M.E. Roche's Blog

Back in November I mentioned that I had a new book coming out, and that I had a little problem with getting the title right--I couldn't keep it straight myself! Now, I'm told, I didn't give you the right email address to obtain your own FREE audiobook of FIRE for Hire! So sorry! I've corrected it below.

Bob Doyle, once the golden boy of the Jefferson County sheriff's department, fled under a cloud of suspicion years ago. Now he's back, and his homecoming gift? A brutal murder at the isolated fishing camp of Tom King, his former partner. As whispers of corruption and betrayal swirl through the redwoods, FBI Special Agent Conor Mayhew pulls Tom King and Nora Brady into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in Boston, where the two find themselves deep undercover, infiltrating a shadowy world where firefighters moonlight as arsonists.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the audiobook, please send me an email: at meroche@meroche.com I will send you a promo code with directions as to how you can get your own copy on Audible; you do not need an Audible subscription to take advantage of this limited time offer. I enjoyed writing this and hope you enjoy listening!

Back in November I mentioned that I had a new book coming out, and that I had a little problem with getting the title right--I couldn't keep it straight myself! But from the holidays until now, life has been busy and I'm finally getting around to formally introducing the new work: FIRE for HIRE, with a special offer for readers who may want to try the free audiobook version! Of course, there is also the ebook and paperback versions available.

Bob Doyle, once the golden boy of the Jefferson County sheriff's department, fled under a cloud of suspicion years ago. Now he's back, and his homecoming gift? A brutal murder at the isolated fishing camp of Tom King, his former partner. As whispers of corruption and betrayal swirl through the redwoods, FBI Special Agent Conor Mayhew pulls Tom King and Nora Brady into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse in Boston, where the two find themselves deep undercover, infiltrating a shadowy world where firefighters moonlight as arsonists.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the audiobook, please send me an email at my website: www.meroche@meroche.com I will send you a promo code with directions as to how you can get your own copy on Audible; you do not need an Audible subscription to take advantage of this limited time offer. I enjoyed writing this and hope you enjoy!

In looking for something to vaguely represent the present mess of my office, as I try to organize my life in the new year, I came across this photo of irregularly shaped stones, so cleverly balanced. (I'm not sure why it resonated. Maybe taking odd pieces that really don't go together and making them into something interesting and balanced.) I didn't know they were called "cairns" and were often used by hikers to mark trails/paths. I only knew the name as representing burial sites in ancient times. I had, however, just finished a book that I'll tell you about shortly. It told the story of a woman who gave up her son during the Depression, someplace in rural Colorado. Every year she would return to the spot where she had left her son. There she began forming a circle of stones, where she would add a new stone each year, hoping somehow her son might return. Finally, one year she finds that someone has set a larger stone in the center of her circle, and beneath it is a note. You'll have to read/listen to the book to find out what happened.

And yes, I am one of those people who does make resolutions---some of the same ones every year that everyone makes about improving my diet or exercise regime, but in the last year I set out to do several things that I now want to improve upon in the coming year. I wanted to learn how to do an audiobook, and I'm now working on #3, and I do want to finish recording all of my books. What began as a daunting project, actually became fun. Then, I wanted to learn how to do ads for my books, starting with Facebook, supposedly the more profitable. I did my first ones at the end of last year...and I want to learn how to do those better! By the way: I didn't lose that 10# from the holidays of 2023 and now I have the 2024 holiday weight to contend with!

But for this year I want to learn how to pull all of my work together---how to determine the cost-effectiveness of my efforts. I started by buying myself a new 4 drawer filing cabinet...and yes, my family did remind me that everyone was now going paperless...I pulled receipts and memos of expenses and entered everything into a nice 12-column accounting tablet. (I did not want to spend the time again trying to learn Excel.) Now I'm moving on to all those analytic reports I get every month on the website and social media info. But enough about all this. I know what I said a while back, that I didn't like puzzles, but actually, I see all this info as one big puzzle! And it's kind of fun to organize. And my office is now a little less messy.

Something else I wanted to add to my life this year was something I hadn't done for a while: a daily reflection. And it just so happened that an email I received had several recommendations. I chose Tolstoy, having no idea he had ever written anything like this:

Tolstoy, Leo - A Calendar of Wisdom, translated by Peter Sekerin (1997). Originally written in the late 1800s and published early in the 1900s, but banned after the Russian Revolution. There is something for each day of the year, with quotes from many spiritual, political, and literary sources.

My other recommendations by authors new to me:

Read, Shelley - Go As a River (2023) As mentioned above, this is the story of a woman raised on a peach tree farm in Colorado during the Depression, who sets herself the daunting task of relocating that farm when plans for a dam threaten to swallow it. It is a multi-layered story of family, prejudice, endurance and perseverance.

See, Lisa - Lady Tan's Circle of Women (2023) A fascinating and entertaining historical look at the role of women in 15th century China. It specifically focuses on the life of women physicians and midwives, and the elitism of one's class.

Enjoy life with or without those New Year resolutions!

I am not a great one for decorating for any holiday, but my mother had ornaments for every single one--a collection that had its own 66-quart tub. This is the time of year, however, that I do enjoy setting out her special ones that bring happy memories. Above is a snap of the snow couple that has been with us for years. The wife has that little button on her left glove, and when you press it, the couple sways and sings "We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you..." It always makes me feel good. There are other ornaments, linens, and candles, but this is my favorite. As you can see, they became part of the family, also doing service as a hat rack for one of my grandsons, I think.

However you spend your holidays amid all the stress of trying to make everything perfect, I hope you find time to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family. Forget about the calories and enjoy all those special delicacies we only make this time of year. Soon it will be time for all those new year resolutions. Enjoy the now. And...

Wishing you all the best in the coming year...a HAPPY NEW YEAR!