2020 Visions

Well. THAT was a year, wasn’t it?

Overall, 2020 felt as if we all crossed some trip wire at the end of 2019, then proceeded to combat-crawl through 12 months of resulting explosions. My hope for 2021—for everyone— is a year filled with the joy of survival, gratitude for lessons, and renewed life rising from ashes.

My intention for 2020 was to post regular updates on All Things Raleigh. But time swallowed my to-do list. Thank you for all the many notes asking about Raleigh — when’s the next book, what about the young Raleigh movies, and what’s going on with Jack?!

First, yes, another Raleigh novel is coming, tentatively titled The Dawn Haunts On. The story picks up from the last mystery —The Wind WIll Howl—and carries us forward with Raleigh and Jack, Eleanor and Madame, Nadine and Charlotte. And of course somebody is dead. 🙂

The book’s first draft is completed, I’m working on getting the manuscript to my fierce editor. But…Time.

While 2020 coughed up its share of shared sorrows—several sudden sad deaths among friends, another friend’s fracturing divorce after 30-plus years of marriage, a government that forgot about the Bill of Rights—many wonderful new ventures sprung from the dung.

In particular: Television

Several years ago, I gravitated toward writing “screen stories.” While scripts are different from novels, stories are stories and when I started writing scripts, stories poured out. Since then, I’ve written a dozen scripts, including four original TV pilots. I’m working on a 5th —and it involves Raleigh.

I love this new writing adventure. Truly love it. Screenwriting gives me the same eager-hunger-thrill as my early days of journalism and then novels—experiences that feed directly into this new venture. Screenplays require the same poetic story compression as narrative journalism but need the universal scope of novels, too.

And frankly, TV needs some new storytelling voices.

My goal to post updates here about the TV/movie projects as they move forward, and the next Raleigh novel. Please stay in touch.

Oh, and speaking of movies, the Young Raleigh’s movie project is proceeding. Amazon Studios has been nothing short of wonderful to work with. I’ve spoken with the screenwriter for the first movie; she is lovely, adores Raleigh. Let’s get ready to see our intrepid young geologist-sleuth come to life on screen.

For now, that’s it.

Oh, except for Jack. How could I forget him?? The man is hot as the hinges of Hell…and in the next novel, Raleigh knows it for certain.

Talk soon.