Showing posts with label pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pirates. Show all posts

Friday, December 18, 2020

While my website is down, consider this my bookstore

Every so often, I have a website glitch. When that happens, I move everything here. In short, I had an issue... and while the issue was sorted on the home page, it's not sorted everywhere else. So until then...

WELCOME, WELCOME ONE AND ALL!

Basically, I had tried to freshen up the site with the new covers to Obloeron, as well as for Turning Back The Clock and Galactic Treason (formerly A Galaxy At War), and any new links. With the glitch -- which was completely my fault -- that didn't happen.

And for the record... there are sooooo many new links. If you're on Amazon, this link here is the best link as it has all the Sean Sweeney books. You can also search for John Fitch V and D.L. Boyd to see my novels under those names. All told, there are 29 novels as of today, with the 30th novel, INCOMING PRIVATE SHOW, planned for a Summer 2021 release.

Also want to let those who use Kobo Plus know that all of my books are available on that platform and service.

So without further ado.......

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My books are available in a wide-range of places. Whether it be for Amazon Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, etc., my work can be read on practically every e-reading device, and all of my titles are available in old fashioned ink and paper, trade paperback style.

Titles with an asterisk — * — are available in audiobook form. Trade paperbacks are found under the Amazon Kindle links.

THRILLERS

The Long Crimson Line: A Thriller  (Ricky Madison 1)

In the city of Boston, women are dying in a heinous manner. The police are baffled. They have no clues, nor any leads. The public is frightened.

Enter Ricky Madison, florist—an ex-Worcester cop with an insubordinate streak.

Madison and his friend, Mary Ruggles, find the patterns the killer is using, until they discover the one thing that ties all the murders together—the killer may not be male, and that the killer is a devotee to one of the most sought-after killers in the history of the world.

WARNING: The graphic nature of this book is not intended for those under the age of majority where local laws apply.

US Kindle, UK Kindle

Nook, Kobo, iBooks, Smashwords

 Persuaded By The Reflections: A Thriller (Ricky Madison 2)

Det. Ricky Madison is back is this gritty, pulse-quickening sequel!

Now suffering from PTSD following the events of The Long Crimson Line, Ricky returns to Worcester, Mass., the city where he was once a police detective; he’s undergoing therapy in both solo and group settings, and in his first session, he meets a young lady struggling to cope with her love life’s tribulations–she’s a cutter, and he offers her his ear whenever she needs it.

When elements of past crimes he had investigated creep back into the present, Ricky is brought back into the fold of Worcester Police to help link the crimes together–even though the one in charge of the investigation isn’t thrilled about his presence.

Together, the two comb through the facts and similarities of the cases until Ricky discovers the one responsible for everything.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple iBooks

Trade paperback

LoneBostonian

The Lone Bostonian   

One hundred years in the future, after a world war and another economic downturn, the United States is in recovery. A Chinese company, Gong & Dinow, manufactures inexpensive tablet computers. Everyone has them.

Little does everyone know, those devices will lead to the destruction of the East Coast.

A man from Boston survives the carnage and rows to what was Washington D.C. in order to inform the president… and to begin the healing.

US Kindle, UK Kindle

Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, iBooks

Redeemed

Redeemed

All he wanted was a second chance at life.

Duane Thompson’s incarceration following a crime-filled night on the streets of Boston lasted just a little over a decade and a half. When the Commonwealth paroled him, his second chance at life stalled. No one wanted him near their businesses.

Despite being dogged by the police officer that had initially collared him, Duane does get his second chance, helping the poor in a small Central Massachusetts city. But when a woman is hounded by the same cop, Duane comes face-to-face with his greatest challenge.

Yet unbeknownst to him, while all of this is going on an extremist government has begun reshaping Boston in its twisted image.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle

Nook, Kobo, Smashwords

Apple iBooks

Trade paperback

The Jaclyn Johnson code name Snapshot series

Waiting at your fingertips is the full, nine-book JACLYN JOHNSON EXPERIENCE. From MODEL AGENT to SCOURING AGENT and everything in between, slide alongside Jaclyn — the CIA’s top counterterrorism agent — in her souped-up car as she battles terrorism from the Atlantic to the Pacific, to London and to Sydney.

Feel what Jaclyn feels the day she meets Tom Messingham. Her thoughts as she encounters Tasha Verkler. Her tete-a-tetes with Parkerhurst and Desmond Daly, better known as Salt. And go deep into her meetings with Alex Dupuis and President Eric Forrister.

