Hello, Reader!

Congratulations! We survived another month! And what a month it's been. It started with fires, hurricanes, and the ever-present pandemic. It ended with snow in Kansas City, an anticlimactic Halloween, and a harrowing election.

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Fiction updates

In happier news, my sister's new story, Deep Ellum Blues, enjoyed a great debut. Thank you, if you were part of that! Both it and the first in her "Deep Ellum" series, Deep Ellum Pawn, briefly hit Amazon's Top 100 list in one of their categories. If you haven't read them, I strongly recommend them!

I've gotten my I-hope-to-goodness-final round of critique comments back for A Bone to Pick (the second book in the XK9 "Bones" Trilogy). I've started work on what had better be the final edit. Please note that newsletter readers are eligible to receive FREE advance reader copies if they're willing to post reviews! Watch for details in future newsletters!

I'm also at work on some "extras" for the updated release of What's Bred in the Bone (first in the XK9 "Bones" Trilogy). The revised version's release will be timed to coincide with the second book's release this winter.

Why would you be interested in the revised version? Because I'm adding several special features.

• A Characters, Acronyms, and Organizations List.
• A map of the Glen Haven Neighborhood where Rex lives.
• First Chapters and links to both A Bone to Pick and The Other Side of Fear.

You'll see more about these in the next newsletter! I also should have a sneak peak of Jody A. Lee's cover art for A Bone to Pick to show you!

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Happening on my home front

The big push around here, however, has been the effort to create a new, updated home office/art studio. I'm certainly not the only person who's recently decided my home office isn't adequate to the task. It seems that almost everyone who's suddenly had to work remotely is going through a similar realization.

In my house we have a Library. When we moved in, back in 1990, there was a room addition that previously had been used as a family room. I immediately claimed it for the Library, and gleefully proceeded to fill it with books.

Unfortunately, in the 2000s, our family experienced the start of what would turn out to be a fair number of elders and others passing away. Any passing is traumatic, but there's often more than grief to deal with. There's also the settling of the estate. An apartment or house to clear out. A lot of possessions to deal with.

I fear far too many people know how that feels, in this year of pandemic. They have all my sympathy!

But, long story short, for us things started filling up. Boxes and piles of things. Memory books, antiques, boxes of photos, and much, much, much more. We began to feel like nascent hoarders.

But still more stuff continued to pile in. Seven estates later, we were drowning in stuff. Over the past year we've focused on emptying the house, reviewing, selectively donating, setting aside actual family heirlooms of value, and (preferably) recycling the rest.

It's been a long processs, and I won't lie: we're not nearly finished yet. But we recently were able to downsize from an almost 800-sq. ft, super-large storage unit to a much smaller 150-sq. ft. one. Progress is happening. For one thing, I don't cry as often when going through things that trigger memories.

I'm also getting excited about the new office and art studio I plan for the east end of the new, improved Library.

We--by which I mean my Beloved and my son--have stripped the dated, 1980s-era wallpaper, painted the walls, beams, ceiling and wainscoting, and removed the nasty, elderly white carpeting that I've hated since the day we moved in.

We were fortunate: when we ordered the new hardwood flooring, they already had it in the warehouse. Not everyone has been so lucky. We're counting our blessings, and sorting the boards by length, so we can make as few cuts as possible.

I'll have you know I have been sorting boards. I may never be able to stand up straight again, but I'm not just watching the guys do all the hard work.

And meanwhile, I've continued working out of a corner of my bedroom. I hold onto faith that all my work will result in finished projects soon! As it does, you'll learn about it first.

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Advance Reader Copies? Soon!

Becausse you're a newsletter reader, you're "first string eligible" to be on my "street team." That's a very special, wonderful group of readers.

Would you like an Advance Reader Copy of A Bone to Pick, before the formal publication date? All you have to do is promise to read it and prepare a short, honest review. Sign up for the discounted presale offer, then post your review on the day of publication.

As we proved with my sister's story Deep Ellum ​Blues, It's a great way to help my new book get noticed. And you'll have my undying gratitude for your help!

If you like this newsletter, please encourage your friends to sign up. This is the place for first glimpses, insider information and special offers. I'll be ready to offer some "freebies" next month, if all goes well!

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Thank you for your support!

Jan S. Gephardt