A Dennis Haggarty Mystery Sale

It's time again for another sale.  This time around, Accidental Death and Natural Causes are on sale for 99c/99p each. 

Actually they're on sale today through next Tuesday night, but I made the graphic for posting on FB.

I know tons of people bought Accidental Death, but haven't bought Natural Causes yet.  Now's a good time to rectify that, if you're one of them. 

In AD, you get to meet Dennis Haggarty, a gritty Denver Homicide Detective, as he comes up against small town attitudes while trying to solve a murder no one wants to believe is murder. 

In NC, you find Dennis is now the Chief of Police in a small mountain town where an apparent cougar attack isn't what it seems.  The place has changed, but the attitudes haven't.

I got the idea for AD while living in a small town in the middle of nowhere and realizing how easy it would be to have a murder explained away as accidental.  The young man found hanging in his garage.  The stranger found burned up in his car in the middle of a wildfire.  The time my insane neighbor almost asphyxiated us by letting her guests run their RV in her driveway while my home filled with exhaust.  Little things that made me wonder and wondering always leads me to stories. 

I grew up outside a small town, hearing about the attitudes inherent there  - although being outside of it then.  Then I found myself smack in the middle of it later in life.  I'm well outside of it now, but hell, I hear about it here, too.  Three different towns, three different states, same small-town ideas and prejudices and attitudes.  Go figger.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun writing these books.  I hope you have a lot of fun reading them.

A Dennis Haggarty Mystery Sale

Good morning!

Starting today, both books in A Dennis Haggarty Mystery series are on sale for 99c/99p each.

Here's the FB ad copy for today:

 

Big city cop. Small town murders. Starting today, get both books in A DENNIS HAGGARTY MYSTERY series for only 99c/99p each.

US: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BTN1W19

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dennis-Haggarty-Mystery-Book/dp/B07BNNDTLM

#mystery #murder #notcozy #ebooks #99c #99p

 

I didn't pay for any advertising this time, so we'll see how it goes.  

 

The sale last through Tuesday of next week, so if you haven't read them yet, now would be the time.  Or if you've only read Accidental Death, now's the time to get Natural Causes.  

 

Enjoy!

July Sale #4 - A Dennis Haggarty Mystery Series

Here we are nearing the end of the month.  Like I said at the beginning, July was my month for sales.  Well, to have things on sale anyway.  To that end, from now through the night of the 29th, my series 'A Dennis Haggarty Mystery' is on sale.  All both of them.  (Yes, I have plans for more.  No, I don't know when book three will actually happen.)

Now's the time to buy Accidental Death and Natural Causes for only 99c/99p each.  Or, if you've already read AD, now's the time to pick up NC. 

This is a true series with Dennis Haggarty as the main character.  They're both 'Big City Cop meets Small Town Murder'.  Except in NC, the Big City Cop is now the police chief of a small mountain town.  Dennis still has to deal with things he's not used to - small town cliques and small town minds.  He's still not used to any of it.  Poor guy.

I won't tell you much more about NC, in case you haven't read AD yet.

As for AD, it came about after living in a small town in CO and being a watcher to the things that went on there.  It's also based on growing up on the outskirts of a small town in Michigan, and watching all the things that happened then.  Add those experiences to my suspicious mind and my overactive imagination, and you get murder that might not necessarily look like murder.  Especially harrowing when you're up against people who don't want it to be anything so vile as homicide.  Fortunately, Dennis knows better and he's not the kind of man to back down when he's out for justice.

The third book is just an idea in my head.  I picture Dennis going off to a regional police chief's conference, discovering a body or two, and then running afoul of all the small town police chiefs who don't want it to be murder.  Or something.  Dennis can't catch a break. 

It's just a zygote right now, so don't hold your breath waiting for it.

Meanwhile, these two can be read without having to wait on the third book.  No cliffhangers.  They're both fully-encapsulated stories within themselves.  But you might want to read them in order.  NC has some stuff about things that happened in AD that might be confusing if you haven't read AD yet. 

