Author: P.J. MacLayne

Teaching A Lesson in Fiction #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

May 1, 2023

Does every book have to have a moral?

Early in the story, I had a beta reader ask me what the moral of my coming-soon ‘The Rise of Jake Hennessey’ was. I admit, I had to stop and think about it. Did the story have one? I didn’t plan on it. All I set out to do was bring the story of Jake, Eli, and Harmony to a satisfying conclusion. There’s no moral. I wrote it for entertainment only.

Could I stretch things to find a moral? I can find lots of platitudes – right over wrong, love will find a way, crime doesn’t pay — although this is Jake we are dealing with, so the last one doesn’t count. But a moral?

But Jake is an anomaly. A good man with an illegal hobby. Let’s talk about some of my other books. Do they have morals?

Not on purpose. Again, I can come up with lots of platitudes. Love conquers all. Everybody needs someone. He who laughs last, laughs best. But a moral?

Again, I am writing for entertainment. The Free Wolves have some underlying themes that are ‘heavier,’ but they aren’t the major thrust of the stories. The Harmony Duprie books are more lighthearted. They are mysteries, but there isn’t a murder in every book. I do like breaking rules. I guess that’s why Jake and I get along.

So no, I don’t believe every book has to have a moral. What about our other authors? Find out by following the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

(if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the cover of The Rise of Jake Hennessey, releasing on May 17th.

 

May 1, 2023

Does every book have to have a moral?

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Jake is Back! Cover Reveal

  By Uncategorized

Retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be for Jake Hennessey.

For 22 years, semi-retired jewel thief Jake Hennessey honored his promise to stay away from Harmony Duprie. He has no plans to change that… until Special Agent Doan Houck saunters into Jake’s bar, claiming Harmony’s life is in danger.

She’s not the only one in jeopardy. Jake is run over by a motorcycle and is the target of a drive-by shooting. He doesn’t know who to trust. Not the feds Not the local cops.

Not even Harmony.

But Jake will do anything to protect his ex-lover. Even if it means matching wits with an FBI agent, revealing old secrets, or ending up in prison. Again.

If it comes down to saving his life or Harmony’s, there is no choice at all.

This book has been a long time in the making. Between retiring and moving, Jake had to be patient with me while I ignored him as I took care of my life. He deserved my full attention as he told me his story. It didn’t go as I expected, but it went the way it needed to. (Jake working with the FBI? Who would have expected that?) I believe that the Jake books bring a additional richness to the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. With this book completed, I finally am able to move on to something new.

And here’s the cover, thanks to K.M. Guth

The release date for the Rise of Jake Hennessey is May 17th.

Where to Find It? #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

April 24, 2023

What are your favorite resources for research?

It all depends. It changes depending upon the book I am writing. Now that I’ve moved, it has changed again.

I’m no professional when it comes to various types of guns. Some guys I used to work with were heavily into hunting, and they would help me with various aspects of weapon use in my stories. (I wouldn’t know the difference between an AK-15, and AK-17, and a fancy paintball gun.) I’d just walk down the hall and talk to them. Since I’ve retired, that resource is gone. But in my last couple of books, guns haven’t been a major part of the story, so it hasn’t been an issue. (Jake Hennessey, my hero, doesn’t carry a gun. Never has.)

My current WIP (work in progress) is set in Pittsburgh around 1985. That’s changed everything as far as resources. I’ve been chasing rabbits to find the information I need. Although I survived the 1980s, I am looking for the details. What were the top songs and the favorite drug of choice? Those were easy. Trying to find a description of the Penguins’ owner’s club in the Civic Arena was another story. I spent hours watching old videos on YouTube and haunting Facebook groups. I finally got what I needed through one of my brothers, who knew someone who’d been there. Shoot, trying to determine the color of the uniforms the Pittsburgh cops wore back then was a challenge, and it wasn’t that long ago. I should have called their public relations department and asked, but I didn’t think about it.

As the story writes itself, I keep discovering more details I want to incorporate, but there’s no single website that offers me everything. I keep bookmarking additional sites so I can find them again. Remind me – I’ve got to check out the resources of the Pittsburgh Public Library system and see what they offer on-line.

