Blog

July 2021

Hello, friends!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so I tried to give you a great blog post for the summer of 2021. I’m having a summer sale of both books; I’ve include a recipe for the perfect summer dessert if your book club, like many, prefers something sweet to accompany the book; and I’ve provided a short update on the next book in the Waterfront Mystery series. Enjoy!

Summer Sale!

Summer is in full swing, and how better to spend the time than to head to the waterfront with a good book? Or two! To make your beach time more enjoyable, I’ve put the Kindle edition of both books in the Waterfront Mystery series, OUT OF THE COLD DARK SEA and WITHIN A SHADOWED FOREST on sale for $.99 each. That’s $1.98 for two great reads that will keep you flipping the pages while the waves lap at your feet. The sale runs from July 27 through August 3.

Please let your mystery reading friends know about this great deal! And don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. Book reviews are the lifeblood for success for independent authors.

The Perfect Summer Dessert

Pistachio Meringues with Lemon Curd and Fresh Berries

Summer is a berry berry good time of year. Strawberries are in abundance, turning plumb and red with the long days. One of the true superfoods, blueberries are round and juicy. Raspberry bushes, ripened to ruby red, sag under the weight of the luscious fruit. The ubiquitous blackberries continue their march to occupy every nook and cranny of the West Coast.

In fact, many horticulturists place the blackberry at the top of their invasive species list. It’s affectionately known as the Godzilla of plants. No less an authority than famed Northwest writer Tom Robbins had this to say about the blackberry in his classic, Still Life with Woodpecker: “In the wet months, blackberries spread so rapidly that dogs and small children were sometimes engulfed and never heard from again. In the peak of the season, even adults dared not go berry picking without a military escort.”

My thoughts have turned to the perfect summer dessert for book clubs gatherings in summer after recently speaking to two groups. The tradition of many book clubs is to provide dessert while they talk about the book, travel, good wine, family, the pandemic—well, life, I guess. That’s the perfect kind of book club. For that you need the perfect summer dessert.

This time of year, it must include berries. All of the tantalizing jewel-like berries are a treat for the senses. One of my favorite summertime desserts is to use them as a topping on a light, airy pistachio meringue nest, topped with a zesty lemon curd to balance the sweetness of the fruit. The meringue is versatile enough to accommodate any of the berries.

The only trick is keeping the meringue crispy beyond that first day. Made primarily of sugar and egg whites, meringues absorb moisture and will start to soften after just a few hours if left exposed to the air. When the meringues have completely cooled in the oven, pack the meringues into an air-tight container if not being used right away. If not being served on the same day, put them in the freezer.

In fact, put a few extra in the freezer.  Unpack them when it’s time for that perfect summer dessert.

RECIPE
Pistachio Meringues with Lemon Curd and Fresh Berries
Makes eight servings.

INGREDIENTS
Meringues
½ teaspoon cream of tartar
6 large egg whites
1½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup dry roasted pistachios

Lemon Curd
(I always make extra since it’s the perfect topping for almost any fruit dessert)
4 large eggs
2 large egg white
1 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 5 lemons)
2 teaspoon corn starch
Dash of salt

Berries
6 cups fresh berries, thickly sliced if using strawberries
Powdered sugar

METHOD

Meringue

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F. To prepare the meringues, cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw eight 4-inch circles on the paper.  Turn paper over.
  2. Place cream of tartar and 6 egg whites in a large, chilled bowl. Beat with mixer at high speed until foamy.  Gradually add granulated sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.
  3. Divide the egg white mixture evenly among the eight circles on the baking sheet. Shape meringues into nests with 1-inch sides using the back of a spoon.  Sprinkle evenly with pistachio nuts.
  4. Bake for 1 hour, rotating baking sheet after 30 minutes. Turn off oven, and cool meringues in closed oven and carefully remove meringue nests from paper.  If not serving right away, place the completely cooled meringues in an air-tight container and freeze.

Lemon Curd

  1. To prepare lemon curd, combine whole eggs with 2 egg white in a medium bowl. Stir well with a whisk.  Heat granulated sugar, lemon rind, juice, corn starch, and salt over medium-high heat in small saucepan until tiny bubbles form around the edge (about 180°F).
  2. Gradually add hot mixture to egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return mixture to pan.  Cook over medium heat for about two minutes, stirring constantly. The longer you cook the mixture the more custard-like it will become. If you like thick lemon curd, cook longer. If you like a more syrupy lemon curd, cook less.
  3. Spoon curd into bowl.  Cool to room temperature.  Cover and chill.

Putting It All Together

  1. Arrange about ½ cup berries in each meringue nest. Top by drizzling lemon curd over the berries. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve immediately.

 

Book Clubs

WERDS (Women’s Eating Reading Drinking Society) Book Club

Speaking of book clubs, would you like me talk with your book club? Engaging directly with readers is one of my favorite things to do as an author. Readers ask probing questions and learn more about the book, the writing process, and some of my idiosyncrasies—like how do I name my characters? I get to share my love of writing and my passion for other authors. I’ve spoken to 22 book clubs since the publication of OUT OF THE COLD DARK SEA in 2019. Whether in person or virtual, it’s always a good time.

Marina at Grand Marais, Minnesota

For book clubs, libraries or other groups in the Seattle area, I’m happy to meet in person—isn’t it wonderful to be able to say that after the past 18 months? For others, I’m happy to meet via Zoom and have put together a great slide show to accompany my talk about WITHIN A SHADOWED FOREST. The photos will provide you with a get a great sense of Lake Superior and the heavily wooded Northshore. Here’s an example: the Marina at Grand Marais, Minnesota.

