American Journey series

If the Northwest Passage series was chaos, the American Journey series was order. For the first time as an author, I brought rhyme and reason to a collection of books. I built a series the right way.

I did so by tying five very different stories to a single protagonist, a secretive, personable physics professor named Geoffrey Bell. From 2015 to 2017, I wrapped a saga around a person and a portal.

The person was Bell, a childless, 52-year-old academic who looked and acted like Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka. The portal was a chamber in Bell's Los Angeles mansion, a subterranean passage that led from the basement to the backyard and became a wonder when activated by crystals.

Starting and ending the series in California was a deliberate decision. Though four of the books are mostly set in Texas, New Jersey, Indiana, and Tennessee, I wanted all to have ties to the Golden State. I wanted to retain possibilities and West Coast storylines I had worked out long in advance. Though my characters wander across America in the 20th and 21st centuries, they inevitably return to Los Angeles.

Jeanette Bell, Geoffrey's wife, also plays a key role. She softens her husband's rough edges, embraces the many travelers who access the time portal, and guides her spouse when his health fails at the end.

Building on the example I set in Wallace, Idaho, when writing The Fire, I made research pilgrimages to four settings in the American Journey series. I visited Galveston, Princeton, Evansville, and Chattanooga and gathered much from each trip. I learned about the fifth setting — Pasadena, California — through movies, books, and websites.

Here is a candid look at my second series. As with last week's Northwest Passage retrospective, beware of occasional spoilers.

SEPTEMBER SKY (2015): My sixth novel features a big story and a small one. The big story is the 1900 Galveston hurricane. The small one is the evolving relationships between reporter Chuck Townsend; his college dropout son, Justin; and the people they meet in the past.

I wrote September Sky with "epic" in mind. From the first page to the last, I wanted to overwhelm readers with history, suspense, storylines, thrills, and characters they would long remember. I aimed for lasting impact.

I started with a good foundation. As many know, the Galveston hurricane was more than a storm. It was a tempest that killed at least 8,000 people and nearly wiped a city of 40,000 off the map. That said, the characters, especially the secondary ones, carry the novel. Charlotte Emerson and Emily Beck, the Townsends' librarian love interests, bring spirit and compelling life stories. Wyatt Fitzpatrick, Chuck’s distant ancestor, shows grit and savvy as an innocent tycoon accused of murdering a lover.

When I visited Galveston in 2014, I saw reminders of the hurricane, including a massive seawall that stretches ten miles on the Gulf side of the island. Workers raised the city itself up to 17 feet in the years following the storm. Museums, memorials, and surviving structures still tell the tale of the natural disaster, one of many in my novels.

Favorite Quote: This passage, the beginning of Chapter 77, is perhaps the best I've ever written. It summarizes Emily's situation to a T.

Emily took a swig and passed the bottle to her mother. She didn't like whiskey. She didn't like the taste or the smell or what it did to men on a Saturday night. But when you rode out a hurricane with your parents in a dead woman's bedroom, you learned to like a lot of things.

MERCER STREET (2015): Speaking of violent weather, I finished Mercer Street on the "dark and stormy night" of July 4, 2015, and honed it in the aftermath of Hurricane Joaquin, which caused serious flooding in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where I vacationed that October.

Of course, Susan Peterson, mother Elizabeth, and daughter Amanda walk into a bigger storm when they travel to New Jersey in the deceptively quiet months before World War II. Though the ladies find love, adventure, and purpose, they also find intrigue and danger.

Like September Sky, Mercer Street offers readers a feast. Set mostly in Princeton in 1938 and 1939, it gives them Albert Einstein, Orson Welles, The Wizard of Oz, the New York World's Fair, Eleanor Roosevelt, admirals, diplomats, college life, and young men with Nazi ties. I loved writing about The War of the Worlds broadcast, the fair, and the doddering genius who set the world of physics on fire.

I needed 294 days to produce Mercer Street, second only to September Sky's 307. When I finally released the book on October 22, 2015, I did so not at home, as with my other books, but rather at a Starbucks in Huntsville, Alabama. Daughter Amy proofed the last chapter and gave me a final okay and a hot coffee. It was publishing in the digital age.

Favorite Quote: In Chapter 51, Amanda Peterson assesses an unexpected breakfast guest, her grandmother's newest friend.

Amanda watched Einstein sit down and then pulled up a chair opposite him at the table for four. She took a moment to study the man and found him to be exactly as advertised – disheveled, uncombed, and a little distracted. He wore a shaggy blue sweater, baggy gray pants, and hair that wouldn't quit. Even at age sixty, he looked like his caricature.

INDIANA BELLE (2016): As an author, I like natural disasters. I have written about the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, the Big Burn of 1910, the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the 1889 Johnstown flood, the 1918 Cloquet fire, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

In Indiana Belle, I gave the 1925 Tri-State tornado its due. I began my third-shortest book with a storm system that killed 800 people, injured 2300, and turned large parts of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana into kindling.

Then I ventured into the world of flappers, bootleggers, and the KKK and sent two characters to a distant, Orwellian future. I dove into mystery, intrigue, and hard science fiction. I also set a story from coast to coast, expanded Professor Bell's personal story, and used a photo of a real person on my stock-art cover. I gave graduate student Cameron Coelho and society editor Candice Bell a ride to remember. In countless, creative ways, I broke new ground.