The internet is a wonderful starting point for research, but there’s so much more. I’ve always believed that people are our greatest source of information, if you can find the right ones to talk to.

How about out other authors? What are their favorite resources? Find out by following the links.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

 

April 24, 2023

What are your favorite resources for research?

Rules:
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2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

 

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Any Place, Any Time, Any Where #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

April 17, 2023

If you could live in any place, any time, any world, where would you live?

There’s the emotional response and the logical response. It might be fun to visit the Middle Ages, but the lack of decent food, sanitation, and medical knowledge would make it a dangerous time to live. It’s fun to think you’d live in a castle and be part of nobility, but chances are, most of us would be peasants. I’ll pass.

I’d also like to explore the culture and knowledge of Native Americans before they were in touch with Europeans. So much of what we think we know has been filtered through unreliable narrators. It would be interesting to experience a world that developed with minimal outside influence.

Anne McCaffrey’s Pern would also be interesting. Dragons, you know. There would be drawbacks, based on the social class. Not sure I’d want to stay there.

I would love to visit the world I created in my books and have a chance to meet my characters. I’ve often said I’d like to sit on the steps with Harmony Duprie, sip on some of her ice tea, and enjoy a fine spring afternoon. Or maybe I could get a job at the library where she works. Or, since her world overlaps with my Free Wolves stories, I might have the chance to watch a human transform into a wolf or some other creature.

But if I’m being realistic? Although I’m an old fart, I wasn’t old enough to truly take part in the hippie era. I’d love to be born a few years earlier, and to go to Woodstock, make a trip to San Francisco, and perhaps live in a commune. It would also allow me to get into the computer field earlier than I did. On top of that, I’d be able to get into indie book publishing before the market got crowded.

How about you? In what time, era, and place would you like to live? Tell me in the comments. And to find out about our other authors, follow the links below.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

April 17, 2023

If you could live in any place, any time, any world, where would you live?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

New Release

  By Uncategorized

 

For 22 years, semi-retired jewel thief Jake Hennessey honored his promise to stay away from Harmony Duprie. He has no plans to change that… until Special Agent Doan Houck saunters into Jake’s bar, claiming Harmony’s life is in danger.

She’s not the only one in jeopardy. Jake is run over by a motorcycle and is the target of a drive-by shooting. He doesn’t know who to trust. Not the feds Not the local cops.

Not even Harmony.

But Jake will do anything to protect his ex-lover. Even if it means matching wits with an FBI agent, revealing old secrets, or ending up in prison. Again.

If it comes down to saving his life or Harmony’s, there is no choice at all.

 

The Food They Eat #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

April 10, 2023

What does the food your characters eat reveal about their personality?

She longed for a rare steak to satisfy the blood lust licking her paw had awakened, but she hadn’t found a gas station yet selling them. She sighed. Beef jerky would be on the menu.
Wolves’ Pawn

What do wolf shifters eat? Raw meat, of course, when they have the option. Except they have a human side, and a no-nonsense doctor that insists that pack members include fruits and vegetables in their menus. I played with the concept throughout the Free Wolves’ series. In Wolves’ Knight, there is a community celebration that includes steak and casseroles, and in Wolves’ Gambit, steak is mentioned several times as a part of meals.

I took it farther in Wolves’ Gambit, joking about how a Wyoming pack can’t raise cattle because the cows can sense the dual nature of the wolf shifters, and are skittish around them. Chickens, however, don’t seem to care.

The wolf part of my shifters leads to many minor plot points around food. They have rules about what they can hunt and when. Pregnant does are never to be killed. A large stag is considered off-limits because of his potential to expand the local herd of deer. Who says a wolf shifter can’t be an environmentalist and understand their impact on a future food source? Also, there are other rules about verifying if an animal is another shifter or not before attacking them to make them a meal, which would be unethical. (Attacking them in battle is a different set of values.)

It makes sense. The closer you are to nature, the closer you are to your food source.  So my wolf shifters and food are tied together.

How about the other authors. What does food  reveal about their character’s personalities? Follow the link below  to find out.

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

April 10, 2023

What does the food your characters eat reveal about their personality?

1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

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Welcome to The Rise of Jake Hennessey

  By Uncategorized

I’ve finally decided on a release date for the last book in the Harmony Duprie world. Unless fate interferes, The Rise of Jake Hennessey will be released on May 17th.