And as an added bonus, several never-before-seen short stories that simply add to the mystique that is Jaclyn Johnson.

Amazon Kindle US, Amazon Kindle UK
Nook, Kobo, Apple iBooks

1 model agent

Model Agent *

The human body consists of two-thirds water.

As concertgoers on a steamy day in Boston find out, water can kill as much as it gives life.

A terrorist attack at City Hall Plaza has the authorities perplexed. The government, in response, sends in a capable but young agent – an agent born from the ashes of terrorism itself – to handle it.

But as her partner dies and the terrorist strikes again, Jaclyn Johnson – code named Snapshot – finds herself in a situation she has trained a decade to face: She’s up against a man with enough money to finance a war against his competition. With a deadline in place to stop him – and with a car holding enough hidden tricks to evade capture – Snapshot infiltrates his hidden installation and finds out her target’s true end game, a secret that could have the world fighting over water.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle

Nook, Kobo, Apple

Smashwords

US trade paperback, UK trade paperback

2 rogue agent 

Rogue Agent *  

When the 2012 Summer Olympics opened in London, security was at a fever pitch. They said it was going to be the safest Olympic Games yet.

They were wrong.

Heightened security did not stop a terrorist attack on the final group stage match of the Olympic soccer tournament between the United States and the host Great Britain, played at the fabled Wembley Stadium, the home of British football. And when an agent of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack, it sent both the United States and the United Kingdom into a heightened state of alert.

There is only one problem for the terrorist: Outbound Eurostar service to Paris and flights out of Heathrow have been shut down – but flights into London continue to come in.

At the request of the President of the United States, the CIA calls upon the one agent – Jaclyn Johnson, a.k.a. Snapshot – he can trust to seek out the killers of many American citizens and bring them to justice.

But what occurs in London during Snapshot’s mission leads to political maneuvering – and Jaclyn going against everything she knows.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle

Nook, Kobo, Apple

Smashwords

US trade paperback, UK trade paperback

3 double agent

Double Agent *

With an attack against the Las Vegas Monorail, CIA Director Alexandra Dupuis calls in the agent she counts on in dangerous situations – even though that agent feels betrayed by the very government she serves, the very country she protects – in order to protect American interests.

In Jaclyn Johnson’s latest adventure, Dupuis sends the secret agent into the path of a radical Christian terrorist, one whose designs for Sin City would spell disaster for not only the entire southwest, but for the country as a whole, too.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle

Nook, Kobo, Apple

Smashwords

US trade paperback, UK trade paperback

4 promises 

Promises Given, Promises Kept

Tom Messingham and Tasha, Jaclyn Johnson’s teenage ward, are safe and sound on the east coast following Jaclyn’s daring mission to Las Vegas, and it’s time for her to head west again—this time to break up the human trafficking ring that had ensnared Tasha a year prior. Yet as she arrives in Tasha’s hometown, Jaclyn has several obstacles—a town wiped from the map, plus a persnickety police chief with one foot in the grave—to overcome before she can keep her promise to her new friend.

Set between the novels DOUBLE AGENT and FEDERAL AGENT, Jaclyn Johnson squares off against an unknown pervert in another nail-biting thriller.

US Kindle, UK Kindle

Apple iBooks

Nook, Kobo

Smashwords

5 federal agent 

Federal Agent *

A failed execution in Atlanta has CIA director Alex Dupuis concerned. And with President Eric Forrister and Republican challenger Dick Bennett headed there for the final debate of the election cycle, she has every reason to be: she doesn’t want the escaped prisoner, a man with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, to disturb it.

She sends Jaclyn Johnson into action after three weeks’ convalescence with her orders: protect both the president and his former White House Chief of Staff so that harm doesn’t befall them.

But what Jaclyn doesn’t realize is that the candidates may not be the ones under fire after all and that the deranged Klansman has someone else in mind—someone who isn’t what he seems on the outside.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle

Nook, Kobo, Apple

Smashwords

6 Literary Agent

LITERARY AGENT *

Jaclyn Johnson is back in an all-new, pulse-pounding adventure, and this time, the deck is stacked fully against her!

It’s the holidays, ex-FBI agent-turned-author Jack Henshaw has been kidnapped, and the secrets he holds has the government worried. Jaclyn—along with her British boy toy, Tom Messingham—are sent to Detroit, Henshaw’s hometown, on Christmas Eve to begin their investigation.

Things turn out not as they seem, and while an ex-member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police claims responsibility—as well as giving the Americans a list of outlandish demands—Jaclyn’s investigation grinds to a halt until she gets the break she needs.

