Category: Gabriel Hawke Series

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!

Fun Writing Things

Last month the 11th book in my Gabriel Hawke Mystery series released. It was a struggle to complete due to the complexity of the story. So far my beta readers and reviewers say I did a good job with a serious and triggering story.

Damning Firefly deals with a person of authority abusing his status and using it to sexually assault young women and teenagers. It went on for decades because no one would listen to the one person trying to stop him and the victims were ashamed or scared.

While Hawke is discovering all the sordid transgressions of the victim, he is still using his tracking and logic to find the real killer and save more lives.

Damning Firefly

A church fire.

An unconscious woman on Starvation Ridge.

Gabriel Hawke, fish and wildlife officer with the Oregon State Police, helps with a fire at the Lighted Path church before heading out to check turkey hunters. He discovers a car wedged between two trees and a woman with a head injury reeking of smoke. Is she the arsonist?

Hawke encounters the county midwife gloating over the burnt church and learns she and the victim in the car know one another.

Two seemingly separate events lead Hawke to a serial rapist and a county full of secrets. 

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

And releasing November 1st is a novella to hopefully give all my Shandra Higheagle Mystery fans more closure on that series. I released book 16, Vanishing Dream, the last book in that series, two years ago and fans still ask me for more.

Because there has been so many asking for more, I wrote a Christmas novella that is set 10 years after Vanishing Dream.

Christmas Chaos

Check out a super-special Christmas surprise— a continuation of the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. Ten years later the twins are at college but there’s trouble brewing.

Shandra Higheagle Greer is anxiously awaiting a visit from her twins as they head home from college for Christmas break. After a ten-year absence, her deceased grandmother is back in her dreams and the message seems clear. The twins are in trouble. After giving a young woman a ride to a nearby town, they have become suspects in her murder.

Even though he’s been removed from the case, Shandra and her husband, Weippe County Sheriff Ryan Greer, continue to investigate, determined to dig up proof that the twins had nothing to do with the homicide. Even if that means putting one of the twins in danger to uncover the truth.

I don’t have a pre-order link. If you want to know when it releases, you can follow me on this blog or sign up for my newsletter – https://bit.ly/2IhmWcm

Other fun stuff, I’ll be at an author promotion and marketing conference the second week of November and on November 10th I’ll be part of a 300 author book signing at the Horseshoe Casino in Vegas. There will be door prizes and raffles as well as authors selling and signing books. It is a big party all day long! What else would you expect from an event in Vegas! You can learn more here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ravevegasauthorsigning

And then! I’m home for 4 days and I’ll be at the Portland Holiday Market at the Portland Expo Center from Nov. 17th- 19th at the NIWA (Northwest Independent Writers Association) booth. I’ll have book bundles for gifts or for yourself and freebies. Stop in if you’re in the Portland, OR area.

As soon as I get all my Shandra Higheagle and Gabriel Hawke audiobooks uploaded in box sets, I’ll start writing The Pinch. The next book in the Spotted Pony Casino Mystery series. This is the book a friend and I went to the Oregon Coast to research. She kept telling everyone we were there for murder and mayhem! Which was kind of true. We talked to casino security guards, checked for security cameras, and skulked about hallways and places that I thought Dela, my character, might need to know about. It was a fun weekend.

Southernmost tip of the U.S.

I can now say I have been the farthest south you can go in the United States. On my trip to the Big Island of Hawaii my friend and I went to the southernmost tip of the island. We were told about this spot by a local when we asked her what places we should see.

One morning we got up, had breakfast and packed a cooler with water and snacks and headed south on the Hawaii Belt Road or Mamalahoa Hwy. When we came to the Point Road, we turned down that and found a dirt area at the end of the road where cars were parked and there were porta-pottys and a snow cone vendor.

We walked over to the forty-foot cliff edge and peered down into the beautiful crystal-clear water. I loved the colors and energy of the sparkling ocean.

A man had just jumped in. I took a photo of him. He looked like a native swimming in the water. And come to find out, my friend started talking to the man’s wife. He was from the island and they were visiting from Seattle. She also dove into the water with him down below to help her swim around the point to climb up the rocks. There was a ladder down the side of the cliff, but she was too short to reach the rope that would get her to the ladder.

Another one of their friends jumped. I snapped a photo of him jumping.

There were also to boys fishing from a hole in the lava that was back about 60 feet from the ocean. The hole looked like it went down forty feet to water that washed in and out with the tide.

A young man and a boy were fishing off the edge of the cliff as well. The boy made my friend nervous. He would stand right on the edge as he cast his pole. They had large black garbage bags tied to their lines to pull the hooks out farther into the ocean. They were trying to catch ahi, tuna.

