Crime Tidbit: The Axeman of New Orleans

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Did you know...

That between May 1918 and October 1919, a brutal axe-murderer terrorized the city of New Orleans? He began attacking victims, generally by breaking into their homes and attacking them with either an ax or straight razor. Though his victimology was broad, many of his victims were Italian-American working class people, which made many people believe they might have been racially motivated.

He was definitely more angry toward women than men, as it was the women who were often killed or hurt more profoundly. Criminologists of the time believed he only killed men who got in the way of his killing women.

In March, 1919, he sent a letter to the local paper, which was published, sensationalizing him even more. It read as follows:

Hell, March 13, 1919 

Esteemed Mortal:      

They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman.      

When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company.

If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I am a reasonable spirit. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid as to not only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to beware. Let them not try to discover what I am, for it were better that they were never born than to incur the wrath of the Axeman. I don‘t think there is any need of such a warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as they have in the past. They are wise and know how to keep away from all harm.      

Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens, for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death.      

Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is:      

I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it on Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.      

Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am and will be the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy. 

The Axeman 

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Looking at the letter, obviously this guy was insane, and had something of a god complex. No one was killed that night, though ever dance hall and speak easy was filled to capacity well past midnight.

My favorite part of this story is that several citizens, outraged by the letter and the situation on the whole sent letters of their own to the paper, inviting the Axeman to come to their homes, and see who would be killed first. One even offered to leave the window open, politely asking that he not damage the back door. I love these people! I'm not sure I'd have their nerve, but you gotta admire the guts! And people who just can't stand the idea of a madman bringing New Orleans to it's knees.

The Axeman stopped killing as suddenly and mysteriously as he started. His identity was never discovered. Many believed he might have been a man by the name of Joseph Momfre, who was shot to death in L.A. in December of 1920, but deeper investigation has revealed this to be something of an urban legend. Momfre was a common surname in New Orleans at the time and was probably used as a place holder because the killer's ID was unknown. (Akin to calling someone John Doe.) The records of the time are too incomplete for us to understand all that happened in the investigation.

Who do you think the axeman was? What were his motivations? Can you see this as an awesome fiction story?

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One Shark, No Swim Review + Follow Friday!

For today's Quantum Entanglement Blog Tour stops, click HERE. Scroll down for Follow Friday post. 

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The lovely and talented Lehua Parker, my good friend and fellow JFP author, has just released One Shark, No Swim, the sequel to her spectacular middle-grade debut, One Boy, No Water. (My Review Here.)

Lehua's books are simply delightful. They take place in the Hawiian islands where a young boy named Zader feels like an outsider because he's an islander who has an intense allergic skin reaction to water. He can't swim or bathe, much less surf, which is what he really wants to do with his brother. The dialect is a form of pidgeon, which sounds like heavily Hawiian-tilted English, but is really fun to read. It may take some getting used to, but it's so much fun to read that you don't even notice.

In this book, Zader has some breakthroughs concerning his allergies. We also see some more of the great Hawaiian shark and god legends come into play. To me, these are some of the best parts of the book. So intriguing and well-written, you can't help but turn pages to see how these legends-come-to-life will affect Zader and his family. Uncle Kahona is, as always, immensely entertaining to read about. He reminds me of Zeddicus Zul Zorander in the adult fantasy series, The Sword of Truth: awesome and wise but also half mad-scientist and immensely funny. Totally love him!

Overall, I loved this sequel just as much--maybe more--than book 1 and would highly recommend it to anyone. I'm totally planning on buying both these books as Christmas presents for my kid brothers. Wait to knock it out of the part again, Lehua! I hope there's a book 3.

Follow Friday

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Reading nook tour: give us a tour of your favorite reading spots. 

I don't know that I really have a nook. I really only have three places that I regularly read, and none of them really qualifies as a "nook."