It’s a break that could unravel national security as Jaclyn knows it.

US Kindle, UK Kindle

Nook, Kobo, iBooks

Smashwords

7 Travel Agent

Travel Agent 

Jaclyn Johnson is back for her sixth full-length adventure, and this time the CIA’s blonde bombshell has her work cut out for her.

Jaclyn, British secret agent Tom Messingham, and Tasha are vacationing in Australia, but little does Jaclyn know that she is being set up to take the fall for an assassination in Sydney. The trio, together with an old friend, must find out who’s behind it before the true terrorist’s ultimate gambit comes to fruition—all while Jaclyn learns that not everything is all right in Washington, D.C.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Australia Kindle, Canada Kindle

Nook, Kobo, iBooks

Smashwords

Chemical

Chemical Agent 

The first trip home for Jaclyn Johnson was supposed to be a memorable one: Gone from Seattle for well over a decade, she was home to attend the unveiling of a statue for her father, killed on 9/11.

Instead, her trip turned into a memory she would rather forget.

Thrust into an awkward position following a tragic murder at their hotel, a murder she couldn’t stop, the CIA counterterrorism agent must do something of which she had never dreamed in this, her seventh full-length adventure: reconcile with her nearly-forgotten past, all while moving forward in life without one of her closest allies.

US Kindle/trade paperback, UK Kindle, Nook

Kobo, iBooks, Smashwords

Ticket Agent 

Over the last few years, Jaclyn Johnson and Tom Messingham have turned into quite the terrorist-fighting tandem: the pair have worked together up close and personal, their bond strong.

But the job is about to affect their marriage: with the pair investigating attacks in the remote wilds of South Dakota to the military academy at West Point, the call comes in. Tom is to report to London immediately, as a business tycoon, Oliver Klozov, appears to have plotted to kill rival footballers–soccer players–in one of England’s top leagues. Klozov, the owner of the Southwest Aces FC, is allegedly behind the death of another club’s top-notch goal scorer, and he’s threatening more—for promotion to the top flight.

It is when Jaclyn discovers her cases and Tom’s case intertwine when she receives a chilling email—Tom’s life is in danger, and Klozov’s crosshairs are locked on him.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple iBooks

Scouring Agent

A well-timed string of attacks and events in Washington, D.C. has President Eric B. Forrister and the CIA scrambling for answers in the ninth Jaclyn Johnson thriller novel.

How well-timed are they? It just so happens the attacks occur as Jaclyn is out of the country, on her honeymoon in Wales.

With Tasha Verkler, Jaclyn’s ward and confidante, at the head of the investigation alongside Desmond Daly, a.k.a. Salt, the duo look to discover who’s behind these brazen attacks—the new Supreme Court Museum has been bombed, two Justices dead; the Senate Majority Leader killed by a sniper—until the unthinkable occurs: Jaclyn and Tom’s ride home from Heathrow is also bombed.

Do Jaclyn and Tom make it back to the United States, or does Tasha manage to solve it herself?

Amazon Kindle US, Amazon Kindle UK, Nook, Kobo, iBooks



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Royal Switch

There was nothing to suggest that this baseball season would be any different than the last 20 seasons Harry Edelson had covered, even though Oklahoma City now had a Major League franchise to call its own. He covered the move of the team from Kansas City that winter and observed the new owner – a Russian billionaire – signing the best players he could, including the reigning National League MVP, Bill Revere.

Ancient rivals, observing the events from afar, note the new owner wants to upset the balance of power in the American League. But as the season progresses – even as early as Opening Day – Harry observes odd things happening in the Royals’ clubhouse. It comes to a head at the All-Star break, when Revere severely injures himself. He is carried off the field, and everyone thinks his season is over.

Not so: Revere recovers, but his form has changed. He slumps and eventually breaks out of it, yet the story written that night changes both his and Harry’s lives: Harry notices something different with Revere in the clubhouse and dutifully reports his findings. Soon, Harry’s running for his life – but that does not quench his desire for wanting to know exactly what’s going on in that clubhouse.

It all leads to a road trip like no other, which has Harry perfectly placed to write an expose that’s hard for any baseball fan to ignore.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle

Nook, Kobo, Apple

Smashwords

MYSTERIES


ColdAltar
 

Cold Altar  

A small-town cold case gets new life when a woman hands a 22-year-old private investigator his first assignment. Going with the notes his father used when he first investigated the case, Alex Bourque delves into the 31-year-old mystery: an 11-year-old boy, kidnapped without witnesses, abused and murdered. There is little evidence to go on except a white L on the boy’s chest as well as a black smudge on his forehead, but with the help of his girlfriend Lauryn, Alex makes do with what he has and tries to solve the case from scratch.