Book Description: 

For 22 years, semi-retired jewel thief Jake Hennessey honored his promise to stay away from Harmony Duprie. He has no plans to change that… until Special Agent Doan Houck saunters into Jake’s bar, claiming Harmony’s life is in danger.

She’s not the only one in jeopardy. Jake is run over by a motorcycle and is the target of a drive-by shooting. He doesn’t know who to trust. Not the feds Not the local cops.

Not even Harmony.

But Jake will do anything to protect his ex-lover. Even if it means matching wits with an FBI agent, revealing old secrets, or ending up in prison. Again.

If it comes down to saving his life or Harmony’s, there is no choice at all.

Watch this space for the cover reveal, coming soon.


My First Book #IWSG

  By IWSG
 
 
Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

 

The awesome co-hosts for the April 5 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Nancy Gideon, and Natalie Aguirre!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.

April 5 question – Do you remember writing your first book? What were your thoughts about a career path on writing? Where are you now and how is it working out for you? If you’re at the start of the journey, what are your goals?

 
The first book I ever wrote was back in 1975. It was a time travel romance and frankly, it was bad. No, it was worse than bad, it was terrible. I enjoyed the experience and was proud that I had accomplished it. Somewhere, I still have a typed copy stuck where it will never see daylight.
 
I didn’t try again until about 17 or 18 years ago. That book was at least only bad. But the story was overly derivative of another author’s work, so it too will remain tucked away.
 
I finished several books before finally writing one I felt was good enough to share with the world. But none of them were a waste of time. Looking back at them, I can see how my writing improved with each.
 
I’m currently working on my 11th and 12th books, but I still get a thrill each time I finish writing a story. I haven’t written a best seller yet, and it as great as that would be, the sense of accomplishment I feel each time I write “The End” is the reward that keeps me going.
 
Don’t forget to check out some of the other authors in the group and find out about their first books.
 
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
 
 
 

The Best and The Worst #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

 

April 3, 2023

What are your best and worst social media sites?

I try, really I do. And I have gotten better since I retired and had more time available to spend on it. But I still don’t put enough energy into it to make it work for me. I haven’t tried every site, but I’ve settled on a few.

I’m talking about social media, of course. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram MeWe, and blogging. None of them have made me a best-selling author or overnight sensation. I pay lip service to each, but don’t concentrate on any of them. (Blogging is an exception. I put a lot of effort into these weekly posts.)

As an introvert, it’s hard for me to share my personal life on the internet. Add in my ties to computer program security, and it adds an extra layer to the need for privacy. It’s the exact opposite of what is required to be successful as an author on social media. 

I won’t call any of them the worst. Or the best. I’m equally bad at all of them. But I keep plugging away, hoping one site or another will eventually pay off. But I prefer to be actually writing!

FYI – I have finished the final edits of The Rise of Jake Hennessey. Watch this space for a cover reveal and a release date.

How do the other authors on this hop feel about social media? follow the links below to find out’ 

As always, until next time, please stay safe.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

 

 

 

Do Dragonflies Count? Animals in Writing #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book
 
 
 

March 27, 2023
What is your favorite animal and why? Have you ever included it in one of your stories?

Do dragonflies count? They aren’t really animals, but if I have to pick my favorite non-human creature, dragonflies would be my choice.

I know there are people who are scared of them, but not me. I admire them. The way their mostly transparent wings flash in the sunlight, the variety of colors, the way they can effortlessly maneuver from spot to spot. I’ve been known to rescue one when it got trapped in a building. (That’s not easy!)

My favorite encounter with dragonflies was one warm summer day when an empty field near our home was filled with dragonflies. There were hundreds of them, darting from one blade of grass to another. They were only there for a short time, but I enjoyed the moment.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Have I ever used a dragonfly in a book? Surprisingly, no. I actually went back and checked several of them. (Note to me: figure out how to include dragonflies in a future book! Shifters maybe? Would their lifespan be a problem? )
 
How about our other authors? Do they include their favorite animal in their books? Follow the links below to find out.

Until next time, please stay safe.
 
March 27, 2023
What is your favorite animal and why? Have you ever included it in one of your stories?
 
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter