We all love the sight of a shrimp boat with its doors spread wide as it pulls the trawl behind it. Nothing beats that sight in the early morning sun or as twilight rests on the horizon, Ain’t nothing like a good shrimp dinner. Ain’t nothing like appreciating the hard work those guys on the shrimp boats do. But there’s another guy out there too, searching for a lighter haul, and he’s out in the sound all by his lonesome hoping to pull in a little bit to sell or feed himself for a short while. Those shrimp taste just as good-he’s working hard too it’s just that he’s  using a smaller net. Both nets have tickle chains and what?! My goodness isn’t that the title for my newest book? Here’s a little excerpt:

It was a gentle night, only light wind, and as it breezed through her hair, Estelle felt the twinge of self confident beauty she had once felt before being marred by the alligator in Florida. She ground her teeth as the angry moment passed and moved forward toward the boats moored along the finger docks.

All was quiet at the marina, at this late hour everyone was either asleep or passed out. All the workers at the marina would have gone home, so Estelle felt safe and inconspicuous as she made her way toward the docks and boats, scanning each to see if something there would fit her agenda. And then she spied the skiff laying sort of cockeyed against a bulkhead, the spongy marsh and its dense salty grasses nearly hid it completely. Estelle hissed gleefully into the thick night air, she couldn’t believe her luck, this abandoned vessel was exactly what she needed and she made her way quickly through the muck to where it lay. The boat held water, so it didn’t have leaks, she surmised. A few tin cans and empty beer bottles floated in the murky water inside it; Estelle tossed them from the boat and whispered, “Nobody is going to miss this thing.”

A tickle chain is a metal chain, part of a trawl, that drags along the seabed with the aim of disturbing fish or shrimp and causing them to enter the net. This next book, the 7th in the MURDER BY THE SEA series, is titled Tickle Chain Here’s a little excerpt:

It was nearly 2 A.M. when Estelle was dropped at the marina. She wished the driver good luck and offered a thank you for the lift. In the quiet still night she stood listening to the gentle clanking of lines against spars and the timid movement of water against hulls. Again, to her advantage, it was a starless night, even the clouds were on her side as they hid the moon.

The gentle night breezed through her hair and Estelle felt a twinge of the self confidence she had once felt before being marred by the alligator in Florida. She ground her teeth as the moment passed and moved forward toward the boats moored along the finger docks.

They say change is good. Well, I’m not too sure about that, but I’ve got a change for you anyway. A couple of weeks ago I posted that the title of my new book, the one I’m presently working on, was going to be titled LOW TIDE. Things have changed. As I progress, and as the book evolves, I’ve decide that the title needs to change as well. Therefore, the new title will be TICKLE CHAIN. Those of you familiar with fishing and shrimping know what a tickle chain is, it is the beads of metal at the bottom of a net that tickles the sand as the net is drawn across it and encourages the shrimp to “pop” into the net. It also weights the net down.

There it is-change. I’ll be posting excerpt from TICKLE CHAIN periodically. I welcome any comments. Thanks, Carol

Winter is here, brrr. Maybe next week it will feel like spring, at least, that’s my hope. For the last few years I’ve found myself busy this time of year preparing for the Meet the Author Luncheon and was hoping to do so this year as well.  However, damn Covid is going to mess things up and it simply does not seem feasible to try to put on an event where 30-35 people will be in close quarters. So sorry-hope that next year will be covid free and we can go ahead with our yearly event. Thank you. Have a safe and healthy year.

A New year Some new ideas. A new book. Yes, I’m working on a new book, actually two. THE SHORE OF THE WIDE WORLD  is still brewing on the Ross stove, but I realized it was a big task and that getting it done just the way I want is going to take longer than I thought. In the meantime, LOW TIDE is bubbling away on the front burner. It is the seventh in the Murder by the Sea novels.

How do you like that? Murder by the Sea novels. Yep, I’ve gone with a new distributor for my ebooks and they are doing a marvelous job-suggesting new covers (ebooks only), subtitles and all kind of things.  My hard copy books have the order in which they were written on the back of the book. The ebooks have the numbers on the front. I hope to have the ebooks out in this new format this month. Redesigning and marketing are not my forte (I pretty much stink at it) but these new guys, Bublish, seem to know what they are doing. Time will tell.

Marketing your book is the hardest part of writing, it is typically out of the realm of most writer’s knowledge  (all that technical stuff)  and it is the most expensive. Sadly, many good authors go unnoticed because they cannot afford the marketing-me included.

