Some news about Fahrenheit Press

Yes . . . I know. I'm about as reliable in issuing a new blog on a regular basis as a Conservative Republican is willing to admit they haven't a clue what they're doing politically. But, in my defense . . . no. To be frank, I have no defense. Other than to admit I'm extremely lazy.  I admit it.

Moving on.

Some good news this last week. Fahrenheit Press, those boys and girls over in England, have decided to re-issue one of my original, and potential series character, Jake Reynolds. Jake, you may or may not remember, is an art thief. His specialty is finding rare pieces of art for select customers, copying the original down to each brush stroke, and then replacing original with his copy. He claims . . . and I have no way to prove it, since he's my own invention . . . that many pieces of his artwork still resides in some of the finest museums all across Europe.

But he also has a failing. Jake can't stand to see anyone get away with murder. And he has this unfortunate gift of finding dead bodies in the least likeliest of places. He also has the unfortunate gift of living in the first half of the 20th Century. He's met quite a few of that century's famous rogues. From the Red Baron himself all the way over to America and Al Capone.

The title of the book is, Death of a Young Lieutenant. I'm hoping it's a success for Fahrenheit. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.




But we're not done with Fahrenheit Press. The other half of Fahrenheit Press is called Fahrenheit 13. When it was originally called Number 13 Press, we hooked up with one of my Smitty novellas. When they merged with Fahrenheit Press, I thought I'd cook up a new character and see if 13 might be interested.

The new guy is named Lenny Leonidas. He's a good 'ole boy from Ballard, Texas (fictional) . . . which is the name of both the county seat and the county itself in the Panhandle of West Texas. Lenny's father threw him out of the family house when he was eighteen. For the next twenty years he bums around as a soldier in the US Army before retiring . . . and coming back to Ballard. There, through a series of unfortunate events, he becomes a deputy sheriff for Ballard County. And all hell breaks loose when that happens.

There's actually three characters in this one you should get to know. Lenny, of course. And the old, 6'6 white-haired sheriff, Horace Greene. Horace and Lenny have a long, long relationship. A relationship filled with secrets. The third character is Lenny's grandmother, Evita. And she's a trip, boyo's. She too has secrets she wishes to keep to herself.

With Fahrenheit 13 I'm going to try an experiment with them. I'm going to see if they will use the cover artwork I've commissioned for this book. Over to my right is the rough draft version. We'll see if they will go for it.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll try to write another blog before I turn 75 (I'm just 70 now).