I hope you give them a try and enjoy them. 

Oh, and they totally aren't 'cozy', so don't be surprised.  Thanks!

July is Sales Month

I went a little nuts yesterday morning.  Starting tomorrow, July 4th, at least one of my books will be on sale every day through the 29th in both the US and the UK.  (As long as Amazon doesn't brainfart.)

Here's how it shakes down:

July 4th - 10th - Project Hermes
July 10th - 16th - Blink of an I
July 16th - 22nd - Sleeping Ugly
July 23rd - 29th - Accidental Death and Natural Causes

All of them will be 99c/99p on their respective dates.  I'll let you know if I manage to secure advertising for any of them.  With the sale for PH coming so soon, there definitely will not be an ad for that one.  The others?  We'll see. 

I do know I'll be doing my damndest to generate sales in other ways.  As unobtrusively as possible.  And, of course, as inexpensively as possible.  Which means I'll be busting my hump on FB.  A little twitter (which I hate, but it's there and I'm using it). 

Not sure what'll be happening next month.  Probably another Once Upon a Djinn sale.  Maybe Unequal.  We'll see.  I can't think about August right now.  Gah, next month is August?! 

Okay, back to the grind.  What have you got going on this month? 

Natural Causes - On Sale Now

Starting today, I'm having a Kindle Countdown Deal for Natural Causes.  It'll be 99c/99p all the way through to next Tuesday at 11:59p PDT.  (You know, with the time change and junk.)

If you're one of the hundreds of people who bought Accidental Death but haven't gotten around to its sequel yet, now would be the time to snag a copy.  Find out what Dennis and the gang are up to.  See who's dropping bodies in Dennis' path this time.

If you haven't gotten a copy of AD, it's always at the low price of $2.99 (free with Kindle Unlimited).

Now, these are definitely not cozy mysteries.  Readers have described them as noir or hard-boiled.  This particular story has a basis in a news item from a few years back.  I'd tell you all about it, but then I'd ruin the mystery for you. 

That's the new version of the ebook cover up there.  (The paperback cover remains the same - a little lighter with a grave in the distance.)  The text is exactly the same.  And no, that's not Jillian on the cover.  She's not on the cover of AD either.

This one is also not set in Serenity.  Dennis has moved on.  Now he's the police chief in a small mountain town - Last Ditch, CO - dealing with the residents, a questionable death, and the lingering stench of what happened in Accidental Death.  Stuff like that weighs on a man.  

Anyway, if you're interested in a quirky, gritty mystery set in small-town Colorado, pick up a copy.  And if you could, leave a review.

Thanks.

Not Giving Up

Okay, so you may have noticed an increased number of book discounts around here lately.  I've had Kindle Countdown Deals for Project Hermes, Sleeping Ugly, and Blink of an I. 

This is because I'm trying to be more active out there.  I'm trying to encourage readers to buy my books. 

Thus far, it hasn't worked out so well. 

But then again, I haven't paid for much advertising.

Today starts the KCD for Accidental Death.  I did pay for advertising this time.  We'll see how that goes when the ad comes out on Wednesday.  I'd like to at least sell enough books to pay for the ad, but if it only serves to have some of my rankings boost up a little, that'd be great. 

I'm not giving up.  Sometimes, I'd like to.  Not give up writing, but give up with these blasted sales and the marketing and... Well, that's just stupid.  Marketing's part of the biz and I knew that when I took it on. 

I just wish I was better at it.  Or rich enough to hire someone to do it for me. 

So, anyway, if you haven't read Accidental Death yet, now might be a good time to pick up a copy.  And while you're at it, grab Natural Causes, too.  It's only $2.99.  So, you get both Dennis Haggarty books for under $4. 

See?  Not giving up. 

Brief Marketing Update 1

I'm doing some test marketing right now.  This post is as much about me keeping it straight as information for you guys if you're interested in marketing data.  Bear with me.

