Thursday, March 7, 2024

Spring in Budapest

Hi all, I think I'm overdue for an update here, but I'm back in Budapest, my second home.  I've lived here part time for fifteen years now (?!) and every spring I mark the change of the seasons by walking up to check out this almond tree overlooking the lovely Liberty Bridge across the Danube.

After a nice extended visit to California, it's good to be back here again, settling in to get some writing done. I'm planning to crank out the rest of Rome in Ruins (Nathan Grant Book 5) over the next few months.  In the meantime, it's my birthday today, so I'm busy answering messages from friends and family. It's a nice distraction, no doubt.

In other book news, I just signed on my narrator to do an audio book version of London on Fire, so audiophiles can expect that in late June.  I've also been working with translators on German versions of several titles, and I've signed with a Turkish publishing company for Turkish versions. So, lots going on.

I hope wherever you are in the world, you're enjoying your own change of seasons as well.

Monday, January 1, 2024

Happy New Year from So Cal!

Happy New Year to all, wherever you are. As for me, I find myself starting 2024 in my home of Southern California, spending the holidays and a little more with friends and family.

We've had some big waves here this past week (San Clemente Pier above) and as a lifelong surfer, I had to get out in it. Being a little out of shape for it after so much time in Europe, I took a beating, but it was still fun! Now that the holidays are winding down, and the waves as well, it's time to get back to writing, so I thought I'd give an update on how things are progressing.

First off, I'm making good progress on Nathan Grant book five, which also has a cover design now that I'm excited about:

I'm planning to have this book finished and released by sometime in the spring. When I have the rough draft completed, I'll put the book up for pre-sale on Amazon and keep you posted here and through my newsletter.

One thing that has slowed me down a little bit with this one is that the plot involves a movie that is being shot in Rome, and when I started thinking about ideas for the movie plot within the book plot, I came up with a script idea that I really liked. It ends up, I decided to write the script and shop it around, so I'm working on that as well as the novel at the same time. Both are coming along nicely, though.

Otherwise for 2024, I plan to have Nathan Grant book six out later in the year.  I'm still having fun with this series and want to keep going with it as long as I can, with no end currently in sight. 

That's about it for now. I'll be here in So Cal for most of this month, then head back to Budapest at some point. All in all, I'm hoping for the best this year, as we all tend to do. I wish you and yours all the best in 2024!

Monday, September 11, 2023

Monday in Montenegro

Hi all and greetings from Montenegro, where I'm chilling out in the little seaside village of Budva for the month of September.  After a summer spent in Budapest, I was craving some time by the sea, so I opted to check out a place I've never been and ended up here.

It's definitely a relaxing place to be spending some time.  The tourist season is winding down, though there are plenty of visitors still around.  I'm working during the days, exploring the area a bit and swimming in the Adriatic.




So far, I managed to format London on Fire for paperback and got that one out on Amazon, and now I'm hard at work on the fifth book in the Nathan Grant series, tentatively titled Rome in Ruins.  I'm just getting started, but so far so good!  I think this will be a fun one, knock on wood.

That's it from this part of the world, I hope you're enjoying September, wherever this month finds you.

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Summer winding down here...

Hi all, I'm here in my usual haunts of Budapest, Hungary, taking in the last of the summer.  I came here for the first time in 2009 to work on some writing for a few months and the place grew on me, so now I spend about half of my time here.

Currently, summer is shifting toward autumn, but you wouldn't know it from the weather, which is hot, in the mid to upper 90s F or 30s C.  Last weekend was the big national holiday here, St. Stephen's Day, which meant a huge fireworks display along the river.  It's always a spectacle.

As for writing, I was relieved to launch my latest Nathan Grant thriller on the same day, London on Fire, where Nathan is chasing members of a mysterious terrorist organization across England and Scotland.  It feels good to have released that one out into the wild to see what people think of it.  So far the reaction had been great, knock on wood.

In the meantime, I'm already sketching out the story for the next book in the series, which is tentatively titled Rome in Ruins.  I still have a long way to go, but hope to have it out by the end of February.  I'll keep you posted.

Otherwise, I hope you're enjoying the waning days of the season wherever you are in the world, summer or winter.  That's it for now, catch you later!

Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Cover Reveal for "London on Fire"

My designer, Damonza.com, finalized the cover for my latest Nathan Grant thriller, London on Fire, and I think it looks great!  This book will come out on August 20th, but you can check out the Amazon page now to see the description and pre-order a copy if you'd like.

I'm pretty happy with how this cover turned out, with the designer managing to keep the theme going from one to the next in the series. Now I just need to finish writing the book, but I'm past the halfway point and barrelling ahead! If all goes according to plan, this fourth book in the series will be out before you know it!

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Old and New in Budapest

 Hello from Budapest on a lovely spring day.  I'm here settled in for another spell, working on my latest Nathan Grant novel, "London on Fire."  I started coming here to Budapest all the way back in 2009 and have spent part of each year here ever since.  I find that it's a great place to write, with tons of atmospheric cafes and libraries to settle in and get my work done.

The first year I arrived, fourteen years ago now, I took a bunch of photos of some of the more run down sights in the city, but a lot of those places have been fixed up in the meantime.  As a result, I decided to make it a project to go around and take photos in the same places for a before and after view.  Here they are, I hope you enjoy them!

 













 

Sunday, January 29, 2023

"The Vienna Assignment" is here!

I'm happy to announce that my novella, The Vienna Assignment, is finished and available for free to subscribers to my newsletter! In this prequel to the Nathan Grant series, our hero is off to Vienna for his very first assignment with the CIA. Click on the cover below to get your copy: