Mark Rollins adventure mysteries

A lazy New York Weekend

One of my readers sent me this photo. She lives in New York City. It was an overcast and dreary weekend day, but it was also a free weekend, one with no more holiday parties or events to attend, no visitors to the big city to entertain, and no more incomplete work projects to be dealt with.

It was a perfect day to just relax and read a book. And that is exactly what this reader did. She sat in front of her apartment window looking down on a New York City street, propped her feet up and read Treasure of the Diary. Later in the day, she texted me:

Just finished —it was great!! Loved reading about Applewood Manor and Asheville. I also did not realize Asheville was involved much in the Civil War. Are there actually tunnels?

If you are wondering, I did reply to her question about the tunnels noting that a little truth is the nexus of good fiction. There are rumors of tunnels—from beer halls and hotels to brothels and also to transport and store moonshine and illegal liquor, so why wouldn’t there “actually be tunnels” during the war?

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All my books are available from your favorite neighborhood bookstore or online source. Ebook and print editions are also available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks,  Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. For signed copies go to my website, tomcollinsauthor.com. Exploring Asheville was the 2022 winner of the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for its literary category. My novel, Beyond Visual Range, was NYC Big Book 2022 Award’s Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction.

What would you do if you found an old Civil War diary?

In my new book, Treasure of the Diary, three college students do just that. The old diary was written by a Confederate soldier while a prisoner of war. He secretly recorded the plight of prisoners, their mistreatment, bad food and water, disease, general miseries, and the occasional fleeting moments of happiness in an otherwise hopeless place. When he fears he will not reach freedom alive, he writes a secret in his journal.

More than a hundred a fifty years later, the college students discover the diary’s secret. Their find sends them to the Western North Carolina mountains in search of a stash of stolen Civil War gold.

The new book, number seven in the Mark Rollins Adventures series of mysteries, is scheduled for release in December and will be available in print, digital and audio formats. Pre-release orders for signed copies of print editions are being accepted now on www.tomcollinsauthor.com.

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    All my books are available from your favorite neighborhood bookstore. Ebook and print editions are also available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks,  Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. For signed copies go to my website, tomcollinsauthor.com.  The latest book, Exploring Asheville, was the 2022 winner of the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for its literary category. My novel, Beyond  Visual Range, was NYC Big Book 2022 Award’s Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction.

Southern Cornbread Dressing Recipe

This post is especially for the many newcomers (folks from California and New York) who don’t know how to make the most important Thanksgiving dish on a southern dinner table. It is, of course, the “dressing” that accompanies the Turkey. Not just any dressing, but good ole Southern cornbread dressing and gravy! Some folks still call this dish “Turkey Stuffing” even though most of us no longer actually cook a stuffed Turkey. The recipe below has been handed down for at least three generations in the Collins family and will keep about twenty people happy at Thanksgiving. For more or less just adjust the recipe accordingly.

  • Prepare two large skillets of cornbread-about 8 cubs. I use Martha White Self-rising Cornmeal Mix. Make in advance, break apart, and let it try dry out for two or three days.

  • Dry out a few slices of white bread, remove the edges, and tear into small pieces—enough for two cups.

  • Crumble the cornbread into a large mixing bowl. Add the pieces of white bread.

  • Sauté 2 large onions (chopped) and an equal amount of celery in butter. When tender, melt an additional stick of butter in the same pan and then mix the onions, celery and the added butter into the cornbread mixture.

  • To the above mixture, add the following and mix thoroughly:

  • 2 tsp. of poultry seasoning

  • Four Chopped boiled eggs

  • Two cups of chicken stock

  • Two raw eggs

  • Dust with pepper and salt

The mixture should moist. If it seems too dry, add more melted butter or stock. Transfer to baking pans or casserole dishes. I use disposable aluminum pans and transfer the finished cornbread dressing to serving dishes when ready to serve. Bread is a great insulator, so it will take longer to bake than you expect to thoroughly heat the dressings to a safe temperature of 165 degrees (200 degrees is even better), and that may take an hour or longer depending on the depth of the mixture in the banking dishes. The mixture should not be deeper than one and a half or 2 inches in each banking dish. Bake at 325 degrees. Do the cooking ahead of time, and reheat to warm your dressing when you are ready to serve. The cooked dressing can be refrigerated and even frozen to serve later.

