Goodbye, Blue Sweep, we hardly knew ye

I have officially unpublished my second novel Blue Sweep. Written in 2017/2018, Blue Sweep was my answer to the constant police brutality and police murders. A young black woman is killed by the police and her father's revenge sparks a nationwide event where people band together and fight back against the police. It's brutal and violent and takes on the country's racial tension. Blue Sweep was meant as a warning: that if the police keep it up (killing innocent people) eventually it would be open season on cops.

When the violent protests broke out after the killing of George Floyd, my wife showed me the articles and asked if it sounded familiar. I wrote this uprising. However, nobody's read Blue Sweep. I'm pulling it to give it an edit and a new cover (it's cover was the barest of bones). Blue Sweep will return later this year and hopefully someone will pick it up.

One of the main changes will be the dropping of the first chapter, the introduction. The story begins in chapter two and I want to start right with the story. So, here is the original chapter one/introduction for all to read.
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Police Exonerated in the Death of Young Man

Family Searches for Answers in the Death of their Son

Police Department Investigated Over Death of Twelve Year Old

Riots Break Out Over Police Shootings

Police Related Death Count Rises

Police Departments Claim Race Not a Factor in Accidental Shootings

“I Feared for My Life” The Police’s New Excuse

Black Lives Matter Countered by Blue Lives Matter Movement

Man Killed by Police Unarmed

Shooting of Fifteen Year Old Raises Awareness

Stray Bullets Kill Young Girl

Questions Unanswered in Recent Wave of Shootings

Riots Erupt as Officer Not Indicted

Unidentified Man Shot Down by Police

Officers Involved in Shooting Acquitted

Wrong Man Killed by Police in Robbery

Protesters Hosed at Rally

Man Shot Seven Times Unarmed

Police Officer Suspended After the Killing of a Mother and Her Two Children

Three Killed in Protest for Equal Rights

Groom Killed at Wedding

An epidemic was growing. Festering for years. A plague resulting in a deadly combination of hatred, power, and a total disregard for human life. Us and them, while one realized their place on the food chain and acted, the other forgot their place and became complacent in the national fear.

1,113 were reported killed by the police in 2014.

1,216 in 2015.

1,162 in 2016.

New Year’s Day of 2017 was met with five killings alone. By July, the number of people killed by police for the year had risen to over six hundred. Of course, all of these are just the cases reported; just as not every death is reported, not every killer is found. While some of the victims’ families were given various sums of money for their anguish, others weren’t granted anything but loss. Regardless, the officers involved were rarely reprimanded beyond a suspension. It appeared to be the running routine: murder, slap on the wrist, payout, and sweep under the rug, repeat.

The rift was often seen as overanalyzed and over-speculated with points of view from two biased parties. In the early days of the reports, when the numbers began stacking up, they were seen by many as purely coincidental and those who identify as patriots strongly voiced the reports as a smear campaign against the police force. But, as time went on, the body count rose and it was becoming harder to chock up to accidents or coincidence. The bias on both sides of the line remained, only stronger in their opinions.

The argument for most citizens was that of Murder vs Police Action. It was a fine line that was being blurred by the minute. A line that had been seen before. Though the Vietnam War was called such, many still refer to it as a police action and not actually a sanctioned war. But much like the question ‘At what point does a police action become a war?’ people asked ‘At what point does it go from a matter of law enforcement to murder?’ Some people spoke up saying that “We need to call the killers what they are regardless of their vocation.” Others disregarded it in support of the police saying, “They’re just doing their jobs.” Much like the Vietnam War, the rising death rate was met with people arguing the morals of the actions and others standing by the side of the law, claiming their importance to liberty.

At first, most deaths were regarded by officials as accidents while their more recent excuses such as the popular “I feared for my life” and “I felt threatened” were used, regardless if the person in question was armed. When the first steady wave of deaths were reported, departments acted shocked and talked eagerly of investigating the matters. Most of which were thrown out with various excuses, if one was given in the first place. Police departments issued statements that their officers would undergo new firearm safety training and reassess the excessive use of weapons but, after more killings, mentions of such changes had ceased. The chaos from one death was quickly overshadowed by the next and so forth.