I loved drawing Candice, Geoffrey Bell's great-aunt. She was as much fun to write as Virginia Jorgenson and Annie Carpenter, my other fearless female journalists. Like Virginia and Annie in The Mirror and Annie's Apple, she gave a story added spirit, depth, and beauty.

I end Indiana Belle with a letter that spans time. In the message, Cameron defends his life choices to his handlers. Jake Maclean does the same in Let Time Fly. Some ideas are too good to use just once.

Favorite Quote: In Chapter 14, Cameron notices a fellow refugee as he rides out the 1925 Tri-State tornado in a lighted storm cellar.

Cameron lowered his eyes and stared at the floor as a spider raced toward the door. He watched it closely as it stopped near his foot and appeared to weigh two unpleasant options — death by tornado or death by shoe. Like a deer in the headlights, it stayed where it was.

CLASS OF '59 (2016): Like many, I am fascinated with the 1950s. I watched Happy Days as a kid and loved movies like Grease, Back to the Future, and Pleasantville. I pictured heaven as a malt shop filled with jukeboxes, red vinyl booths, and Fonzies and Peggy Sues.

[Speaking of "The Fonz," is there an American male over 50 who did not jump – or dream of jumping – over four or five trash cans on his chopper bike in the 1970s? I know I did.]

In any case, I love the Fifties. So when I finally got a chance to squeeze a 1950s story into a series, I seized it. I threw everything into a novel that was a sheer pleasure to write.

In Class of ’59, Mary Beth and Piper McIntire, sisters from 2017, meet Mark and Ben Ryan, brothers from 1959, through the magic of Professor Bell’s Tunnel of Love, setting off a romp filled with romance, danger, angst, and adventure. They find their own Happy Days.

If this story sounds familiar, it should. I flipped the script in the Stone Shed trilogy and sent two brothers to the past. Only the names (Noah and Jake Maclean, Abby and Rachel Ward) and dates (2024, 1776) were changed to protect the innocent. I loved using this trope.

In addition to sock hops, gangsters, and a cameo by Marilyn Monroe, Class of ’59 features a LOT of time travel. My amorous couples travel between 2017 and 1959 at least a dozen times. In most of my other books, the main characters travel only once or twice, if at all.

Bloopers: I must report two. First, the discs in the jukebox on the cover are CD-ROMs, not vinyl records. [I still like the cover.] Second, when Donna Ryan, Mark and Ben's mother, joins her sons in the future, she forgets to bring Charlotte, the family cat. You can't win them all.

Favorite Quote: In Chapter 34, Piper tells Mark about a time when Mary Beth defended her from a pack of grade-school bullies.

"She threatened them. She said, 'If you don't leave my sister alone, I'll have you all spayed and neutered.' Mary Beth didn't even know what the words meant. She heard them on a TV commercial. But her warning worked. The bullies never bothered me again."

HANNAH'S MOON (2017): As an author, I am often reminded to write what I know. In Hannah's Moon, I did just that. I told the tale of Ron and Claire Rasmussen, a couple battling infertility. I began by showing the two cradling their first child — a stillborn son named Ronnie.

On November 8, 1993, my wife, Cheryl, gave birth to a stillborn child — a four-pound, 18-inch, 33-week-old boy named Douglas Kyle. We endured a hardship that no parents, even in literature, should ever have to bear.

I needed three weeks to write that first chapter. Even with a solid command of the subject, I needed time to describe a hospital scene that demanded patience, care, and detail.

When I finished, I used my experience as an adoptee and an adoptive father to guide Ron and Claire in what became one of my best novels. I turned life into art.

Of course, Hannah's Moon is more than a sentimental journey about parenthood. It is a thriller set in 1945, a book that details the hopes and fears of Americans in the tense final months of World War II.

Hannah Rasmussen, Ron and Claire's adopted daughter, is the star of the show. Inspired by Tabitha Stephens, the towheaded toddler in the 1960s sitcom Bewitched, she was the first character to get her name on a book. [See Caitlin's Song and Annie's Apple.] I dedicated the novel itself to my daughter, Heidi, whom Cheryl and I adopted in 1992.

Though most of Hannah's Moon's is set in Chattanooga, seven chapters are set on or near the USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser that sailed into history in July 1945. I spent several weeks researching the doomed ship, which remains the most compelling of my book settings.

Favorite Quote: In Chapter 62, I describe the guests that greeted helpless sailors, including Ron Rasmussen, on July 31, 1945.

The sharks that came on Monday did not go away. Many struck in groups, terrorizing sailors for hours. Others hunted alone, picking off individuals with reckless abandon. Some gave warning by approaching along the surface. A few struck without notice from the depths. By sunset on Tuesday, the cold, conscienceless killers had maimed or consumed dozens of men and harassed or terrified countless more.

In the American Journey series, I pushed boundaries, pushed myself, and opened doors for future works. By the time I published the last book, I no longer looked at novel writing as a hobby. It was a passion, one with a life of its own. Next: The Carson Chronicles series.

Northwest Passage series

Otto von Bismarck once said, "Laws are like sausages — it’s better not to see them being made." The 19th‑century German statesman knew it is often best to focus on a finished product and not its construction.

