Before I moved to Madrid eight years ago, I lived in the Canary Islands for eight years as well. Anyone who has been there, especially to the eastern islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria, knows that they are mountainous and dry, and if it weren't for so many palm trees, you might actually think you were in the Great American West. Click here to access a photo I just posted on my Instagram page (and follow me while you're there!). Although I'm content to be in Madrid, I feel most inspired and more creative when I'm back in the islands, and that's where I've been for the last two weeks. And sure enough, the plot outline for "Defending the Righteous" (Book II in my Montana Series) is now complete. I plan on being here in the islands for another couple of months, sequestered by myself in a white adobe house that hugs the rocky shoreline with my laptop and my tablets. By the time I head back to Madrid, I should have most of the dialogs and prose hashed out, and then I'm planning another trip in July to wrap things up so I can get the first draft to the editor.

I've mentioned in an answer to questions directed at authors here on Goodreads that I often use musical playlists to set me in the mood and get my brain churning over the storyline, something like the soundtrack of a movie version of the same story. I'll see if I can share the latest playlist from Spotify so that you can get in the mood, too. Just today, I went through it as I took a jog along the coast. There's a lot in store for Tom and Abe in this next installment, and there are plenty of answers about each of their pasts.

Thanks again to those who have taken the time to post ratings and comments on The Desolate Homestead. I've been humbled that people from all over the world (the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Australia, Spain, Germany, Italy and even China) have all taken an interest in Tom and Abe and are eagerly waiting to find out what happens to them next -- and what happened long ago.