Not all Creative Works Last

I just attended a bridal/baby shower for a granddaughter. Her wedding is next month. So there is that excitement brewing in our family. And we have a grandson getting married in August. These grandkids are almost as bad as our kids. We had three children get married in the same year. It’s easy to remember what anniversary they are celebrating! 2003 was an epic year. Not only three weddings, but we moved into the house we’d built. The house had been planned for seven years, and we finally had the means and the time to build it and move out of the old double-wide mobile home that was on the property when we purchased it.

I’d dubbed that house my dream house. It was. A spacious kitchen and dining room that was open to the living room, which had large windows that faced the Cascade Mountain Range. They were in the distance but you could see them. The main bedroom and bathroom were on the ground floor, and upstairs was a loft where I wrote from, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. I poured all of my creative energy into that house, thinking I’d be living there the rest of my life.

But Central Oregon grew, and my hubby and I didn’t like the growth. We purchased land in SE Oregon and built a house there. A nice house, one, we again thought we’d live in until we couldn’t get along by ourselves. But ten years later, we have purchased a house in Baker City. It’s a small, unique town, one that we enjoy. The house we purchased has a gorgeous view of the Eagle Cap Mountains and the Elkhorn Mountains. It is walking distance to the main part of town and there is a golf course close by to walk around.

Hubby decided that when he retired he didn’t want to do anymore farming. And even if we had leased the land to someone, he’d never be happy with how they were taking care of it, so we made the decision to move to a small town. Right now we are finishing out this year with his current employer, with hopes of putting the place in SE Oregon up for sale, and moving permanently to Baker City.

Right now we try to get over there once to twice a month. There is yard work and some remodeling that needs to be done, but at least this time we aren’t building a whole house! I don’t think my body could do that again.

The first house had a great room with a 28 ft high peak. We were on scaffolding, putting the knotty pine tongue and groove boards up. I’d lift them up to hubby who would then reach up and slide them to the top scaffolding. Then when we had as much as we could get up there and stand to put it up, I’d climb up to the top and hold the boards while he nailed them. I lost weight while building that house! I did all the tile work and painting.

That house? My dream home? Was recently purchased by another person and they tore it all down. It makes me sick to think of all the time and money that went into that house, and it’s gone.

Now I’m putting all my creative energy into the Baker City house and my writing. I hope the house in Baker City is as inviting and comfortable when I’m done as the last two houses we’ve lived in.

This month, you can purchase the Gabriel Hawke ebooks from my website for 25% off. It’s a deal for you and more ching-ching in my pocket when you purchase directly from the author. https://www.patyjager.net/product-category/gabrial-hawke-ebook/

Today is the last day to purchase Poker Face book 1 in the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series in audiobook for $0.99! That’s right! Less than a dollar gets you 7 hours of entertainment. You can purchase it at my website also. Use this link to see all the great audiobooks on sale: https://indieaudiobookdeals.com

Or go directly to my website:

https://www.patyjager.net/product-category/spotted-pony-casino-audiobook/

As interim head of security at the Spotted Pony Casino, disabled veteran, Dela Alvaro, needs to find out who killed a casino accountant or lose her job.

Tomorrow you can use this same link: https://indieaudiobookdeals.com and get the audiobook of Murder of Ravens for FREE! That’s right as a way to introduce new listeners to my Gabriel Hawke novels, I’m giving away the audiobook for two weeks. Hop over to the audiobooks link or use this link to get your free audiobook. https://www.patyjager.net/product-category/gabriel-hawke-audiobook/

Wishing you a lovely May!

Great Deals and Fun Times

I had a fabulous time at the Left Coast Crime conference in Denver, Colorado last month. I was lucky enough to be on two panels. One was about Animal Sidekicks. Here’s a photo of that panel.

Me, Lori Roberts Herbst, Meredith Taylor, Kate Lansing, C.B. Wilson

You can bet I talked about Dog, Mugshot, Sheba and the equines, Dot, Jack, Horse and Jethro.