Yet there are people who don’t want him to find out what happened, and they’ll go to any lengths to stop Alex from discovering the truth.

A classic whodunit in the vein of the late Robert B. Parker, COLD ALTAR is the first book in the Small Town PI series.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle

Nook, Kobo, Apple

Smashwords

VoirDire

Voir Dire

PI Alex Bourque has jury duty. As he’s challenged by the prosecution during jury selection, the defense has a brilliant idea: Hire Alex to help defend an accused murderer.

Yet as Alex delves into the case, he discovers that the defense attorney has done a shoddy job in building the defense. He also discovers something’s not right with the defendant—especially something that could set the man free.

(Note to Nook users: Use Smashwords for your .epub file)

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Canada Kindle

Kobo, Apple

Smashwords

BBB

Beach Blanket Bloodshed  

A body washing behind Small Town PI Alex Bourque turns his and Lauryn’s Cape Cod vacation upside down in the newest installment of this first-person tale.

Unable to trust police, the dead man’s wife turns to Alex for answers surrounding her husband’s murder. And when the investigation leads him back to the Cape, he enlists the help of a sexy Provincetown police officer, who offers not only her usually-unused skills to him and his fiancĂ©e, but other things, too.

BEACH BLANKET BLOODSHED is a ripped-from-the-headlines tale that’ll quicken your pulse and steam up your reading glasses.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple iBooks

Small Town PI bundle

The Small Town P.I. Series bundle (only available in ebook)

Kindle US
Kindle UK
Nook
Kobo
iBooks

 

An Invitation to Drink… or to Die: A Murder Mystery Novella 

96-year-old Benedict Morton thinks his family is trying to kill him, so he hires Connor Wood, P.I., to attend his birthday party and sniff out who would do the deed. But when Morton is murdered that night, Wood has to sort it all out with a cast of characters that are clearly antagonistic right from the off.

Was it eldest son James, the one who may or may not be the executor of Morton’s will? His sister Tracy, who has a vindictive streak a mile long? Their half-brother Peter, who has a short fuse? The bastard son Jared? The surly cook? The maid? The butler?

This classic whodunit shows everything isn’t as it seems, and it’s up to Wood to determine exactly who it was that killed the old man.

US Kindle

UK Kindle

Nook

Kobo

Smashwords

Apple iBooks

FANTASY

The Peg-Legged Privateer: A Tattered Sails Novel    

Set sail for a world of pirates, magic, and high adventure…

Long in the service of the 12th Baron Wilton, the privateer known as Paulina has reached her limit. Between a township that doesn’t care for her, the Baron assuring her pledge that she’ll go down with her last ship, and his lascivious advances toward her newest paramour, Paulina plots to betray him.

She just needs a little help in the form of her all-women crew to do it.

Taking four ladies along with her, Paulina takes the Good Queen Bess for her maiden voyage through the Caribe, where mystical beings and scoundrels alike look to thwart her and send her to the Realm of the Locker.

But they don’t count on the steel and magical energies this quintet utilizes to stain the wine-colored waters an even darker shade.

Amazon Kindle US, Amazon Kindle UK

Nook, Kobo, Apple iBooks



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Obloeron Saga

When one man puts aside a great destiny, it falls on another to pick it up.

This is the full, six-book Obloeron Saga bundle, which first appeared in 2009 under the author’s old pseudonym, John Fitch V. The first five fantasy novels were published before 2013, and now the series comes together with the previously unreleased third novel, Krampel’s Revenge.

In addition, there is previously unseen prose in the form of three short stories the author has weaved into the tale, and gives the full look at some previously unanswered questions from the original three novels.

Starting with the short story The Creation of Flad-rul, the SAGA tells of Krampel Paddymeyer’s journey from that of slave to bounty hunter, from bounty hunter to war hero. Then the original trilogy picks up with Krampel’s grandson, Grumpet, his heir, as well as continues the tale of Radamuck Rosar’s journey with these two great men. Add in a halfling with a warrior complex, a bit of love, and plenty of orcs, and you have a fantasy story set to stand the test of time.