The Northwest Passage series is my string of sausages. Cobbled together between 2012 and 2014, it is a collection of books only an author and perhaps understanding readers could appreciate.

When I wrote The Mine, my debut novel, I did not anticipate a second act. I expected to move on to the next item on my bucket list and leave writing behind. Then I got the notion to proceed. I wrote The Journey, a mostly unrelated story, and then The Show, the afterthought sequel to The Mine. By the time I finished The Fire and The Mirror, which continued the tales of the Smith and Johnson families, I had a hodgepodge on my hands.

The novels do have some things in common. Each is set in my native Pacific Northwest. Members of the Smith and Johnson clans mingle a few times. And Joel Smith appears in all five stories. Readers see Joel as a college student in The Mine, a toddler in The Journey, a young husband and father in The Show, a middle-aged professor in The Fire, and a grandfather in The Mirror. Cindy Smith, Joel's mother, is the only other character to appear in every book.

I broke down this series once before. On March 20, 2014, I answered common questions from readers. I won't do that today. Instead, I will try to answer uncommon questions and offer new information. With spoilers galore, here is my second examination of a splendid collection.

THE MINE (2012): Though The Mine is mostly set in Seattle, it begins in Helena, Montana, a town I know well. I moved my family to the storied gold-mining community in June 2000, barely two weeks after Joel Smith visited it in the novel. Unlike other settings in the book, I did not have to research this one. I lived in it, worked in it, and played in it.

Helena, as I wrote on July 4, 2014, is a special place, filled with Gilded Age mansions, quirky shops, and alpine scenery. I picked the city as a major setting because I wanted Joel and later Grace Vandenberg, his love interest, to see what I saw every day. I also wanted Joel's shocking transition from 2000 to 1941 to take place in a simpler, less hectic environment.

Joel, as readers know, handled the transition with aplomb, much to the chagrin of those who wanted him to grieve more about what he had left behind. Needless to say, I struggled with this. Though I wanted to present Joel as a disciplined problem solver, a man who did not easily break, I could have made him suffer more. Most people, suddenly torn from everything they have ever known, would not be able shake off crushing adversity so quickly and easily.

I faced other challenges, of course, including some I documented in The Mine's tenth anniversary post. After confronting the realities of crafting a novel, I added fifteen chapters to the first draft, changed story arcs, and updated props and attire. Aluminum foil became tin foil. Chocolate chip cookies became Tollhouse cookies. Grace's wardrobe on a trip to Mount Rainier was changed from a blouse and blue jeans to a dress.

I also changed the ending. In my first outline of The Mine, Grace reunited with Joel as an old woman, much like Jane Seymour with Christopher Reeves early in Somewhere in Time. After much thought, I decided to have them reunite in 2000 as young adults. A few critics dismissed the ending as a deus ex machina. I still consider it perfect.

Favorite Quote: In this Chapter 48 passage, a favorite among readers, Ginny Gillette tells Joel Smith that her best friend is worth pursuing.

"Grace may never be someone you can read or understand. She may never be someone anyone can understand. But she will always be worth the effort and the wait. Beneath that delicate exterior is a strong, resolute woman who does nothing halfway. Never take her for granted and never underestimate her. She will amaze."

THE JOURNEY (2012): My second book is something of an outlier. With 244 pages, sixty chapters, and two protagonists, it is by far my smallest work. It is also the only novel set in a fictional community.

Inspired by my high school years in the rodeo town of Pendleton, Oregon, The Journey was the first of my books to draw heavily on personal experience. In describing the carhop restaurants, drive-in theaters, school dances, classrooms, teenage customs, and even weekend nights "cruising the gut." I needed only to consult my memories and yearbooks.

The Journey was also the first of two books that introduced older characters to their younger selves and the first of seven set at least partially in an American high school. It tells the tale of Michelle Preston Richardson, a 48-year-old widow who is rudely propelled back in time to her senior year of 1979-80.

It also tells the tale of three major events that dominated news cycles that year: the Iran hostage crisis, the Miracle on Ice, and the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. As an 18-year-old living in Oregon, I vividly remember all three events, particularly the eruption, which hampered the Northwest for months and affected how residents lived, worked, traveled, and, in my case, fared in a track and field meet.

On May 19, the day after the eruption, my high school hosted an invitational for the also-rans who failed to qualify for district. As usual, I ran the 1500 meters. As usual, I ran fourth in the six-man race through the first two of the four laps. But I didn't remain fourth for long.

Beginning in the third lap, the runners ahead of me dropped out of the race. Affected by the invisible but noticeable volcanic ash that permeated the warm spring air, they wandered off the track, dropped to their knees, and gagged or vomited. I pressed on. Equipped with a slightly better air filter, I seized a rare opportunity and outsprinted my remaining competitors to win a running race for the only time.

Favorite Quote: The first paragraph of Chapter 57 was a hard one to write. For the first time, I said goodbye to a novel's protagonist.

In the last minute of her life, Michelle Preston Richardson Land noticed and appreciated the beauty around her. She took in butterflies and flowers, a chipmunk on a log, majestic hemlocks and firs, and a young deer that had stopped to look at her from a few feet away. They were all amazing creations that she wanted to savor one last time.