Now for the Gravy that people rave about. The truth is, my closely guarded secret gravy receipt (handed down from my mother) is nothing more than Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup thinned slightly with chicken stock and milk or cream, and to which small handful of Turkey meat bits has been added for a real homemade look.

Finally if you and your dish are traveling on Thanksgiving, remember time passes faster and the drive seems shorter listening to an audio book. All of my Mark Rollins Adventure mysteries are available on Audible and Amazon. The most recent, Beyond Visual Range, was the NYC Big Book 2022 Award’s Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction.

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Ask your independent bookstore about the latest book by Tom Collins, Stories from Applewood Manor—Explore Asheville, North Carolina’s History. Mysteries, Ghosts, and Tall Tales. For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Ebook and print editions are also available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. The latest book, Exploring Asheville, was the 2022 winner of the Independent Press Award and the NYC Big Book Award for its literary category. My novel, Beyond  Visual Range, was NYC Big Book 2022 Award’s Distinguished Favorite in Military Fiction. 

Audio Editions Now Available for Full Series

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The entire Mark Rollins adventure series of mysteries is now available on Audible. There is no better way to shorten a car trip than to listen to an audio book.  And if you are unlucky enough to find yourself quarantined or recuperating from illness or a medical procedure, audio books are a great way to make the time go by faster.  Or do like a friend of mine, who recently posted the following message on Facebook:

…Looking for a new book to read. Any suggestions? Actually, I don’t read anymore I listen to audible.

Here is an idea for the holidays, especially for a family member who has a daily commute, give them an Audible membership. It will really change their life.

The audio editions of the six books in the Mark Rollins adventure mystery series can be purchased from Amazon or directly from Audible.  For the Audible link to each individual book go to https://www.tomcollinsauthor.com/audio-list.

The Mark Rollins adventure series includes:

  • Mark Rollins’ New Career & the Woman’s Health Club (Book one) Rollins becomes the owner of an unusual business born out of boredom rather than the necessity to earn a living. It is an exclusive club for very wealthy women of Nashville. An investment-banker husband of one of the fitness club members is reported missing. The clues suggest foul play, but Rollins discovers that this money man is running for his life—and his hunters are not far behind.

  • Mark Rollins and the Rainmaker (Book Two) In the Rainmaker someone wants to kill the law firm’s public face—its rainmaker. Drawing from thirty years of law firm experience, the author opens the doors on a world of greed, lust, and crime.

  • Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer (Book Three) In the Puppeteer, a lawyer and rising political star dies in Nashville’s notorious Printer’s Alley with a bullet through his head!

  • The Claret Murders, a Mark Rollins Adventure (Book Four) It's Nashville ... with a devastating flood, a beautiful lawyer, a deadly secret, and wine to kill for.

  • Diversion, a Mark Rollins Adventure (Book Five) The bucolic area around Manchester and Tullahoma, Tennessee, is becoming infested with pill mills selling prescriptions for cash. The area also includes targets the country's enemies are willing to die for.

  • Beyond Visual Range, a Mark Rollins Adventure (Book Six) Two women drone pilots battle in outer space to defend their country from a rogue military element threatening to overthrow the government. One is a former fighter pilot who, after a crash, now flies from a wheelchair.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Puppeteer Is Now On Audible

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Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer is now available on Audible. The Puppeteer is a story of murder in the law firm. While the mystery is a work of fiction, the destructive issues of embezzlement and eat-what-you-kill compensation plans, all too prevalent in law firms, are the real stuff as I discovered first hand in my thirty year career working with private law firms.

2020 River Swing

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With COVID-19 hanging over our heads, the Harpeth Conservancy like many other organizations has had to reinvent its programs and activities in support of its mission to restore and protect clean water and healthy ecosystems for rivers in Tennessee. That includes reimagining its annual fund raising event, “The River Swing”.

For 16 years, the annual River Swing event has been a fabulous celebration while raising nearly one third of the needed funds for the Conservancy’s mission. This year, the 17th annual River Swing will forgo the in-person celebration, but it still needs your financial support by way of the Internet. First, you can support the organization by making an individual contribution or becoming a River Swing sponsor—Go to https://harpethconservancy.org/river-swing/ for details. And second, participate in the annual River Swing Auction. This year the auction is entirely online. Bidding starts October 19, and the final gavel falls on October 25th, 2020.

