Category: Gabriel Hawke Series

October!

Three-quarters of 2025 is over! Where did the time go? I swear, as I get older, the days, weeks, and months go by faster and faster. I never have enough time in a day to do everything that I want to do.

I have been busy packing in events to attend through the rest of the year. I missed out on a few but I’m excited for the ones I have signed up to do.

  • October 6th – Harvest of Books – Crossroads Carnegie Art Center, Baker City, OR – 9 AM – 3 PM
  • Nov. 8th & 9th – Bruneau Cowboy Christmas – Bruneau, ID 10-5 & 10-4
  • Dec. 5th & 6th – 4-H Christmas Bazaar – Baker City, OR – 12- 5 PM & 9 AM -5 PM
  • Dec. 13th – 2025 Authors & Artists Fair – Atrium at Lane Events Center Eugene, OR – 10 AM – 5 PM

The 4-H Christmas Bazaar, I still have to sign up for. They aren’t taking applications until October 6th. But I plan to be at their door to sign up that day. These are all new events that I’ve not attended before. The Bruneau Cowboy Christmas is HUGE! My daughter is sharing the booth with me and selling her fudge, lip balm, and pork gift packs. We are also taking her oldest daughter and my oldest daughter to help with stocking and selling. They say they get 20,000 people to the event.

Then the other big event will be the Authors & Artists Fair. It’s in conjunction with a big Christmas Bazaar at the Lane County Fair. I was invited to this because of being at the State Fair book event. Happy! Happy!

Other good news on the writing front, Wolf Moon has been released, and so far, the reviews are good and people are purchasing the book! In case you are interested:

In the remote, snowbound wilderness of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Mountains, a sled dog race turns deadly.

State Trooper Gabriel Hawke is teaching winter survival to Search and Rescue recruits when he’s called in to find a missing musher. Arriving at the race camp, he discovers the musher isn’t just a name on a list—she’s someone his friend Justine cares about deeply.

As Hawke searches rugged trails and icy backcountry, the case quickly shifts from a rescue to a murder investigation. Then a second body turns up, and it’s clear the killer is hiding among the racers, handlers, or volunteers. The deeper Hawke digs, the more he uncovers buried secrets and dangerous rivalries.

Now, with a killer on the loose and Justine possibly in the crosshairs, Hawke must navigate blizzards, betrayal, and bloodshed—before the race ends in even more tragedy.

Available in ebook and print. My narrator, Larry Gorman, is working on the audiobook.

Ebook from my website for $1 less https://www.patyjager.net/product/wolf-moon-ebook/ or the Universal buy link: https://books2read.com/u/bWO1dD

Print from my website: https://www.patyjager.net/product/wolf-moon/

And releasing on October 10th is my new cozy Cuddle Farm Mystery series, book 1, Merry Merry Merry Murder:

This book is doing a Blog Tour from Oct. 10th – 23rd. You can find out all about the tour here:

Merry Merry Merry Murder (Cuddle Farm Mysteries) by Paty Jager – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Great Escapes Book Tours

If you would like to be one of the first to get an ebook copy of Merry Merry Merry Murder, you can purchase it now at my website. https://www.patyjager.net/product-category/cuddle-farm-mystery-ebook/

Where comfort and cheer meet scandalous secrets—A holiday mystery set in a small town.

In the close-knit town of Auburn, Oregon, Andi Clark’s therapy animals bring comfort to the community, especially during the holiday season. When a young girl seeks solace from Athena, Andi’s therapy dog, after witnessing an unsettling scene behind the sleigh, it marks the beginning of a much darker holiday.

As the town gathers for the Tree Lighting Ceremony, a scream shatters the festive atmosphere. Cocoa, Andi’s loyal Border Collie, pulls her toward a chilling sight: a woman standing over the lifeless body of the girl’s mother, strangled with Christmas lights.

Determined to help the grieving girl and her town recover from the shock, Andi, her therapy animals, and her niece, a county deputy, take it upon themselves to investigate. As they uncover secrets and untangle clues, they stay one step ahead of the new sheriff and worry that the killer lurking in their midst could be someone they know.

Preorder here: https://books2read.com/u/mZ6qpJ

Two reads to keep you indoors as the weather turns colder. I am currently working on the next Spotted Pony Casino Mystery. Full House is turning out to be harder to write than I thought. When I came up with the plot, I knew it would complicate Dela and Heath’s wedding. What I didn’t realize was that by making Heath the suspect of a murder in a town an hour and a half away, it would make it difficult for Dela, Heath, and Quinn to investigate. Especially since Quinn was pulled from the investigation because of his past with Heath and Dela.

And that, my friends, is what I’m doing these days. Attending book-selling events and writing. Enjoy Fall!

September and a New Book!

