Bargain on Rachel Christie Mystery Series - Three-Box Set

I have just published a three-book set of the Rachel Christie Murder Mystery novels. The second, third and fourth novels are bundled together in one book, but are still available individually. The set, Rachel Christie Murder Mysteries, is priced at $5.98 for the eBook and $15.19 for the paperback from Amazon. This is a price reduction of one third for the eBooks and about half off for the paperbacks. All the books are standalone novels, but some of the same people show up in each, including Rachel's lanky, easy-going assistant Cody, her by-the-book friend Ron and boisterous Sheriff Farrell. The plots are all different, but the murderers are all cleverly plotted and Rachel is pushed to her intellectual and emotional limits. The reader has all the clues Rachel has and no rabbits are ever pulled out of a hat at the last minute.

Note that the first book in the series, Murder by the Clock, about a murder during a small town Autumn Festival is available as an eBook for $0.99 from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple and Smashwords.

The second book, Murder in Emerald Hills, takes place in the Emerald mining area of Western North Carolina. While working on a land fraud case, Rachel uncovers a murder of which the body has been buried for six months.

In the third book, Murder by Lion, the murder takes place at the North Carolina Zoo in front of a crowd. The police think it's suicide, but Rachel believes it's not.

The fourth book, Murder of the Innocent tells the story of how Rachel Christie solves the murder of a young girl whose parents are separated, but trying to get back together. It's a case she doesn't want, but her partner Cody accepts it readily.

The last three mysteries are Murder One Too Many, Murder Along the Blue Ridge and Murder Among Friends. These thee are available from Amazon for $3.99.

Rainy Days Are for the Birds

We have had so much rain in the past two months that now our rainfall for six and a half months equals the normal yearly total. In fact, this year we have had so much rain that any day when the sun shines for four hours is a good day to mow, even though the mower tires get covered with grass. Yesterday morning our neighbor had her lawn mowed and within the hour it rained over an inch, two more in the evening. Living in hot climates previously, I guess I got too used to seeing the sun for most of the year.

The rain did not deter the hummingbirds from getting out in the rain. As you can see, they fluffed their feathers and braved the wet conditions. This was not true of all the creatures. The turtle hightailed it to the bushes where he could protect himself, so truly rainy days are for the birds.

The Bear is Back

The Bear is Back

A couple of years ago, we were concerned when we sighted a black bear foraging for food. We called the authorities and they had little or no response. It was like I was reporting a sparrow on the porch.  A month ago, a black bear was sighted in a large town sixty miles from here and it made the news every night for a week.

Just this past week, our local bear was sighted again. First, our neighbor stopped us as we were driving by her house and said she had seen the sight of a lifetime when she looked out the kitchen window. A black bear was standing on its hind legs, holding her bird feeder in his front paws and shaking the seeds into his mouth.

Today we were building a wall inside the house and looked out into our backyard and there he was, just meandering back and forth between the woods and our fenced-in area for our fruit trees and garden. He couldn't make up his mind. At first, it looked like he was going to tear the fence down and then he looked through the fence and decided it was too much work for too little. The apples and the pears weren't ripe. I don't think he was that hungry.

The picture is blurry because, after all, who wants to get between a bear and his dinner.