The Saga includes:

The Creation of Flad-rul (short story/prologue)
The Rise of the Dark Falcon (prequel one)
The Shadow Looms (prequel two)
Krampel’s Revenge (prequel three, previously unreleased)
Krampel’s Flight to Kayiko (short story/interstitial)
The Quest for the Chalice (original one)
The Return to Lowbridge (original two)
The Fall of Myrindar (original three)
Grumpet’s First Day (short story/epilogue)

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Nook, Kobo

Smashwords, Apple iBooks

The individual novels are also available for sale.

YOUNG ADULT

ZS_Final_Small

Zombie Showdown 

For a group of sophomores at Gardner High School, it turned out to be a class trip gone awry.

For 15-year-old twins Christian and Rachel Sanderski, it was the opportunity to tell the truth.

A zombie attack while the kids are on a ghost tour forces Christian to save a group of his friends. The events of the next day, though, lead to Chris and Rachel’s admission – they are the long lost descendants of a legendary gunman who once called Tombstone home. Their mother had forbidden them from saying a word about their genealogy in order to protect them.

With the admission, a weight has lifted from their shoulders and, with the help of their friends, Christian and Rachel battle the zombies in a late night brawl. But when the kids are told of the coming of The Three dead cowboys their ancestor had sent to Boot Hill Cemetery, they steel themselves for the fact that they may never return home.

Action and adventure, friends lost and friends found. And love, too…

US Kindle, UK Kindle

Nook

Apple iBooks Kobo

Smashwords

ROMANCE

Scollay Love (by D.L. Boyd)

It is tough to lose the place where you met.

For uptown Boston Brahmin gal Charlene Phillips and downtown West End boy Joe Cafario, their starkly different lives come together in Scollay Square, Boston’s famed center, where they fall into a forbidden love amidst the tassels of the Old Howard and the aroma of slow-boiled hot dogs at Joe and Nemo. When their love is ended after Charlene’s final defiance of her parents, the two remain true to each other, despite their forced separation.

When Charlene returns and they reunite in the Square, the city of Boston is about to go through a major change—one that Joe is hell-bent in stopping.

US Kindle, UK Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks

Glorious Slip (by D.L. Boyd) 

Nick Smith is a student of history, especially that of his state’s capital, Boston.

Little does he know that he is about to live it.

Jettisoned some two and a half centuries into the past, Nick discovers that he has landed in Colonial Boston. He marvels at finding the Shawmut Peninsula in the years before the Revolutionary War, and witnesses Bostonians’ palpable anger.

Working a farm and falling in love with a young lady three years his junior, Nick must avoid conflicts with his new brother-in-law, a Crown loyalist.

Ride along with Nick as he rubs elbows with early America’s greatest minds, all while concealing America’s destiny.

The classic John Fitch V novels

Turning Back The Clock


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greg Patterson just watched his beloved Boston Red Sox lose to the New York Yankees in the 2003 American League Championship Series when he gets a radical idea: Build a time machine to make sure that one of baseball history’s worst sales — the sale of Babe Ruth — never happens. But as he’s researching out that fateful event, he runs along another piece of information that he had never known.

It leads him to ask: What if the Black Sox Scandal never happened? Could the scandal that rocked the baseball world in the early 1920s and the sale of the Sultan of Swat be connected? And if it’s possible, can these two incidents be reversed in order to correct the failings of the Red Sox and end the recent domination of the Yankees?

Greg and his friend Brandon Roy build the time machine and immediately head back to 1919, where they meet Harry Frazee, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver, Charlie Comiskey, and the catalyst of the whole thing, Babe Ruth. Greg also falls in love in the past, making for an exciting conclusion to their time in 1919 Boston.

Galactic Treason



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Ryan Germayne, son of the legendary Jaxson “Hot Shot” Germayne, has been living up to his late father’s reputation. He is the best pilot the Galaxy of Free Systems “GFS” has. His equally talented first mate gunner, Joslyne, happens to also be his wife.

Some believe that the GFS has grown too large, too bureaucratic for the regular person across the galaxy. This small group of rebels is slowly, but steadily, growing in numbers. In time, their numbers grow by two more.

As Ryan rises in rank and power at lightning speed, he begins to change. Even personally executing former friends and comrades no longer seems to bother him. Joslyne soon wonders to what lengths her husband would go, how low he would sink, and how cold blooded he would become for his new beliefs. And can she continue to stand beside the man he is morphing into?

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Come on Seany, Finish What Ya Started--And I Did!