After hanging around there a while, we followed a trail that took us to the southernmost point. It was a beach made up of dead coral. It was sad to see so much bleached coral broken in pieces.

We didn’t take the hike or the drive around to the green sand beach.

Leaving that area, we ended up at Punuluu Bakery also a place the local woman told us to enjoy. We did enjoy the pastries and the lunch we bought there.

And that wraps up another day we enjoyed in Hawaii.

Book Happenings

My latest Gabriel Hawke book, Damning Firefly, will be releasing the end of this month. If you don’t want to miss purchasing it, you can pre-order it in ebook format.

Book 11 in the Gabriel Hawke Series

A church fire.

An unconscious woman on Starvation Ridge.

Gabriel Hawke, fish and wildlife officer with the Oregon State Police, helps with a fire at the Lighted Path church before heading out to check turkey hunters. He discovers a car wedged between two trees and a woman with a head injury reeking of smoke. Is she the arsonist?

Hawke encounters the county midwife gloating over the burnt church and learns she and the victim in the car know one another.

Two seemingly separate events lead Hawke to a serial rapist and a county full of secrets. 

Universal link to pre-order: https://books2read.com/u/bQeBDZ

Flat Tire and Inspiration

Over the past weekend I drove to Wallowa County on a research trip. Those that read this blog and my books, know that my Gabriel Hawke series is mostly set in the county. I had two, well, three reasons to go to the county.

Reason one was to attend the Tamkaliks Ceremony. It is a powwow held every July in Wallowa, Oregon. And while I did attend and came up with some ideas to add to my books as well as made a great contact, this post isn’t about the powwow. That will be the next post. 😉

Reason two, the current work in progress (WIP) has a couple of scenes set in an area I have never seen in person. I’ve heard stories and looked it up on Google Earth and an Oregon Atlas & Gazetteer. I had this feeling I needed to see the area.

Reason three, I couldn’t find anywhere to tell me why the area was named the way it was.

I left Thursday, spent the afternoon and night with our oldest daughter in Cove, OR and wandered on to Wallowa County Friday morning. In the county there is an old town named Maxville. There had been a lot more talk about it the last few years. They have an interpretive center for the town in Joseph and even had a day when you could take a tour of the area. I had a prior commitment and couldn’t make it. So I decided to take a look on my own on the way to my brother’s in Enterprise.

I turned at the sign on the highway that said Maxville 13 Miles. Then I turned on my phone’s GPS knowing I was headed onto dirt roads that wove through timber. My phone told me I had arrived when there was a long drop in a wooded canyon to my right and a steep hill on my left. I didn’t see anything that remotely looked like old buildings or a logging camp. I went farther and discovered a road that went off through the woods with a sign that said no motorized vehicles.

Nia and I got out and walked up the road a bit, but didn’t see anything other than a deer, a squirrel, trees, wildflowers and bushes. We returned to the car and turned around. What I was searching for was a logging camp that was set up in the woods in 1923 by a logging company out of Missouri. They brought Black loggers and families to the county to work at the camp. The unincorporated town lasted about ten years and the families slowly moved away as the logging died out. My curiosity about history had me wanting to see what was left of the town. But I didn’t find it.

We made it back to the highway and my brother’s house. There I told my sister-in-law about wanting to learn the reason behind the name Starvation Ridge and take a drive out to see it. We first went to the Wallowa County Historical Center in Joseph to see if we could learn anything about the naming. No one there could help us. As we left there my brother called and said he was off work what were we up to.

We told him of my desire to go to Starvation Ridge, so we swung by the house and picked him up. We had a good discussion about the name on the way out and I was glad I’d decided to see the ridge in person. It wasn’t what I’d expected from the shots on Google Earth. The road was made of fist-sized and large jagged rocks which made driving a slow process. And the area I thought I knew from the satellite images didn’t look the same from ground level. It helped me better understand the lay of the land. Which in turn meant changing a couple of scenes in my WIP.

This is where the flat tire comes in. I turned around and immediately one of my tires lost twenty pounds of air pressure. We crept to a spot where there were fewer nasty rocks and in the shade. My brother changed the tire with my SIL and I helping. We made it back to the tire store before they closed and had the tired fixed and put back on.

The next day while we were attending the Tamkaliks Celebration, we ran into a person who knows a lot of Wallowa County history. He couldn’t tell us what we wanted to know but he suggested we try the Wallowa Historical Center. And we found our answer in a thick book. I wanted to know how Starvation Ridge got its name. It wasn’t near as interesting as the stories my brother and his wife thought were the reasons. It was named that by Billy Smith who left his sheep on the ridge so long they ate all the grass off of it one year.