I didn’t get a photo of the other panel titled Crime in Small Towns: Setting, Secrets, Scandal. The panel for that one was Glen Erik Hamilton, Rodney Carpentier, Becky Clark, and Tony Wirt. We had a lively discussion about why we liked to write about small towns and how they made our stories work better than a large city would. I always find it interesting to learn about other writers worlds and who they see them.

And there was fun time. The Sisters in Crime Colorado put on a Mystery Merge Carnival Extravaganza. I met up with some of my Ladies of Mystery blog pals and participated in some of the games and frivolity. Here is a photo of Pam Beason and myself in the mugshot booth.

BOOK DEALS

This month I have a lot of different book deals going on.

My Isabella Mumphrey books in ebook and print (when purchased from me) are 25% off. They are Romantic Suspense with an Indiana Jones/MacGyver heroine. Check them out here: ​https://www.patyjager.net/romantic-suspense/​

As part of the Indie Audiobook Deals, I have the Audiobook box set of the first three books in the Gabriel Hawke Novels on sale for $4.99. It’s a steal! ​https://www.patyjager.net/product/gabriel-hawke-novels-box-set-1-3/​ or use the IAD link for a couple of other vendors: ​https://indieaudiobookdeals.com​

And if you are a Kobo AUDIOBOOK listener, the first books of each of my Mystery Series are on sale this month at Kobo. https://kobo.com/p/stock-up-audiobook-deals

Good things ahead!

April 12th and 13th, I’ll be at the Warner Grange in Canby, Oregon with over 40 authors. It’s the Spring into Reading event. We’ll be there from 11 am -5 pm. I’d love to see some of my readers.

Book Info

The audiobook for Wolverine Instincts finally passed inspection and is now uploaded for purchase. You can purchase it directly from my website: https://www.patyjager.net/product/wolverine-instincts-audiobook/ for $9.99 or use the universal ink to purchase at your favorite audio vendor: https://books2read.com/u/m2yARG

In the heart of the wilderness, the hunter becomes the hunted.

Gunshots shatter the quiet of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness, drawing Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke into action. Following the sound, he stumbles upon a shredded cage, the sharp musk of a wolverine, and a dead hiker.

Tracking footprints through the rugged terrain, Hawke uncovers a second victim. It’s clear—he’s hunting a killer who’s hunting humans.

With Dog by his side, Hawke’s search leads to two brothers, one gravely injured. Enlisting the help of pilot Dani Singer, he gets the injured man to safety before returning to the wilderness.

Teaming up with a reclusive, disabled veteran who knows the Eagle Cap as well as he does, Hawke pieces together the killer’s twisted game. They suspect a poacher—one as ruthless and elusive as the wolverine he’s still chasing.

In a deadly wilderness where survival is the only rule, Hawke must outsmart a predator who knows no bounds.

SPOTTED PONY CASINO

I’m currently working on book 7 Crap Shoot. It was slow going until I received information. Now I’m making my fingers fly and my story move along so I can get the book out by my deadline.

CUDDLE FARM MYSTERIES

Book 1, Merry Merry Merry Murder in the new Cuddle Farm Mysteries had come back from my beta readers and there are some things I need to fix. Two thought the beginning slogged, and two thought there should be more contention between my main character and the sheriff, and there were a couple of timeline things to fix. But overall, they all loved it! Good news for my readers!

I’ll have a “Christmas in July” event to promote the release of the book on July 15th. As soon as my PA gets the event set up, I’ll have a link here for you to join the fun! I’ll have gifts and fun times.

SHORT STORY

I also have a short story that will be coming out in the next Windtree Press anthology- Navigate. The story is about a character from my Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series. The title of the short story is: Changing Course.

GABRIEL HAWKE NOVELS

I have been brainstorming the next Gabriel Hawke book which I’ll start writing when I finish Crap Shoot. My brother knows the person in charge of the dog sled race that happens in Wallowa County. I’ll be interviewing that person and hopefully someone in the county who participates in the race. If you couldn’t tell by this info, the next book will be set during and about the dog sled race that happens in Wallowa County in February.