I think I say this every month, but where has 2025 gone! We are headed into the fall months with holidays around the corner. This year has flown by for me. With so much going on with my writing and family life, I feel like some of the months are a blur.

Good news with my writing. Book 14 in the Gabriel Hawke Novels is releasing on September 19th. You can pre-order it from here: https://books2read.com/u/bWO1dD

In the remote, snowbound wilderness of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Mountains, a sled dog race turns deadly.

State Trooper Gabriel Hawke is teaching winter survival to Search and Rescue recruits when he’s called in to find a missing musher. Arriving at the race camp, he discovers the musher isn’t just a name on a list—she’s someone his friend Justine cares about deeply.

As Hawke searches rugged trails and icy backcountry, the case quickly shifts from a rescue to a murder investigation. Then a second body turns up, and it’s clear the killer is hiding among the racers, handlers, or volunteers. The deeper Hawke digs, the more he uncovers buried secrets and dangerous rivalries.

Now, with a killer on the loose and Justine possibly in the crosshairs, Hawke must navigate blizzards, betrayal, and bloodshed—before the race ends in even more tragedy.

I’m proud of this book. I did a lot of research and interviewed people involved in the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race to make this book come alive for my readers.

Next month, you’ll be able to purchase the first book in my Cuddle Farm Mystery series. I’ll tell you all about it and have a link to purchase the book when I post on October 1st. This book had to be pushed out to October because when my beta readers say there is something off about the book, I listen and rework it. Now my beta readers like it.

I believe the reason they didn’t like my main character the first time was because I hadn’t had enough time with her in my head to get to know her before I started writing the book. All my other mystery series, I’ve thought about the main characters for over a year or more before I began their books. I’d only had Andi in my head about four months when I started writing Merry Merry Merry Murder.

When I started writing the book, I didn’t know her well enough to make her come alive. After writing the book, getting feedback, and thinking about the story, and Andi, I now know so much more about her and was able to show her on the page with more clarity.

Here’s a teaser from the book, Merry Merry Merry Murder:

“Good, you two made it,” Mom said, linking her arm through mine. It had been twenty-five years since I’d witnessed this event. I was excited and happy to be with my family.

“Wouldn’t miss the tree lighting,” I said, gazing up at the dark tree highlighted by the streetlamps behind it.

“I’m going to find Monica,” Rudy said and disappeared.

“When is he going to ask that woman to marry him?” Mom asked.

“Are you ready to get rid of your roommate?” I asked.

“He might as well get married. He’s not sleeping in his bed that much anyway.” Mom huffed and I giggled.

“I’d know that giggle anywhere,” said a voice behind me.

I spun around and stared into the unseeing eyes of my childhood friend. “Betty!” I shouted and pulled the slender, dark-skinned woman into a hug. There was no mistaking the short-cropped curls with a touch of gray, underneath a wide-brimmed hat with Christmas decorations around the crown. Even as a girl, she’d worn outlandish hats. Her mom would give her the hats, and Betty would decorate them.

Betty whispered in my ear, “I’ve missed you.”

Leaning back, I peered under the brim of the hat. Tears glistened in her eyes. “I’ve missed you, too. Tell me how to get a hold of you, and we’ll catch up.” I looped an arm in hers as Cocoa pressed against her legs.

“Who is this?” Betty asked, her hand touching the top of Cocoa’s head.

“One of my therapy dogs. Her name is Cocoa.”

Betty moved her hand down Cocoa’s forehead between her eyes and down her snout. “You are a beautiful creature. I can tell by how calm you are and the aura about you.”

I said quietly. “You see an aura? Have you had surgery on your eyes?”

Betty smiled. “No. But I have a lot to tell you.”

“Let’s meet tomorrow at Bow Wow Brew, say one?” I said, wanting to find out what was up with Betty and seeing auras. “It’s a date.” Betty stood beside me as the mayor appeared on the pavilion

Yes, there is a bit of a paranormal element in this series. It didn’t start out that way, but Betty showed up in Andi’s backstory, and I liked her. So I gave her the ability to see auras even though she is blind. Something unique to her and makes her a bit of a help when Andi is talking to people.

If you aren’t already signed up for my newsletter, you might want to do that. Not only do I give away a mug with my mystery logos on it to one person a month, but author friends give away free books and short stories in my newsletter each month. When they don’t have something, I have free short stories you can get. Go here to sign up: https://bit.ly/2IhmWcm

Sweet Deal Coming

How can it be August already? That means summer is almost over. This has been a whirling, fast paced summer for me.

This weekend is the second wedding of the summer. Both were for grandchildren. I can’t be that old that I have grandchildren getting married, can I? This makes three married.