THE SHOW (2013): I wrote The Show in five weeks. In a burst of NaNoWriMo energy in November 2012, I penned 92,000 words and produced a sequel that was as out of order as a caboose at the head of a train. I produced a third book that should have been a second.

I also produced a book that put me at odds with readers for the first time. In The Show, where Grace Vandenberg Smith stumbles through a time portal and travels from 2002 to 1918, my protagonist, then a married mother of two, makes two unpopular choices. She starts a relationship with a caring U.S. Army officer and literally pushes her parents, a young couple in 1919, into the 21st century.

Many readers ripped Grace's decisions as selfish and reckless. I believe they were practical, understandable, and most of all, defensible. Though Grace loved and missed her husband and daughters, she had no reason to believe she would ever see them again. She was a "single" pregnant woman in an unforgiving age. Captain Walker offered her love, marriage, and a home. Later, when Grace sees a chance to return to 2002, she ends the relationship but complicates another. She reclaims her parents, who died in a 1937 auto accident and left her an orphan. She rewrites the historical record.

Most people, I dare say, would not take the noble route. They would make the best decision with the information available to them. Even so, I appreciate the counterarguments, and if I wrote The Show today, I might heed at least one of them. I can imagine a compelling ending where Grace says so long to her parents in 1919 and lets them live the life they were meant to lead. I can picture a much different story.

On the plus side, The Show was a fun novel to write. It offers a fair amount of humor and features my best marriage proposal, wedding, and honeymoon chapters. It is my ode to Valentine's Day.

Favorite Quote: In Chapter 25, Joel Smith, the perpetual playboy, counts his blessings as he marries Grace Vandenberg in Hawaii.

Joel looked at the vision holding his hands and then at the ocean behind her and wondered again whether he had won a cosmic lottery. Saints didn't deserve beach weddings in Kauai, much less spoiled, cocky frat boys who cheated on their taxes, dumped pre-law students who looked like models, and gambled on horses and greyhounds.

THE FIRE (2013): Wallace, Idaho, is the Center of the Universe. I'm serious. You can find incontrovertible "proof" on a manhole cover at the confluence of Bank and Sixth streets. I have seen the intersection on many occasions, including once on June 21, 2013, when I crossed it at exactly the same time protagonist Kevin Johnson did in The Fire.

Needless to say, I did not see Kevin, my curious young time traveler, but I did see a lot of Wallace, a silver-mining community of 900 souls. For three days that June, I researched a book setting by immersing myself in it.

Wallace screams Old West. Every downtown building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Most are survivors of a massive wildfire that roared through town in 1910. For me, it was a perfect place to send a carefree college graduate who inadvertently wanders into danger, adventure, and a love triangle after discovering a time portal on his deceased grandfather's property.

I wandered into a bit of danger myself when I had Kevin, 22, divide his affections between Sadie Hawkins, an unrefined local girl, and Sarah Thompson, a polished teacher from Indiana. Though both ladies were beautiful, smart, and kind, they were one too many for some readers, who formed competing camps. In the end, I let fire and fate, not whim, determine which woman survived to join Kevin in the future.

Though I am superstitious about Friday the 13th, I threw caution to the wind on Friday, September 13, 2013, when I hosted a 50th birthday party for my wife, Cheryl. We dined with friends in Wallace, of course, at a historic saloon called the 1313 Club. Life was never so good!

Favorite Quote: Taken from Chapter 80, Kevin Johnson's final reflection as he drives his family home is still my best ending.

Kevin smiled. He knew that even if the sky were gray tomorrow, it would remain blue in his mind. His last mental snapshot of Wallace, Idaho, would not be of fire, smoke, and death but rather of sunshine, giggles, and kisses. That, he concluded, was progress.

THE MIRROR (2014): Part of the fun of writing fiction is occasionally taking a leap into the unknown. In The Mirror, I took two. I jumped into the world of 2020, assuming it would look like the world of 2014, and jumped into the heads of two teenage protagonists, assuming they would think like me. I soon learned it is never wise to assume.

As most people know, 2020 was not like previous years. COVID-19 took care of that. I did not anticipate a global pandemic when I sent Ginny and Katie Smith, the twin daughters of Joel and Grace, to a country fair near Seattle on September 11, 2020. I did not have the sisters mask up or practice social distancing. I envisioned a different future.

When an author writes about a time he has never seen, he takes a risk. When he writes about people who are much different than himself, he takes a bigger risk. One reader, a woman, let me have it: "This is exactly what you'd expect from a time-travel book about teenage girls written by a middle-aged man."

I shook off the criticism. If there is one thing I have learned as an author, it is that you cannot please everyone. All you can do is tell your story as best you can. So I did just that. In The Mirror, I told a story about 2020, 1964, and 19-year-old sisters and also tackled difficult subjects like racism, domestic violence, and terminal illness for the first time.

Oddly enough, one of the earliest fans of The Mirror was my daughter Amy, a 19-year-old college freshman in 2014. "I liked it, Dad," she said in a telephone call. "I liked it a lot." That was enough for me.

Favorite Quote: In Chapter 68, Ginny Smith describes the scene at the Beatles concert in the Seattle Center Coliseum on August 21, 1964.