So yesterday, I had a $10 ad go out for AD.  I sold 5 books and earned just under $4. 

This morning, I posted sales links for AD to various FB groups* for free and, within an hour, sold 2 books. 

Today, two more ads go out at $6 each.  One for AD and one for NC.  :fingers crossed:


The reason the title of this post says '1' is that I'm going to try to post an update later if sales change.  If you don't see an update, there was no change.

* The FB groups posted to were: Amazon Kindle Goodreads, Indie Authors International, eBook World, Self Published Crime Fiction Writers, and Crime, Thriller and Mystery Readers' Cafe.  Since the books I sold were in the UK, I'm going to assume the Indie Authors International group gained me those sales, but I could be wrong.

Sale Time Again

Years ago, there was this furniture store that would have so many sales it was hard to discern if any of them were really special.  It was like 'oh, yawn, they're having a sale again'.  I am trying to keep that in mind when I have these sales, but it seems like the number of books I sell hinges on having 'sales'. 

So here we are again.  Another sale.  This time, the books of the 'A Dennis Haggarty Mystery' series are both on sale for 99c or .99p.  Now until Sunday. 

I know a great deal of people have purchased Accidental Death since it's release in 2015, so now's their chance to pick up the second book - Natural Causes - for cheap.  See what's happening with Dennis and Jillian and Pat. 

Accidental Death, as you may know, is particularly close to my heart.  You know, the wife of a former city manager writing about the widow of a deceased city manager.  That sort of thing.  All spun up into a hard-boiled, noir-like mystery with characters you could meet in any small town on the eastern plains of Colorado.  (Or anywhere else in America, truth be told.  I borrowed some traits from people I knew back in small town Michigan, too.)

Natural Causes progresses from there with the problems of a small mountain town instead of a small plains town, but the problems aren't that much different.  Murder, mayhem, cover up, with Dennis investigating it all and trying to stay sane.

Anyway, I hope you'll give them a try.  Or if you've already tried Accidental Death, will give Natural Causes a whirl, too. 

New Release and a Sale!

The long awaited sequel to Accidental Death has finally arrived.  (Well, I was waiting for it for a long time anyway.)  Natural Causes is now live across the board on Amazon (check your local listings or go here for English speaking Amazon affiliate countries). 

To celebrate, I made Accidental Death a Kindle Countdown Deal.  It's available now thru Saturday for the low low price of 99c (or .99p in the UK).

And, as always, my books are all available for the Kindle Unlimited program which means they're free for subscribers (well, free after you pay you subscription fee, of course).

You don't need to read Accidental Death to understand what's going on in Natural Causes but, naturally, it helps.  See where I started Dennis's story, how he met Jillian, and the reason Dennis has got some baggage this time around. 

Loads of fun for everyone.  Enjoy!

Release Day!

Yes, I know.  I wasn't scheduled to release Natural Causes until Thursday, but I got the manuscript finished and uploaded and I suck at waiting, so I published it.  It went live last night some time.

Murder is never natural...

As the new police chief in the mountain town of Last Ditch, Colorado, the worst case Dennis Haggarty has investigated dealt with vandalized decorations. Life is slow and laid back, exactly what he and his new bride, Jillian, need after the debacle in Serenity. But when a hiker stumbles onto a gruesome scene in a secluded ravine, the calm world he’s trying to build for them fractures. Now he’s faced with determining whether a cougar attack is actually man-made mayhem in disguise, who’s lying to him, and how to take down another killer with no regard for human life. 

Tough luck for him, he’s not certain he could pull the trigger again—not even to save his new life.

Amazon US
Goodreads




I'll add other buy links - for UK, AU, CAN - as I find them.  Until then, check your local listings. 

Executive Decision Time

First, I received my final round of edits from my awesome wonderful editor last night.  The edit letter started with the following:  "Awesome!! NATURAL CAUSES is a winner - and I know it's early, but I can't wait for another Dennis Haggarty Mystery! Well done, you!!"

