I’ve made a slight change to the schedule for sending out my newsletter. In the past I normally would mail it out on the first Monday or Tuesday of the month. Since this is a busy time for email newsletters, I’m going to push this back to the second Monday or Tuesday of the month and see how it goes. I’ve been seeing good open rates for the newsletter, but I wanted to determine if sending later in the month will get more engagement. If you have thoughts, ideas or suggestions for the newsletter, as always don’t hesitate to send me an email.
Kim was gone for nearly four full weeks, living out of a hotel in Salt Lake City. Her work on a big migration project for Intermountain Health kept her away. The picture above shows the stress she and her other workers were under. Not a lot of fun for her, but she is back home, which you can see below from the video we recorded (which hopefully plays). Our dogs thrilled to see her. If it doesn’t play you can watch it from my website from this link.
And above was a delicious welcome home cake Dakota made for her.
When I completed the Divine Devils series, I began thinking about a new series. Several ideas came to mind, but one stuck with me, from a comment my wife made about writing a series about someone who travels in an RV and solves murders. After participating in the Westminster Colorado Citizens Police Academy, I took that idea and fleshed it out. A retired Westminster police officer, along with a Belgium Malinois police dog, who also is retired. The former officer now a widower, making the decision to sell his home and travel in a Class A motorhome. With all these ideas, Donnie Steel and Kogel were born in my head, creating a winning team. Donnie not only dealing with the death of his wife, but also the murder of a teenage girl while he worked as a police officer, which was never solved. Kogel having to retire after a knee injury, Donnie receiving him as a gift from the department. Donnie is smart, resourceful, and reflective about his life. While working a case for his clients, a mother and father whose son was killed three years ago, the case never solved. The expertly trained K-9, Kogel, by his side through thick and thin. The Steel Wheels Cold Mystery brought to life, with the first book, Justice For The Forgotten now available. I hope you’ll download and read this award-winning book. It’s available on Amazon in eBook, paperback and on Kindle Unlimited. And signed paperbacks can be ordered through my Book Store. A 10% discount, available at the checkout if you use the promo code: jarvis.
With the beginning stages of the new Steel Wheels Cold Mystery started, I’m now back to work on the next Jarvis Mann PI book. After getting a little hung-up on where the story was going, I’m now at 110K words written, with more work to be done. I expect the first draft will be completed by the end of October. I’ve had beta readers reading the first 35 chapters and so far the feedback has been excellent. I’ve finally settled on a title: Mayhem in Music City. I will have more information in next month’s newsletter. I’m also looking to add to my early reader ARC (Advance Reader Copies) Team. If you’re interested send me an email.
I sold all the signed copies of Wild in Deadwood, Anthology Volume 2. Because of demand, I ordered more copies, which I will have at future events, though the book will only be signed by myself. If you can’t make it to any of my events, you can also order the book through my Book Store and I’ll have it shipped to you. This book also qualifies for the 10% discount at checkout, when you use the coupon code: jarvis. If you love Historical fiction stories, all set in Deadwood South Dakota, check out this book from 9 wonderful authors, including myself.
My only event in September was a success. At the Goodguys Car Show, I chatted with lots of great people, sold many books and enjoyed seeing fabulous cars. I’ve posted a few pictures below and you can see more on my website under the Fun Stuff page.
Broomfield Field Days is another event I normally do in September, but this year with Kim away with work, I decided to skip it as a vendor. Instead, I attended as a spectator, and they also had a car show, with many pristine classics. One which stood out was this Mustang, an exact replica of the car Steve McQeen drove in the movie Bullitt. It was beautiful, and included a Steve McQueen action figure, small mustang model and a movie poster. This was one cool car and Steve was one cool actor.
Two Events over the next month begin the holiday shopping season. Mollie McGees Fall Craft Market and The Mac Holiday Craft Fair. I hope to see lots of smiling faces.
