Tag Archives: police

The Lonely, Silvery Rain

Otter & Osprey Press, a mainstream, Canadian publishing house (a division of Northern Forest Publishing), has released a second edition of my novel, The Lonely, Silvery Rain, to bookstores and online retailers. It’s available in both print and e-book formats, including Kindle.

This book is the thirteenth in my Maggie Keiller/Derek Sloan crime series, and the first to be offered by a Canadian publisher. As a crime-fiction novel, some of the portrayed events and language are intended for an adult audience…..but the story, as one editor commented, is kickass!

Set against a background of reconciliation efforts between government and the fictional Odishkwaagamii First Nation, a gripping story of betrayal and murder unfolds in Port Huntington, a small resort town on Georgian Bay. Vandalism, extortion, and violence are unleashed in the community as a number of personal grievances boil to the surface. 

In 2018, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice awarded ten billion dollars to twenty-one First Nations in a vast area along the north shore of Lake Huron, to be paid equally by Canadian and Ontario governments. The settlement is compensation for unpaid annuities to those affected First Nations, annuities that were mandatory under the still-valid 1850 Robinson-Huron Treaty, whose terms committed the government to paying the affected First Nations annual stipends tied to actual resource revenues on their sovereign lands.

Over the years, billions of dollars in profits were extracted from First Nations lands for mining, timber, and fishing enterprises in Ontario, but the obligatory annual payments to First Nations were adjusted only once, thus depriving generations of First Nations people of revenues to which they were entitled.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Committee, composed of Indigenous representatives, was tasked with determining how, and in what amounts, the funds would be distributed to the affected First Nations. While this story is a work of fiction, it is rooted in the very real question of how that money ought to be used. For the Odishkwaagamii, these debates boil over into deception and bloodshed.

Maggie Keiller and Derek Sloan are inextricably caught up in the turmoil, and it is only through their personal integrity and courage that they navigate the chaos.  Determined as always to defend their Port Huntington community, and themselves, they work to ensure justice will prevail.

This safe, universal link will afford you a preview of the story, and direct access to your preferred online retailer—

https://geni.us/thelonelysilveryrain

After publishing my books through Lulu Press since 2007, an American print-on-demand firm, I’m thrilled that a Canadian publisher has picked up my work, and I encourage you to take a look at their website—

https://www.northernforestpublishing.com/homepage

I hope you’ll explore the link to my book, which I believe you will enjoy. Other titles in the Maggie Keiller/Derek Sloan series may be found at this safe link—

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/precept

The Cannabis Murders

I’m excited to announce that The Cannabis Murders, my eleventh novel in the Maggie Keiller/Derek Sloan crime series, will be released early in February!

The riveting story unfolding in this book is set against a backdrop of rising public concern over the extent of covert Chinese interference in political and corporate affairs in Canada, and across North America.

The story itself is tied to the legal production and distribution of cannabis products, as a global producer with Chinese connections attempts to establish a manufacturing facility near the resort town of Port Huntington on Georgian Bay.  In so doing, the company encounters community opposition, and runs up against Indigenous land-claims to the property in question, both of which throw up major stumbling-blocks to its plans.

To everyone’s dismay, repeated vandalism, threatened extortion, violence, and eventually murder soon follow.  Maggie and Derek become caught up in events through her support of a young, Indigenous woman trapped in the turmoil that follows, and through his involvement as a negotiator for the First Nation land-claims.  And both are drawn further into the mayhem because of their connection to the government’s pending inquiry into the secretive operations of Chinese interests in the area.

Resolute as always to protect their community, and themselves, Maggie and Derek work closely with police to bring the evil perpetrators to justice.

I know you will enjoy this story, and I’ll post notice here when the book becomes available.  In the meantime, the ten earlier novels in this series, together with my eight anthologies of tales, can be found for a free preview or purchase at this safe link—https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/precept

Thanks to all of you who read my blog-posts. If you enjoy them, you are sure to love my books!