about where I could take the story and characters and the larger world next.

And I came up with a few ideas...

So enough with me burying the lead, what I'm really here to say is THERE WILL BE MORE SHORT STORIES SET IN THIS UNIVERSE.

Two of which will be out in December.

I have to thank the readers, because without your urging, these stories might never have existed.

Pretty cool, huh?

All of this has got me jazzed to write a bunch of connected short stories that, when all is said and done, will hopefully form a big sweeping story that spans years and dozens of characters.

At least, that's the plan anyway ;-)

But I can only do that if there’s interest, and the best way to let me know there’s an interest is to leave me a review HERE.

Character Evolution

When I write thrillers, my main goal is to create a plot that moves at light speed. Readers that can't stop turning the pages are satisfied, and there's nothing more loyal than a satisfied reader.

Beyond that, though, I try to make my characters three-dimensional and give them a wider purpose, something that is happening to them in addition to the main events of the story. That's why Eddie McCloskey, protagonist in The Unearthed series, faces different personal challenges in each book.

HERE BE (VERY MINOR) SPOILERS SO STOP READING NOW IF YOU HATE SPOILERS

In The Unearthed, Eddie shows promise as a paranormal investigator but everyone can see where he's headed: nowhere good, and nowhere fast.

In The Lost, Eddie is a drifter trying to live a quiet existence and piece his life back together. During the course of his paranormal investigation, he is forced to take a long look in the mirror and find his greater purpose.

In The Accused and the Damned, Eddie's paranormal investigation business is struggling and the bills are piling up. He gets the opportunity to go head-to-head with a big-time talk show personality. If he succeeds, his business will thrive. If he doesn't, he has to find a new line of work.

The Hysteria poses a new challenge for Eddie: working with a team again. Except this time it's not his team and the job takes Eddie way outside his comfort zone.

BONUS OFFER: For the next month, anyone that leaves an honest review (good, bad, indifferent, doesn't matter) on Amazon of any of the Eddie McCloskey books is entitled to a free copy of my comedic short story about the absurdity of office life, Morale Was Down.

Here's what two reviewers said about Morale Was Down:

"This is, without a doubt, the most profane and utterly hilarious short story I've read in a very long time."

"Hilarious short story that reminded me a bit of the movies Office Space and Clockwatchers. Nice spoof of an investigation, with all the ridiculous office politics and corporate banalities mixed in. Quick read!"