Despite the departments’ claims that race wasn’t a factor, the casualties of unarmed people of color continued to rise from the few years prior. Though the black community weren’t the only ones affected by it, they continued to be profiled and stalked by the boys in blue. Departments denied having any racist officers in their employ. Some went as far as pointing out Hispanic and African-American officers on the force, fighting alongside their white brethren. It appeased some people, while others saw it as the old cliché heard from racists: “I’m not racist. Some of my best friends are black.”

Officers went through the academy and took the vow to uphold the law and to serve and protect, but how would these department heads know the moral codes and beliefs of each individual officer? This was a question on a lot of American minds.

Protest rallies were held regularly, demanding justice for the fallen members of the community. Money wasn’t nearly enough for the families of the dead. They wanted justice. They wanted the guilty to be tried as such. The people of America wanted their loved ones' killers to be tried as any other killer would be, citing an obvious 'special treatment' when it came to the law. People demanded answers. Why was my son killed? Why was my baby taken away from me? Why are they not here anymore? When will it stop? What do the police want? When will they be held accountable for their actions? How could you feel threatened by an unarmed person? Why are all the children dying?

Police supporters called the protesters “Un-American” and claimed they should be “arrested for obstruction of justice” as they soon formed counter protests. They argued that being a police officer is a hard job and they’re just trying to help. Supporters were as passionate as the opposition and fights broke out from arguments in the comment sections online to fist fights in the street at otherwise peaceful protests. Many protesters compared every police related death without thinking about how casualties are expected in such a dangerous job. One thing the supporters of law enforcement failed to really understand, however, was how each death had destroyed a family. With the death rate growing, thousands of families were affected every year. The fighting between citizens would give the police a break…until the next person was killed.

While the deaths rocked communities, many didn’t believe the media hype. Whether they ignored it or chose not to believe it, looking the other way mimicked the reaction to reports of the use of concentration camps in Germany in the thirties and forties. To some civilians, it was mere hearsay while, to others, it was just another sad news story on top of the nightly broadcast. There were no camps or numbering, however, in the modern day American holocaust; civilians of color as well as civilians of lower classes were killed on site. Coincidentally, cops began stopping people at random, asking for their identification without reason beyond personal interest not unlike what was happening in Germany at that time. The division between police and civilian had grown wider into the ‘us and them’ mentality. When it was said that they were abusing the power they held, your average neighbor would claim that the reports themselves gave the police too much credit, and thus, too much power. The culprits in question, users of unwarranted deadly force, were more often than not white male police officers.

Though some not directly affected joined in the fight for justice, most wouldn’t act or even acknowledge the problem until it was at their doorstep.

Many black officers wanted to speak up about the injustices they’d seen on the force but feared for their lives over breaking the Blue Wall Code of Silence. Some were reportedly harassed for attempting to speak out. The safety of them and their families' lives were threatened. Supporters blew them off, claiming them to be nothing more than opportunists attempting to kick white police while they’re down and appealing to the African-American community. Like civilians, the voices of those officers were silenced.

The social climate had become tense. People called police to help while simultaneously questioning their presence and actions. A new fear was instilled on the youth, almost more prevalent to the black youth. It became apparent that just walking down the street was as dangerous as being caught in a traffic stop. Wrong place, any time. Parents feared for their children’s lives, not taking into account that those of age and older were also being killed. Drivers tensed as police cruisers drove behind them, sometimes for uncomfortably long distances. It became common practice to throw your hands up in a ‘don’t shoot’ fashion when an officer became even slightly agitated. Of course, it didn’t help allegations when police would keep a hand on their gun during even the most benign calls.

The total of casualties from those few years almost rival the amount of American soldiers killed in Iraq (4,486). Fallen soldiers were given monuments while victims of police received a paycheck. Those dying in-country weren’t trained soldiers fighting for freedom, they were civilians trying to live. Modern Day America was reinforcing itself with some of the worst traits of past wars.

The fabric of society is much like a broken windshield: it starts with a chip, then it cracks, then the crack spreads until finally it bottoms out. The abuse of power has always been the chip and the families destroyed as a result are the crack that spider-webs outward. It’s only a matter of time before society bottoms out.

A portion of Americans stopped calling the police altogether for fear of what would happen to them when they’d arrive. Blue Fear had infected America. Newspapers, internet news sites, TV, and radio stations all distributed the reports laced with such a fear. Few would fight back and were labeled criminals and terrorists as the average citizen doesn’t know the difference between action and reaction, especially since the media often tells one side of the story. Reports on cases showed one of two sides: One vilifying the police and one showing support for a policeman being caught up in such a no-win situation.