LOW TIDE is moving along and I hope to have it out by June. This book is a real whodunit so formulating the story has proven to be challenging but I do love a good challenge and have found it to be fun. Researching is always a hoot because I always learn something new and get to meet and converse with such interesting people. Here is a little excerpt:

Fear had been teasing her lately. Playing games with her, popping up at times without any reason or warning. Estelle didn’t like that, not this kind of fear. It seemed to be for no apparent reason. And it swam deep within her, raising to the surface when least expected. She had never been afraid of anything or anyone. She’d always come out fighting, determined to win against all odds if threatened in any way. But this, this new fear was not extraneous,  This fear lived deep inside, swimming through her and her scarred and ugly face was its façade.

A poem by John Keats

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain,
Before high-piled books, in charact’ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen’d grain;
When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And think that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love!—then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think,
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.^[3]-

This is my favorite poem. In fact, I have it memorized. Every time I read it, I think of another facet of my life that makes it even more relevant. Today, I think of my father and how he must have seen his life during and after WWII. Notice the insignia on his sleeve, he was a corpsman and so war must have truly been hell.

I also think of the times we are in now- of the 60s, and how mortal we are, how rational and sane we can and cannot be. THE SHORE OF THE WIDE WORLD  is the title to my next book.

Don’t know if anyone remembers this show, QUEEN FOR A DAY, I vaguely do. But it’s there in my memory. I look back and recall the host asking a husband what his wife weighed, she steps from behind the curtain and is told to step on a scale. She obeys, giggling the whole time. The husband is embarrassed because his wife weighs more than she originally told him.

One became queen for a day after silly humiliations like this and then after recounting all the toils and pains one experienced in their life.  The most miserable woman wins. This show was a product of its time and yes we were subjected to all types of things that embarrassed us. But times change, we evolve. That’s the way it was and yes, baby, we have come a long way. (read further and find that some of us have not)

We all suffer humiliation, defeat, cruelties, pain-it’s not fair. But who said life is fair. THIS IS LIFE!

Now, my most recent humiliation. I have found numerous mistakes in spelling and sentence structure on this very site. Me-a writer shouldn’t have this. I did not write my blog, I paid someone to create it for me and now after many efforts and trials of patience, I’m taking to this very blog to ask the person I hired to please give me my passwords so I can fix this because obviously you are not.  For 2 years I have asked the person who I hired to write my blog to please fix these mistakes, but my calls go unanswered. I’ve been nice about it but have lost my patience.  So now I look like a total idiot and am announcing that I am QUEEN FOR A DAY.

Finally! What a crazy year this has been. But the book is available on Amazon now. I will have copies the end of this month. (see how they treat authors!!!) This is the cover. Hope to have a better rendition of it asap. But had to post anyway. ALL THESE LITTLE THINGS, is the latest in the series. Hope everyone likes it. A little different, (could work as a stand alone, so says my editor) but then I try to make all books a little different while staying basically the same. Same characters, as always, unless I killed them off (ha ha). Love my characters-they offer so much entertainment for me and I hope, you, the reader.

And now it is off to another story THE SHORE OF THE WIDE WORLD. I’m already interviewing for tips and info from sources and am really digging this book. My heart and soul will be in it. Will keep you posted along the way.

I know I have been slack this year so far with posting, but the ways of the world have laid a blanking mess before me. So, things are straightening out-(thank you Jesus) and I promise to be more forthcoming. Thanks for reading and God bless.

This is sorta  what the cover of my new book ALL THESE LITTLE THINGS will look like when it comes out .  I’m proud to say that the fantastic photographer and artist, Sue Benden, is creating my cover this time. Thank you so much, my friend. ALL THESE LITTLE THINGS should be out mid July. Thanks for hanging in readers, and being patient.

Now, on to the next project,  THE SHORE OF THE WIDE WORLD. “SHORE” is set in the 60s on Topsail-I’ve already begun talking with a few folks from that era and digging around for the “facts” I need. I’m very excited about this one-something different after several years of killing people off. 🙂

Our little bridge seems like eons ago. Since the construction of the new high-rise,   traffic has increased,  population has increased, COVID  has certainly not stopped construction– our little beach town has so changed that  I do not recognize it. Let go, let go, let go I keep telling myself and for the most part, I have. One has to do that, let go of the past, to survive. But how I love looking back on those days when life was so much slower and simpler than it is today. I like the brightness of soft and joyful memories-hold on to them, they make life joyous.

For my readers, ALL THESE LITTLE THINGS,  the 6th in the series, is presently at the editor’s and should be out by mid July. After that look for something from the good old days.