You may recall that in early May 2016, I took a little time away from the first draft of Ticket Agent in order to do the first bit of yard work for the year; we had just finished a mild winter, with the exception of late March/early April, and since I had been sick in mid-March and had lost too much time writing due to that illness, I didn't do anything outside during the month of April in order to catch up on the writing. I took about four days after Mother's Day to get a lot of yard work and the first real mow of the year completed, ignoring Jaclyn's calls to let my fingers dance.

One of the yard work projects was a long-term one that, at times, required my full attention. As I explained last May, our house abuts a man-made pond. Over the years, little had been done with the maintenance near it: Jen and I had tried to slash through the brush maybe four years ago, but we didn't get far, and it eventually returned. It returned to the point that our view of the pond from our living room grew marred with brush.

There's also another reason why we stopped: we didn't have a proper, working push lawnmower in order to keep that area maintained and under control. We only had a riding mower, and that section slopes down to the pond. I would mow up to the slope's beginnings with the ride-on, even as I felt gravity pulling me toward the left, and that was it. So yes, it was rather overgrown.

In August 2015, our riding mower had an issue with starting; it's an old riding mower, probably from the 1980's, and it's owned by Jen's uncle, our landlord. After being unable to start the thing and not wanting to bother him with it, I went down to Lowe's and bought a brand new Toro push lawnmower for about $100, and I managed to get the lawns cut in a few hours. I even got to dig a little deeper into the pondside's slope, eating the brush away a little at a time--but it was still too dense to completely mow it down.

By spring 2016, I had made the decision: with our still relatively brand-new push lawnmower, I would get the project underway at some point. I also decided that I would document my progress with photos... because, Facebook.

Taken April 23, 2016. Two weeks before the start of the project. Take note of the red brick near Jen's perennial garden.
Then Mother's Day rolled around. I got a little antsy after a week's work of rain, and after getting the fixed ride-on mower off the back porch and pulling the push mower out of the cellar, and with the sun breaking through early in the afternoon, I got outside while the Momma of my horses and cats took a little nap.

After the first hour or so of work. A little less overgrown.
Two days later, I had made some progress in clearing it.


And May 11, after some guidance from my bride regarding what was a perennial and what was crap that needed clearing, I made some more.

Definitely looking better...
The next day, I finished stage one of the clearing.


As you can see, in just four days, about five hours of work, I managed to get that area pretty much clear. The green spot right in the middle are a patch of daffodils, and if I hit those, Jen would have been pissed at me (she moved them out of there this past April). Closer to the rock are plants; daylillies by the tree to the left-hand side.

Here's another view:


Nice and clear. My skin, though, was a different story: as a result of this, I contracted a rather nasty case of poison ivy, from my collarbone to my waist. I was absolutely covered in it, and I was rather uncomfortable for about three weeks.

Now, I could have just as easily laid down a fresh layer of topsoil right then and seeded it and called it a day... but I didn't. A lot of what I had cut out still had anchors in the ground, i.e. stumps. I had to cut those out in order to make sure the brush didn't return. Alas, I managed to cut out a few in June after I returned to Ticket Agent's first draft for a few weeks and after getting the vegetable garden planted, and letting the poison ivy rash vanish; some of those stumps were too close to the pond's edge, and I weedwhack those area now instead of digging the damn things out.

Those stumps were stubborn bastards, let me tell you!

Here's one of them:


This one was dead center of the slope. I dug and dug and dug, trying to pry it loose. In the end, I managed to move enough soil to clip the thing out, then filled the hole with the remaining dirt, as well as some composted horse manure. I would take the other one out a few days later. I could have seeded then... but we hadn't had any rain for quite some time, and we were in the start of a drought; last summer was an incredibly hot one! I made sure that when I did mow, I went over to the pondside area and mowed down anything that came up.

By October, I still hadn't done anything else to pondside, seeing as I was deep into Persuaded By The Reflections' first draft; September was uber busy, between writing, game coverage, and family obligations on consecutive weekends. With Halloween approaching, it was too late to do anything else to it, seeing as the growing season had come to a close.


Winter came next.

Pondside is in the direct center of this panorama I took in February.
As spring approached, I told Jen, "I'm going to finish the pondside project. That's top of the agenda." And in order to do that, I had to make sure that there was a barrier between my grass and her perennial garden. We dug a small trench which wound around the perennials, the borders an old brick shaped with a bend.

We did that on April 23, one year to the day that I took that first photo and decided that I was going to do something about it:


You will also notice a little darker soil near the border to the perennials: I also laid down two bags of topsoil in an attempt to make that area a little more level. I kind of succeeded, but not quite. I also contracted a second case of poison ivy this day, but as I'm thinking about it, I believe that was from doing some work on the top lawn, not pondside.