Be prepared to start bidding on October 19, 2020 by registering here in advance. Do not get out bid. Check the status your bids daily or more often. The auction includes great donated merchandise and packages. Martha and I have donated two packages for the auction:

  • First, for wine lovers, is a 2014 bottle of Chateau Cheval Blanc together with a signed copy of my novel, The Claret Murders.

  • The second, is a two night stay at the historic Applewood Manor in Asheville, NC accompanied by a signed copy of my new mystery, Beyond Visual Range.

The auction is a wonderful way to support a clean Harpeth River while taking advantage of some super bargains—so happy bidding!

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Reading From the Puppeteer

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Today, I’m reading from my third book in the Mark Rollins mystery series, Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer. It  is one of two books I wrote with the law firm reader in mind. Anyone can enjoy the story. It will, however, be of particular interest to  law firm partners, associates, paralegals, and administrative staff. Other readers may find the first few chapters slow going and a little textbook like, but the pace picks up quickly after those few beginning chapters.

The Puppeteer is a story of murder in the law firm. While the mystery is a work of fiction, the destructive issues of embezzlement and eat-what-you-kill compensation plans, all too prevalent in law firms, are the real stuff as I discovered first hand in my thirty year career working with private law firms.

Author reads from his book,

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 For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.



Reading from the Rainmaker

Today I am going to read a little from Mark Rollins and The Rainmaker.

The Rainmaker and a second book, Mark Rollins and the Puppeteer were written with the law firm readers in mind. Anyone can enjoy the stories. They will be of particular interest, however,  to  law firm partners, associates, paralegals, and the administrative staff. Other readers may find the first few chapters slow going and a little textbook like, but the pace picks up quickly after those few beginning chapters. The stories deal with law firm profitability, partner income, embezzlement, and compensation issues—proving once again that money frequently drives the crime—especially murder.

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In Mark Rollins and the Rainmaker someone is trying to kill Neil Forte, the top Partner in his law firm. He is the face of the law firm, the partner who brings in most of the firm’s new clients.  Still he is on someone’s hit list and the killer has contracted out the killing to an illegal immigrant, Ramiro Melendez. Forte, a devoted cyclist , had agreed not to leave this house without letting the Rollins team know. But at 5:30 in the morning Forte thought there could not be anyone out there who posed a danger. So, at 5:30 without letting his protectors know, he left his Belle Mead home to rendezvous with his cycle team.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Reading From The Claret Murders

As I noted earlier, COVID-19 has shut down the opportunity to meet in person with book clubs and fans of the Mark Rollins adventure series. I have always enjoy doing readings at those events. Since I cannot do it in person, I’ll occasional do so by way of the internet. Today I am reading excerpts from Chapter 28, Mano a Mano, in my book, The Claret Murders.

Author reading from his book The Claret Murders

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Reading Selections From Beyond Visual Range

For the most part, COVID-19 has shut down the opportunity to meet with book clubs and fans of the Mark Rollins adventure series. I have always enjoy doing readings at those events. Since I can’t do it in person, I’ll occasional do so by way of the internet. Today I am reading from Chapter 12, The long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. Fans of Douglas Adams will recognize that the chapter takes its name from one of Adam’s books.

Author reading selections from Beyond Visual Range

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

 

Win a Challenge Coin

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The pictured item is it the challenge coin for the United States Air Force MQ-9 Reaper Drone, a remotely piloted aircraft system.

If you collect challenge coins you will want to add this MQ-9 Reaper to your collection.  If you are not already a collector, this coin would be a could start.  It weighs over two ounces with a 2 ¼ inch diameter.

MQ-9 Reaper is featured in my latest novel, Beyond Visual Range.  In the new book, a modern day Dr. Strangelove is set to deploy a super non-nuclear weapon from space. Beyond Visual Range is-a frightening, plausible thriller that Foreword Clarion Review described as right out of today’s news when it gave the book four stars.

Enter the contest to win one of the five challenge coins (a $20.00 value), I am giving away this week.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Win a French Beret

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The Beret has been a significant feature in more than one of my books including my first, Mark Rollins New Career and the newest, Beyond Visual Range. That is me in the photo. It was taken at a sidewalk café in the 5th arrondissement of Paris near the Pantheon. The memory of my French Beret stayed with me and found its way into my novels. I have several black berets leftover from a book signing promotion.  If you would like one for free, enter your name and email address before August 20, 2020  for a chance to win one. Ten winners will be selected at random. To enter go to the contest page on the Tom Collins Facebook page.
PS: Guys, they look even better on the ladies.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and other online bookstores. Audio editions are available on Amazon, iTunes and directly from Audible.com. Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Audible Edition $7.49

Amazon has the audio versions of both Diversion and The Claret Murders priced at the discounted amount of $7.49. Audible subscribers can purchase for just one credit. I don’t know how long that discount price will be available. So, if you enjoy listening to mysteries you should buy now! In addition, don’t forget that the eBook edition of Beyond Visual Range is only $0.99 for the rest of the month of June.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. .
Published by I-65 North, Inc.