They are:

My cozy bed: (a bit untidy today)

What I affectionately refer to as my mushroom chair. So comfy! :D

The final place is on these steps. My two-year-old niece plays on the grass with her little toddler peeps and I sit on the steps and read while I watch them. You can't see it in this pic, but off to the left there's a huge open grassy area to the left of that big wooden planter. The kiddies love it!

**Please follow via Email, Bloglovin', Linky, or Networked Blogs! Thanks so much!**

So, what's your reading nook like?

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Thoughts for Thursday--Hard Work

Thoughts for Thursday is a new feature hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.  In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!

In honor of all the back-to-schooling going around, this week's theme is Hard Work.  

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Hump Day Humor (+ Blog Tour Post)

For today's Quantum Entanglement blog tour stop, hop over to Vicariously! for the wonderful Rebecca Alora's Review! If you could all hop over and leave comments on her review, I'd really appreciate it! She's such a wonderful person! Thanks a ton, Everybody! :D





Other than that, I don't have an actual post. Just thought I'd leave I'd leave you with some hump day humor. Your welcome! :D

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Top Ten Tuesday: Best Sequels

Check out the Quantum Entanglement review and guest post over at Project Read and Review! The blog tour is going splendidly!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Sequels Ever (All covers courtesy of Goodreads.com unless otherwise linked.)

In no particular order,

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Cinderskella Cover Reveal + Huge Publisher Announcement

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So I found out last week, just before the LUW annual conference, about a huge thing that's happening with my publisher. I've just been so busy with both my book releases and blog tours that I haven't gotten a chance to share it on my blog list.

As most of you know, I have two books forthcoming from Jolly Fish Press. Citadels of Fire, book 1 of the Kremlins trilogy was slated for release October 5th. The Botanist, a crime drama, is going to be released spring 2014.

Now, as October 5th is three weeks away and I still haven't released cover art yet, I'm thinking you've guessed that my release date has been pushed back. As much as that sucks, it's actually a good thing in the long run.

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My publisher, Jolly Fish Press, has partnered with IPG, which is a heavyweight distributor. This means many of their title's release dates will be pushed back, but it also means we'll have MUCH bigger distribution. The potential is not just national but international as well. (Squee!) They'll be releasing the cover art for Citadels of Fire soon, and we're going to start drumming up hype for it now, even though it probably won't release until early next year.

See full announcement HERE.

And, in related news...

Aimee Borst, JFP Author is revealing her book's cover today! Surprise! Check it out below. (P.S. It's awesome!)

Cindy is just a normal 11 3/4 year old girl. At least until she wakes up one night and finds out she's dead. Well, she isn't technically dead--she just doesn't have any hair...or a nose...or skin. Yep--all bones, no body.

Human by day and skeleton by night, Cindy is definitely cursed. And because her mother recently died, Cindy has no one to turn to except a father who is now scared of her and an evil stepmother who makes her do the housecleaning with a toothbrush. To make matters worse, the Spring Fling dance is approaching, and Ethan, the cutest boy in the sixth grade, doesn't seem to know Cindy exists. Of course, Cindy doesn't think letting Ethan find out she's part skeleton is the best way to introduce herself.

While face such perils as pickled pig's feet, a wacky fortune teller, and a few quick trips to the Underworld, Cindy's determined to break the curse--even for a single night. 

Cinderskella is available for purchase at Barnes & Noble.

Amie and Bethanie Borst are a mother-daughter writing team. Amie believes in Unicorns, uses glitter whenever the opportunity arises, accessories in pink and eats too much chocolate.  Bethanie is a spunky 13 year old middle-schooler who loves archery, long bike rides and studying edible plant-life. Cinderskella is their first book together and is part of the Scarily Ever Laughter series. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, From the Mixed-UpFiles of Middle-Grade Authors and blog. 

Amie Borst is celebrating her book release and cover reveal with a monthly giveaway in The Great Cinderskella Giveaway! If you’d like to win a $25 Amazon gift card, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. You’ll be automatically entered into the grand prize drawing for a Kindle Fire in October! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So, what do you think? Good thing? Bad thing?