Then I finally laid down the seed that day, and Jen and I put down some light mulch (hay) in order to keep in moisture. With the rainy spring we had, I only had to stretch the hose twice: once on the 23rd, and probably four or five days later to make sure it had enough water.

Nine days later....


GRASS!

On May 16, we had enough grass in order to give it its first haircut.


You will also notice the line of leaves at the top of the slope that really never got mulched up enough by any of the mowers. About a week or so after this, I raked all of that up, then raked up the dirt to stir it up and prepare it for a second seeding. I seeded it in the middle of June, laid down some more hay in order for the seed to retain moisture, and watered it a few times.

And now.....


Ta-da! Pondside is complete!

After 14 months of on and off work, I can safely say that the pondside project is finally done. There is very little I can do to add to it; I could seed right down to the water's edge, and I might do that this fall, but I have to acknowledge the mower will only go so far, and remember that there are a few leftover stumps in that section. There is another section to the left of the above tree (you'll see it in the last picture) that I could clear and risk a third case of poison ivy, but now is not the time for long sleeves and long pants.

There is another project that I want to accomplish this fall, and it entails getting rid of the thin trees and brush from the other side of pondside headed toward the rear corner of the property. That will allow me the ability to get the push mower in to keep the grass--and more importantly, ticks--away. That'll involve a lot of cutting, and a lot of raking. I also have to complete the perennial garden border on the other slope, then re-seed the newly-created bare spots. Will I have the strength to do three massive landscaping projects this fall, plus writing fiction, keeping up my fitness, and covering games? Probably not, but we'll see.

But not only was this a nice exercise in improving the property value-slash-curb appeal, I also see it as an allegory to writing. One of the lessons I've learned is "You can edit crap. You can fix broken sentences."

Consider the first picture as a crappy page. I massaged it and cut out the loose crap, and eventually got to clip out a hard phrase, erm, stump. Then I finally polished it up and laid down grass seed.

And now, it's done... and published.

Another work of art.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

Saturday, February 18, 2017

A few loosey-goosey updates

Since I don't have much time to spare this weekend--today is an errands-and-laundry day, and tomorrow is the first day of the Clark High School Basketball Tournament and I'm working it all day; and Monday is a travel day--I wanted to go over a few things with you that I haven't mentioned here recently.

First off, Persuaded By The Reflections is finished. The first draft is, anyway. The MS clocked in at a little over 135,000 words, and let me tell you: I'm overjoyed by that total. At it stands, its first draft total is slightly less than what I wrote for Redeemed, but I published that book at 132,000 and some change. I don't expect to make any cuts to Persuaded; if anything, I'm going to enhance the story and add to it. Since I finished it on Feb. 6--the day after my Patriots won the Super Bowl--I'll give it a respectful three months to June 6 before I start editing.

If everything goes correctly, and if the pre-readers I have lined up give me the feedback I need and do so by the end of August/middle of September, I see no reason why this book can't be in your hands by the end of November. The pessimistic side of me says January or February of next year, which would mean nearly a year between releases.

And maybe in hardcover? We'll see about that.

Secondly, the launch of Ticket Agent went fairly well. There was one day this week where I didn't sell a copy, but so far, so good. Would love more eyes on it. I'd actually like more eyes on the entirety of the now-eight book series: I think I've said this before, that if half the people who downloaded Model Agent for free liked it and moved on with the series--it's $2.99 for each digital book, people--I would be a happy miser indeed, and I wouldn't have to cover high school sports again (although there's a part of me feels that I'm being pushed out of that profession right now, but that's another story). That's the ultimate goal, to get out of sportswriting on my own terms. Getting solid sell-through in the Agent series will aid in me achieving that goal.

Third, I have an outline for the ninth Agent novel, Scouring Agent, printed up. I've been thinking about what I'm going to do in Scouring Agent since November--actually, I had an inkling of one scene back in February or March of 2016, and it just built from there--and I've finally put it all together. I made the outline linear yesterday; before, the file was just a jumbled, out-of-order series of notes. Now it's a four-page treatment of awesome, and today I can see the book clearer than I did last year. This novel will have a different feel to it--at least that's how I intend it--and I'm planning on starting it next Thursday, after I get back from Cape Cod. What I may do is similar to what I did for Ticket: write a short story leading into it that I'll give away here on the blog, one that doesn't have the pop of the novel proper but gives the reader insight to what's happening, then start the novel proper.

Fourth, I've already started doing some brainstorming on my next series, which I plan to release under the D.L. Boyd name. Can't say much more on that right now.