FUN FOR ME

That’s about it for writing information. On the creative front, I’m getting ready to take another pieced top in to be quilted, and I’m busy cutting 5″ by 5″ squares for a pastel colored quilt for the granddaughter who graduates next year. When I’m not writing, I’m quilting. I love discovering fabric and bringing them together in an attractive pattern.

March Madness for Me

Can you believe it is the third month of the year already? This year is flying by and I’m feeling behind. I’m starting off the year with some packed months and that’s why it goes so fast. I am working on a short story for another Windtree Press Anthology. This one ties into the Spotted Pony Casino mystery books. I’m also working on the next book in that series- Crap Shoot. I love figuring out stories that go with the gambling terms I picked to use as titles for this series.

This month you can find me at the Left Coast Crime Conference in Denver, CO from the 13th-15th. I’ll be on two panels: Thursday 3:34-4:30 the panel is Animal Sidekicks and Friday 2:45-3:30 it’s Crime in Small Towns: settings, secrets, scandals. I’m also hosting a coffee and tea gathering at the coffee bar Friday afternoon from 4:00-4:45 and hosting a table at the banquet on Saturday night with author Sheri Lewis Wohl.

The conference is always a fun time to connect with author friends and readers.

I am also part of a book signing at And Books, Too! in Clarkston, WA with author Carmen Peone on March 22nd from 1-3 pm.

Today is the last day to get Stolen Butterfly, book 7 in the Gabriel Hawke novels in audiobook for $2.99.

Missing or Murdered

When the local authorities tell State Trooper Gabriel Hawke’s mother to wait 72 hours before reporting a missing Umatilla woman, she calls her son and rallies members of the community to search.

Hawke arrives at the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation and learns the single mother of a boy his mom watches would never leave her son. Angered over how the local officials respond to his investigating, Hawke teams up with a security guard at the Indian casino and an FBI agent. Following the leads, they discover the woman was targeted by a human trafficking ring at the Spotted Pony Casino.

Hawke, Dela Alvaro, and FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce join forces to bring the woman home and close down the trafficking operation before someone else goes missing.

IndieAudiobookDeals.com

Later this month at this URL IndieAudiobookDeals.com you can also purchase the first three audiobooks of the Shandra Higheagle Mysteries for $4.99. That starts March 20th and runs through April 2nd.

I’ve finished Merry Merry Merry Murder book 1 in the Cuddle Farm Mysteries. I’m planning a big Christmas in July event on my author Facebook page. Follow me there so you can win prizes and free copies of the book. Author Paty Jager

And if you want to keep up with my writing and the specials I have along with getting your name in the drawing for a free mug you can join my newsletter: https://bit.ly/2IhmWcm

These are the mugs I’ve given away so far.

New Release, Audiobook Deals, and an Event!

I’m excited to say that book # 13 in the Gabriel Hawke Novels has been released and you can get it in ebook and print. My narrator Larry Gorman is working on the audio version this month.

This book marks my 60th published novel-length book! I might just make 100 published books by the time I can’t write anymore.

Wolverine Instincts was a book that I found hard to write, only because most of it is up in the Eagle Cap Wilderness and I had to rely on Google Earth and photographs to try and get the setting as realistic as I could.

Here is the cover and blurb:

In the heart of the wilderness, the hunter becomes the hunted.

Gunshots shatter the quiet of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness, drawing Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke into action. Following the sound, he stumbles upon a shredded cage, the sharp musk of a wolverine, and a dead hiker.

Tracking footprints through the rugged terrain, Hawke uncovers a second victim. It’s clear—he’s hunting a killer who’s hunting humans.

With Dog by his side, Hawke’s search leads to two brothers, one gravely injured. Enlisting the help of pilot Dani Singer, he gets the injured man to safety before returning to the wilderness.

Teaming up with a reclusive, disabled veteran who knows the Eagle Cap as well as he does, Hawke pieces together the killer’s twisted game. They suspect a poacher—one as ruthless and elusive as the wolverine he’s still chasing.