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Top Ten Things to Put in Your Time Travel Kit!!!

Hello Everyone! Happy Sunday! For today's Quantum Entanglement Blog Tour post, I'm guest posting today on In This World of Books about the Top Ten Things to put in your time travel kit! Check it out if you have a minute! And have a terrific Sunday! 

And don't forget to check out the Wheel of Time Read Along post on my other blog, Musings on Fantasia.

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Quantum Entanglement Blog Tour Stops and Follow Friday Link

For Friday's Quantum Entanglement Blog Tour stops, we have an Interview at Rally the Readers and I'm also guest posting about Maggie and Marcus's Top Ten Significant Memories over at Bookworm Brandee's blog. Check those out if you have a second. :D Happy Friday!


P.S. For my Follow Friday post, click HERE.

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Quantum Entanglement Reviews

Happy Thursday, Wonderful Readers! It's almost Friday, and I have some links for you. There are two new Quantum Entanglement reviews to check out today. One is over at Bound by Books (thanks Reeka!) and the other is at Shhh...Not While I'm Reading (I really appreciate it Tara!)

So, if you could head on over and leave your comments at one or both of those sites, I'd really appreciate it. Beyond that, do me a favor and have some fun today! Don't forget, it's almost the weekend. (Yea!) 

Are YOU doing anything fun today?

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Launch Day Report + Guest Post

Hello Fantasia-Loving Readers!

Yesterday was the Release Date and Launch Party for Quantum Entanglement and it went great! If you want to see the results and winners, just pop on over to the Interchron Facebook page. Special thanks to all those who dropped by, commented, or otherwise participated! It was tons of fun!

I worked all day, though, and as a result, I'm a little burnt out today. But no worries! I still have links to send you to. :D

I'm guest posting over at Mad Hatter Reads about The Science of Time Travel! If all you lovely readers could pop on over and leave your comments there, I'd really appreciate it! :D

Thanks so much! And happy hump day! :D

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Top Ten Tuesday: Fall Reading List

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Books On My Fall 2013 TBR List (you could do top ten fall releases you plan on reading or just your planned reading list)

(In no particular order)

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It's Monday! How's Your Week Looking?

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Happy Monday! 

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I'm still not caught up on everything, but my weekend was great just the same!

I attended the League of Utah Writers' annual conference. I love going to it every year. There's just something so great about being in a room with hundreds of other struggling writers who totally get what you're going through and have many of the same goals. There's so much positivity and building up. So great!

It feels something like a think tank of masterminds, even if most of the writers attending are still amateurs. 

This year, I got to be instructed by industry greats Maxwell Alexander Drake and the amazing Gerald N. Lund. I learned so much and had such a good time!

Okay, onto other things.

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The Dark Remnants Giveaway has ended. The winners are thus:

3 E-copies of Dark Remnants: 

1) Lexxie Lin
2) Robyn Jones
3) Roxxie

Autographed Print Copy: Cristina Arpin

$25 Amazon Giftcard: Amanda Ludwig

Congrats to the winners! And thanks so much to everyone who entered my giveaway!

Finally, if you haven't yet, check out the final review on the blog tour over at Girl in the Woods Reviews. I'm also guest posting on My Book Musings, and I'm being interviewed over at Reese's Reviews. 

Also, over at my other blog, Musings on Fantasia, my tour for Quantum Entanglement, Book 2 is starting. Head over there to follow that one for my newest dystopian fantasy novel!

Have a great week, everyone!

What's your Monday look like?

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Saturday Funnies and Great Reviews!

Happy Saturday, Everyone! I usually don't do Saturday posts, but I wanted to recap the reviews I've gotten this week for Dark Remnants. I really am quite proud of them. So, if you haven't yet, check out the following review for my new book:

Bound by Words

Vicariously!  and (just yesterday)

Girl in the Woods Reviews.

