What Will Book Number Four Be About?

        Yep, that's me, reading a book. A friend took this photo, and I use it a bunch because I like it and it tells you a lot about me. Some people ask me why I read so much, which, I must say, astonishes me. I can't imagine not reading a lot! And it's not just because I'm a writer; it's because I love to read, I always have, because reading takes me places I'd never visit if it weren't for stories, for books, for tales, for the imagination of others. 

        Now I'll tell you something that absolutely flabbergasts me: I know a few people, nice people, who tell me that they don't read because 

A) they don't like to read or 

B) they don't have time to read or 

C) it's boring or 

D) they're not "into" reading. 

        I could go on and on with the reasons I hear from people telling me why they don't read. These same people have plenty of time to make and post videos online and play games online; in fact, they pretty much spend their whole day online, not reading, mind you, but playing mindless games. As my Mama used to say, it just floors me when I hear these excuses. Because, really, that's what they are. 

        How can someone NOT like to read? Is it because they can't read? Is that even possible in this day and age when you can read a book on a tablet, a laptop, a phone (albeit with difficulty), a magazine, a few dozen other ways?

        What about the ones who say they don't have time to read? Time is just a concept, a number. That's even more ridiculous. They have time to play six hours of video games online or watch six hours of horror or thriller or action movies on TV, but they don't have time to read a book? Ever see a photo or movie of a kid using a flashlight to read a book under his sheets and blanket when he was supposed to be asleep? Those images are real; I know because I was that kid. There was never enough time in a day to read everything, so you snuck in some added reading time when you were supposed to be sleeping. 

        Don't get me started by saying that reading is boring. What? You have to be constantly pumped up with adrenaline by watching horror and other adrenaline-pumping movies to be entertained to feel alive?

        And that last one about not being "into" books, well, I don't even know how to begin responding to that one. 

        Now that I've made my opinion about reading absolutely, indubitably crystal clear, I'll get back to the point of this post: I've begun musing on book #4 in my cozy murder mystery series, which honestly just kinda tickles me. Why, you ask? Because when I wrote the first book in the series, The Wedding Dress Quilt, it wasn't meant to be the first in a series. It wasn't meant to be part of a series at all. Oh heck, I didn't even have a murder or mystery in mind. It was just a sweet, short story about a woman who inherits a big, beautiful house in Texas, finds a lovely wedding dress in an attic, and makes it into an award-winning quilt. It was around 1200 words; that was it. Had it not been for a friend who read it and encouraged me to lengthen it into a full-length novel and submit it to a publisher, I wouldn't be sitting here with a contract to write five cozy murder mysteries. But here I am with two books on the market, a third, the Lost Lone Star Quilt, coming out in February 2027, and a fourth zooming around in my head like a ping-pong ball, making me wonder where it's going to land and what its final story is going to look like. 

        This brings up another question I am often asked. Where do I come up with the ideas for my books, and so quickly? Well, isn't that the million dollar question! If I knew the answer, I surely would make a million dollars answering it. I wish I knew. The ideas just pop into my head. Often they pop into my head when I'm still writing the previous book. Then as I'm writing said book I change my mind and have to hit the delete button, erase everything I've typed and start all over. Have you any idea how frustrating that is? All I can say is that it is incredibly frustrating and annoying. You'd think I could get my act together by now but ya know, sometimes a story idea seems really great and I start typing it up, and I get part way through and then I begin to read what I've written and I wonder what in the heck was I thinking? Then back button here I come! That back button as well as the delete button have become close personal friends. We're tight!

        Okay, enough rambling. It's the first of September, the start of the new school year. Stop into a library and borrow a book, or buy a new one at a book store. Either way, expand your mind -- read a book!

Till next time,

Jeffree Wyn

 

 

Does Your Cat Sploot?

Let me start over: do you have a cat or two, and if so, is it painfully hot where you live right now? Hot as in you're dreaming of winter? If it is, chances are you've seen your cat doing this, like the one in the photo, which is not my cat by the way, sticking its back legs out, and its front legs forward. Maybe this is the first time you've heard this term: splooting. It's a real word. I'm not kidding. It means lying in a spread-legged, prone posture. Typically, it pertains to four-legged mammals such as dogs and squirrels when they want to relax or cool down in the heat. Both of my cats do it, and my dog does it on the wood and tile floors. And yes, I've seen the squirrels do it in the backyard. I'm guessing that the position maximizes their bodies against the coolest parts of the floors.


One of my cats will wait on the kitchen floor until he sees me washing dishes and the second I turn on the faucet he will jump up on the counter and stick his paw under that faucet and start scooping that water toward his face to cool himself down. Granted my sink water doesn't get terribly hot, nevertheless I worry about him burning his paw or face with that hot water. But you know what? That smart feline doesn't seem to care. He's oblivious, really. I swear, he has more gray cells than most cats.