In a deadly wilderness where survival is the only rule, Hawke must outsmart a predator who knows no bounds.

Universal buy link: https://books2read.com/u/m2yARG

Purchase the ebook directly from me: https://www.patyjager.net/product/wolverine-instincts-ebook/

Purchase the print book directly from me: https://www.patyjager.net/product/wolverine-instincts/

Today, 2/5/2025 is the last day you can purchase House Edge in audiobook for the low price of $1.99 at my website or $2.99 at major audiobook vendors as part of the Indie Audiobook Deals that I’ve been participating in. We are a group of Indie Authors with audiobooks that are distributed wide, not only at Audible.

Starting tomorrow, Feb. 6th you can purchase book 1 of my Shandra Higheagle mystery series, Double Duplicity in audiobook for $0.99! Either at my website or the Indie Audiobook Deals. Stay tuned for more of these Indie Audiobook deals. I’m thinking about making my Gabriel Hawke audiobook bundles only available through my website at a great price. I’ll have more about that next month.

If you happen to live on the west side of Oregon, I’ll be at the Friends of the Lebanon Library Author Fair on February 22nd. Not only will I have my books there for sale, I’m giving a talk about conjuring up a mystery. Some of the things you need to write a mystery and how I use them in coming up with mystery stories. My talk starts at 2:30pm.

I finished book 1 in the upcoming Cuddle Farm Mysteries that will be released in July. Merry Merry Merry Murder was fun to write. I enjoyed coming up with the therapy animals and the fictional small-town setting. Here’s the logo for the series. The cover isn’t quite fine tuned yet.

We had snow dumped on use yesterday! The winter had been fairly mild other than a couple of weeks below freezing. Now we have 16 inches of snow and they say more is coming. It makes chores a little harder but it is pretty to look at! This snow is so wet that when you look at it, you see blue in the in the indentions. Like you would see looking at a glacier. It’s pretty. I need to try to take a photo of it.

Stay safe and warm and grab a good book to get you through the winter.

My Fun Filled Year

It’s hard to believe that this year is nearly over. It was filled with fun, new friends, new books, and great opportunities.

We started off the new year with a trip New Mexico and Texas to visit family. Might as well go where it’s warmer in the winter. 😉

photo from our trip

I attended a new author event in Lebanon, Oregon, held by the Lebanon Library. It was a fun event and one I’m doing again in 2025.

I joined an authors group who promote audiobooks, trying to get more sales of my audiobooks. I think it’s helping and we’ll be even better in the coming year when I can sell the audiobooks direct from my website.

In April I attended the Left Coast Crime conference in Seattle. It is always fun seeing author friends and meeting new readers. I’ll be headed to Denver this March for this same conference. They move around every year. I also had a wonderful week-long Oregon Coast trip with my friends. I write and then we go out and have fun. I like to do this twice a year but because of my Europe trip this year we only made it to the beach the one time.

May was a busy month promoting books and selling books. I attended the Beaver-con a mini comic con held for the first time in Central Oregon. I manned a booth for NIWA (Northwest Independent Writers Association) selling my books and those of other NIWA members. Then the end of the month I attended the Memorial Weekend Sumpter Flea Market as author Mary Vine and I have done for nearly ten years. This year it was poorly attended. We managed to sell books but not like normally.

June was another busy month with manning a NIWA booth at the La Pine Rhubarb Festival, promoting and writing books, and being one of the speakers at a conference in Beaverton.

July was a writing month. I sat down and wrote every day to get a book finished so I could attended the Tamkaliks Powwow in Wallowa Oregon. And July started my trekking around Oregon judging at county fairs. The categories I judge are sewing, crocheting, knitting, cake decorating, foods, art, photography, writing, and various other things like leathercraft and pottery. If it’s a small county with only one or two items then I do my best to judge the items.

fishing platforms on the Deschutes River

August more county fairs and the state fair where I judged writing. The month ended with our Labor Day Flea Market in Sumpter. It was poorer attended than Memorial Day. We are rethinking whether or not to continue with this event. They have started a new one on July 4th that sounds like it is gaining in popularity and we may switch to that once a year.