Book 3 in the Waterfront Mystery Series

And now, the news that many of you have been waiting for. The next book in the Waterfront Mystery series with Martha Whitaker is coming along nicely. Martha has returned to Seattle and has teamed up again with James MacAuliffe to investigate why a man has decided to jump off the 105-foot high Aurora Bridge. Both face new challenges in their personal lives, of course. I’m planning a publication date for 2022.

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to drop me a note at jdbriggs@nwlink.com. You can also contact me on Facebook and Instagram. I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers,

Jeffrey D. Briggs

 

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Fall’s First Author Event

Hello, friends!

Summer is officially over, but I hope this finds you with plenty of books to keep you busy on these cool, crisp autumn evenings. If you haven’t already, you can curl up with a blanket in front of the fire and catch up on the latest Waterfront Mystery with Martha Whitaker, WITHIN A SHADOWED FOREST. Set on the North Shore of Lake Superior, the book has been getting rave reviews. I’ve listed links below of places where you can purchase the book.

In October, I have my first virtual author event for WITHIN A SHADOWED FOREST. I will be joining award-winning author James W. Ziskin, author of the Ellie Stone Mysteries, for a virtual event hosted by the fine independent bookstore, Third Place Books. Jim and I will be talking on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. PDT. This event is free and open to everyone, regardless of geographical location—one of the beauties of being virtual.   Here is a link to register for the Zoom event.

Jim’s new book, TURN TO STONE, takes Ellie to Florence, Italy. If you’re unable to travel because of the pandemic, TURN TO STONE will leave you feeling like you’re walking the cobblestone streets of Florence and crossing the Ponte Vecchio Bridge with Ellie.

Tell your mystery-reading friends to save the date. It should be a lot of fun as we talk about books, mysteries and writing, and take your questions.

Happy reading, and I hope you can join us on October 14!

Cheers,
Jeffrey

The Waterfront Mysteries are available from

Signed copies of WITHIN A SHADOWED FOREST or OUT OF THE COLD DARK SEA are available by emailing the author at
jdbriggs@nwlink.com

 * * *

The Gift of a Cookbook

How a gift from over four decades ago inspired a scene in the novel Within A Shadowed Forest

My grandmother, Ruth Briggs

When I was 18 and about to leave home for the first time, my grandmother stopped by the house with a gift. I was the second member of my family to attend college, and would eventually be the first to graduate. I was leaving in a couple of days for Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., a small university town perched on the far eastern end of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

For those of you who’ve read the two books in the Waterfront Mystery series with Martha Whitaker, you’ll recognize Sault Ste. Marie as Martha’s hometown. It’s a place of long beautiful days in the summer and short cold days in the winter, where snow can come in torrid sheets off the big lake and clear skies only means the arrival of a Polar Vortex.

A lifelong Michigander, my grandmother understood this, of course.

“It’ll be cold up there in the winter,” Grandma said, in her understated way. “Wind off the lake’ll chill your bones. I thought you should have this.”

Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, 1972 ed.

She handed me my first cookbook, Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, 1972 edition. Inside, she had flagged some of the recipes that she knew I loved when visiting her kitchen—homemade bread, beef stew, chocolate chip cookies and winter squash soup.

I still have that cookbook on a kitchen shelf, its cover now held together with duct tape and love. And I still make winter squash soup every year when the autumn days turn cool and the wind off Puget Sound chills my bones.

As with all recipes, I have adapted and changed the recipe from my first attempt many years ago. Late autumn is a time for all varieties of squash, carrots and even apples. Thick and filling, winter squash soup combines them all and offers a surprising twist with the Honey Crisp apples and a hint of cinnamon: A little sweet with a little bite, all totally satisfying. For variety, I sometimes add a cup of sharp cheddar or fontina cheese.

The soup reheats well and is the perfect complement to so many winter meals or stand-alone lunches. I often double the recipe to have extra for the freezer.

I was reminded of my grandmother’s gift when I was developing a scene in my new book, Within A Shadowed Forest. My two protagonists, Martha Whitaker and James MacAuliffe, are meeting with a real estate developer, Craig Nettles, in Duluth, Minn., and I wanted the scene to begin in the kitchen. I needed to have the scene involve some kind of action, a simple, mundane kitchen event that would seem both normal and yet, slightly abnormal. What multi-millionaire spends time in his own kitchen? And what would he be doing? I decided Nettles would be making my winter squash soup recipe. Martha, who is a bit of a foody, loves the recipe and ask Nettles if she may have it.

And now you may have it too.

Betty Crocker’s Cookbook was such a simple and practical gift from my grandmother for a young person about to venture off on his own. It instilled a sense of pride in creating great food and provided a necessary step on the journey towards adult independence. I can only hope that some of you will find solace in knowing that at the end of another tumultuous day of hard work, long studies or anxious concern about the current state of the world that a healthy and hardy meal will make it all seem a little more manageable.

And here’s that recipe for winter squash soup that Martha requests from Craig Nettles.

Enjoy!

Winter Squash Soup

Serves 4 to 5, depending on portion sizes. This is an easy recipe to double for larger quantities.

Ingredients
4 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (usually 1 medium squash)
2 large carrots, chopped
2 medium apples, cored and chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 cup chicken broth
6 ounces of beer (like an IPA)
6 ounces of hard apple cider
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup plain yogurt
½ cup of sharp cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped, for garnish

Method
1.     Combine squash, carrots, apples, onions, garlic, and spices in a large stock pot.
2.     Add chicken broth, beer and cider.
3.     Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.
4.     Cook for about 2 hours or until squash and carrots are tender.  Puree until smooth with an immersion blender.
5.     Stir in cream, yogurt and cheese. Keep heat on low until ready to serve.
6.     Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chives.