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Birthday Time #79

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Thanks to everyone for the birthday greetings. Note the hair, the result of being deprived of access to my hair “stylist” due to COVID-19 sheltering rules.  I lost the hair during chemo treatments and never allow it back until now. While now returning, it is doing so as an unruly child.  It does not remember how to behave.

I am busy promoting the new book, Beyond Visual Range. If you are considering a belated birthday gift—I could use reader reviews on Amazon. They are important and slow to get started. People don’t like to be first. So, I need some brave souls to take the plunge.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and  Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com.
 Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Major Samantha Miller

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The main character in my book Beyond Visual Range isn’t new to the Mark Rollins Adventure series.  Our heroine first appeared in the book Diversion where she was addicted to Percocet and almost died. Fortunately, Samantha Miller (Sam to her friends) was saved at the last minute by the Rollins team.

In Beyond Visual Range Sam is now Major Samantha Miller, an air force fighter pilot.  After her F-35 fighter crashes off the coast of Cuba, she becomes a drone pilot which she flies from her wheelchair.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and  Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com.
 Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

The X-37B Returns to Space

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According to an article in Science Alert the mysterious X-37B space plane is returning to orbit, And for once we are being told why. Are you really sure about that? You can read the May 7, 2020 article by Christopher Wood by clicking on Science alert.  Or, you could just read about the X-37B in the fictional work Beyond Visual Range,  and  let your imagination run wild.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and  Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com.
 Be sure to check out the latest Tom Collins Novel, Beyond Visual Range on Amazon.
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Working Hard

I always remember W. C. Fields saying, “It was a woman that drove me to drink, and I never got a chance to properly thank her.”  In my case the woman is my latest book.  

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I’m working hard to get this new book in your hands, or on your computer, iPad or iPhone. But the gears are moving slowly.  Here is the amazing thing.  I wrote the guts of this story in six weeks.  That was the quickest part. Editing and polishing has taken almost four months. After that process the finished manuscript, which is in Microsoft Word, has to be professionally formatted for the printed editions and digitally encoded for the various eBook editions.  The Kindle requirements for example are different from Nook requirements or the Apple iBook format.

The pipeline is flowing very slowly right now.  The formatter has said than I am in the production slot for April 8 with a 3 to 5 day turnaround.  The eBook editions follow about a week later. Once the formatting company has done its work, the formatted manuscript goes to Ingram for printing and distribution. I’m just hoping that the presses keep rolling.

Here is a reminder of what you are waiting for:

The Outer Space Treaty prohibits nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons from being placed in or used from Earth’s orbit. What no one could have imagined was that mankind would conceive of the simplest weapon ever deployed – one with extinction power – to launch from space. The military named this weapon “Rods from God.” And yet, it’s not nuclear, biological, or chemical. Two women drone pilots battle in outer space to defend their country. One is a former fighter pilot who, after a crash, now flies from a wheelchair. This dynamic female drone crew from Nashville, Tennessee, now based in Florida, is drafted to defend the United States from a rogue military element threatening to use force to stop the impeachment of the president. Their weapons are twenty-foot tungsten rods. A single rod dropped from orbit would strike Earth at ten times the speed of sound with the impact of a nuclear weapon. As weapons are readied, our heroines find they are Beyond Visual Range.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and  Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com. 
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

New Release Date for "Beyond Visual Range"

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The release date will be mid-April rather than our original March date. COVID-19 has disrupted everything including my planned release date of the new Mark Rollins adventure, Beyond Visual Range.  That does mean that the opportunity to pre-release order the book at its 50% discount remains open for a couple of more weeks.  To order a sign hardcover edition for the pre-rlease price of $15.00 go to https://www.tomcollinsauthor.com/books/beyond-visual-range-prerelease.

Here is a little teaser for what is coming. The excerpt below is from Chapter 10.  Mark Rollins is talking to Sam, aka Major Samantha Miller, the heroine of the story Beyond Visual Range.