September is the month I waited for all year! My oldest daughter, a granddaughter, and I set out on my bucket list adventure. We started in the Netherlands where we stayed with one of my husband’s cousins. She and another cousin took us around the Amsterdam area. I’ve been writing about the trip on posts here. You can go back and read about them and continue reading about them as I will have several posts. From Netherlands we went to Spain where we stayed with one of my nieces. From Spain we went to England, specifically Bath. And then the train to Scotland.

scenic Ireland view

October found us in Ireland. We had a week in Ireland and enjoyed every minute of it. When I returned from my trip, Hubby and I looked at houses that interested us in Baker City. OR. We found one that ticked off all buy one box and decided to go for it. We now own the house we will be moving into in a couple of years when he retires from his current job. We rounded out the busy month of October with a family reunion.

November was all about writing and selling books at two large holiday events. I had a booth with another author at the Redmond Holiday Market and then manned a NIWA booth at the Portland, OR Expo for their Holiday Market.

This month was all about finishing book 13 in the Gabriel Hawke series. And celebrating the holiday with family.

This month I have audiobooks, Yuletide Slaying (Shandra Higheagle Mystery) Poker Face (Spotted Pony Casino Mystery) and Murder of Ravens (Gabriel Hawke novels) on sale for $0.99 through Kobo. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the books or start listening to the books in audio, now is your chance! I even have the second books, House Edge and Mouse Trail Ends, on sale for $1.99 through Kobo.

What Does May Have in Store?

Wow, I’m kind of leery of what May has in store for me. On May 1st hubby called saying he was being taken to the ER. He’d left early that morning to drive a cattle truck for a ranch. I asked what happened and he said a bull kicked him. Great! By the time I arrived at the ER he was all stitched up. three layers worth of stitches. They had a hard time getting some arteries to stop bleeding. He has a four-inch gash in his head with stitches and staples. But luckily, he moved out of the way and didn’t get the brunt of the kick, so he didn’t have a concussion or any other head injury. He told me he has a hard head.

Then on May 5th in SE Oregon four inches of snow came down and the power was out for five hours. A skiff this time of year isn’t unheard of but the 4 inches came down all at once. My poor horses were freezing after being rained on and then getting snow. I blanketed them up since I’d curried a good chunk of their winter hair off the week before thinking spring was here! Mother Nature fooled a lot of us. The good thing that came out of the power outage, it gave me time to finish a book I’d been trying to get read. 😉

Today the morning started pleasant with blue sky and puffy clouds. Hubby said he needed help unloading irrigation pivot pipes he’d picked up the day before. So the morning was spent, thankfully while the sun shone, unloading the pipes. I was the lucky person in the backhoe following directions. 😉

This coming weekend is our 45th anniversary. May 12, 1979 is when we were married in a church in Lostine, Oregon. My mom when to great pains to make it beautiful. She made my dress, and they remodeled the kitchen and dining room so it would be better for hosting the reception at the house in the back yard. The apricot trees were in bloom and it was a sunny day. That’s about all I remember of the day.

Anyway, for our anniversary we’re going to the coast for one night after I sell books at the Comic con in Redmond, Oregon. Which is about the halfway point from our house to the coast. We’ll stay two nights with my mother-in-law and then go on to the coast for a one night stay before loading up calves and alfalfa seed and coming home.

It’s a little bit better than our honeymoon, 45 years ago. We were headed to the coast from clear across the state. Lostine is in the NE corner of Oregon. So we had to travel the full width of the state. And at the halfway point, which was close to where we were living, the car started acting funny. We limped it home and never made it to the coast for our honeymoon. As soon as we arrived at our house, the phone rang and hubby agreed to haul a load of something to pay for repairs on the car. Since then, we try to go to the coast or somewhere we both want to see on our anniversary, but it doesn’t always work out since it normally ends up being Mother’s Day weekend. Something we didn’t think about when we picked a month between our birthdays.