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Briggs’ Mysteries

One of the pleasures of writing novels is to receive kind reviews from your friends. Here’s one from my friend Kurt M. Hoehne, who surprised me recently with a review of my first book, “Out of the Cold Dark Sea.” You can find more of Kurt’s writing about sailing in the Pacific Northwest at salish.com.

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Briggs’ Mysteries

By Kurt Hoehne

It’s a real pleasure to be able to write about Jeffrey Briggs’ novels, Out of the Cold Dark Sea and this year’s Within a Shadowed Forest, both published by Water’s End Press.. Many years ago, Jeff invited me to be a part of a writer’s group he put together. I learned a lot and could see with the talent and effort he was putting into his writing, Jeff would some day have some great books to his credit. That day has come.

While these novels aren’t about sailing or boating per se, they are appropriately called “waterfront mysteries,” and they are infused with the Pacific Northwest feel. Jeff has lived aboard and cruised the Northwest, run the Northwest Yacht Brokers Association and at one time wrote frequently for 48 North. He has also published two other books, Confessions of a Liveaboard and SoundWatch: An Environmental Guide for Boaters. He’s been a part of the PNW sailing community for more than 30 years.

Out of the Cold Dark Sea surprised me. I expected something aboard boats. Frankly, I’m really glad the setting was waterfront and not onboard. It’s pretty hard to set a mystery on a boat, but you certainly can set a mystery around the Seattle waterfront with launching ramps, nearby rare book stores and the police boat moorage on Lake Union. In this book Briggs introduces us to heroine Martha Whitaker. She’s all you could want in a heroine; smart, persistent, tough as hell, flawed and with a backstory that makes you root for her all the way. The first book was a mystery and adventure story that kept my interest and made me curious about her next adventure.

And the next adventure sounds exciting, even it has more to do with the Lake Superior waterfront than Seattle’s. From the Amazon ordering page: “Seattle attorney Martha Whitaker is beginning to heal after recent betrayals left her wounded and grieving. An explosion in Minnesota sends her off to the Lake Superior waterfront to help her friend James MacAuliffe. Someone blew up his truck and a charred body is discovered in the wreckage. Who is it? And, if MacAuliffe was the intended victim, who is after him and why? Together, he and Martha pursue a trail of clues that lead them up the North Shore to the scenic village of Grand Marais, into the vast northern forest, and onto the frigid waters of Lake Superior in search of answers—and a shadowed killer.”

I can’t speak to Martha’s next adventure, I haven’t read it – yet. But these days books are a great escape from the reality we’re in.

* * *

A Great Mystery that Reminds Us of the Human Cost of War

Book Review: “All Along the Watchtower” By Curt Colbert

Even after 30 years, Vietnam will not let go of Matt Rossiter, the Seattle-based private investigator in Curt Colbert’s new novel, “All Along the Watchtower.” And this book will grab you and won’t let go.

When the body of his former squad sergeant is found atop Jimi Hendrix’s grave, Rossiter must discover who is targeting members of his old platoon, while reliving his traumatic experiences from the war. A veteran still suffering from PTSD, the hard-drinking Rossiter would rather drown the memories in a bottle of Wild Turkey than confront his demons from Vietnam. But he must confront them, or he and his friends will die. Like a Jimi Hendrix guitar riff, Rossiter is wild, deep, profane, and shrewd.

Set in 1999 with frequent flashbacks to the late ’60s, “All Along the Watchtower” is addicting yet painful to read which makes the experienced of reading it all the more powerful. It contains heartache, dark humor, and raw emotions seldom seen in mysteries. It will leave you exhausted, a little more certain that war is never justified, and with a lot more empathy for the vets who have returned home and struggled with PTSD.

Colbert’s “All Along the Watchtower” is a companion novel to Waverly Fitzgerald’s “Hard Rain.” While both are stand-alone novels, some of the same characters are integral to both books. It’s a clever twist from the frequent writing partners without being gimmicky. An added bonus is Colbert’s use of familiar Seattle locations that makes you want to stop for a Dick’s hamburger on the way to watch the ducks swimming alongside the Lake Union houseboats.

* * *

Shelter in Place Sale

Dear Family, Friends and Readers,

SHELTERING IN PLACE SALE
Needing a diversion to days sheltering in place at home? Reading a good book helps ease the time and makes it easier for us to practice good social distancing. Plus, it gives us something to talk about besides Covid19. You, a mug of coffee and good book—perfect!

To help people shelter in place with a good book, I’m putting the Kindle eBook edition of OUT OF THE COLD DARK SEA on sale for $.99. Yes, for less than a dollar, you can have many hours of reading pleasure when you won’t have to worry about social distancing protocols.

The Kindle edition is available on Amazon, as is the paperback if you like to hold a physical book when reading. The sale for the eBook runs from March 25 through March 31.

Please share the news of the sale with your reading friends and family, Facebook friends, followers on Instagram and Twitter! Word-of-mouth recommendations are critical to supporting independent authors.

Within a Shadowed Forest
Book two in the Waterfront Mystery series featuring Martha Whitaker, WITHIN A SHADOWED FOREST, is in the final stage of production. I hope to have make it available by early summer 2020. I’ll be doing a cover reveal soon. Please email me if you would like to be put on the waiting list for the book. My email address is jdbriggs@nwlink.com.

Stay healthy, stay safe, read a good book.

Cheers,
Jeffrey

* * *

Happy Thanksgiving & eBook Sale for Black Friday

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of grace and joy and good food, shared with those you love. I am thankful for all of you who have supported me as I have begun this journey of being an author.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to give you an update of what’s happening in my book world and to announce a Black Friday Sale for the eBook version of Out of the Cold Dark Sea.

