Well, here I am slacking again, but I wanted to make sure I
knew what would come next for my books.
Booktrope, my publisher went out of business as of May 31, 2016;
however, I re-released Digging Up the Past on June 1, 2016 independently. This is a new experience for me, and I like
to consider all new experiences as adventures.
Whether it is traveling alone to a new place, learning a new skill, or just
learning a new way to do something I’ve done before, I think the best way to
approach it is as something to look forward to.
Change is not easy, and very few people like even the idea
of getting outside their comfort zone, but firmly believe the only way we can
continue to grow is to leave the comfort zone and try something new. As a result, I have decided to be an indie
author, at least for this book, and probably the next one, so I’m looking
forward to this new adventure, and I hope you will all join me on the
adventure.
Digging Up the Past
has a new cover. My friend Doug
Myerscough did the front cover, and I did the back one. While I love the cover that I had when it was
published with Booktrope, I want to save that cover for a later book, and use
the new one to celebrate the new publication.
Isn’t it awesome!
The
ancient artifacts really bring out the spirit of the book since the mystery
surrounds an artifact missing from an archaeological dig. When magic returned to the world, with the
uprooting of the stones of the Bimini Road, those artifacts that used to be
just curiosities, once again became instruments of power, and a spade that
grants immortality and the ability to raise the dead is just too great a prize
for someone.
Excerpt:
Immortality? Now that’s
tempting. Throw in an army of the dead, and hey, any evil overlord would kill
for that package.
When the Homeland
Security Service’s Department of Unusual Events, or DUE, assigned my partner,
Jason, and me to this case, the file said the spade we were looking for was
valued at eighteen million dollars and belonged to the Peruvian government.
Stolen during shipment from Peru to the local university, the spade, along with
a number of the other artifacts uncovered on a dig site in Peru, was scheduled
for study here. According to our file, the HSS believed it had been stolen for
financial gain or, perhaps, to cause an international incident. Not our usual
type of case, but not unheard of either.
What the file didn’t
mention was that this wasn’t just any gold spade. This was the Spade of
Apocatequil. Peruvian legend has it that where ever Apocatequil stuck this spade
in the ground, people sprang up. Now, the spade is believed to grant the holder
immortality and the power to raise the dead. Minor omission.
My cover
on this assignment was that of a college student. I also worked as a dog walker
for the Bradens, who were our primary suspects, so every afternoon, Angel, the
Bradens’ German shepherd, and I made the two-block walk to the dog park near
the Bradens’ house.
When I
pulled in at the house, I could tell no one was home. The Bradens would be at
the local dig site until at least dark, getting set for the summer dig, and it
wasn’t unusual for Keesha, the Bradens’ daughter, and Mena, the operative from
Cerberus Security who’s been acting as her nanny, to be out in the early
afternoon. I clipped the leash on Angel and we headed for the park.
Oh, as
for why they should be our primary suspects, that’s the easy part. John Braden
was the American archaeologist on the Peruvian dig. His wife, Sonya, was the
lead anthropologist on that same dig, and that put them at the top of the list
of suspects. That placement was further supported by the fact that someone else
believed they had the spade. Our file also indicated that things had been
stolen from other dig sites when they were in charge. The hard part was that
there was no evidence, solid or otherwise, that they took the spade, or that
they were involved in any of the other thefts.
I’d
gotten to know the Bradens and Mena fairly well, and as an empath, I could tell
you that the Bradens were definitely anxious, scared even. The catch is that
even with my empathic skill, it’s hard to tell one anxiety from another, and
they had a legitimate reason to be anxious. Someone was threatening to kidnap
their daughter.
