Life With Ann–July 2015

Hi,

I’m B. Biddles, Ann’s husband. Ann is in the corner tapping at the keys of her laptop, whispering… I think I heard her say something about crunching sounds. The way she said it is creeping me out. She is in a self-induced writing trance, putting the final polish on her next book, MEANWHILE, BACK IN DEADWOOD. She goes into this trance state sometimes when she’s near the end of a book. The normally subdued eye and shoulder twitches are more pronounced, and she looks up occasionally in a way that gets me wondering if I should take the kids out for a while. Unbalanced I’d call it. Anyway, I thought I’d take the opportunity to fill you in on a few things since she’s been so busy finishing up Deadwood #6.

Travels with Ann

In May, we took a trip to Ft. Bowie about 110 miles east of Tucson, in Southeastern Arizona. Fort Bowie was established in the mid-1800’s to secure a water source, Apache Spring, for those traveling through the area.

To get there, the hike is 1 1/2 miles from the parking lot. It was hot and dusty but at least Chicken Noodle and Beaker kept us entertained with groans and ‘are we almost there’s. And, luckily, as we neared the ranger station, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting a rattle snake on the edge of the path… the narrow path. That was the fastest Chicken Noodle I’d ever see when the rattlin’ commenced. And I’m here to tell you, that rattle sounds just like in the movies.

We walked the old roads with a Then and Now map in hand. There isn’t much left, just weathered adobe walls, foundations of stone, and a large flag hoisted on a pole on the parade grounds exactly where it stood 150 years ago. According to the history books, most everything was carted off by locals when the fort was abandoned in 1894, although while we were at the ranger station a girl dropped off an old coin she’d found in front of one of the barracks.

You can learn more about Fort Bowie, and the Chiricahua Apaches here: Fort Bowie NPS

 

In June, we drove to Deadwood South Dakota for a couple of weeks of book signings and research for Deadwood #7, scheduled to be published in 2016. Well, that was Ann’s perspective anyway.

We’ve been to Deadwood a number of times and the folks there are always cordial and welcoming. Custer Peak is usually on the list of destinations because of the unparalleled views and good hiking but earthshaking thunderstorms every night made many of the back roads impassable or at the very least ‘tricky’. Climbing the rugged road to the peak seemed too much like tempting fate. It was on this trip that I learned the difference between Tornado Watch and Tornado Warning. I’m sure many of you know this but it was news to me. Spearfish had a funnel… skyrope… stovepipe… uh, let’s see, twister, show up one of those nights. About 400 yards wide, they say. Yikes. We scrambled around ‘discussing’ the safety merits of this closet, no that bathroom, how about the hot tub? Let’s watch the lighting from the deck. CRACK! That’s when we found out sliding doors only admit one person at a time. The end of it all? We survived, but the folks in Spearfish took a beating.

To those of you who made it to the get together in the Charlie Utter Theatre, good to meet ya… or see you again!

Here are a few things Ann would probably like me to mention:

What’s new with Ann

NEW RELEASE!!!

MEANWHILE, BACK IN DEADWOOD is available for pre-order on Amazon as an ebook and printed book. http://bit.ly/PreOrderMeanwhileBackinDeadwood

Meanwhile, Back in Deadwood … the mystery and mayhem continue. Between the butchered body parts, creepy killers, dogged detectives, ghoulish ghosts, and ever-present TV cameras, Violet Parker’s purple boots are itching to skedaddle.
But there is no escaping another murder investigation or her new deadly reputation. Not even if both risk the lives of those she loves most.

 

NEW AUDIOBOOKS!

BETTER OFF DEAD IN DEADWOOD is available as an audiobook. For more information on the various audiobook formats, check out the following link: http://bit.ly/BetterOffDeadinDeadwood

For those of you curious about when the fifth book in the Deadwood series will be out on audiobook, you’ll be able to listen to Caroline Shaffer read AN EX TO GRIND IN DEADWOOD in the fall of 2015.

A GREAT BUNDLE OF SAVINGS

Ann teamed up with three other USA Today and NYT Bestselling authors to publish TOMBSTONES AND TIARAS. For the low price of 99 cents, you get four great full length novels, Ann’s NEARLY DEPARTED IN DEADWOOD is in this book, as well as the first book in each of the other three authors’ bestselling series. To grab your copy or give it as an awesome gift, follow this link: http://bit.ly/TombstonesAndTiaras

What’s she doing now?

As she finishes up the editing and publishing prep for Deadwood #6, Ann’s already busy plotting the 4th book in the Jackrabbit Junction Mystery series, called THE ROWDY COYOTE RUMBLE. Stay tuned for more adventures with the trouble-making Morgan sisters, hidden treasures, and deadly games of cat and mouse.

During July, we’re traveling with our kids to NW Ohio, where Ann will be doing several book signings at various libraries. For a listing of times and places where she’ll be talking and selling books, check out: http://bit.ly/AnnCharlesJulyinOHIO

Ann’s also hired a Spanish translator who has finished with DANCE OF THE WINNEBAGOS (which is EL BAILE DE LOS WINNEBAGOS in Spanish). If you speak Spanish or know of anyone who is looking for a fun mystery/romance written in Spanish, stay tuned for this version of the first in the Jackrabbit Junction Series to be available at online ebook retailers soon.

So many contests …

Ann loves having contests and giving away fun stuff to weekly winners. Here is a list of her current contests along with corresponding links where you can go to find out more information on them:

• Newsletter Contest (if you received this newsletter, you are already entered in this contest)— http://bit.ly/AnnCharlesNewsletterContest
• I Travel with Ann Charles Contest— http://bit.ly/TravelwithAnnCharles
• Dig Site Challenge Contest— http://bit.ly/DigSiteChallenge

One last thing from Ann …

Happy July! I’d love to wax eloquently for a moment about how much I appreciate your help and support, but my brain is pretty much the consistency of corn mush after walking a few more miles in Violet’s purple boots. I can’t wait to share with you what she and the rest of the Deadwood crew have been up to! But I’ll be honest, after months of the craziness up in the Black Hills, I’m looking forward to having fun in Claire’s flip-flops and sharing a few cold Coronas at The Shaft with her and her sisters (and swapping dirty jokes with Chester and Manny, of course). I hope you have a wonderful July and thank you for hanging out with me and all of my characters on the page! ♥ Ann

 

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