Black Friday Sale of eBook of Out of the Cold Dark Sea
For one week, beginning Friday, November 29 through Friday, December 6, the Kindle version of my debut novel will be available for $.99. Please let your eBook reading family and friends know about this Black Friday sale on the eBook version of Out of the Cold Dark Sea.

Holiday Gifts
If you would like to give a signed copy of the novel as a holiday gift, please send me an email with your request, and to whom I should sign the book. Make sure to include a mailing address where I should send the book. I will cover shipping to family and friends and will make sure it gets to you in time for Christmas. My email is jdbriggs@nwlink.com.

Out of the Cold Dark Sea is also available from these Seattle-area bookstores:

Book Clubs
It’s been a busy few months of speaking to book clubs throughout the Seattle area. They have been a lot of fun, and I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to meet readers face to face. As your book club prepares its reading list for 2020, please consider recommending Out of the Cold Dark Sea. I am happy to meet with your book club, whether in person or via Skype for distant readers. Please drop me an email if you would like me to meet with your book club.

Book Review Request
Some of you have already posted a book review on Amazon or Goodreads. Thank you! For those of you who haven’t, please consider doing so to support one of your favorite independently published authors. I now have 40 reviews on Amazon, and I become eligible for some free in-house promotions on Amazon at 50 reviews. This is critical for me to reach a broader audience beyond family and friends. You didn’t have to buy your book through Amazon to post a review. Thank you for the consideration. I have provided below a step-by-step guide on how to post a review to both Amazon and Goodreads.

Upcoming Author Events
Thank you to the many people who have attended my author events! We’ve had a great turnout and some lively questions. I have two more events on the upcoming schedule. Yes, I swore I would never do another boat show, but I have broken that promise and signed up to speak at the 2020 Seattle Boat Show at Centurylink Field and Event Center.

  • Friday, January 24, 2020, Seattle Boat Show, 11 a.m. “Gunkholing to Murder and Mayhem: How the Pacific Northwest inspires writers, boaters, liars and old salts”
  • Thursday, January 30, 2020, Seattle Boat Show, 4 p.m. “Gunkholing to Murder and Mayhem: How the Pacific Northwest inspires writers, boaters, liars and old salts”

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and thank you again for all your support.

Cheers,
JDB

Book Review Submission Guide

Thank you for reading “Out of the Cold Dark Sea.” Now I have a favor to ask: It’s critical for independent publishers to get word-of-mouth recognition to gain traction finding an audience. Would you consider posting a book review on “Out of the Cold Dark Sea”? Amazon and Goodreads are the two most important places that readers go when looking to buy their next book. Your social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram are other important locations.

Reviews can be short, two or three sentences, sometimes even just a word or two. “Awesome” counts as a book review. They can be long, like the reviews I post on my blog. They should be honest.

What did you like? Some possibilities to mention include:

  • The page-turning plot;
  • Martha’s character arc;
  • The thematic arc of betrayal;
  • Martha’s struggles to rebuild her life after betrayal and rape;
  • The exploration of social issues (this was written long before anyone heard of the #MeToo movement, but that certainly runs throughout the book);
  • The historical element involving the Mormons.

And if you didn’t like any of those things, that’s fine, as well. Just be honest with your comments and your rating.

The Amazon algorithms work in an author’s favor as much on quantity as it does on quality. 5-start reviews are best, of course, but all reviews count and are counted.

Thank you for the consideration.  I appreciate it.

How to post on:

Amazon

To submit a review:

  1. Go to Out of the Cold Dark Sea on Amazon.com.
  2. Scroll towards the bottom where you’ll see Review this product. Click Write a customer review in the Customer Reviews section.
  3. Click Submit.

Goodreads

If you don’t have one, and you should if you’re an active reader, create an account. Here’s how to review a book on Goodreads:

  • Navigate to the page of the book you’d like to review (you can find it by searching for it in the search bar in the header). Out of the Cold Dark Sea
  • Underneath the book’s cover image, where it says “Rate this book,” hover over the stars until the desired number of stars is highlighted, then click on them to rate the book.
  • A pop-up menu will appear above the stars. Click on the Write a review text.
  • Enter your review on the following page, and click on Save to submit.

Please note that you have to be a Goodreads member to write a review.

* * *

UPCOMING AUTHOR EVENTS FOR JEFFREY D. BRIGGS

Dear Readers,
I wanted to give you an updated and complete list of where you can find my debut novel in the Seattle Waterfront Mystery series, Out of the Cold Dark Sea, and my calendar of upcoming events. Events first:

Author Event

Edmonds Bookshop
Saturday, October 19, 2019, noon

Edmonds Bookshop
111 5th Avenue South
Edmonds, WA 98020

This is my neighborhood bookstore, and I’m excited to be doing an author event at the Edmonds Bookshop. I’ll be doing a talk and a reading from Out of the Cold Dark Sea at this gem of an independent bookstores. I look forward to seeing you there. Plus, I will offer a giveaway basket of a free book, a gift pack of Cascade Fusion Smoked Olive Oil and a bottle of wine for one attendee.

* * *

Author Talk & Reading

Richmond Beach Library
Thursday, Novermber 7, 3 p.m.

Richmond Beach Library
19601 21st Ave NW
Shoreline, WA 98177

This is my neighborhood library, where I’m President of the Friends of Richmond Beach Library. It’s a great honor to do my first library talk at my home library. I’ll be talking about and reading from Out of the Cold Dark Sea at this gem of an independent bookstores. I look forward to seeing you there. Plus, I will offer a giveaway basket of a free book, a gift pack of Cascade Fusion Smoked Olive Oil and a bottle of wine for one attendee.