I’m looking forward to my upcoming book events. They are:

August 24th & 25th – Oregon State Fair, Salem, OR from 10 am-8 pm

September 6th – Quail Ridge Arts Festival, Baker City, OR 2-9 pm

November 8th & 9th – Bruneau Cowboy Christmas, Bruneau, ID 10 am- 5pm and 10 am – 4 pm

These are all new to me as venues to sell my books. Two of them are large and I purchased books in anticipation of selling a lot.

Next month I’ll have links to both the newest Gabriel Hawke book, Wolf Moon, and the new Merry Merry Merry Murder, Christmas mystery. The links will be for pre-orders. The Hawke book is being read by beta readers and the Christmas Mystery needs some tweaking done to it. But it will be out in October and Wolf Moon will be out the end of September.

Starting August 13th, you can get the first three audiobooks in a bundle from Chirp for $2.99. IF you are a Chirp listener, watch for the promo they send out in the middle of the month. If you aren’t a Chirp listener and would like to purchase the box set at this low price, you can find it here: https://www.chirpbooks.com/audiobooks/gabriel-hawke-box-set-1-3-by-paty-jager Just remember the low price doesn’t start until Aug, 13th. All the other audiobooks in the Hawke series will be priced lower at Chirp as well.

Because I am limited on time to write this and haven’t a whole lot to say, here are some photos.

This is my new folding bookcase, I will be using at the Cowboy Christmas in Bruneau, Idaho. I like how it displays the books in a more inviting way than the wooden racks I’ve been using.

These books are what I’ll have at the Oregon State Fair. I can get them all in two stands like on the right. When book bundles for the first 3 books in a series. I’m only allowed 4 ft of a table to set up on and told to bring as many titles as I could.

Enjoy the August weather and get out and enjoy the great outdoors. I hope to get more outdoor time here soon.

The Year is Zooming by!

Wow, can you believe it! July is here already. Our family had a wedding in June. I baked and decorated the cake. I found an easy-to-make vanilla bean cake and lavender-infused buttercream frosting. They paired well, and people enjoyed the cake. The decorating had me frazzled because it was a “naked cake.” I made more of a fuss out of how I felt it would look than I needed to. It turned out fine and the bride thought it was awesome, so all was good.

Author Mary Vine and I tried out the Sumpter, Oregon Renaissance Faire over the 4th of July. We made some sales to new readers, and we had a couple of repeat customers. It was cold and rainy on the first day, and very few people. The second day was the perfect temperature for them to come out. I realized when I was leaving that most of the Renaissance people were over in an area hidden from where the book trailer was. What we mainly had come through were people dressed normally. We will most likely do it again next year. They had a reasonable rate for the spaces.

I’m excited to be attending the Tamkaliks Powwow in Wallowa again this year. I love listening to the music and watching the dancers. And every year I pick up a little more information that helps me better understand my characters.

I also start judging at county fairs this month. I enjoy visiting with the 4-H members and traveling around the state.

This month I’m busy writing the next Gabriel Hawke book, Wolf Moon. I hope to have a cover for it soon. Once I get the first draft finished, I’ll put it up for pre-order. I know my readers have been waiting for the next book.

Today is the last day to purchase the first three Spotted Pony Casino audiobooks for $2.99. If you want to get them here is the direct link: https://www.patyjager.net/product/spotted-pony-casino-mystery-box-set-1-3/

You can also purchase Spotted Pony Casino audiobooks 1-3 individually through KOBO during July for $4.99 each.

Poker Face: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/poker-face-30

House Edge: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/house-edge-2

Double Down: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/double-down-57

At the moment that is all the specials I have going on. With summer being so crazy I have trouble remembering to sign up for specials and changing the prices!

As always you can purchase any of my books in any format from my website. https://www.patyjager.net

And if you want to keep up with the book specials, where I’ll be live selling my books, get your name in the hat for a mug, or want to get a short story from me or a fellow author, sign up for my newsletter that goes out the first Thursday for the month. https://bit.ly/2IhmWcm

Have a great July!

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.

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.

The Archeology and Cultural Keepers Roadshow

I may live in a large county with a small population in SE Oregon but there is always something interesting going on. On Saturday, I attended The Archeology and Cultural Keepers Roadshow in the Hines, OR Park.

The opening comments told me it has been happening in Harney County for many years. Why this is the first year I discovered it before it happened, I don’t know. It is the type of event that I like to wander through.

There were booths telling about archeological finds in the area, about rocks, and groups in the area. There were several booths hosted by the Burns Paiute tribe. The people in the Burns area are mostly descendants of the Wadatika Band. They originally roamed 5250 square miles in central-southeastern Oregon, Northern Nevada, northwestern California and western Idaho. They are one of the few tribes who were allowed to keep their language. Because the the Bannock War of 1878 forced the Wadatika from the land the government granted them in 1869 called the Malheur Reservation, when the Paiutes returned after being forced to Washington, they Malheur had been taken back by the government. The Wadatika who returned set up a temporary tribal encampment outside of Burns, OR. The tribe eventually purchased the land and it is now the Burns Paiute Reservation.