Then there were the sights – the surreal, stunning, mesmerizing sights that seemed stripped from a newsreel. No matter where Ginny looked, she saw movement – random, constant, violent movement. She saw young girls bounce in their chairs, tear at their hair, and clutch their throats and older ones throw jellybeans, flashbulbs, and themselves at an open stage. She saw wild women and girls gone gaga. She saw estrogen on fire.

Fun Fact: As a University of Oregon graduate, I am a diehard Duck, but I write positively about my University of Washington protagonists in the Northwest Passage novels. That is like a Michigan author lauding Ohio State characters or an Alabama writer speaking fondly of Auburn alums. Sometimes you do what you have to do to tell a story.

With 475,000 sales and more than seventeen thousand reviews, Northwest Passage is still my most widely circulated series. Though I do not plan to write about the Northwest again, I inevitably will. Authors rarely stray far from home. Next: The American Journey series.

Charting a new course

Once upon a time, I had a plan. I would retire at 65, go through my storage chest of story ideas, and write the Great American Novel. I would check off one of the biggest items on my bucket list.

I'm so glad I did not stick to the script. Had I done so, I might now be plotting my first novel and not my twenty-seventh. I might be starting my writing journey rather than pushing it into its fifteenth year.

Even so, there comes a time when every author must slow down, assess his or her current path, and decide whether or how to continue. For me, that time is now. After six series and twenty-six novels, I have decided to make a significant change. I will take a new approach to writing and publishing books, my passion since 2011.

First, for those who care, I will continue. I love writing novels far too much to give it up for blogging, traveling, collecting, or other priorities. (Though I admit when it comes to visiting grandchildren, it is a close call.) I hope to publish my next novel before the end of 2026. What I will give up is writing series, at least for now. Producing even a trilogy of historical fiction works is a massive undertaking — one that requires gobs of time and an interest in writing backstory, something I have never enjoyed and something many readers don't like or need.

Instead of writing series, I will write stand-alone novels, stories that begin with the first page and end with the last. I will produce one-and-done books and turn what has been a small business into a more relaxing hobby. I will start with my next story, another World War II yarn I have kicked around in my head for months. I hope to begin work on the novel, my first stand-alone in years, sometime this summer.

In the meantime, I will look back at my six series. Using a treasure trove of trivia, facts, anecdotes, and stories I have compiled over the years, I will provide readers with an in-depth and sometimes deeply personal examination of my novels. For each book, I will list favorite passages, insights, regrets, quirks, and sources of inspiration. I intend to begin with a look back at the Northwest Passage series later this month.

Many thanks to the readers who have supported my journey over the years. You are the reason I keep going. Happy New Year to all!

Photo: Reading a Minnie Mouse book to granddaughter Sarah.

Review: Sons of Liberty

I couldn't help myself. Just when I thought I was done with the American Revolution, I helped myself to one more 1770s miniseries. I set aside a few hours for Sons of Liberty, a three-episode offering currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video. I'm glad that I did.

Though the series, which debuted on the History Channel in 2015, takes some liberties with the historical record, it is compelling. Ben Barnes, who plays the Yankee firebrand Samuel Adams, stars in the production, which covers the turbulent years between 1765 and 1776, when America's festering dispute with Britain turned into a bloody war.

To be sure, Sons of Liberty does not rise to the level of TURN: Washington's Spies or John Adams, which I reviewed on this blog and consider television treasures, but it does entertain. It captures the uncertainty, tension, and nervous energy that ran through both Boston and Philadelphia on the eve of the lengthy rebellion.

I liked the story, the special effects, and especially the acting. Barnes is superb as the daring Sam Adams, while Henry Thomas and Rafe Spall are solid as the more cautious John Adams and John Hancock. Marton Csokas is a believably cruel British General Thomas Gage.

The series drifts at times. It suggests that the Boston Tea Party occurred in full view of the British and that Margaret Gage, the general's wife, had a fling with Dr. Joseph Warren and warned patriots of the march on Concord and Lexington. The record is much less clear.

Even so, I enjoyed the production. I would recommend it to any television viewer who loves suspense, action, and history, particularly the period leading up to the American Revolution. Rating: 4/5.

Credit: The public domain image of "The Boston Massacre," an event portrayed in Sons of Liberty, is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

In search of snow and surf

Everyone has a happy place. For some, it is a cabin in the country. For others, it is a beach or a mountain trail or a tranquil lake. For all, it is a venue that lends itself to relaxation, reflection, and enjoyment.

I have two happy places: Chico Hot Springs, Montana, and Coronado, California. By coincidence, I visited both during the holiday break.

I went to Chico first. Five months after visiting the Montana retreat on a nine-state vacation last summer, I made good on a vow to spend my 64th birthday at the alpine getaway. I got the notion after hearing "When I'm Sixty-Four" by the Beatles play on a radio. When my wife, Cheryl, agreed to the idea, we immediately booked a return trip.

For those who don't know, Chico is a full-service resort built around a historic 125-year-old lodge in the Paradise Valley, the one of Yellowstone fame. I've been smitten with the place since I attended library conferences there every October in the early 2000s.

Last week, I visited Chico for the first time in winter. And though I missed the fall foliage, the crisp autumn air, and working with peers, I didn't miss out on much else. Chico, unlike much of the rapidly changing state of Montana, has retained its Old West charm. It is as appealing as ever.