* * *

Paper Boat Booksellers
Friday, November 8, 6 p.m.

Paper Boat Booksellers
6040 California Ave SW, Suite A
Seattle, WA 98136

Paper Boat Booksellers is a brand new independently owner bookstore in West Seattle.  I’m excited to be helping them launch the holiday season by doing an author event and reading there. Join me in welcoming Paper Boat Booksellers to the community. Plus, I will offer a giveaway basket of a free book, a gift pack of Cascade Fusion Smoked Olive Oil and a bottle of wine for one attendee.

* * *

Out of the Cold Dark Sea is now available from:

• Amazon, in paperback and Kindle ebook
• Edmonds Bookshop
• Elliott Bay Book Company
• Paper Boat Booksellers
• Queen Anne Book Company
• Third Place Books Lake Forest Park
• Third Place Books Ravenna
• Third Place Books Seward Park

Signed copies are available from the author at
jdbriggs@nwlink.com

Customer Reviews:

“In this story of subterfuge and masterful plot twists, Martha Whitaker isn’t a detective, but she has all it takes to be one. She’s smart, tenacious and fierce—and deeply wounded enough to trust no one. But trust she must in a life-threatening search to find her former professor and friend.  This intricate, fast-paced debut and its complex protagonist has me eager for the next Jeffrey D. Briggs mystery.”
— P.S. Duffy, author of The Cartographer of No Man’s Land

“What a debut. Jeffery D. Briggs writes a compelling, believable, and fast-paced mystery, that keeps you guessing and leaves you satisfied. The protagonist is a fierce, intelligent character, with depth and plenty of layers. The setting is fantastic with a deft nuisance to the senses. The plot moves, twists, and engages the reader. I truly enjoyed this novel and look forward to Mr. Briggs’s next installment of the Seattle Waterfront Mystery’s.”
—Matthew Wheeler, author of Falling Onto Cotton

* * *

UPCOMING AUTHOR EVENTS FOR JEFFREY D. BRIGGS

Author Interview
KSER 90.7 FM
Friday, September 20, 2019, 4 to 5 p.m.

Listen in as I talk about Out of the Cold Dark Sea with Ed Bremer on his Sound Living program on independent public radio KSER 90.7 FM.

With a focus on North Puget Sound, Sound Living brings you local commentary, national perspectives, Snohomish and Island county events, people and stories into your car and radio. From environmental issues to political discussions to interesting ideas and people, Sound Living is a look at the places we call home.

I look forward to your joining us!

* * *

Author Event
Third Place Books Lake Forest Park
Tuesday, September 24, 2019, 7 p.m.

Third Place Books Lake Forest Park
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

My first Author Event will be at the first independent bookstore to stock my debut novel. I’m looking forward to having my first Author Event & Reading from Out of the Cold Dark Sea, at one of the great independent bookstores, Third Place Books Lake Forest Park.

I look forward to seeing you there.

* * *

Author Event
Third Place Books Seward Park
Wednesday, October 9, 2019, 7 p.m.

Third Place Books Seward Park
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

I’m looking forward to meeting South Seattle mystery readers at Third Place Books Seward Park where I’ll have an Author Event & Reading from Out of the Cold Dark Sea at this great independent bookstores.

I look forward to seeing you there.

* * *

Author Event
Edmonds Bookshop
Saturday, October 19, 2019, noon

Edmonds Bookshop
111 5th Avenue South
Edmonds, WA 98020

This is my neighborhood bookstore, and I’m excited to be doing an author event at the Edmonds Bookshop. I’ll be doing a talk and a reading from Out of the Cold Dark Sea at this gem of an independent bookstores.

I look forward to seeing you there.

* * *

Book Review: “Sea, Sky, Islands” by Alice K. Boatwright

Contains spoilers

Sea, Sky, Islands is a slim volume of short stories by Alice K. Boatwright that will leave you wishing she had included more in this collection of spare, poignant tales. The three stories are all set in the San Juan Islands of the Pacific Northwest—an apt metaphor for the isolation of the characters—and offer a close examination of men and women in various stages of their relationship. Each story is a gem.

Also the author of the Ellie Kent Mystery series, Boatwright begins the collection with the story “Between the East and Tomorrow,” in which she weaves the story around the preeminent short story writer of the late 20th century, Raymond Carver. A writer generally invokes another writer when he or she wishes to invite comparison. And this story of isolation and a love devolving into loneliness holds up well to such lofty comparisons. The language is spare and ordinary, yet heartbreaking. “’Nothing’s changed,’ he insisted. All she need to do was make up her mind to be happy and they’d be fine. Janet had tried, but loneliness was like a stitch in her side that never went away.”

It’s my favorite story in the collection. “Between the East and Tomorrow” perfectly captures that ache of when a relationship has ended but isn’t over yet: two people going through the motions, each as isolated as their island retreat. “She stood in the doorway, looking at Tom and wondered if he too were secretly somewhere else; suspended between the life they had once had and the future.”

Alice K. Boatwright

The middle story in the collection, “Life Sentences,” explores the relationship between two recovering alcoholics. Jack Hillyer, an island native, has never been curious about what life is like across the waters of his island home—until he meets Patti at an AA meeting. Now he’s working to make a big sale so he can take her on a vacation to Hawaii. While the end comes as no surprise, it doesn’t make it any less painful—for Jack or for the reader. “And even though he was shocked, he had to admit he had always known this day would come. He had just hoped every day to put it off one day more.”

The last story in the collection, “Divas,” is a brief tribute to the endurance needed for a couple to navigate the “impatience and resentments” of staying together. Remaining committed to each other comes at a cost, but the sacrifices they make leads the narrator to ruminate, “This has been a season of ‘even withouts’—when expectations have shrunk like melting ice. It doesn’t matter. Everything is all right.”