Those oppressed became enraged and fought back in their own way while still trying to stay in the confines of the law. Action vs Reaction, the difference between an outstretched palm holding people down and a tightly-balled fist fighting back against it.

Police supporters and self-proclaimed patriots argued the innocence of those killed by law enforcers but the question of the matter wasn’t about innocence – something often subjective in the eyes of the court – but was about whether or not such forces were needed for unarmed individuals. Whether or not those killed were guilty of breaking the law at any time had nothing to do with law enforcement making the decision to be executioners. Guilty or innocent, sadly, the killings that continued to take place held no actual merit. Not all police officers took part in the executions but those that did had tainted the valiant image of justice for a large portion of the country. Much like the good cops that were lumped in with bad cops, everyday citizens were lumped in with criminals which often resulted in untimely deaths.

Victims’ loved ones have had to carry their tragedy with them everywhere they go. It’s tattooed on them: the loss, the anguish, the questions, the anger. Citizens across the country now have large, deep holes in their lives – empty voids where someone close used to reside. In all the unnecessary deaths over the years, the police still remain unremorseful. Some families carried their tragedy with them while others were unknowingly waiting for theirs, not knowing how they would react if what happened to the poor devastated people on the news happened to them. No one is immune.

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Blue Sweep will return either fall or winter of 2020.

In Rotation

Last week I talked about Running the Gauntlet, a writing exercise where I run through many of my files adding little bits. Now I want to talk about what happens after the gauntlet – In Rotation.



I wasn’t always so organized or ‘strict’ about writing. I was always a little loose about it, writing on projects here and there. Before, I’d work on things at random until one came into focus. Things started changing after the last time I’d run the gauntlet of stories. For a while, I was writing and releasing work back to back, but then I hit a point where there were two books in the pipeline (Agent Phoenix, Loose Lipped Secrets and Twinkling Lights) but nothing else really to be focused on.



I’d run the gauntlet again but had a couple of ideas I had just come up with. I’d initially put them on the backburner thinking I wasn’t ready to do them. I’ll often put things off if I don’t feel I’m good enough for them yet. But then I thought, why not, and jumped in headfirst. I started working on two projects: a horror novel for my publisher Supposed Crimes and a zombie book. At this point I wasn’t adding little bits to the stories but focused going back and forth between the two.



They were keeping up with each other for a while, but then I got another bee in my bonnet and added a third – a vampire story that had been started in different formats but now I was trying to make it into a novel. I now had 3 in rotation. The gauntlet was behind me and I was focusing on the three. I’d write a certain amount and then rotate to the next.



My wife and I had been kicking around a Christian murder mystery for some time. We’d created the setting and characters and story options but I hadn’t really gone into it. She suggested I start on it. I said, “I’ve already got three in rotation.” “Add a fourth.” She shrugged. I sat down and started it. I then had four in rotation and it’s been this way since late last year.



When I had started the rotation writing process it was August of 2019. It’s currently May 2020 and the first one is finished and with my publisher. My zombie book (book 2) is done but undergoing extensive rewrites, which is driving me bananas. The vampire book (No. 3) has had a drastic change to its original style and is finally coming together. The Christian mystery, the fourth in rotation, is rolling along smoothly.



I haven’t been back to the gauntlet in almost a year as I’ve had these four novels in rotation. When they’re ready I’ll go over the creation of each one. The process for the four is different for each one but there are similarities. The first two books were written closer together. I’d write three chapters on the first, rotate and write a section of the second, equaling to roughly the same page count. The third and forth books share a similar trait in how they will be shaped.



I’ve been pretty strict about the rotation. The lengths of writing time differ, however, but I’ll always have a stopping point. Sometimes the time to switch may seem premature but it’s for the best. The space of time between the books have helped the ideas flow as well as gives you a break when you get frustrated on a project. Although, I will say, writing four novels is burning me out. I’ve taken a couple of breaks, long weekends. But, damn, is it wearing on me. Still, I’m dedicated to getting the four done, and when they’re done, I will be taking a month off from writing ANYTHING. I can see that month in the distance. But for now, I’m getting back to work. I just finished over a month of writing on the Christian mystery and now I’m back to the beginning to the finished second book, only to chop it up. I rather like the rotation process but I don’t think I’ll be doing four novels together again. It’s a bit taxing.