Some come for the scenic setting, 30 miles north of Yellowstone National Park. Others come for the locally sourced cuisine, the walkable grounds, or the lively saloon. Most, if not all, come for the thermal pools, which sit exactly a mile above sea level. I came for all of them.

Coronado was just as enjoyable. Though it was night-and-day different with sea breezes, palm trees, and long, sandy beaches, it was still a perfect place to relax and recharge. It was also a last chance to see my Marine officer son, daughter-in-law, and one-year-old granddaughter before they shipped out to Hawaii for a three-year assignment.

As visitors to San Diego know, Coronado is a Navy town. It is home to Naval Air Station North Island and five thousand active duty military personnel. It is also home to art galleries, quirky shops, parks, and the Hotel del Coronado, a gabled, turreted colossus built in 1888.

For those reasons and more, I used Coronado as the primary setting in Crown City and a secondary setting in The Memory Tree and Caitlin's Song. It is a venue that lends itself to endless possibilities.

Chico and Coronado gave me the opportunity to see things I rarely see anymore — snow and surf. Both places offered a pleasant change of pace for someone who lives in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

I don't know when I will return to either escape. Chico is nearly 900 miles from Las Vegas, Coronado more than 300. Other destinations are higher on my travel priority list. But I will inevitably return to both. That's the thing about happy places. They keep calling you back.

Audiobook: Annie's Apple

The Annie's Apple audiobook is now available on Amazon.com, Apple Books, and Audible.com! It joins every book in the Northwest Passage, American Journey, Carson Chronicles, and Time Box series as a title that has migrated from print to audio. Many thanks to voice artist Roberto Scarlato, who has narrated my last seven productions, including The Fountain, the first book in the Second Chance series.

Mr. Scarlato has graciously offered to complete the trilogy by narrating Duties and Dreams. That audiobook should be out by the middle of next year. As with most of my previous works, I would be happy to distribute free promo codes to listeners in the U.S. and U.K. willing to review the books. If interested, contact me through Facebook or this blog.

Letting another series fly

If there is one thing I like about writing a series of books, it is bringing that series to a conclusion. It is solving mysteries, answering questions, and tying loose ends. It is doing things I did not do in previous books.

Today, I do it again. With the release of Let Time Fly, I close out the Stone Shed trilogy, a tale set during the American Revolution. I tie a red, white, and blue ribbon around my sixth (and maybe final) series.

In Let Time Fly, my twenty-sixth novel, Noah and Jake Maclean, time travelers from 2024, complete a saga that began with a seemingly harmless vacation to 1776. The young brothers find love, adventure, fulfillment, and a whole lot of danger as they try to help the United States win its independence from Britain.

Though the book starts with Noah and closely follows his journey as George Washington's aide-de-camp, it focuses much more on his conflicted younger sibling. Now an 18-year-old apprentice in Philadelphia, Jake struggles with guilt and regret as younger, less capable boys march off to war. Like his soldier brother, he tries to find his place in a volatile, primitive world that still seems surreal.

As in The Patriots and The Winding Road, the first two novels in the series, Noah and Jake nurture their relationships with Abigail Ward Maclean and Rachel Ward, the lovely, spirited daughters of furniture maker Samuel Ward. They balance competing interests.

They also confront a growing threat from Malachi Maine, a sadistic British intelligence officer who is hell-bent on learning the brothers' secrets — secrets that could alter the outcome of the war.

Though Let Time Fly is set mostly in Pennsylvania from 1779 to 1782, it includes chapters set in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, where the conflict comes to an end. It also features a side trip to American Bandstand in 1958 and a retrospective from the viewpoint of Philadelphia in 1836. Like The Mirror, Hannah's Moon, Camp Lake, Crown City, and Duties and Dreams, my previous series finales, it wraps up an old story with a few new twists and answers many lingering questions. It leaves no stone unturned.

At 136,000 words, Let Time Fly is my fifth-longest novel. It goes on sale today at Amazon.com and many of its international marketplaces.

A trip to American Bandstand

For decades, American Bandstand showcased and even defined popular music in the United States. Long before MTV put its stamp on the culture in 1981, the television program, a Saturday afternoon staple on ABC, introduced music and dance to millions of viewers.

The show, which ran from 1952 to 1989, promoted artists ranging from Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, and the Supremes to the Jackson 5, Madonna, and Prince. It also inspired countless talent shows in later decades, served as fodder for drama series like American Dreams, and introduced a seemingly ageless host named Dick Clark to television audiences. More than three thousand episodes aired after the program debuted at WFIL-TV in Philadelphia on October 7, 1952.

Though I tuned into American Bandstand many times as a teenager in the 1970s, I did not know much about the show's history until I read American Bandstand by John A. Jackson and Bandstandland by Larry Lehmer. The books, the definitive works on the program, served as background reading for several chapters in my latest novel.

In Let Time Fly, Jake Maclean and Rachel Ward, a teenage couple with access to an ancient time portal, travel from the Philadelphia of 1780 to the one of 1958. They take a break from the American Revolution by making an appearance on American Bandstand in its storied prime.

Even as an author of time-travel stories, I never tire of taking characters from one era and placing them in another. Readers familiar with the Stone Shed series know that Jake is a boy from 2024, who, like his older brother, Noah, decides to live out his life in the distant past. Rachel is a girl from the 1700s who travels on occasion to the 1900s and 2000s. In Let Time Fly, both experience a day trip for the ages before returning to realities of life in the eighteenth century.