And that was the essence of my research trip. My next blog will be about the Tamkaliks Ceremony.

I’ll leave you with a photo I took of a chipmunk.

Summer, are you really here?

In SE Oregon we have had the most interesting weather. We’ll have a couple of warm sunny days, then four days and nights where it rains off and on. It has made getting the first cutting of hay up, very hard. It all was rained on more than once and thankfully it isn’t too bad. It will make good cow hay which it had already been sold for.

The hay this year.

Not only did it make getting the hay cut and up hard, but the rain and cooler conditions made the hay taller and thicker than usual, so we are getting good tonnage off the field for a first cutting, but we are finishing up the first cutting when we usually are getting ready for the second cutting. I’m not sure how this hay season will end. If we’ll have enough time for the hay to grow for a third cutting. I guess we’ll see.

This cooler, wetter weather has made getting out and doing things less inviting. I have kept up on pulling the weeds, but I didn’t start a garden this year. And I haven’t put in as many flowers in my pots. I will be gone in August for 10 days and didn’t want my hubby to have to worry about watering plants.

I enjoy every morning going out and feeding my horses and the shop cats. My two horses, Jan and Patty are older and need senior grain to make sure they are healthy. I need to get out and ride my gelding, Jan. But it seems like there is never enough hours in the day to get the writing, writing projects, housework, quilting, and outside chores done.

One of the shop cats I feed.

Every day I try to go for at least a 2 mile walk. Some days it’s longer and some days I hike the hills and ridges on our property. Exercise not only helps to keep my body from going to mush it also keeps my brain from going mushy. I find I write more fluent and without struggling to find words after I’ve gone on my walk. Which means, I try to write at least 2,000 words before I open up my email and social media.

After lunch I try to write another 1,000 words, and if I’m lucky, 2,000 more. But that doesn’t usually happen because I have admin and marketing to also deal with. That’s the life of being a self-pub or Indie author.

Here is a photo of a rock I call Spirit Rock. I walk by it nearly every day on my outings.

Spirit Rock

I do have two ebook box sets available now.

Spotted Pony Casino Books 1-3

This boxset contains the first three books in the Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries.

Disabled Veteran Dela Alvaro had her heart set on being a State Trooper until she lost her leg in an attack on the Humvee she was riding in as an Army M.P. She came back to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation to recuperate and landed a job with security at the Spotted Pony Casino.

Poker Face

Book 1

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.

House Edge

Book 2

Dela Alvaro head of security at the Spotted Pony Casino has a body and a casino full of potential suspects. Not only is she trying to keep her job, she’s also playing referee between her high school sweetheart turned Tribal Policeman and FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce.

Double Down

Book 3

Dela Alvaro is the main suspect in the stabbing death of a man she stopped from beating his wife to death. The detective she abhors is ready to toss her in jail and not look for any other suspects. When FBI Special Agent Quinn Pierce is called in and Tribal Officer Heath Seaver is forbidden to work the case, Dela decides to find the killer.

https://books2read.com/u/3ydM6v

And

Gabriel Hawke books 7-9

This box set contains books 7 through 9 of the Gabriel Hawke novels. Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke with the Fish and Wildlife Division finds himself searching for a woman missing from the Umatilla reservation, discovering the truth about a man who has disappeared, and trying to survive in the snowy mountains with a killer.

Stolen Butterfly

Book 7

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. 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.

Churlish Badger

Book 8

An abandoned vehicle…

A missing man…

Oregon State Trooper Gabriel Hawke discovers an abandoned vehicle at a trailhead while checking hunters. The owner of the vehicle never arrived at his destination. As Hawke follows leads, he learns the man was in the process of selling his farm over the objections of his wife who said he would only sell over her dead body.

Owl’s Silent Strike

Book 9

Unexpected snowstorm…

Unfortunate accident…

And a body…

What started out as a favor and a leisurely trip into the mountains, soon turns State Trooper Gabriel Hawke’s life upside down. The snowstorm they were trying to beat comes early, a horse accident breaks Dani Singer’s leg, and Hawke finds a body in the barn at Charlie’s Lodge.

https://books2read.com/u/3R5y0L

After the Book Tour

Well, the book tour was fun and I enjoyed sharing my Gabriel Hawke books and my writing process with more readers. I also had a good time sharing that information through a “conversation” Dwight Holing and I did at each store. My friend who attended most of the events with me said we did a good job of playing off each other’s comments and carrying the information along further.

