Ten-Seven Launches Next Week

I try to stay from the hard sell, especially in this blog. My philosophy is that I want people to get to know me and my writing a little and they can decide to buy the book or not. Most muster the courage to read this free blog and skip paying for a book and that’s okay. No one has time to read everything. Even I can’t keep up with all the books I want to read. Hell, I can’t even keep up with all the books I want to read that are written by personal friends. So I’m not going to fault anyone for reading the blog and not buying the book, though I obviously wish you would. (Editor’s Note: Calling bullshit. Good taste forbids me from repeating what he says about those skinflint anti-intellectual MAGA-heads who read the blog for free and don’t buy any books. That’s him, though. He’s like that. I try and I try…)

That said, Ten-Seven drops one week from today, so the next week or so are going to be dedicated to flogging the book. I’ll try to do it in the most polite and non-intrusive way I can, but this is my Fortnight of Blatant Self-Promotion (FBSP to those in the know) and I need to grab what attention I can.

Here’s the tease for Ten-Seven:

Vicki Leydig thought she was going to have a few drinks with her friend Mary and maybe get to spend a little time with Doug Strinweiss at the Allegheny Casino. She didn’t expect Doug to offer her a ride home, and she sure didn’t expect to watch a stranger blow Doug’s head off in the parking lot. Penns River police don’t have much to go on until Detective Ben “Doc” Dougherty interviews casino employees and learns of drug deals going down in and around the property. Leads show promise and fall apart with depressing frequency until the local prosecutor turns a minor charge into a statement that leads Doc and the rest of the police force to a surprising conclusion, though not before tragedy strikes one of their own.

This isn’t the only thing Penns River has on its plate. A consent decree signed with the federal government has brought three new female officers to the force, and Deputy Chief Jack Harriger continues his push to take over the top job from Stush Napierkowski. Doc learns his young friend Wilver Faison may be a key player in the local drug trade and one Penns River cop has a secret he’d just as soon keep to himself.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh mob boss Mike Mannarino faces increasing pressure from his bosses in New York, so much so he’s thinking of reaching out to Chicago for protection. What the rest of his crew has to decide is whether Chicago is the only other organization Mike might make an arrangement with.

It’s another week in the town of Penns River, with distractions that range from petty vandalism to a bridge jumper keeping the cops’ full attention away from the critical task at hand.

I also teased a couple of excerpts in previous blog posts.

In Chapter 20 Doc interviews casino employees in the hope someone saw something he can use.

In Chapter 6 a lawyer shows up at the station to represent the prime suspect.

Piqued your interest? You can pre-order Ten-Seven from Down & Out Books; it’s also available at these fine retailers.

• Amazon — Trade Paperback | eBook 
• Amazon UK — Trade Paperback | eBook 
• Barnes & Noble — Trade Paperback | eBook 
• IndieBound — Trade Paperback 
• iTunes — eBook 
• Kobo — eBook 
• Play — eBook

This fine piece of American entertainment is available in both trade paperback and e-book formats.

Not to get all Bartles and Jaymes about it, but thank you for your support.