Post-Sunset and Jericho

what I've been working on, plus the future of Wakeland

Next year my novel Ocean Drive comes out. Fargo set in the Pacific Northwest, mostly Surrey and White Rock. A cat-and-mouse thriller between a young ex-con in over his head, and a middle-aged-cop investigating an arson in her beach community.

I don’t have a cover yet, but here’s a picture of the White Rock pier with police tape across it:

In lieu of a book cover, here’s a photo of the White Rock pier strung with crime scene tape.

Also out next year: A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase. We have the same agent, who says there’s terrific ‘buzz’ about this book, the first in a series featuring Ethan Brand, the newly minted chief of police in a Washington State border town. Lonesome Place is in the Longmire/Jesse Stone vein, though its true influences are Larry McMurtry and John D MacDonald.

Pre-ordering Ocean Drive and/or A Lonesome Place for Dying would really make my (and Mr. Chase’s) holiday.

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But what of Wakeland?

The CBC’s Early Edition ran an interview with me about Sunset and Jericho, recorded on Sunset Beach, and its nomination for the Crime Fiction Lover’s Best Indie Novel award. You can listen here: “Vancouver writer's latest novel up for international fan award”

You can also vote on the awards here.

(Sunset makes a great Christmas gift, by the way).

To be honest, I always feel weird talking about Dave Wakeland outside of the books. I don’t like when authors blabber incessantly about their main character like it’s a real person. “Lou Colonic enjoys knocking heads as much as he enjoys a good hard seltzer, or the mean wail of Kenny G’s saxophone.” I’m being a jerk, but I just find that approach off-putting. And bad salesmanship.

But I love writing Wakeland. I have stories coming out featuring him, even one coming out in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine next year. I love the PI genre and I love the chance to write about what’s going on in the city.

So the only question is, what case is big enough to bring Dave back?

All I can give away is that it involves the family of his partner, Jeff Chen, a woman wrongly accused of murder, and Wakeland’s most fearsome rival, Terry Rhodes.

So yes, if I have anything to say about it, there will be a fifth Wakeland book soon. The best way to make that happen, in the meantime, is to pre-order Ocean Drive or A Lonesome Place for Dying.

Ennio would appreciate it, too.