New short story debuts

Encouraged by the response to SHOWDOWN, I've published another new short story on Kindle and Smashwords. It's called FOUND MONEY, and I'm real proud of it.

FOUND MONEY is the suspenseful tale of a briefcase full of drug money, how it's lost and found, and how many lives it takes down along the way. The story was especially challenging to write because it's all in one character's voice, one half of a conversation between cop and crook. I had to cover a lot of backstory in very few pages, and still have a twist in the present.

Give FOUND MONEY a try. I think you'll like it. And it's only 99 cents.

Thanks to e-books, I'll write more short stories and novellas in the future. The market tilts toward shorter works now, after years of going the other direction. Plus, I enjoy writing them. Short stories used to seem so much harder than novels, but I started thinking of them as one-act plays, and that's made it easier.

I've started sketching out a new novel, but it's in the earliest stages right now. Doubt I'll get much done on it this week because I've got lots of chores and meetings, and a stack of papers to grade for my University of New Mexico class. But some part of my brain is always working on the next book.

Looking forward to Halloween. We get lots of trick-or-treaters at our Albuquerque home because the neighborhood park has a "pumpkin glow." Last year, we gave out 10 pounds of candy. One of my chores today is to buy 11 pounds of candy, so I'll be sure to have leftovers for me.