Choosing American Bandstand in 1958 as an escape for Jake and Rachel was an easy call. The show, which Jake's grandmother attended frequently as a girl in Philadelphia, seemed like a no-brainer for two amorous teenagers who like music, dancing, and adventure.

Though fictional, the Bandstand chapters are based on actual episodes of the show before it moved to Los Angeles in 1964. Even Dick Clark will get some play. The host, perhaps best known for his New Year's Eve countdowns in Times Square, will interview Jake, Rachel, and other dancers, much as he did on Bandstand on a regular basis.

As mentioned earlier, Let Time Fly is now in the editing stages. I plan to publish both the Kindle and print editions of the novel next month.

Photo credit: The 1973 photograph above is courtesy of Mary Frampton, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Another day, another draft

I admit this one was a chore. I needed one month to outline it, two to research it, and another three to put it to paper — or what amounts to paper in the digital age. But it is done. Let Time Fly, the third and final novel in the Stone Shed trilogy, is now in the editing phase.

The book, which begins in November 1779, brings to an end the saga of Noah and Jake Maclean, young brothers who use an ancient family time portal to find love and adventure during the American Revolution.

Though the story starts with Noah and closely follows his journey as General George Washington's aide-de-camp, it focuses much more on his conflicted younger sibling. Now an 18-year-old apprentice in Philadelphia, Jake struggles with guilt and regret as younger, less capable boys march off to war. Like his soldier brother, he tries to find his place in a crude, violent world that still seems surreal.

As in The Patriots and The Winding Road, the first two novels in the series, Noah and Jake nurture their relationships with Abigail Ward Maclean and Rachel Ward, the lovely, spirited daughters of furniture maker Samuel Ward. They balance competing interests.

They also confront a growing threat from Malachi Maine, a sadistic British intelligence officer who is hell-bent on finding the brothers' secrets — secrets that could alter the outcome of the war.

At 116 chapters and 136,000 words, Let Time Fly is the fifth-longest of my twenty-six novels and the longest series finale. I hope to publish the finished work between Christmas and New Year's Day.

The lure of social media

As an author, I have an uneasy relationship with social media. I use some sites, ignore others, and view still others like I might view an exotic snake. I am still making my peace with platforms that many writers use — and use frequently — to promote their works.

I like Facebook. Like fellow Boomers, Gen X-ers, and others who remember rotary phones, I like the platform's ease-of-use, versatility, and reach. More than 550 people follow my Facebook author page, which I use to announce book releases; post reviews on books, movies, and television series; and offer my thoughts on literature and life.

I link or copy most of my Facebook content to my blog, Tumblr, and Goodreads, where 229 people, including authors, bloggers, and reviewers, keep up with my activities. Many have been with me since I published The Mine, my first novel, in 2012. For that reason alone, I do my best to engage those with comments and questions.

I have done less with BookBub, where I have 2723 followers, and Linked-In, where I have 1094. This is because of the one-way format of the former and business-oriented nature of the latter.

Despite the possibilities, I have done even less with X (formerly Twitter), Pinterest, and particularly Instagram, the gold standard for social interaction. I use all three to announce new books, but little else.

As for TikTok, it is mostly a mystery. I don't have an account and don't have immediate plans to create one, though I am intrigued by BookTok. BookTok, a book-related space on TikTok, features reviews, recommendations, and discussions on fiction and literature.

I continue to work with bloggers and greatly admire the few who have maintained their websites over the years. I can think of much better jobs than sorting through hundreds of book review requests.

I don't know how often I will use any of these platforms for the coming year, but I do know one thing. I will continue to engage those who love books and my books, in particular. I will keep on keeping on.

Audiobook: The Fountain

The Fountain audiobook is now live on Amazon, Audible, and Apple Books! It joins every book in the Northwest Passage, American Journey, Carson Chronicles, and Time Box series as a title that has migrated from print to audio. Many thanks to voice artist Roberto Scarlato, who has narrated my last six productions. He has graciously offered to continue the Second Chance series with Annie's Apple.

That offering should be out by February. As with most of my previous works, I would be happy to distribute free promo codes to listeners in the U.S. and the United Kingdom willing to review the books. If interested, contact me through Facebook or this blog.

Seeing the states in summer

I am not a world traveler. I have traveled to Canada six times and Mexico three. In most cases, I sampled Victoria or Los Algodones for a few hours. I didn't see a place at length until I visited Cabo San Lucas for a week in 2021. That said, I am a traveler. I have visited 47 U.S. states. When it comes to seeing America up close, I am usually the first to go and the last to leave.

This summer, I did it again. Along with Cheryl, my wife of 39 years, I traveled to each coast and a lot of points in between. I saw fourteen states by car, plane, sailboat, and even gondola. I reminded myself that the best way to see the United States, or any country, is to experience it.

In June, we went to New England, a region filled with history, lighthouses, and fresh seafood. Though we saw Salem, Lexington, Newport, and other major tourist attractions, we spent most of our time in Ogunquit, an artsy town with splendid beaches, quaint shops, and the best cliff walk in America. If you find yourself in the need of a stroll along Maine's rocky coast, Ogunquit's Marginal Way is your answer.