Because they are welcomed by the community, the tribal members work with the Harney County Chamber to share their culture with everyone. It was through the Harney Chamber and tribal member Beverly Beers that I participated in the pine needle basket making event.

At the Roadshow, I visited with Beverly at her booth that showcased the methods of baskets and weirs that the Wadatika made from natural resources. Pine needles, tule, and sticks. Another booth showcased the first foods the tribe has lived on for centuries. I learned about the biscuitroot and was even given one to sample. It was small and white and when peeled tasted like a parsnip. I should have taken a photo of it before I ate it! They also had chokecherries. I didn’t realize they were so small! And a blanket made from rabbit skins. It looked warm and felt soft.

Dogbane plant
Dogbane in the various stages

Another booth showed how to make fiber from three plants. The milkweed, Dogbane, and stinging nettle. The woman at the booth explained the whole process to me.

Dogbane is the prettiest in color and I was told is the easiest to work with and the strongest of the three types of fiber.

You removed the leaves from the stems, then she used a rolling pin to crack the stem open by rolling the pin down the stem. She said at home she uses an old wringer machine, like they used to wring out wet clothing that had been washed.

Stinging nettle the next strongest
Milkweed, the weakest of the fibers and the hardest to work with.

After the stem is cracked the center or the plant is scraped out and then the outer layer of the stem is made wet and the “skin” of the plant is scraped off with a table knife or a flat piece of obsidian. All that is left is the fiber.

The fiber can be used to weave cloth or braid to make strings.

braiding made with the fibers.

If you know the plants and know how to extract the fibers from the stems, you can make a shoestring, or a snare, or any number or items to help you if you are out in the wilderness. I am already conjuring up ways Hawke can use this method of making a snare or fishing if he is in the woods and can’t travel back to civilization.

I enjoy events where I can learn something new and possibly put it in a book and enlighten others.

Preparing for Sumpter Flea Market

It’s that time of year. I’m headed to Sumpter, Oregon for their annual Memorial Weekend Flea Market. Author Mary Vine asked me to join her at the Flea Market almost ten years ago and we’ve been going ever since on both Memorial weekend and Labor Day weekend. It will be interesting to see how things go. The event has been given to a new person to run.

Hubby pulled the book trailer out from under the lean-to and we discovered the tar we’d put on the roof last year didn’t weather the winter well, even being under cover.

Which meant I took a wire brush to it, to get the worst of the flaking tar off.

Then I painted it with a rubber sealant. We’re hoping this will do the job and still be there after this winter.

Not only do I have to get the trailer ready, cleaning it out- lots of dead flies- and making sure the things we need are in it, I have to get the books ready to go.

I have at least three copies of every book I have in print except for, of course, Murder of Ravens. I need to buy a whole box of those because I am constantly running out. I’m waiting for an order to show up before we leave tomorrow. My fingers are crossed it is a box with Murder of Ravens in it, since they shipped two boxes with one coming today and one tomorrow. If the books are in the one today, I hope the other one shows up before we have to leave, otherwise, I’ll load up on book two, Mouse Trail Ends.

I’m taking my laptop and the beginning of the next Spotted Pony Casino book, Down & Dirty, to work on if I’m not to tired each night. The new person in charge wants us at the booths by 8 am and leave at dusk. That means longer days than before. So we shall see how much writing I get done.

Nia is also going with me. She enjoys meeting all the people and being with me rather than left alone in the house when hubby is farming and can’t take her with him.

Mary and Nia

I’m excited to tell you that you can pre-order the ebook of Cougar’s Cache, book 12 in the Gabriel Hawke Novels. And if you would like a print book, you can order it from my website and I’ll ship an autographed copy to you as soon as I get my copies.

This double cold case and current homicide have Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Trooper Gabriel Hawke calling in favors… and exploring a childhood he shoved into the deep recesses of his mind. 

While patrolling on the Snake River in Hells Canyon, Gabriel Hawke’s dog digs up a human bone. Hawke is confronted by an aunt he doesn’t remember, and he finds a canister of film when the rest of the remains are excavated. The film shows someone being killed and a rifle pointed at the photographer.

Going through missing person files, Hawke discovers the victims of the decades-old double homicide. A person connected to the original crime is murdered, giving Hawke more leads and multiple suspects.

Attending a local Powwow with his family, Hawke discovers more about his childhood and realizes his suspects have been misleading him.

https://books2read.com/u/bQGkXw