Before I go, I want to let you know that because May 5th was MMIW Awareness Day, I have my book Stolen Butterfly on sale through the month May for $1.99 in ebook or audiobook. The proceeds from the sale are donated to the MMIW movement.

https://books2read.com/u/baZEPq

While I’m sharing good deals on audiobooks, I wanted to pass along that I also have an audiobook on sale with the Indie Audiobook Deals. You can get Murder of Ravens in audiobook for $0.99 until May 15th. IndieAudiobookDeals.com 

I hope the month of May will be kind to you. Be happy and enjoy life!

Keeping up with Paty

I thought spring had arrived in SE Oregon. I found buttercups on the hill while hiking and we had two beautiful days of sunshine and 60s temperatures. Then, rain, rain, rain, a little snow and sleet, and we’re back to the cold weather with dreary gray skies. I’d just begun to think about pulling weeds and turning over the soil in my garden bed. Too muddy to do either now.

But the snow keeps building up on the Steens. I wish I had a view of the mountains from my house, but I don’t. There is a tall hill that I have to climb to see them. However, my daughter has a wonderful view of them. As witnessed by this photo taken at her place.

Steens Mountain from my daughter’s.

I’m so happy that my little dog, Nia likes to do road trips. The small dog I had before, Tink, loved road trips. I took her everywhere. Sumpter Flea market where I sell books on Labor Day and Memorial Day weekends, on research trips to Silver City, Granite, and other places. She also attended several outside book selling events. I’m hoping once Nia gets out of the puppy/teenage stage she’ll be a good mascot as well. She has been to one outdoor selling event and has attended Sumpter with me twice. She is getting better, but she likes to meet everyone, dogs, people, squirrels. And doesn’t listen well. Once she starts listening better she will go on more trips.

As you read this, I am on a plane to Seattle, WA. I’ll be attending the Left Coast Crime conference in Bellevue, WA from the 11th – 13th. I’m excited to meet some authors I’ve worked with but have not met in person. They are other members of my Ladies of Mystery blog. If you like to learn more about mystery, suspense, and thriller writers and books, it is a fun place to hear stories about how some books come to fruition and learn a few of the writing snags authors have. https://ladiesofmystery.com/

This month I also have a couple of audiobook deals happening. One is part of a great Indie author audiobook group I joined. Right now, you can get some great deals on audiobooks. I have the first box set of my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series on sale for $0.99! Yes! That’s 3 audiobooks for $0.99 and it’s at most audiobook vendors. You can find all the deals here: IndieAudiobookDeals.com

I’m participating in the Kobo Stock UP and Listen sale. I have the first audiobook of the Shandra Higheagle Series, Double Duplicity on sale for $1.99 at Kobo only. During this sale, you can also find the first Gabriel Hawke audiobook, Murder of Ravens for $2.99. Here is the Kobo link to find all the books that are on sale right now. https://bit.ly/3TIvKuC

My next post will be coming to you from the Oregon Coast! I’m excited to do my semi-annual trip to Rockaway Beach. I’ll be writing and spending time with friends. If you follow me on my Author FB page, Author Paty Jager, you’ll see my daily photos of the coast and what I’m doing.

And if you want to get a free mystery/suspense/thriller book a month, you can join my newsletter. I have teamed up with 12 other authors to share one of our books each month on our newsletters. You’ll not only get the free book, but when you sign up you get a subscriber only free short story from me and each month I have a puzzle search for you. Subscribe here: https://bit.ly/2IhmWcm

Fun Writing Stuff

I was at an author event held by a library over the weekend. It was fun to hang out with one of my writer friends and meet other writers and readers. I even had an older man come over and start talking to me in Dutch. I understood what he was saying because my husband is Dutch and his parents moved here from The Netherlands. But I couldn’t respond to his question in the language. I can only understand it. He had seen my name on my banner and once we started talking, I believe his sister knows my mother-in-law. small world!