I hope you all are staying safe.



Keep writing.

Running the Gauntlet

If you’re a writer like me, you’ve probably got a dozen stories in your head at any given time. For years I wrote on things at random. Rarely did I work on primarily one thing. I’d write on one project for a few pages, hit another, back to the other, then onto something new. There was no format and no structure; no method to the madness. After writing my first novel, I was elated. I had finally found an outlet for all these stories in my head. Prior to books I was writing things in mind for movies, music, and comics. Over time, managing my mess was an exercise.



I write on my phone a lot, then transfer it to my laptop where I’ll expand, format, and edit. Some projects I’ll write mainly on the laptop but I always end up doing some of it on my phone. I used to text pages and pages to myself. Sometimes full on pages of work, other times just notes. Things changed when my wife got me a new phone. I had changed from writing Agent Phoenix in text to writing it as a word document. Then the files grew with more stories and more notes.



After a while I had more than a dozen documents, not counting everything on the laptop. At this point, I had various pots and pans on the stove but was mainly focused on Agent Phoenix and Loose Lipped Secrets and Twinkling Lights. When I wasn’t working on the novel and poetry book, respectively, I had just a growing file of documents. I ended up falling into a more organized version of my previous work method. I began running the gauntlet.



This is what I ended up calling it. I’d stay up late at night - the family’s asleep, the dogs are put up, time to work with no interruptions – and start at the first document. Very few of them even have names. Most are Blank 1, Blank 2, etc. etc. Actually, two of the Blanks have become finished novels; first drafts, of course. I’d go down the list adding at the very least a line to everything.



I ran the gauntlet for a long while as multiple books were growing slowly, until several came into focus and they were put into a rotation – but that’s for next week.



I suggest using this method. It helped me out a lot, really got me to focus and put in the work. I’m more focused on my craft than ever. Every project is different so it was like a literary workout.



Whether on your phone, laptop, computer, tablet, or whatever, gather your files together (not all, but a healthy amount), start at the first one and just write. And when you’ve felt you’ve said what you could or wanted to say, go to the next file and do the same. Then the third, and however more you have. If you have a lot, you probably won’t always make it through. Aim for at least a sentence. There are some stories I wrote a page or so on, while others were a struggle for that one sentence. It is a writing workout. It can be fun, it can be frustrating, but it helps.



Running the Gauntlet, a writing suggestion.

Writing with Multiple Sclerosis

I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember. I rarely finished anything. I’d quit short stories and scripts when I had gotten discouraged. Writing books was never really part of the plan. I’ve played music for years. I play multiple instruments but mainly bass, guitar, and keyboard. I’d also always had an interest in film. The only books I’d intended to write (someday) was a poetry book, an anthology of horror stories, and maybe a science fiction novel. For years I’d planned independent horror films as well as albums (electronic music and progressive stuff mainly).



I’d also been working on a number of screenplays. There was always something getting in the way whether it was lack of money or lack of helping hands. I worked nights in a factory for years and tried to create in my free time. I live to create. I’ve been drawing characters and writing story ideas/outlines since I could hold a pencil. With numerous projects, and working on them primarily alone, frustration was mounting and completion seemed impossible.



In January of 2013, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Doctors and I traced symptoms back to high school and perhaps even into childhood. I still tried to work on projects but the disease was progressing. Things were becoming clearer to me. Being completely solo and having no money, any hopes for a film to be made had to be put on the back burner indefinitely. Also, with my health in decline, I knew I wouldn’t be able to do what I’d aimed to do musically (actually playing live shows, etc.) I could still record but playing live with everything I got going on wouldn’t end well. Which sucks because I had some pretty good songs going.



I haven’t done much with film at all, just some minute shorts and things, but I still play music every now and then. I hope to someday release a bass album. I’ve had some electronic music on YouTube under the name Vestibular Blue. I think I’d like to get back to more electronic music, particularly Synthwave. Movies and music were eluding me, and with a busy work schedule and this disease, getting time to really commit to screenwriting eluded me as well. I began having troubles with my hands when I’d previously just had trouble in my legs. I was feeling frantic trying to find a project in which I didn’t have to rely on anyone else and something that my illness couldn’t hold me back from.