“What would you think if I told you that there are more than three hundred US flag officers within a thirty-five-mile radius of the WH Club? I should add, in quotation marks, ‘retired’ flag officers. I am talking about officers from across all branches—army, air force, Marine, and navy. These are all men and women entitled to wear one or more stars on their uniforms. One neighborhood alone in Williamson County has more than sixty with two or more stars. I checked my own neighborhood. Turns out, we have a navy admiral just three houses away. He was in the Pentagon when it was hit by the plane on 9/11. Suffered some pretty serious injuries, I understand.”

Rollins stopped talking, waiting for me to respond.

When I didn’t, he said, “Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

“Why?”

“Sam, this isn’t San Diego’s Coronado Bay area. It isn’t Newport, Virginia Beach, or San Antonio. Other than Clarksville and Huntsville, there is no military affiliation or history with the Nashville area. Surely, it isn’t our music or Southern cooking that is attracting these people. We are talking about generals and admirals. Men and women who wore stars on their uniforms and who sent others into battle. They are some of the brightest and bravest people in the world. People who traveled the globe. Plotted strategy for defeating the enemy, and who may have actually had their finger on the damned button!”

“You believe there is something sinister about Middle Tennessee becoming a retirement choice for our military leadership?”

“Retirement, my ass!” said Mark. “People who retire from the military are not doddering old men, or women, for that matter. We’re talking about people who have put in only twenty-five or thirty years. They are in the prime of their lives. They are at their most productive. You think they are going to sit in a rocking chair with a pocketknife and block of wood? Hell, no! They are doing something. Something important. You can count on it. I just don’t know what it is. …That really bothers me.”

I hope that little teaser has whet your appetite for this sixth Mark Rollins adventure. It is only a couple of weeks away. And you still have time to take advantage of the pre-release discount by going to https://www.tomcollinsauthor.com/books/beyond-visual-range-prerelease.

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and  Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com. 
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

What is your new book, "Beyond Visual Range", about?

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Right now, we have an impeachment trial in progress. The country is divided about that, but what if the military was on the side of the President and some of them decided to do something about it. Could that happen in this country.  In Beyond Visual Range one high ranking flag officer says—“In the face of such Congressional treachery, we will no longer keep our weapons holstered.”  As the story of a runaway military revolt unfolds, the story unveils the wounds of war suffered by our drone pilots.  We think of drone pilots as remote warriors fighting our war from the safety of their armchairs thousands of miles away from the front lines.  The truth is many suffer terrible injuries—what some call  moral injuries.

Beyond Visual Range is a Mark Rollins adventure mystery, so as readers of the series would expect, the story has Nashville and Middle Tennessee at its core, but the adventure includes action at 65,000 feet above Cuba, in Hurlburt Field Florida,  at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey,  in Syria, in the rain forest of Brazil,  in Nevada , and 400 kilometers above the surface of the Earth—in outer space.

Beyond Visual Range is targeted for a March 2020 release.  The price of the hard cover edition is $29.00, but the prerelease price for a signed copy is $15.00 with free shipping.  To purchase your signed copy at the prerelease price go to https://www.tomcollinsauthor.com/books/beyond-visual-range-prerelease.  

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and  Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com. 
Published by I-65 North, Inc.

Merry Christmas 2019

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I haven’t posted in a while.  That’s because after over two years of procrastination, the author juices finally started flowing on Mark Rollins Adventure number six, Beyond Visual Range. The draft is finished, the polishing and editing is ongoing. As he did for my  other books, Tom Trebing is designing the cover.  I’ll tell you more about the new book in the days to come.

This has not been a particularly newsworthy year—just one devoted largely to trying to keep our older bodies in repair. The biggest news is about what we didn’t do. We had placed a deposit on an apartment in the new wing of The Heritage in Brentwood—a full service senior living facility; but we canceled and decided to stay put in our current home. The other big item is that I got a new shoulder in August. That’s the price I paid for falling in early May. Take my advice, don’t fall.

Martha and I wish you a very Merry Christmas

Martha and I wish you a very Merry Christmas

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For signed copies of books by Tom Collins, go to TomCollinsAuthor.com. Unsigned print and eBook editions are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online bookstores. Audio versions of The Claret Murders and  Diversion are available from iTunes, Audibles and Amazon. eBook editions are also available through Apple iTunes’ iBook’s Store and Smashwords.com. 

Published by I-65 North, Inc