The event went well and I enjoyed my day before the event when I spent time with my friend who lives in that area. We went for a walk in the park and I had to take a photo of these gorgeous daffodils. Something to look at on days like today when we are having rain, snow and wind.

My latest book released. The Pinch book 5 in the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series. Here is the cover, blurb and buy link if you’d like to give it a read.

Dela Alvaro, head of security for the Spotted Pony Casino, is asked to do a security check of a casino on the Oregon Coast. She no sooner starts her rounds at the casino and a child of a dubious couple is kidnapped. Special Agent Quinn Pierce of the FBI has been out to get the father for some time.

One of Dela’s best friends from the Army is also at the casino and they catch up. The next morning, Dela finds her friend strangled. As Dela struggles with the violent death of yet another best friend, Tribal Officer Heath Seaver arrives and the two begin untangling the lies, kidnapping, and murder.

As Heath carries the kidnapped child to safety, Dela must face a cunning killer alone.

Universal buy link: https://books2read.com/u/38Y787

I have my mystery audiobooks at Chirp and am proud to join the authors at Indie Audiobook Deals in sharing this HUGE giveaway with you. Four entrants will win a $55 Chirp gift card! Chirp is the premier site to listen to fantastic audiobooks.🎧

They’re picking FOUR winners so make sure to complete all of the extra entries to enhance your chances of winning. Good luck and happy listening! 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://kingsumo.com/g/jz0pgc/win-1-of-4-55-chirp-gift-cards

I had a good conversation last week with the OSP Fish and Wildlife officer who has been helping me with my latest Hawke book. I now have enough information about patrolling the Snake River that I can start writing the story. I’ve been antsy to get back in Wallowa County with Hawke and tell another story about him, Dog, and the other characters who inhabit his world.

If you like to listen to audiobooks and get good deals on them, I suggest you enter the contest above and sign up for my newsletter https://bit.ly/2IhmWcm so you don’t miss a single deal when I discount my books.

Fun and Not so Fun

Since the beginning of the year. Jan 1, 2024, I pushed to get the next Spotted Pony Casino book finished. And it is off with my line editor and will be released February 22, 2024. So far my critique partner and beta readers have enjoyed it. 😉

The Pinch

Book 5 in the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery

Dela Alvaro, head of security for the Spotted Pony Casino, is asked to do a security check of a casino on the Oregon Coast. She no sooner starts her rounds at the casino and a child is kidnapped. The parents are a dubious couple. Special Agent Quinn Pierce of the FBI has been out to get the father for some time.

One of Dela’s best friends from the Army appears and they catch up, only to find her friend strangled the next morning after having divulged to Dela she may have photos of the kidnapping.

As Dela struggles with the violent death of yet another best friend, her lover, Tribal Officer Heath Seaver, arrives and the two begin untangling the lies, bribes, and murders.

In the end, as Heath carries the child to safety, Dela must face a cunning killer alone.

pre-order link: https://books2read.com/u/38Y787

Now that is fun to see the cover and read the blurb! It means that this book is wrapped up all but the edits and uploading it to vendors. Which means… I’ve started gathering research for the next Gabriel Hawke book. As yet, untitled, but I had a good conversation with an Oregon State Police officer with the Fish and Wildlife who is helping me with this particular book.

Hawke and Dog will be patrolling the Snake River with biologists. While helping the biologists with their work, Dog will come across a decades old body or should I say skeleton. It’s what they find with the body that helps Hawke follow the clues to its death and others. So stay tuned for that!

I also have a YouTube channel where I have been putting up samples of my first in series audiobooks so far. You can find them here: Paty Jager – YouTube

If you are an audiobook listener, I am setting up audiobook specials with different vendors for the coming months. As well as I have a Special coming up in February for Double Dupilicity in ebook and audio formats. It has a new cover and I’m having a “New Cover Special.” I’ll be posting about it in my next blog post.

I have been trying to get my newsletter signup form and thank emails set up and synchronized in the new format my newsletter provider has upgraded to. It is a pain! As soon as I get it figured out and set up, I’ll post it here so you can get my newsletter if you would like to have a fun puzzle to solve each month and have access to free short stories and specials.