After losing my job, my wife suggested I work full time towards my goal of being a writer. She suggested I send the poetry I’d read to her out. I did and I got published by Supposed Crimes. From there I ended up writing my first novel and I was hooked. Writing books turned out to be what I was looking for. I can write whatever I want and not worry about a budget or other people to depend on. It just requires imagination, time, and work. The limitations of the disease brought me to writing books and refocused my writing and brought my attention to the craft.



It’s still hard. I have a lot of bad days. Some days I’m in too much pain, others my nerves are out of whack and I can’t focus on anything. But in the end, it seems as if Multiple Sclerosis led me to what I love doing most. Despite this debilitating disease, I’m writing more than ever, working towards a better life.



To date I’ve had five books with Supposed Crimes (3 poetry, 2 novels) and five self-published (1 novel, 1 play, and 3 collections). Everything was done and my career (slow going as it may be) started after my diagnosis. It slows me down but I haven’t let it stop me. Multiple Sclerosis tries to drag me down every day, but I keep fighting, and keep writing.



Writing with Multiple Sclerosis is like having a bipolar editor in your head, and hands that often seem to write whatever they want. Days of crippling depression and anxiety and pain. It’s a struggle, but I’m blessed to be able to fight. Many with the disease aren’t as lucky as myself, and I acknowledge that and am quick to remember when I’m going through hard times.



I was diagnosed seven years ago and just saw the release of my tenth book. Agent Phoenix is my third novel, and fifth project with Supposed Crimes. I’ve talked on here before about Book X and the future. I’ve thought before how nobody will know who I am until my tenth book; well, we shall see. Until then I’m going to keep shutting MS down and keep working.

Where is Agent Phoenix?

In the mood for a fun and exciting novel? Try Agent Phoenix. Where can you buy Agent Phoenix? Here are some links.

https://supposedcrimes.com/products/agent-phoenix

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083RF3N26/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/agent-phoenix-christopher-michael-carter/1136312245?ean=9781952150005

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/agent-phoenix-christoph-michael-carter/1136013275?ean=2940163441532

https://www.fictiondb.com/author/michael-carter~agent-phoenix-christopher~2660756~b.htm

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Agent-Phoenix-by-Christopher-Michael-Carter-English-Paperback-Book-Free-Shippi-/392730253417

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/999877

https://www.overdrive.com/media/5222257/agent-phoenix

https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/agent-phoenix_christopher-michael-carter/26141782/#isbn=1952150000&idiq=37479657

AGENT PHOENIX

It's finally here! Agent Phoenix is available as of April 1st, 2020!

 
Agent Phoenix has been a trip. It was written late 2018/early 2019 in spurts. It was a struggle, and a teachable write.

I'd become the stereotypical struggling writer. I felt like I was working my ass off but saw failure after failure. I drank too much, smoked too much, and beat myself up too much. I had just released a novel called Blue Sweep, and that book took me to some dark places. I poured myself into it until it hurt. Unable to find anyone to read it, let alone pick it up, I self-published it - mainly so I could have proof of its existence after all the mental anguish while writing it. I was currently writing a pair of science fiction novels. One planned for Supposed Crimes (publisher of my first novel as well as Agent Phoenix, and more), and the other to find a home somewhere else.

Both sci-fi books were rich and complex, and a headache. I loved them but I was struggling. I woke up every day determined to put in the work but was growing more depressed the more I worked on them. My wife at one time questioned if Blue Sweep had broken me a little. I had to pause work on them for the time being. I felt like I was falling apart. I wanted to write, I needed to write, but everything I was coming up with was just too much. It was just migraines and depression and bad habits and I couldn't get outside of my own head to focus.

I'd always heard stories of authors who whipped up a book quickly. I thought, I'd like to do that. Just fingers-to-keys-balls-to-the-wall. Of course, then, it's "What's it about?" Back in my first novel Last Rites of the Capacitance I had a few action scenes. My publisher told me I wrote action scenes well and I should keep that in mind in the future. Well, that future had arrived. I thought, I've got it! I wanted to make a short 100 page action adventure story. I came up with my hero Agent Phoenix and his surroundings Carbine City, and I was off. I didn't tell Supposed Crimes I was writing it. Usually I'd send in ideas but this time I just decided I'd write it quickly and turn it in.

