June 2022 Highlights and Ukraine

Greetings. It’s been months since the Russians invaded Ukraine, and I wanted to share a way for us to help these folks and pick up some great reading, too. A bunch of outstanding authors got together and created a box set called Turning the Tide. Grab the ebook and get ready for some thrills. All proceeds go to Ukraine. And thanks for your help.

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Author News

So, it looks like book signings are back—and I’m ready, baby! For those who live in Southern California, you can meet me in person at Barnes & Noble in the Glendora Marketplace Shopping Center. I’ll be there between noon and three. Hope to see you there.

Recommended Reading

Recently, I reviewed Sleepwalk by Dan Chaon. As I said in my post, if Raymond Chandler and Kurt Vonnegut made a baby, this novel would be the result. Intrigued? You can read the review here. Also, check out my other book reviews.

Book Description

Sleepwalk’s hero, Will Bear, is a man with so many aliases that he simply thinks of himself as the Barely Blur. At fifty years old, he’s been living off the grid for over half his life. He’s never had a real job, never paid taxes, never been in a committed relationship. A good-natured henchman with a complicated and lonely past and a passion for LSD microdosing, he spends his time hopscotching across state lines in his beloved camper van, running sometimes shady often dangerous errands for a powerful and ruthless operation he’s never troubled himself to learn too much about. He has lots of connections, but no true ties. His longest relationships are with an old rescue dog that has post-traumatic stress and a childhood friend as deeply entrenched in the underworld as he is, who, lately, he’s less and less sure he can trust.

Out of the blue, one of Will’s many burner phones heralds a call from a twenty-year-old woman claiming to be his biological daughter. She says she’s the product of one of his long-ago sperm donations; he’s half certain she’s AI. She needs his help. She’s entrenched in a widespread and nefarious plot involving Will’s employers, and for Will to continue to have any contact with her increasingly fuzzes the line between the people he is working for and the people he’s running from.

With his signature blend of haunting emotional realism and fast-paced intrigue, Dan Chaon populates his fractured America with characters who ring all too true. Gazing both back to the past and forward to an inevitable-enough-seeming future, Sleepwalk examines where we’ve been and where we’re going and the connections that bind us, no matter how far we travel to dodge them or how cleverly we hide.

Where to Buy

Amazon
Apple Books
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Google Play

Books to Enjoy

When a pair of crazed gunmen take a bank full of hostages, off-duty cop Jack Lisbon finds himself caught up in a terrifying siege. If you like gritty crime stories with a vigilante justice flavor, you’ll love Jack Lisbon. Take Down by Blair Denholm.

There’s an unsettling chill in the air around Jason Workler, and it is a wind most foul. Something sinister festers beneath the surface, and this particular demon may just be depraved and wicked enough to scorch all that remains of his past, present, and future. Transforming Into Evil by Timberly Price.

Will Detective Lagarde uncover the truth before it’s too late? Or will she be burned by the evil that lurks behind her? Find out in the captivating, spine-tingling crime thriller series. Detective Lagarde Series Boxset by Clara Lewis.

To avenge being abandoned by his ruthless Wall Street financier father, Ti Riley fights his moral conscience to become a nefarious cyber criminal. Luckee Lynx by TJ McKaye.

Recommended Viewing

If you’re a Netflix subscriber, here’s a documentary you won’t want to miss. It’s called ‘The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes’—and wow. I was kid when she died at thirty-six and was unaware of all the dark political shenanigans going on in the background. Check it out.

Logline. Explores the mystery surrounding the death of movie icon Marilyn Monroe through previously unheard interviews with her inner circle.

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Okay, that’s a wrap. See you next month when I go in search of a genuine Chicago hotdog for the Fourth of July. Peace and love.