I'm at the League of Utah Writer's annual conference all day today. (In other words, I'll be having all kinds of geeky fun.) Hope you all have great weekend plans as well!  Happy Saturday!

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What are your weekend plans?

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Guest Post at Reese's Reviews!

Today I'm doing a guest post over at Reese's Reviews about writing great heroines. If you feel so inclined, click over there and check it out! Thanks! And have an awesome Friday!

(For my Follow Friday Post, go HERE!)

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Book Review: Shadows of Valor by Elsie Park

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Shadows of Valor by Elsie Park is a books I've been anticipating for a long time. Elsie is a fellow JFP author who also writes medieval historical fiction, so how could I not look forward to her book?

Such a beautiful cover and a promising story. First of all, let me say that the copy I read was an uncorrected ARC, which made it a little hard to get into at first because there were some places where editing was needed. You all know how off-putting bad editing is to me, but I tried to put it aside because I knew this was an uncorrected copy, and therefore the edits hadn't actually been done yet.

Despite my issues with editing, I actually really got into the story. I found myself loving and rooting for the characters and wanting to know how everything would turn out.

Elsbeth (or just Beth) is a woman who lives in medieval times. She is in her twenties and unmarried, which makes her practically an old maid of course. Her parents were killed in a terrible fire some years ago which left Elsbeth with disfiguring burns on her forearms. She's come to define herself by what she perceives is the ugliness of those scars and has given up all hope that any man will ever want her.

Then a knight comes back to the castle. One she was sweet on as a girls, but who never returned her affections. At the same time, a shadowy vigilante known only as the Shadow, who dispenses justice for the king, also shows up and draws Elsbeth into his plans to expose a plot against Elsbeth's fair cousin, Jenna.

Thus begins quite the adventure. First time author Elsie Park deftly weaves the threads of the story, coming up with surprise twists near the end but perfectly planning the tapestry so that when all the pieces are finally shown, we as the readers experience a deep sense of satisfaction. I found myself reading anxiously to see how everything would turn out. 

Park does use a lot of dialect from the time period, which is a bit jarring at first, but by the second or third chapter, I didn't even notice it anymore. She also includes lyrics to several songs which are beautifully written. I seem to remember hearing that some sheet music may be included in the final book, which I think is a beautiful addition to the story.

I was so impressed with this debut. So much fun to read, and a great example of clean, exciting, medieval fiction. 

What are you reading this week?

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Blog Tour Updates!

Guess what, guess what? 

The Dark Remnants tour is going swimmingly! Yesterday I received not one but two stellar reviews from fellow bloggers.

One from Reeka Boland at Bound by Words. The other from Rebecca Alora at Vicariously!

I'd love it if you guys would check them out by clicking on the links above and *ducks head* maybe tweet them or something?

Truly, I'm so relieved. To be honest, a few of my editors were not too thrilled about this story. I think it just really wasn't their thing, but they were quite harsh about it. When I saw that my first blogger review had gone up, I was hesitant to look at it. I'm so pleased to find that, so far--this is only two reviews, afterall--readers are connecting with. Whew! What a relief!

Okay, so check out those two reviews. I also am doing a guest post over at Bookworm Brandee about my research/inspiration for Dark Remnants, so check that out too if you have the time. And of course, have a lovely Tuesday!

*hugs*

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My Monday Looks Crazy! How's Yours?

Happy Monday, wonderful readers! So just got a few quick things today:

1) This week I'm super busy trying to finish up review copies of Quantum Entanglement and get them out, as well as keep prior commitments I'm behind on. I've had some life issues lately--relatives have suddenly needed help moving, I've gotten very sick, my sister got married a few weeks ago (still recovering over here) and this past weekend I spent two days selling books as a massive, well-attended vendor fair.

All these things are actually very good, but they've all combined to put me very behind schedule. I have some guest posts scheduled for the Dark Remnants blog tour, so make sure and drop by for the links, not forgetting to enter the Giveaway. Other than that, I may be somewhat absent on the blog this week. By the end of the week, everything should be back to normal, though.