That didn't happen.

I managed to keep it under wraps; however, it wasn't a quick write at all. I started it around the spring or summer of 2018. I found out quickly that I'm not that type of writer. So I was getting frustrated from the jump. I'd try to write what came to mind and get it all out but the book forced me to slow down. I can't explain it. It was a fight between me and the book. I'd love it, write, then hate that it was controlling the way it was wanting to be written. It's a science-fiction-action-adventure book. Very pulpy. Despite aggravations, and plenty of times of walking away, I was drawn to Agent Phoenix. Which is why in the beginning of this I said in spurts. I'd write for a while, it would go well, then I was angry with it and left; then come back.

Nobody really knew about it. Nobody had read any of it. I just fought with it until it was written. During the long process, I needed something to go to when I'd had my fill of the good Agent. That's when I came up with my third volume of poetry Loose Lipped Secrets and Twinkling Lights. My third novel and my third poetry book were written together. I had similar struggles with the poetry book in terms of wanting to do something fast and then finding out I'm not that guy.

I was some ways into Agent Phoenix and Loose Lipped Secrets and Twinkling Lights when work stopped. Forever tied to the writing of these two books, my father passed away and stopped me in my tracks. I was bereft. I didn't think about writing, just trying to cope. Everything finally had come to a head when I realized I either was going to shut down completely or I was going to dive into my work, so that's what I did. I jumped back into both books with blinders on. My approach was changing and the fighting with both of them was stopping.

Loose Lipped Secrets and Twinkling Lights took me to some dark places but out of that came my best poetry. Stylistically, Agent Phoenix went on without a hitch. It was the actual work and approach that was the hiccup. However, it was turning out just like I wanted. It's bright and colorful and full of action. It just went on for a long time, much longer than anticipated, and ended up twenty pages over my target.

My approach for the story of Agent Phoenix was like that of a TV show. Agent Phoenix battles colorful foes in the neon-drenched futuristic city of Carbine City but the underlying threat is his arch nemesis Baxter Combs. One thing I found interesting was how sci-fi it got. My plan was pulpy action adventure, like a comic book or a movie or series, but when I was reading it to my wife, I was like 'There's a lot of sci-fi in this.' She said, "I thought you knew." I shrugged. I love sci-fi so I guess it came natural but it wasn't my intention. I was just focused on trying to write a fun book.

I finished the poetry book first and turned it in. Then about a month or so later I finished Agent Phoenix and sent it in. I was nervous and waited while toying with various story ideas. While waiting to hear back, I noticed the change Agent Phoenix had on my writing going forward. I tried not to think of how they were liking my two submissions. The poetry book was picked up first and got a good response. Agent Phoenix was taking longer, and I became more anxious. What if it sucks? What if they hate it? When I finally got word back, it was good news. My publisher loved it and said something I was hoping to hear - "It's a really fun book." - and that they'd be publishing it. I was elated.

The release dates were set. Loose Lipped Secrets and Twinkling Lights came out September 1st 2019 and Agent Phoenix was scheduled for February 1st 2020. We ended up pushing the date back to April, which I was happy with as it gave me time to work on my current books. Now that it's out, it feels weird. Old and new at the same time. With enough distance between the work and its release, it's hard to see the fighting at all when I look back. I'm excited for people to read it and have a good time.

Since finishing both the poetry book and Agent Phoenix, I've been hard at work on more that I will tell you about soon. I hope you all check out Agent Phoenix. I thank you for reading, now I've gotta get back to work.

-Christopher

Quarantine Writing

I’ve been cooped up writing this past year. When the Coronavirus hit and the social distancing and quarantines started, nothing changed for me. My wife and daughter work with the public and I have Multiple Sclerosis so I’m “at risk”. But so far I’m safe. It just feels weird hearing and reading the chaos and nothing really coming close to home. I live a very monk-like life and I write all the time. I’ve got a lot of things going on and I can’t wait for you to see them. Right now I can say that my poetry book, Loose Lipped Secrets and Twinkling Lights, is still available and my next novel, Agent Phoenix, is out April 1st.

Time to get back to my “quarantine” writing. Stay safe, everyone!