Allow yourself to escape to the islands with the three beautiful, sad, and hopeful stories contained within Sea, Sky, Islands.

* * *

A 30-Year Journey

Jeffrey D. Briggs

My first ever book launch party is now behind me. And I’m still reveling in the glow of the celebration for the publication of Out of the Cold Dark Sea, the first book in the Seattle Waterfront Mystery series.

What a fun event we had on Sunday, June 2, at the Ballard home of my friend Julie VanWallendael! Beautiful weather greeted over 85 of my friends and colleagues at one of my favorite locations. It was perfect! The day exceeded my wildest expectations and I already had high expectations!

Here is my first Author’s Talk. Please understand, this is the talk I meant to give, not the one I actually did give. I forgot everything I meant to say, of course. I really have no idea what I did talk about, but kind friends assured me that it made sense—well, most of it anyway.

The 30-year Journey

There’re not too many time anymore in Seattle we can appreciate this beautiful area of the country in which we live because we’re usually too worried about trying to find a place to park. But today is such a day, and valet parking eliminated the concerns about parking. Thank you, Julie, for thinking of hiring the valet service.

Some thank yous are in order.

To Julie VanWallendael who opened her house to us. For those of you have read Out of the Cold Dark Sea, you’ll remember that Martha lives in a house on the bluff overlooking Puget Sound. I modeled Martha’s house on this one right here. It’s my favorite house—with a great kitchen and the best view, the two most important elements to any house. Of course, Martha can’t afford to live in such a house so I had to create a fictional garage for her to live in. I modeled Martha’s Carriage House on my friends’ Brian and Deborah Bahs’ apartment over their garage, which they also call the “Carriage House,” now that I think about it.

Kris Fordice

Writers are always told to write about what they know. So if you see yourself or someone or something you know in the book, don’t be surprised.

Bob Fordice

I must also thank my dear friends Kris and Bob Fordice. With Julie, they prepared the food and provided the drinks. The three of them, with MJ, took care of all the details. When I was feeling discouraged and overwhelmed with all that I had to do to publish the book, Kris and Bob insisted on taking over the plans for the book launch party. Bob also produced the wonderful book trailer for me, of course. Thank you, Kris and Bob.

And to my wife Mary Jo. None of this would be possible—the party or the book or our life in Seattle—without her love and support, and her commitment to my writing career. She goes to work every day so I can spend the day staring out windows and wondering how many ways I can have someone betray Martha. Often times she believed in me more than I believed in myself.

Mary Jo Briggs with our friend Pat Philbin

On the way to the party, we were talking and I was sharing with her my ideas for my “author’s talk.” I told her how I planned to be funny, charming, a little erudite. She looked at me said, “Really? [long pause] Why not just be yourself?”

Alan Ginsberg, the great Beat poet, once said that with enough postage and perseverance, anyone can get published. I like to think I am the role model for perseverance.

I started the Seattle Waterfront Mystery series over three decades ago. Of course I didn’t know it at the time. I was just writing about what I knew in a genre that I loved: A liveaboard sailor on the Seattle waterfront finds a dead body in the Ship Canal (well, part of that I made up).

For years, I got up at 4 o’clock every morning so I could write before going off to build houses or to produce boat shows or run a nonprofit association. My first office was the spare bunk on the 40-foot sailboat MJ and I called home, a place we shared with our large dog and wandering cat. My second office was in the unused end of a railroad container that I rented from Julie for fifty bucks a month.

Brian Bahs

My goal at the time was to write 600 words a day every day, 364 days a year. I decided I could take Christmas Day off. I get excited about Christmas. I didn’t come to that goal out of the blue. I had written a story on Larry Bird, the great NBA player for the Boston Celtics. It was near the end of the season, and I asked him what he planned for off season. He told me, he needed to work to improve his game. Improve his game? He was already the best player in the league, a three-time most valuable player. But he still wasn’t satisfied. One of his goals was to shoot 600 shots a day, every day, seven days a week. I thought if a three-time league MVP still felt that drive to improve that he would commit to shooting 600 shots a day, I could commit to writing 600 words a day. So I did.

And results were hundreds of magazine articles and my first unpublished novel, The Promise of Sleep.

Along the way, I battled depression and spent days, weeks, months in that railroad container curled up on the floor wondering what was the best way to kill myself. Deadlines would get me off the floor to write another story. MJ, friends like Rich Hazelton and Diane Shaw, and good drugs kept me off the floor.

Another decade passed, during which I wrote another book. I wrote more stories and articles about the Seattle waterfront. I read every mystery I could find to learn craft. I reread all my favorites—Raymond Chandler, Dorothy Sayers, Dashiell Hammett, early Elizabeth George, but this time with the eye of a student learning from a mentor. The best mentors I had, I figured, were on the bookshelf all around me. I read and reread hundreds of other great books to learn writing and storytelling—Melville, Mark Twain, Tolkien, Flaubert, Joyce, Faulkner, Hemingway. I even dabbled in the tortured, depressed Russians, but in the end, I found them too depressing even for me. And people who have read my books will tell you that’s saying a lot.

Out of the Cold Dark Sea is the fourth book that I’ve finished in the series. I started Martha 1, as it’s come to be called, in 2005. Since then we’ve bought and sold houses, moved across country a couple of times. I even tried—but mostly failed—to instill a sense of importance in writing to hundreds of disinterested college freshmen.

Along the way, I continued writing about the Seattle waterfront and added biomedical research to my skill set. At Mayo Clinic I was asked if I knew anything about the genome, and I said, “Yes, I did,” and immediately ran home and looked it up on Wikipedia.  For nearly five years I got to preview all my future diseases.

