Recent Inspiration (above)

Just to the south of Estes Park sits Twin Sisters Mountain, the left peak of which -- the East Sister at 11,428', with the splash of sunshine on it -- is the highest.
The Sisters lurk behind the mountain's northern escarpment ("The Crags") in this picture taken near sunset. The Estes Valley began to play a role in these stories in Wet Work.


Four Corners Mysteries and other fiction 

The Four Corners states—Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico—are part of a region of spectacular beauty, solitude, and a rich diversity of landforms, ecosystems, and cultures. Descendents of the region's original inhabitants, the Ancestral Puebloans and the DinĂ©, and their interactions with the descendents of more recent arrivals from Europe have provided fodder for stories for generations.


All but two of my Four Corners Mysteries are set in the Four Corners states. Mountains, deserts, canyons, and trout streams all play strong roles in these novels. (The two FCMs set in Florida serve to introduce two of the more central FCM characters.)


During my 40-year career as a research scientist, I wrote extensively—that's how you report your results. So turning to fiction was a new experience for me. I got my start in fiction because I took a job that involved extensive business travel. On those trips, I would I read paperback novels I picked up in airport bookstores. Some of those novels, published by the familiar, big-time publishing houses, were so lousy that I thought to myself "I can write better than that!" That turned into a challenge to myself: "Oh, yeah? Prove it, pal!", the result of which was The Dean's Murders. And so began the Four Corners Mysteries.


Recently I've decided to branch out just a little and give my FCM characters a respite from yet another vexing problem to solve amidst the Four Corners landscape. Enrichment has a completely new story-line and characters (although FCM readers may find a couple of familiar references included). It's a novel with elements of several genres from romance to spy thriller to mystery. I have in mind a couple of other stories of this nature as well, but I will also have additional Four Corners Mysteries in the future.


It's not for me to say whether I've succeeded, over the past twenty-five years, at writing "better than that," but at least I can hope that these stories provide the same enjoyment and reading fun that I had when writing them.


Thank you for your interest and support.