Oliver's Offerings

Oliver's Offerings - June 2022

6/7/2022

June 2022

Summer Here We Come

I have no idea where the year has gone. June already? Soon I'll be learning what summer is like on the mountain. I'm hoping it's not too hot. And if we're lucky this month our solar panels will be installed. I'm kinda jazzed about those critters.

Since there's lots going on here let's dig in and see what I've been up to.

Demon Trappers #9

When I have a plot in mind I "see" the scenes in my head. Weird, but that's how it works. DT #9's scenes have been playing on "repeat" for a few months, so much so it was driving me nuts.

To stop this endless loop nonsense I wrote a 23 page plot outline (not the norm for me) which includes some whole scenes and snippers of dialog. I'd hoped that would settle the book down a bit, but no. This one has a mind of its own.

I gave up and now I'm just pushing my way through the first draft. This completely screwed up my plans for the fantasy series rewrite, but that's the way it goes when you're a wordsmith: The story rules and you just take notes. I'm finding I'm having to go back to previous scenes to lay in more details, which usually happens during one of the later drafts. As I said, this book has an attitude all its own.

I honestly think my characters love torturing me just as much I do them.

The Time Rovers Series

E-book Covers by Clarissa Yeo

One of my "don't go there" rules was for writing alternate history stories because the amount of research required is daunting, at least if you do it right. Especially if you set your stories in 1888 London (during the time of the Jack the Ripper murders). In fact, I might have used the "never" word for alternate history. And of course a story promptly fell into my head that required just that. You'd think I'd learn.

Let's just be honest: This series launched my writing career. The Time Rovers books were originally published by Gwen Gades at Dragon Moon, a small, but mighty, Canadian press. DMP has given a number of authors their start in the business and for that reason alone I love them. The first book won a bunch of awards which stunned me. Still does.

Their print editions of the series (with different covers created by the very talented Christina Yoder and L.W. Perkins) are still available for sale. The e-books can be found at (Amazon, iBooks, Kobo and GooglePlay.)

The first e-book (SOJOURN) is just 99 cents (USD) to introduce readers to the series. And given the response from the special sale I had back in January, I may be adding another book to the series sometime down the line. Gee, that might require a TRIP TO LONDON. And a few pints with my friends there who are true Victorian historians. Yeah, that would totally suck. //sarcasm

For more about this multi-award winning series which blends historical mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and a wee bit of romance, go here!

Print Covers by Christina Yoder and L.W. Perkins

The lure of time travel is irresistible--the opportunity to visit the past--
perhaps even have an opportunity to fix the “mistakes”.

But with every new technology comes new dangers,
some seen,
some nearly invisible.

Join me on a journey that spans two pivotal points in history:
1888 Victorian England and the “utopia” of 2057 America.

You'll be in the hands of a veteran time traveler,
so what could possibly go wrong?

LOST SOULS
(DEMON TRAPPERS #8)
is now available on Amazon, iBooks & Kobo

The first four chapters of LOST SOULS are on this blog.

Life In Portugal's Countryside

In between working on the various books I've been puttering in our garden. I really enjoy this because it allows me to ponder on plots while I'm pulling random weeds, telling the peas that really need to grow a lot faster, and wondering what in heavens we'll do with all that Portuguese cabbage. <stuff grows like mad here> I was not surprised when my new dermatologist took one look at my very pale (author) face and prescribed heavy-duty sunscreen. "You will need this," she said. She is sooo right.

Our sweet corn is up, the carrots, onions, spinach, squash, melons, beans (runner and black) are doing great. I have plenty of radishes and lettuce to nosh on, though I'm not that fond of lettuce. The peas are so-so, but maybe they'll listen to me and grow nice and tall. The tomatoes are downright scary. They've grown even taller since this photo and there are not only flowers but wee fruits on those things. I attribute this good fortune to First Year Gardener Luck. I have no doubt challenges will arise, as will the bugs who will find all this a very tempting place to dine.

This last Sunday we went to the "Boot" sale in Miranda do Corvo. Essentially it's a big garage sale with all sorts of stuff, some antique, some not. I was looking for a special piece of local art, rather buying something at a big box store, but didn't find what I wanted. I did come home with a bottle of Sarson's Malt Vinegar, which is great for vegetables and chips (French fries). I foresee me eating a lot of both. Especially that New Zealand spinach we're growing. (It's in the photo above tucked between the lighter green lettuce and the big leaves of cabbage). The variety is thicker, with a texture I like better than other spinaches I've tried. I'm having to harvest some every couple of days, so that's really good news.

And that's it for this newsletter. Next month I hope to have some more news on the Demon Trappers' latest manuscript, what's happening with the fantasy series, maybe even a snippet or two of Katia and Simon's adventures.

Have a grand month and thank you for reading my books!