So, please bear with me and I'd really appreciate your support by dropping by my guest posts and tour stops.

2) By the way, the vendor fair I went to was called Peach Days. It's an annual tradition in Brigham City, Utah, which is about twenty miles north of where I live. Something like 50,000 people visit Peach Days every year and I sold somewhere between 50 and 60 books in two days. A new record! So exciting! Yea!

3) Finally, please hop over and visit Rebecca at Vicariously! who will be doing a book review for Dark Remnants today.

Thanks so much for all your wonderful support  and have a great Monday!

Have you entered the Dark Remnants Giveaway yet?

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Showcasing my Bookshelf: Follow Friday Meme

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Bookshelf Tour. Give us a tour of your bookshelf. 

My first question when I saw this week's topic was, which one? I have more than one! This one is one of the main ones. You probably can't tell from this pic, but the top shelf is mostly fantasy and sci-fi. The second shelf is classics and more contemporary publications. The bottom shelf is full of larger, coffee-table or reference books that I haven't touched since college. (Really ought to get rid of them, but I doubt anyone would enter a giveaway where the prizes are textbooks, LOL.)

This is a smaller shelf. I have random titles up top and the first shelf down is mostly religious fiction. The second shelf is--that's right--full of children's books. I live with my sister and two-year-old niece and these are all her books. She throws them all over the floor daily and I have to pick them up. Isn't she cute?

This shelf is in my room and, as you can see, it's a bit disheveled. I don't categorize these books by any specific genre or group, but that stack on top are ones I want to get to sooner rather than later. Yeah, they've been there for months. Hehe. And yes, those brown boxes on the floor are copies of unsold copies of Persistence of Vision I'm hoping to sell at Peach Days in Brigham City this weekend. Wish me luck!

Remember, there's a **free story** involved if you follow via email. Just sayin'. ;D

What's your bookshelf look like?

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Dark Remnants Tour: Universe in Words

Hello Wonderful Blogger Buddies!

How is your Thursday going? As you all know, I generally do my Thoughts for Thursday feature today, but I'll probably only do that feature once this month, at most. I just have too many other things going on.

Today I'm doing a guest post over at Universe in Words for the Dark Remnants tour about why I took up crime writing when my forte is in fantasy.

If all you wonderful bloggers could hop over there to leave your comments, I'd really appreciate it. And so would Juli. Make sure and tell her how awesome she is! (Because she really is. :D)

Thanks so much, and have a wonderful Thursday. Only one more day until Friday. Just sayin'. 

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Click HERE for my guest post.

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Why We Love Derek Morgan--And No, It's Not Just Because He's Hot!

Dark Remnants is being released today! Whaw-hoo!

Get it on sale during the tour for $0.99!

(Links and Giveaway Below!)

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I've been a big fan of Criminal Minds, pretty much since the first season. It continually delivers mind-blowing "unsubs" that are so deliciously evil, it's hard to turn the t.v. off. 

As the 2012-13 season came to a close, I remember wondering how much longer the show would go on. After all, they've been around for a long time. Season 1 aired in 2005 and this year will begin its 9th season. Just by virtue of how long it's run, it may be in jeopardy of getting cancelled, right?

Nope. Not at all. Criminal Minds has some of the most solid weekly numbers for its network. It's not going anywhere. And understandably so. This show continues to crank out great episodes.

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Each of the main characters is unique and lovable in their own way. Some have deep psychological issues; others fight heinous crime by day and go home to children at night. Let's face it: Penelope is just plain eccentric, but that's why we love her.

Derek Morgan, on the other hand, has the least amount of emotional baggage. Sure, he's got some bumpy spots in his past, but as an on-going character, he's the one who deals with everything the best and doesn't let things get to him. Makes for a boring character, right?

Wrong!