But I kept pulling Martha up on the computer screen and working on her some more. I shared her with dozens of beta readers. I made changes, edited the manuscript, hone and tightened it. Other writers will understand why it’s called “killing your own babies.” But I was brutal and devastating to my children. And I knew it was a good book. More importantly readers told me it was a good book. I paid for professional editors to help me refine the story even more. I attended conferences, solicited agents and publishers.

Friends from 87th Street: from left, Ester Thomas, Michelle Zunker, Kristen and Steve Katsaros

I had absolutely no success. None. I had one agent who actually read the manuscript. In a kind note—well, if two sentences can be called “kind”—she declined to represent me.

By now, I was actually starting to doubt Alan Ginsberg. I had always told people that I was going to make it because I was willing to keep going when others gave up. But now I started to doubt: maybe perseverance and hard work wasn’t enough.

Sometimes it’s hard to keep your dream alive if they remain just daydreams for too long.

No one knows how to write a book when they begin. You start with one step, that leads to a second step. And if you persevere and take enough steps over enough time you end up at your destination—a finished book.

But I couldn’t do it alone. I had company, a community of people who believed in me. And that’s how I feel. I have made the journey, I have taken the steps. But I never would have been able to make find my way if not for this community of family and friends who’ve been willing to see me along each step of the way.

Writer friends, from left, Waverly Fitzgerald, Rachel Buckley, Jeffrey D. Briggs, Alice Boatwright and Janis Wildy.

Many of them were able to join me for the celebration. Brian Bahs has been my friend since 5th grade, my best friend since high school. He’s read so many bad short stories and drafts of novels that I’m surprised he was even willing to come.

Julie and Kris have been supporting me, feeding me, reading my manuscripts and believing in me for over 30 years. And when Kris added Bob to her life, he added us to his. He had to. We’re family.

Wayne Smith is here. When I was executive director of the nonprofit association, I was about to quit, burned out on ever doing another boat show, and Wayne, then the NYBA president, asked what it would take to keep me hanging around the docks. I said a two-month writing sabbatical every year. He said, “Done.”

Wow, look what happens when you ask. Look what happens when people believe in you.

The Rochester Literary Guild: from left, Shelley Mahannah, Jeffrey D. Briggs, Debbie Lampi, Dan Dietrich, P.S. Duffy

There are neighbors old and new, many of them beta readers and believers in Martha. The 87th Street gang, the more recent friends from Richmond Beach. There are writer friends like Alice Boatwright and Waverly Fitzgerald, Luanne Brown, Janis Wildy, Rachel Buckley and Curt Colbert of whom have welcomed me into their author’s community since we’ve returned from Minnesota.

Other friends couldn’t be at the party, but they were there in spirit. My friend and mentor Penny Duffy sent an eloquent and touching introduction for Kris to read. She and fellow members of the Rochester Literary Guild, Dan Dietrich and Shelley Mahannah, sent me a video message and a box of the same wine that Martha bought when she was going to visit Hewitt. Remember, Martha has good taste in wine. The Guilders support, critical reviews and unflagging belief that stories still make the world a better place nourished and sustained me through the many years of bringing Martha to print.

My friend Roxanne Dunn wasn’t able to join us either, but Roxanne has been there since the beginning. She read every word of every draft, offering criticism and praise each time, until I’m sure she was so tired of the book that she probably wished it was Martha who had died on that mountainside in Utah.

Who has friends like these?

I’m proud and humbled to say, I do.

So to Mary Jo, and to all of my friends, I say a heartfelt and humble thank you! To all the people who couldn’t be with us for the party, I say thank you. I’m so glad you could all be there to guide me, love me and support me on this fabulous journey. Thank you!

And I would be remiss, and Bill King would never forgive me, if I didn’t remind all of you that I have copies of Out of the Cold Dark Sea for sale.

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Book Review: “The Beautiful Mystery,” by Louise Penny

When death comes to a cloistered abbey of 24 contemplative monks—well, 23 now—long-forgotten by the Vatican, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Surete du Quebec and his second-in-command Jean-Guy Beauvoir are called in to investigate. They are the first outsiders allowed through the doors of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups, hidden away in the northern forest of Quebec, in over 200 years.

The eighth Louise Penny novel to feature Gamache, “A Beautiful Mystery” evokes the wonder of Gregorian chants, the magical play of light, and the literal and figurative crumbling of an old monastery. Add to this an ancient manuscript, the Inquisition and murder, and “A Beautiful Mystery” has the potential to be a melodramatic Gothic novel. But under Penny’s deft touch and ever-penetrating exploration into the human condition, the story unfolds as a dual exploration of how evil can penetrate into the human psyche, both from within and from without.

Early in the book, the Chief Inspector wonder’s if the monastery’s thick, high walls and locked doors, surrounded by wild forest “was it to keep the sins of the world out? Or to keep something worse in?”

The detectives from the famed Surete du Quebec soon discover that a schism has developed between the Gilbertines, as the monks are called, and wonder about the significance of a small piece of vellum clutched in the hands of the dead monk, Brother Mathieu. Instead of notes, the parchment contains “neumes,” a kind of ancient musical notations. As Penny writes, “There was no written record of the earliest chants. They were so old, more than a millennium, that they predated written music.”

Author Louise Penny

But today there is the Internet, and the Gilbertines’ recording of Gregorian chants has become a worldwide sensation, drawing the attention of tourists and the Catholic Church, who sends a young Dominican from the Doctrine of the Faith—today’s manifestation of the Inquisition. It has also brought much needed money to a poor order with a crumbling abbey.