And finally... I've lowered the price on The Peg-Legged Privateer's digital version, i.e. Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks. I had it listed at $4.99 from its December 12 release until earlier this week, and at that price, I only sold 15 copies. While I am grateful for those who bought it at $4.99, I hadn't sold a single copy in about a month, and let's admit it, folks: this is a volume business. I've expressed misgivings in the past about being able to command a price higher than $2.99 and do so with regular volume, and I think this experiment proves that I can't command a higher price. I feel this book--my return to the fantasy genre--is better than anything in The Obloeron Saga, and should have a chance to perform well, especially if I want to write a second book using these characters. At $2.99, I'm hoping to do volume sales. If you haven't taken Paulina and the Good Queen Bess out for a spin yet, you can do so at this link. A good price for a good book.

Enjoy your weekend, and by all means, pick up a solid read.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Cleaning off the desk, 2016 style

Earlier this afternoon, I hit the 100,000-word mark in my current WIP, Persuaded By The Reflections; Persuaded is the follow-up to The Long Crimson Line. Tallying that count up with the first draft count of the forthcoming Jaclyn Johnson novel Ticket Agent, plus the estimated ending of The Peg-Legged Privateer that I wrote in January, I end 2016 with about 218,596 words of fiction written. Rounding it up to a cool 219,000 sounds pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself.

Now, with only a few days remaining in the calendar year, I'm taking the time to recharge--in lieu of IBC Root Beer, I'm celebrating the 100K-word plateau with some reading and no fiction until at least January 2.

But in the meantime, it's not bad to look back on what I did this year, and also raise a beer in celebration:

In addition to 219K words written, I published three books. Yup, I released the seventh Jaclyn Johnson novel Chemical Agent, along with the third (and more than likely final) Alex Bourque mystery, Beach Blanket Bloodshed. Not only that, I also re-launched the two other books in that particular series with new cover art, as well as a bundle of those three books.

Earlier this month, The Peg-Legged Privateer launched.

And if you missed it, I had an awesome Plastic City Comic Con back in July. I've also had Jaclyn Johnson optioned for TV and film.

To say that I hit writing and publishing goals is an understatement. When I plot out my goals, I work my ass off to hit them. That has been my mantra since I started writing. I had a good year.

Sales goals, of course, is a different story. I took a loss this year, and I'll be re-assessing my sales goals--or deciding whether or not having them is a good thing to begin with--within the coming days.

I'll be sure to let you all know as the business plan comes into clearer focus--2017 is on the horizon.

www.seansweeneyauthor.com

Monday, December 12, 2016

Happy Book Day, and Avast me hearties! THE PEG-LEGGED PRIVATEER is here!

Back at the tail end of January, you’ll recall I penned a blog entitled “Twenty-five First Drafts.” I had just finished writing the first draft to The Peg-Legged Privateer: A Tattered Sails Novel, and I was pretty happy with the job I did. And in the last few weeks, I’ve talked about the characters involved, the creatures they encounter, and I even wrote up a short storyleading into the novel proper.

And now, it’s time to release Paulina out into the world.

Yes, folks, it is time. For the 25th time, it is time to celebrate Book Day.



Here’s what the book is all about:

Long in the service of the 12th Baron Wilton, the privateer known as Paulina has reached her limit. Between a township that doesn’t care for her, the Baron assuring her pledge that she’ll go down with her last ship, and his lascivious advances toward her newest paramour, Paulina plots to betray him.

She just needs a little help in the form of her all-women crew to do it.

Taking four ladies along with her, Paulina takes the Good Queen Bess for her maiden voyage through the Caribe, where mystical beings and scoundrels alike look to thwart her and send her to the Realm of the Locker.

But they don’t count on the steel and magical energies this quintet utilizes to stain the wine-colored waters an even darker shade.

Set in a parallel world to ours and in the Golden Age of Piracy, The Peg-Legged Privateer: A Tattered Sails Novel will quicken your pulse in more ways than one. It features the fast-paced action you’ve come to expect out of me, as well as a brash female protagonist—again, what you’ve come to expect from me.

And how about a little sex? It wouldn’t be a Sean Sweeney novel without a little hanky panky: Paulina considers herself heteroflexible, and her lover is also a woman. Can you say smokin’ hot lesbian pirates? Smokin’ hot lesbian pirates.


Get your copy in either ebook or trade paperback (trade paperback available only from Amazon at the mo) today, and remember: paperbacks make great stocking stuffers.