And here is a photo of my writing partner. She has discovered she can go from the back of my chair to the window and snooze in the sunshine.

Audiobooks news and Christmas Delights

It’s the last month of the year and I’m having my biggest blowout sale of audiobooks I’ve had all year. (Mostly because I finally found out how to promote and move audiobooks.) Thank you, Rebecca Hefner!

I have three audiobooks on sale right now!

Murder of Ravens, book 1 in the Gabriel Hawke novels is only $0.99 on Chirp.

The ancient art of tracking is his greatest strength…

And his biggest weakness.

Fish and Wildlife State Trooper Gabriel Hawke believes he’s chasing poachers.

However, he comes upon a wildlife biologist standing over a body that is wearing a wolf tracking collar.

He uses master tracker skills taught to him by his Nez Perce grandfather to follow clues on the mountain. Paper trails and the whisper of rumors in the rural community where he works, draws Hawke to a conclusion that he finds bitter.

Arresting his brother-in-law ended his marriage, could solving this murder ruin a friendship?

Universal buy link for ebook, print, and audio: https://www.books2read.com/u/bxZwMP

And Double Duplicity, book 1 in my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series if available at Spotify for only $0.99!

Dreams…Visions…Murder
On the eve of the biggest art event at Huckleberry Mountain Resort, potter Shandra Higheagle finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. She’s ruled out as a suspect, but now it’s up to her to prove the friend she witnessed fleeing the scene was just as innocent. With help from her recently deceased Nez Perce grandmother, Shandra becomes more confused than ever but just as determined to discover the truth. While Shandra is hesitant to trust her dreams, Detective Ryan Greer believes in them and believes in her.
Can the pair uncover enough clues for Ryan to make an arrest before one of them becomes the next victim?

Universal book link for ebook, print, and audio: https://www.books2read.com/u/bww90b

Or if you would like to listen to the first 3 books in the Shandra Higeagle mystery series, you can purchase them for $2.99 at Barnes and Noble Nook.

Double Duplicity

Potter Shandra Higheagle’s deceased Nez Perce grandmother visits her dreams, revealing clues that help Shandra uncover not only one murder but two.

Tarnished Remains

Digging up Crazy Lil’s past takes Shandra Higheagle down a road of greed, miscommunication, and deceit.

Deadly Aim

The dead body of an illicit neighbor and an old necklace sends potter Shandra Higheagle on a chase to find a murderer.

Universal buy link for ebook, print or audiobook: books2read.com/u/m2ELO3

If you happen to be a Kobo member, I have partnered with the authors at Indie Audiobook Deals for a MASSIVE year-end giveaway. Five entrants will win a $50 Kobo gift card! Kobo is the premier site to listen to fantastic audiobooks.🎧

We’re picking FIVE winners so make sure to complete all of the extra entries to enhance your chances of winning. Good luck and wishing you a happy holiday season!

Enter here: https://kingsumo.com/g/pt4ez1/win-1-of-5-kobo-50-gift-cards

And if that isn’t enough to get you giddy about goodies for yourself and others this holiday, I have a recipe for you.

I like to make caramel corn every year for gifts for family and friends. If you want the crunchy caramel layer on the popcorn to be thick, double the caramel recipe but use the amount of popcorn the recipe calls for.

Caramel Corn

15 cups popped corn

1 cup brown sugar packed

½ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup light corn syrup

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

Heat oven to 200˚. Divide popped corn between 2 ungreased 13” x 9” baking pans. (I use 1 roasting pan because the higher sides make it easier to stir.) In a saucepan, heat sugar, butter, corn syrup, and salt, stirring occasionally, until bubbly around the edges of the pan. Continue cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat; stir in the baking soda until foamy. Pour over popped corn, stirring until the corn is well coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.  When cool it is ready to package up to gift.

Enjoy the audiobooks while you make the caramel corn or eat the caramel corn!