The email carrying that awesomeness also contained a bit about scheduling for Wish Hits the Fan.  If I can have WHTF to her by the 17th of April, she can get it done before she gets tied up.  Otherwise, she can't start working on it until May 29th.

Panic ensued.

It didn't last long.  I thought about what I had left to do on WHTF and what I still need to do on Natural Causes to get it publishable by the 13th.  Then I made the Executive Decision that I would not be sending her WHTF until 5/29.  

No worries for those expecting this book to be out in August, like I promised.  I will still meet that deadline.

If I send it to her on 5/29, she'll have those edits to me on 6/29. Two weeks on my end to input those edits, send it back to her on 7/13.  Three weeks to get the second round back from her on 8/3.  Two more weeks for final edits and polishing and formatting will put the release day at 8/17.  Tada.

And my stress level dropped precipitously.  I can now focus on finishing Natural Causes and getting that out to y'all on or before 4/13.  Then I can take my time and do WHTF right.  Whew.

Leaving me free to stress about other things.  LOL

Any questions?

Officially Official Natural Causes Cover and Blurb

Okay, so yesterday I finalized both the cover and the blurb for Natural Causes.

Murder is never natural...

As the new police chief in the mountain town of Last Ditch, Colorado, the worst case Dennis Haggarty has investigated dealt with vandalized decorations. Life is slow and laid back, exactly what he and his new bride, Jillian, need after the debacle in Serenity. But when a hiker stumbles onto a gruesome scene in a secluded ravine, the calm world he’s trying to build for them fractures. Now he’s faced with determining whether a cougar attack is actually man-made mayhem in disguise, who’s lying to him, and how to take down another killer with no regard for human life. 

Tough luck for him, he’s not certain he could pull the trigger again—not even to save his new life.

---------
And I created a listing for it on Goodreads this morning.  So y'all can go forth and 'Want to Read' it now.

If you go there, you'll see I set am O-fficial release date for it, too - April 15th.  Tax Day.  Yay.  I might have it out sooner, but definitely no later.  If I have to stay up all night for days, it will be done.

Special thanks to Silver James for helping me tweak my blurb.

I'll add the new book to all my blogs sometime soon.  Maybe this morning.  If I can muster the gumption.  It's hard to muster gumption so early in the morning.  Need more coffee...

Sneaking in a Snippet

Hey All!  I thought I'd drop a little surprise on y'all this morning.  Here's a first taste of Natural Causes...

Natural Causes

Chapter One

Dennis Haggarty gazed at the clock on his office wall, ticking the seconds until he could go home to his wife.  He still couldn’t wrap his brain around the words ‘his wife’ or the fact that she was leaving him so soon.  In a few short hours, she’d be on a plane headed east to visit a dear friend he’d never met.  Then again, there were a lot of people in Jillian’s life he’d never met. 

He didn’t have anyone left for her to meet.  His sister was dead. His mother and her husband would never speak to him again. As for his former partner, Pat had already adopted the new Mrs. Haggarty like the daughter he never had. 

Dennis didn’t care enough about anyone else to want them to meet his new bride.

The minute hand clicked to quarter after the hour of four.  If he could make it another forty-five minutes without another shitstorm blowing across his desk, he’d be home free.  The newest chief of police in the mountain town of Last Ditch, Colorado could avoid the mundane calls that came in nightly.  He wouldn’t be bothered until morning—not unless something drastic happened or the phone rang while he was still at the office.

No sooner did Dennis finish his thought than the black plastic bastard shrilled.  He waited for Norma to answer, but then he remembered his office manager had taken off early.  Something about a bridal shower or a baby shower or needing a new shower curtain.  Frankly, he couldn’t remember. 

Picking up the phone, he blurted out the standard greeting.  “Last Chance P.D. This is Chief Haggarty.  How can I help you?”

Just a taste and it's not totally edited yet, but I hope you enjoyed it.  I expect to have this ready to publish in a couple of months, depending on editor availability and my own gumption.