I have completed another novel, with all edits done, and expected release date will be set soon. There have been delays but we should be able to schedule it now. This one is definitely a mystery (as opposed to action, suspense, crime, etc) and could probably be called a ‘cozy mystery.’ It is certainly close to being one, with the typical amateur detective, small town setting, relatively leisurely pace. Our protagonist may be just a little more active that one usually finds.

But it is admittedly as much or more about characters and relationships as it is about solving crimes (two murders which may or may not be related—you must read to find out). There’s no hurried pace, no rushing from one crisis to another. I’ve done that in other books.

I’ve also done something similar to this tale with my Cully Beach novels, in terms of pacing and story. There are admitted similarities between my protagonist here, Jim Fry, and the Ted Carrol of those books, but he is a much better adjusted and less troubled sort. Just maybe a little too full of himself at times. And the voice is third person rather than first.

The new novel, titled “These Remembered Hills” is set in the Hocking Hills of southeastern Ohio I knew as a kid. Very old memories indeed; I’ve set the plot in 1962, with Jim returning to the family farm after a stint in the navy. In the countryside, in the towns of Logan and Athens, in caves and on cliffs, he pursues answers to the riddles he has found there.

It is not a long novel and I consider that a good thing. I hate long-winded narratives and more so in books of this sort. It weighs in at just about 61,000 words. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if a sequel came along eventually.