MKC Books

This notification can only be understood to have come from MK's mother*:

I don't know how, I don't know why, but my always-has-her-nose-in-a-book daughter has somehow managed (despite her best efforts to stay out of the limelight) to actually win an award!

Of course, it's from a library group. Just more of those peculiar bookish people patting themselves on the back. I mean, who ever heard of the Mountain Plains Library Association's Literary Contribution Award**?

Maybe she'll get a plaque or something. Or the plague. It's downright embarrassing. I swear, they give kids awards for everything these days...

MK's Baffled Mom

*True Dakotans only brag on the kids or the sports team.
**There are 12 members states and nominations come from member librarians. Past South Dakota writers to win the award include Kathleen Norris and Linda Hasselstrom. Other mystery writers are Tony Hillerman and Craig Johnson.

A trade paperback of Dead Spirits is now available for purchase at Amazon. You can also obtain it by requesting it from your local bookstore.

Finally. It's here. I hope you enjoy Dead Spirits as much as I enjoy being done with it!

Dead Spirits is available in ebook format at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords. The last is a distributor to Apple, so it may be a while yet before it appears there. There's also a glitch at Barnes & Noble in populating the new book page, so if it's still wonky, wait a day or two. If it continues to glitch, let me know.

A trade paperback version will be available soon and I will announce it here on the blog.

Here is the blurb:

Instead of the Corps of Discovery...

A corpse is discovered at Spirit Mound, a Lewis and Clark exploration site in South Dakota reputed to harbor evil spirits. Sheriff Karen Okerlund Mehaffey, newly married and wanting nothing more than to jet off on her honeymoon, must deal with a clash of white and Native cultures over an archaeological dig at the mound. 

To further depress Karen's spirits, the victim was a childhood friend of her inscrutable Native American deputy. Her and Two Fingers's relationship has always been somewhat standoffish, but will this freeze it entirely despite the August heat? 

From dusty museums to colorful powwows to backstabbing academia, Karen and Marek must dig far into the past for a killer in the present who's stirred ancient spirits—evil or otherwise. 

As ever, my wonderful cover artist (Glendon Haddix) nailed the cover for Dead Spirits. In a first for me, it's adapted from a photograph that I actually took. Of course, he made it look a lot better! ​

Wow, it's been a wee little while since I last posted! Sorry about that. Life happens.

Just wanted to give an update on what's happening on the writing front. I just handed the draft of Dead Spirits off to my editor. I hope to have the revisions done and the book out by the end of the year.

In writing Dead Spirits, which is largely about Deputy Two Fingers' backstory, I discovered an error in Dead Poor. Namely, I said that Two Fingers was under the blood quantum of 50% for tribal enrollment. Since then, I have learned the true percentage is 25%, so I have adjusted accordingly in the new book.

The trade paperback version of Dead Ball is now available on Amazon. It can also be ordered through your local bookstore using the ISBN (9798485711474).

At long last! And despite much teeth gnashing.

Dead Ball is out in the wild in ebook format at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords. The last is a distributor to Apple, so it may be a while yet before it appears there.

A trade paperback version is forthcoming and I will announce it here on the blog.

Here is the blurb:

Summer was for fun...

A former star basketball player, Sheriff Karen Okerlund Mehaffey just wants to have fun watching the local girls' summer team play against an elite Dakota team that sports the country’s top uncommitted college recruit. True, life-changing scholarship offers are on the line, but no one expected that murder would be done. 

To make things even stickier, the talented and unfairly maligned daughter of Karen's boyfriend is vying for one of those scholarships, and this may be her last chance to catch the eye of scouts.

Someone is playing for keeps, but who? From entitled players and helicopter parents to classless coaches and dubious sponsors, Karen and her detective-uncle, Marek Okerlund, must play a deadly game of justice to find a killer.

i always seem to start out my blog posts with apologies for the long silence! This one does not, unfortunately, break that trend.

Last heard from, I had a delayed my editing date to February for Dead Ball and was hoping to get the book out by summer or early fall. Alas, due to more 2020-like ills extending into 2021, the only thing that got done by February was the ebook cover. As always, my cover artist (Glendon Haddix of Streetlight Graphics) nailed it. 

My new editing date is in June. Assuming I make that date (never assume anything these days!), that will likely mean a late fall publication. 

Like just about everyone on the planet, I have had a challenging 2020. Add eldercare and a sudden move and things have been a wee bit more stressful than usual and I've had to delay Dead #10.

Good News: Dead #10 has a title! Drum roll...it's...Dead Ball. Yes, it's about sports and the many roles it plays in small towns across the Dakotas.

Bad News: Just as I was set to take my first vacation of the year up in South Dakota and get rolling on Dead Ball after completing my research, my mother ended up in the hospital and remained there for over a month. Then when I returned home, I found my home of 20 years was being sold out from under me and I had five weeks to find a new place and move. (Somehow, that all happened.) Sheesh. Enough already, 2020! With all that going on, I contacted my editor and set a new editing date, which is a full three months later than usual. This may well push the actual publishing date, usually anywhere from March to May (mostly the latter these days), into late summer or fall. I will, of course, let you know when it's finally out.

Best News: It's less than two months until 2020 is over!