His name is Willie, and he is remarkably clever. Our second cat is pure black; we named him Simcha, for joyful. He was found on the town's streets and was given to us at eight weeks old. We decided that was the end of his days of homelessness, though Simcha had different ideas. When Willie joined our household two years later and made it clear he was an indoor/outdoor kind of guy, we cut a deal with him that if he would keep the property clear of rodents, he could come and go as he pleased.


Well, Simcha decided that if Willie got to come and go, then there was no reason why he couldn't exercise the same privilege. And every time the back porch door was slightly cracked open, Simcha would attempt to dash out like a flash of lightning. We could almost hear that black cat laughing at us, that he sure fooled us; that he finally managed to sneak out that door before we caught him. No matter how many times Simcha thought he got past us, he didn't get four feet down the steps before Willie appeared out of nowhere, and I mean literally out of nowhere. Willie could have been on the roof, in a tree, a neighbor's yard, or down the block, and he would appear like an apparition, instantly landing right smack on top of Simcha, his mouth holding Simcha around the back of his neck just like a mother cat does with her young. Now mind you, I'm talking about two fully grown male cats here. Simcha is about 10 or 11 pounds, and Willie is around 16-18 pounds. These are no kittens. Indoors, they play like they are, but outside, it's different rules.



I suppose that Willie understands that it's dangerous outdoors (there are venomous snakes and possums and mean blue jays in our neighborhood). And while Willie knows how to escape the predators, somehow he must know that Simcha doesn't, and even though he's younger than Simcha, he has taken on the responsibility of being his caretaker. I don't know how animals figure out that hierarchy, but clearly in Willie and Simcha case they have. Willie has also figured out that our Schnorkie dog who is half mini-schnauzer and half yorkshire terrier isn't the brightest crayon in the box. He's as sweet as sweet can be, but smart? Not so much. When we found the shed skin of a five-foot rat snake outside our gardening shed and our dog went to investigate, Willie batted our dog and chased him off. The snake was long gone, but no matter. Willie knew that something threatening had been there, something that could harm the dog, and batted him away until he got my attention; when I saw the snake skin from a distance, I quickly rushed the dog into the house. A few minutes later, Willie sauntered inside himself.



I don't know how such a smart cat adopted us, but I sure am glad he decided to pick us for his family. He could have picked anyone on our street. I guess he figured we needed him. He was sure right about that.





Till Next Time,


Jeffree Wyn

 It's About Time I Posted Something 

       

And boy howdy, do I have a doozy for ya! I finished another book. The third in the Waxahachie cozy quilt murder mystery series. Yeah, yeah, I know, the last post I put up was about finishing my second book in the series -- for The Mercy Quilt. I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted anything, and here I am posting that I have a new book.

Well, don't get too excited. It's finished, but you can't get your eyeballs on it yet. The official publication date is February 23, 2027. I can tell you that the name of it is "The Lost Lone Star Quilt." Because you know that all my cozy mystery quilt novels are titled after a quilt, right? 

So, here's the deal: you can find it on Amazon, in fact, you can preorder it now on the Big A. And if you keep checking my publisher's website, C&T, you can preorder it there too, which is preferable. And I can tell you a few other things too, like you'll be back reading about all your favorite characters, lots of lip-smacking Texas food, a new romance, a juicy one I might add, with a hunky leading man, some dire threats on our heroine's life, and.....oh, you get the idea. So, you know how book #1 was about Lisbeth aka Savannah Mae, and book #2 was Emma's story? Well, who do you think #3 will focus on? My lips are sealed, I'm not telling. But if you read the summary that's floating around on several of the websites, I'm sure you can figure it out. And when you do, you'll probably be surprised that she left her beloved beaches of California to help out her bestie in Texas. Oops! Did I say that? Darn! Cat's outta the bag.

Till next time, which I promise won't be book #4!

💖, Jeffree Wyn

 

The Mercy Quilt is Here!    

    Woo-hoo! And I do mean Woo-Hoo, in a BIG WAY. On Feb 24th, of this year, 2026, The Mercy Quilt was published by C&T. It's now available e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e! Amazon, WalMart, Barnes and Noble, Missouri Quilt Company, Thriftbooks, Booktopia in Australia, really everywhere! If you don't watch where you're going, you'll trip over it while walking down the street. Just Google it. 

    Here's me holding a copy of it, proof that it's here, really here. Get yourself a copy. The reviews are coming in, and friends, they're FABULOUS. And lest you think I'm making them up, go check em out on Amazon. I could not be more proud. Not only are they fabulous, but readers can't figure out who the murderer is, and then when they do find out who it is, they're dumbfounded. I didn't really mean to pull the proverbial wool over my readers' eyes; I was just trying to extend how long it would take for readers to figure out who the murderer was. I didn't expect it to take until the end of the book. Guess I'm becoming a real, honest-to-goodness-murder-mystery-writer! Read on! I've already finished writing book #3 in the series. There's lots more to come, dearies!

        

    💘, Jeffree Wyn