Blessed Sunshine, Master of None, and Firesong's Cover Art

Okay. I'll admit it. After being locked up inside for three weeks while I painted, wallpapered, refinished the floor, etc in our bedroom, I just HAD to get outside and feel that glorious sun on my face. It's been in the eighties here, broken all records, and the wild and welcome weather has driven everyone outside to clear out gardens and rake leaves. I've got the whole place in pretty good shape now, and also planted my peas, beets, lettuce, and chard. There are a few more areas under the trees that need to have the sticks picked up (about an acre), and soon I'll order the mulch and plant potatoes and onions... but for now, I'm done.

What this means is I really didn't write anything of substance for my column today. LOL. But I'm sure you'll forgive me this one week!

Here's a photo I want to share with you, and after you see it, I want you to go order our very own S.W. Vaughn's book. It was such a delight to get this in the mail the other day and to hold in my very own hands for the first time a story I love and know well. I can't tell you how thrilled we all are to share in S.W.'s success. Her book, Master of None, is in Walmart now (that is SO hard to do!) and popping up in major bookstores all over the country. I've had the pleasure of riding alongside her during this bumpy road, and I can't tell you what a wonderful, warm, supportive friend she is. (not to mention a great critique partner!) Sonya's writing is smooth, fresh, exciting, and totally imaginative. You'll not get a chance to catch your breath, because once her protagonist escapes one dilemma, the earth falls out from under him to threaten him again. It's like a roller coaster ride through a gritty and luscious adventure. You won't be able to put it down. So go buy it, and then buy ten copies for your friends' next birthdays and for Christmas!

ONE UNLUCKY THIEF. ONE UNLIKELY GENIE. ONE VERY ODD COUPLE.Gavyn Donatti is the world’s unluckiest thief. Just ask all the partners he’s lost over the years. And when he misplaces an irreplaceable item he was hired to steal for his ruthless employer, Trevor—well, his latest bungle just might be his last. But then his luck finally turns: right when Trevor’s thugs have him cornered, a djinn, otherwise known as a genie, appears to save him.Unfortunately, this genie—who goes by the very non-magical name of “Ian”—is more Hellboy than dream girl. An overgrown and extremely surly man who seems to hate Donatti on the spot, he may call Donatti master, but he isn’t interested in granting three wishes. He informs Donatti that he is bound to help the thief fulfill his life’s purpose, and then he will be free. The problem is that neither Donatti nor Ian has any idea what exactly that purpose is.At first Donatti’s too concerned with his own survival to look a gift genie in the mouth, but when his ex-girlfriend Jazz and her young son get drawn into the crossfire, the stakes skyrocket. And when Ian reveals that he has an agenda of his own—with both Donatti and the murderous Trevor at the center of it—Donatti will have to become the man he never knew he could be, or the entire world could pay the price. . . .

And here's one more photo for you, the latest LeGarde Mystery, entitled Firesong, scheduled for release later this year through Twilight Times Books. Firesong is the sequel to Mazurka, and features themes from the underground railroad, a country church gone awry, a collapsing salt mine, a raging inferno, and much more. Let me know what you think of the cover.

Hope you all enjoy your Easter Sunday, that the bunny finds your house and leaves you goodies, and that the sun shines for you all day long.

Aaron