I promised new merchandise on the website. The first is three bag options. One a heavy canvas bag with the Jarvis Mann Logo on it. This is the same bag I give away at events to anyone who buys the entire Jarvis Mann book series. You can find the bag here for the cost of $12 plus shipping. Then there is a lighter eco-friendly polypropylene bag which you can get with either the Jarvis Mann or Divine Devils Logo. This is the same bag I give away at events for anyone who buys 4 or more Jarvis Books, or the entire Divine Devils series. Each bag is $8 plus shipping. You can find the Jarvis Mann bag here and the Divine Devils Bag here. I hope to have more items added soon, which I will tell you about in the next newsletter.
My vodcast Bringing Life To Characters continues to have wonderful guests. If you love to hear about authors personal stories and their journeys to get published, which is often challenging and learn more about their books, be sure to check out all the interviews. This past month I’ve had Margaret Mizushima, Dale T. Phillips, Gregory N. Whitis, Sebastien de Castell and James Bow. You can find all the interviews on my YouTube Channel.
The tables got turned when I was interviewed on the vodcast, TeaTime with Miss Liz who asked me interesting questions like, one word to describe myself, and three words to describe my life. Tune in to this fun interview and learn all the answers.
This months author feature is Gregory N. Whitis. Gregory published two popular novels about catfish farming, Blue Green and Nighthope. In March 2025, his third novel, Eight Minutes, hit the shelves to wide acclaim. After twenty years of messing with catfish, Whitis cranked out Blue Green (2017), a coming-of-age saga about a young man from Iowa transplanted to the Mississippi Delta as a catfish farm manager. During this culture shock, the protagonist takes on a corrupt deputy. While writing this debut novel, Whitis suffered a mid-life crisis at the age of forty-four and proudly graduated fourth in his class at the Tuscaloosa Police Academy. He served ten years as a deputy sheriff. Many of the action scenes in Blue Green are based on real-life events. Four years later, he published Nighthope. This story is about a middle-aged man who experiences a mid-life crisis, leaves his post as chief executive officer of the nation’s largest trucking company in Los Angeles, and buys a catfish farm in western Alabama. It’s a hilarious tale. Readers will nearly crack a rib laughing out loud. Whitis hopes Nighthope kicks off a new subgenre: male mid-life crisis. Eight Minutes, his latest, is his first science fiction thriller. This page-turner has received widely acclaimed reviews from several published authors. The Sun is supposed to shine brightly for the next five billion years. What if they’re wrong? Whitis lays out a probable apocalypse where Earth turns into Mars in a matter of weeks. Teedarius and Quincy, marooned at a catfish processing plant, provide comic relief during their engaging struggle for survival. Unlike other end of Earth tales, there’s a shimmer of hope in the end. Gregory currently resides in Greensboro, Alabama with his wife, Karen and their fur baby, Mia. Check out his books on his website and his Amazon Author Profile.
Here are this month’s Book Funnel deals of free, discounted and Kindle Unlimited books:
Thrilling Crime Stories has a 113 free ebooks for you to check out until until Nov 30th via this link.
JJ Jax Thriller Promo has 70 free eBooks until Dec 31st via this link.
KU Romance – Suspense has 29 eBooks you check out until Oct31st via this link.
One of our favorite places to visit, is the Butterfly Pavillion in Westminster Colorado. Each year in October, they close off a section for Orb-Weaver spiders to spin their webs, which allows you to walk inside and get up close and personal, as you can see from the pictures below. Then you get to interact with all the butterflies, the many species flying around you, which are incredible to witness. We are members and we attend frequently, since it’s close to our house. And we’ve learned to wear our bright gold and yellow shirts and hats, as they will land on you.
As you know from my previous newsletters, I own a different type of spider, a Spyder Motorcycle, which I ride as much as I can. One day down the street from us, I saw this Spyder and had to take a picture. The passenger holding on for dear life! Or maybe dear death!!
Thanks again for checking out my newsletter. Be sure to share with all your reader loving friends. Those who sign up will be offered two free eBooks in the Jarvis Mann PI series, The Case of the Missing Bubble Gum Card and Tracking A Shadow. And don’t forget until the end of the year, I’m offering a 10% discount for all purchases through my Book Store, which includes all my signed paperbacks and other merchandise. Just enter the promo code: jarvis when checking out.
All the Best!!
R. Weir