The pace picks up when Gamache’s nemesis and supervisor in the Surete du Quebec, Chief Superintendent Sylvain Francoeur, turns up at the abbey’s door. The schism between the monks is reflected in the schism between Garmache and Francoeur.

This is a beautifully written book. The pace of the first half of the novel is slower than many readers like, but, for me, Penny took her time developing the beautiful mystery found in the music, an old monastery, and what brings men to devote their lives to both. And I like that. It also explores the relationship between Gamache and his second-in-command, both of whom have only recently recovered from life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Whether it’s the monks, the solid and reflective Gamache or the more fragile Beauvoir, or the ancient music of Gregorian chants, “apart they were individual colors, but together they made giddy light.” Put them together long enough, however, there’s “plenty of time for a close friendship to turn to hate. As only a good friendship could. The conduit to the heart was already created.”

* * *

Seventy-seven Clocks, by Christopher Fowler

“’Memory,’ Bryant tapped the side of his bald head with a wrinkled forefinger. ‘Or rather, lack of it. Information and experience. I mean, I have them both, but I’m forever losing the former and forgetting the latter.’”

If you’re new to Christopher Fowler’s “A Peculiar Crimes Unit” mystery series, that is one of the mystery genre’s great characters, Arthur Bryant, talking about himself. Together with his more straight-laced partner John May, the eccentric and cranky Bryant makes up half of the odd couple of Scotland Yard’s investigative unit into strange crimes. Bryant follows hunches, consults witches and has an esoteric knowledge of obscure London history. His personal life and appearance are a mess, like his memory. The dapper and seemingly soulless May plays by the book and rids himself of all his personal history. “John May’s Muswell Hill apartment could not have been less like his partner’s. There was nothing in his surroundings to remind him of his past.”

But together, they join the great sleuthing teams of mystery fiction, names most of you will already know like Holmes and Watson, Lynley and Havers. Seventy-seven Clocks is the third mystery to feature the two London detectives, following Full Dark House and The Water Room.

C Fowler

Christopher Fowler

Set in 1973, Bryant and May are called upon to investigate a series of bizarre events—the destruction of a seemingly minor Pre-Raphaelite painting, the death of an elderly attorney by rare snake poison, and murders by toxic make-up at a Gilbert and Sullivan opera and a starving tiger. All these strange and deadly events involve the Whitstable family, once an aristocratic family of power and influence in London’s financial ascendency in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that has by 1973 faded into obscurity. All of the events are tied back to the family’s Victorian patriarch who founded a shadow organization called the Alliance of Eternal Light.

And the lights are being snuffed out one by one.

Like all Bryant and May books, Seventy-seven Clocks is full of humor and unusual London history. The final solution to the crimes is so far-fetched to be a bit disappointing, and a subplot involving a young woman determined to help the Scotland Yard detectives remains underdeveloped. But readers new and old to the Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries will still enjoy Bryant and May’s adventure in this action-packed thriller, full of plot twists and delightful characters.

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Book Review: The Cartographer of No Man’s Land, by P.S. Duffy

I frequently reread my favorite books: Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings; Herman Melville’s Moby Dick; the Patrick O’Brian series of Aubrey/Maturin novels. A new addition to my rereading favorites is P.S. Duffy’s The Cartographer of No Man’s Land.

With lyrical prose and a deep compassion for and understanding of men who reluctantly go to war, Duffy creates a welcome addition to the literary omnibus of World War I—and the families left behind to worry, wonder and mourn the loved ones on the frontlines of war.

Weaving complex narrative threads, Duffy alternates between telling the story of Angus MacGrath, a professional sailor, skilled navigator and a budding artist from Nova Scotia, who defies his pacifist upbringing to enlist in the war to look for his missing brother-in-law, and the family he leaves behind in the little fishing community of Snag Harbor, especially his young son Simon Peter. Soon, Angus is sent to the Western Front in France because he is “good with maps,” and the story becomes both a search for his brother-in-law and friend, Ebbin, and a quest to survive the revulsions of trench warfare in World War I. Duffy writes about the camaraderie of the soldiers and the horrors of the war as if she had lived through the experience.

Back home in Canada, Simon Peter is also struggling to understand and to survive in a village that gets caught up in the patriotism of supporting the war. Simon Peter tries to hold on to the image of his father and protect what is most important to him in the upheaval created by an extended war—both in France and at home.

duffy

P.S. Duffy

Throughout the book and with a deft touch, Duffy offers her characters hope, often in the form of metaphors—a line, the North Star, a hand, and finally, an oar. Here is Angus after the Battle of Vimy Ridge: “A rhythmic ticking started up, like a halyard tapping a mast. The source — a rope, fixed at the top of the trench, stretching the length of a timber to the ground — was tapping in the wind. Angus leaned his hand against it and hung his head and let the rise of the swells take him beyond the sound of distant shells exploding, the light of flares, beyond hunger and fatigue, far beyond and back, until he was awake again, on deck, on watch.”

Born in central China, raised in Baltimore, Duffy spent extended periods of time in Nova Scotia for over thirty years. This comes through in the sections she sets in the Canadian maritime community of Snag Harbor, and she understands the importance of one of the pivotal battles of World War I, Vimy Ridge, in the Canadian psyche. Her background in research shines through in the scenes set in France during the Great War.

The Cartographer of No Man’s Land is a beautiful book about how people—especially men—cope with chaos and the brutality of war—the futility, the mounting losses, the deaths of people they hold dear. But what comes through clearly is that life need not always be surrendered to these horrors. A father’s love, a casual encounter that brings joy, the strength of friendship—they balance the destruction of war like a boat tacking before the wind, sailing along different points on the same compass.

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