The first stop was Ashland. Bloomsbury Books was a charming independent bookstore with two floors. We were set up in the upper area to give our presentation. We had ten people sit through our presentation and talk with us. One of those people was a writer who had been a guest on my Ladies of Mystery blog but I had never met. I was pleased to meet her and put a face to the name.

Dwight talking as I listen.

The next day on my way to Central Oregon for our two stops there I drove through a snowstorm. I crept along happy I didn’t have to be anywhere at any specified time. It was the one day we didn’t’ have an event. As I drove, I listened to Dwight’s audio version of The Demon Skin. It’s his latest in the Nick Drake series.

The snowstorm.

I arrived in Bend and did a little shopping before continuing on to my friend’s house. The next day we had an event at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, OR. Beth, the event coordinator, was easy to work with and had us set up in a newer part of the store. We had 8 people attending. Four of which were my family and friends. It was good to see our oldest daughter and granddaughter.

Reading from Bear Stalker at Sisters

The next day I had a niggling feeling I needed to get to Barnes and Noble in Bend early. While I had talked to the manager when he’d set up the event, I’d never heard back from any emails I sent. Sure enough., I arrived and no one had clue we were to be there. The manager had been called away on an emergency and forgot to tell anyone. They found the posters I’d sent to advertise the event and someone quickly set up a table. That night we had 6 people, 5 of them were my friends. We did our presentation and talked with the other writers and answered questions.

The setup in B&N.

Friday, we were at Grass Roots Books in Corvallis, OR. The owners, Jack and Sandy, were very nice, had us set up in the middle of the store and worked hard at bringing in more people. We had the largest crowd that night and they asked the best questions. It was an enjoyable night. My friend and I capped off the night eating marionberry pie with a friend who lives in Corvallis that I hadn’t seen in a while.

I like to talk with my hands.

Saturday, other than walking through the Beaverton Saturday market it was a bust. The store put us outside on the sidewalk and only a few people even stopped to talk with us. I sold one book.

Sitting outside Jan’s Books in Beaverton.

Dwight and I determined that book tours at bookstores are no longer a thing readers tend to do. He is going to work on doing Zoom with book clubs and invite me to join him when he gets it perfected. Me, I’ll stick to doing the Sumpter Flea Market, bazaars, and the few bookstores that ask me to come back. I enjoy meeting readers but not when it is exhausting and expensive as this last one for so minimal a chance to connect with readers.

Getting Ready for a Book Tour

I’m late! I was hacked on Facebook last month and I have felt behind since because I am constantly trying to find a new way to connect with readers. Because of the hack, I lost my personal account which was connected to my author account and I can’t get into the author account anymore. Which leaves me without all of my contacts. The only reason I started up a new personal account is to see posts from family members. But if you wish to friend me (I’m not allowed to friend people on the new account) it is Paty Jager.

I have a weeklong book tour the first week of May with author Dwight Holing and I’m limited in my ways to tell my readers, due to the lack of my author page on Facebook. So you are getting the skinny on my tour here. 😉

I’ll have Bear Stalker, Stolen Butterfly, and Murder of Ravens with me for the events. I ordered enough that I shouldn’t run out. If you are in the area of one of these events, I’d love to meet you in person. I always carry lots of goodies with me. This trip I have my Gabriel Hawke keychain flashlights and pens. And lots of bookmarks.

At every stop except Jan’s in Beaverton Dwight and I will be talking about how we came to write our series and what challenges we’ve faced in writing books with Native American characters. We’ll answer questions and sign books.

I purchased a new way to get my books, swag, and everything else to a signing. My author friend Carmen Peone was using this system when we had an event together at the first of the month. I loved the idea and headed to Home Depot to get my set.

It’s on wheels and is very sturdy.

I separated the pieces and took photos of each one. And as I did that, I realized I probably won’t be able to lift the bottom one full of books into and out of my car…

This is the top one with the promo stuff.
This is the middle one with the flashlights, tablecloths and book stands.
This is the bottom one note even filled all the way and too heavy to lift.

In the next week before I leave, I will most likely pack, unpack, and repack these several times before I am happy with how I plan to use them. But I do love the fact they stack and lock, making it easier to handle them. I don’t know how many times I nearly lost or did lose totes off a pile on a dolly I bought. Even when I had bungee cords on them. These all lock together on the sides.

Hopefully, the next post on here will be about an awesome Book Tour. And then I’ll have a post on the transformation hubby and I made of a wooden box trailer into my new book mobile. Stay tuned for that!

Don’t forget you can purchase my print books from my website. Just go to https://www.patyjager.net and click on the “Shop” tab and select the series you are interested in. The books are marked down and there is no shipping cost.