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So why do we love him and his fine self so much? Let me count the bald-headed reasons. 

1) He never struggles with right and wrong. He has an inherent sense morality; of accountability. He's always on the right side of the law--both that of the land and of ethics. 

2) He's the physical one. Whenever a bad-guy needs chasing, or cuffing, or punching, Derek's right there, jumping in feet first to knock the evil wind out of the perp's sinister lungs. Let's face it: not all of us could do that, or even want to, but we love stories about people who are willing. We love to live vicariously through them while we sit on our over-stuffed couches and eat chocolate. Why? Because we all have the basic longing to do good in the world; good that reaches beyond our own, self-contained, mundane lives.

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3) He never lets anything get to him. Though he had a bumpy childhood and some really rough teen years, he pulled himself up by his bootstraps and made it to the FBI. He doesn't sit around worrying or whining about his past. Oh, he doesn't take any crap from anyone. No. He'll punch you in your face if you try, but he takes life one situation at a time, and always comes up with a smile and a positive word. Uh, after the face punch, that is.

4) He's a gentleman. Despite everything, he's kind, courageous, and makes sure everyone on his team is all right. Even with the ladies, he's never condescending or anti-feminist. On the contrary, he's the guy you'd totally marry if you were a free woman.

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So, why do we love Derek Morgan? Because he's the every-man's cop; the kind of person you want to be, who hunts evil with uber-cool nonchalance, then goes to get a bite with his friends and treats his dates to an old-fashioned dinner and dancing evening. He has the best of both worlds: the passion of fighting evil and the contentment of a man who lives life with faith, and no worries.

He's the kind of character that reminds us that we can have it all, too. We can have both passion and contentment; fight evil while still having peace; stare at a hot guy without actually cheating on our hubbies; and grow our characters by indulging in fantasy worlds, before returning to the real people we love in our own lives, who look after us, as well look after them. Just as Derek looks after his team.

He's Maurice Boscorelli, Danny Regan, Jim Malone, Elliot Ness, and John McClaine. (If you got all those references, you must be cop-character-lover indeed.)

So, too all those wonderful cop characters out there, keep fighting the good fight. Bring those bad guys to justice so that we can all sleep better at night, and be thoroughly entertained right before that.

And to those cops--both real and fictional--who lose their lives in the line of fire, as one heroic soul did in Draper, Utah over this past weekend, 

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

                                                                     --Traditional Gaelic Blessing

Happy reading, wonderful bloggers. May the bad guys always exude evil worth vanquishing. And may the world's blue-wearing finest always be one step ahead, and many brain cells above their criminal competition.

We love you, Derek Morgan. Please come back for many more seasons!

The ebook version of Dark Remnants is currently on sale for $0.99. A friendship price. I want everyone to be able to get to know Detective Gabe Nichols and Kyra Roberts if they're so inclined, no matter the economic times. I hope they become dear friends for you, as they have become for me.

Dark Remnants (Street Games, Book 1)

Available September 3, 2013

In the most dangerous city in the country, one controlled by a sadistic gang called the Sons of Ares, Kyra Roberts is searching the deep places for someone…

Kyra has come to Abstreuse city to find someone she’s lost, but walking the underbelly—a dark alley system residents call the Slip Mire—even in disguise, is rife with dangers. Kyra must stay on her toes if she intends to live. After crossing paths several times with the same detective, she wonders if his work and hers might be connected.

Gabe Nichols has worked homicide in Abstreuse for three years. Dead prostitutes and gang violence are part of the night shift. When a woman who looks like a street junkie but acts like an intellectual saves his life, he’s intrigued. Another woman shows up at his crime scene, and Gabe’s instincts kick into high gear when she clams up. Two cases involving strange women who won’t tell what they know are too coincidental.

If Gabe and Kyra can’t find a way to collaborate, they may not live to see the sunrise. Doomed, like so many others, to become gray, unmarked graves in a forgotten fracture of the Slip Mire.

   

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