Later, in June and July, we turned west. We explored nine of the 11 states west of the Rocky Mountains, including a few we had not seen in years. As we did, I rediscovered old gems and found new ones. I came away with a better understanding and appreciation of America's most scenic region.

A few things to share. First, national parks, even the crowded ones, are still worth the time and effort. Though Cheryl and I entered only two on our eighteen-day car trip last month, we found them highly satisfying.

Yellowstone was magnificent. With green trees and green mountains, it was far from the burnt shell of a place that emerged from the horrific fires of 1988. It looked much like the destination that has drawn millions of tourists for more than a century. So did Crater Lake. The nation's deepest lake appeared resplendent on the eve of a three-year renovation project that will improve trails, facilities, and water access.

Second, mining towns are treasures, literally. On our three-thousand-mile journey in July, we saw Wallace, Idaho; Jacksonville, Oregon; and Virginia City, Nevada, up close and personal.

Even with 2025 trappings, like cars and modern infrastructure, each of the boomtowns gave visitors a glimpse of their heydays in the nineteenth century.

Wallace and Virginia City, of course, were major settings in The Fire and The Fair, my fourth and seventeenth novels. We also spent three days in Helena, Montana, another storied mining community and, more important, our home for fourteen years.

As we traveled, we also discovered the benefits of straying off the beaten path. In Kellogg, Idaho, at our son Matthew's insistence, we rode the Silver Mountain gondola, a three-mile, thousand-meter climb to the high point of a noted ski resort. In Central Oregon, at our friends' suggestion, we hiked around part of Paulina Lake, an alpine escape surrounded by natural hot springs, lush forests, and volcanic cliffs.

We have more travels planned for the coming months, including family visits to New Mexico and Alabama and a return trip to Chico Hot Springs, Montana, one of my favorite places on the planet. A first trip to Hawaii looms in 2026. In the meantime, we will savor the memories of our most recent journey, one that reminded us of the beauty of travel.

Photos (top to bottom): With Cheryl at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Enjoying a soak with friends at Paulina Lake, Oregon. With granddaughter Sarah in Wallace, Idaho. Chico Hot Springs resort in Pray, Montana.

Good intentions gone astray

I broke my writing vows. Like I have so often in the past fourteen years, I started producing a new novel long before I said I would.

Last week, while resting between vacations, I decided to gather my notes, outline a story, and put my figurative pen to paper. I typed the first chapter of Let Time Fly, the final book in the Stone Shed trilogy.

I am now five chapters in. If I have learned one thing in publishing 25 novels, it is that stories, even in the middle of a season devoted to leisure, can't wait. Like grapes on a vine, they need attention.

This book, like the last, will continue the tale of Noah and Jake Maclean, two time-traveling brothers from 2024 who find love, purpose, and happiness in Philadelphia during the American Revolution. It will put a cap on a family saga that spans decades and even centuries.

In the novel, set in the war's final years, Noah and Jake will shine. Like Abigail and Rachel Ward, their love interests and the spirited daughters of a furniture maker, they will dive headlong into America's fight for independence. They will lay the foundation for a future in the past.

Because of my early start, I hope to finish the first draft by December. I expect to publish a final version of the book itself in February.

The shot heard round the world

To this day, no one knows who fired first or even where. All that is certain is that someone shot a musket ball in the lush Massachusetts countryside on April 19, 1775, setting off the American Revolution.

Last week, near the end of my 12-day vacation in New England, I visited a site that is in many ways as sacred as Fort McHenry, Gettysburg, and even Pearl Harbor. While doing so, I acquainted myself with Lexington, Concord, and the "shot heard round the world," a bit of lore immortalized in a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I jumped into American history.

For those who don't know or remember, America began here. It began when untrained colonial militia and skilled British soldiers confronted each other on Lexington's green and turned what had been a mostly peaceful political dispute into a lengthy and violent war.

I found many sources of inspiration in Minute Man National Historical Park, a 967-acre treasure trove of bridges, buildings, and roads that tells the tale of a pivotal moment in time. Located 22 miles northwest of Boston, the park is must-see stop in a region steeped in history.

The focal point is North Bridge, a short, modest structure that spans the Concord River. It was here that American militia first answered the slaughter at Lexington and turned what had been a setback into a rout.

Another important site is the Hartwell Tavern, where colonial militia gathered and received warnings about the advancing British troops. Today, park rangers, wearing period attire, use the site to present informative programs and demonstrate weapons of the time.

Not all residents along Battle Road, a five-mile stretch between Lexington and Concord, participated in the conflict. Some watched it from their properties. Jacob Whittemore and his family witnessed everything from Paul Revere's midnight ride to the British advance to its hasty retreat back to Boston. They had a front-row seat to history.

I would recommend the park to any lover of history and enthusiast of the late 1700s. As one currently writing about the American Revolution, I found visiting the small but vital site an enlightening experience.

Photos: Hartwell Tavern, North Bridge, and Whittemore House.

Getting out and about

I don't do many public book events, but I did one today. Along with several other authors, I participated in the Henderson (Nevada) Libraries Local Author Showcase, which resumed for the first time in six years. It is one of two such annual events in the Las Vegas area.

Seated to my left in the photograph above is Richard Lapidus, author of "The Legend of Russian Bill" and other works.