Category Archives: Mystery

Hanging with the Bayou Writers’ Group

March 6, 201610K, Appearance, MysteryBJ Bourg

We stay busy as a family, but Amanda and I have remained true to taking at least one date night each month. Sometimes it’s planned and sometimes it’s spontaneous, but we always manage to squeeze some alone time into our hectic schedule. When I write “squeeze”, I mean just that–we oftentimes only have an hour, or so, to squeeze between responsibilities. However, we were able to spoil ourselves these past two weekends with a couple of “date-aways” in a row.

FEBRUARY 27^th DATE-AWAY

It started in New Orleans last Saturday when we rolled into town for the Rock ‘n’ Roll 10K. We checked into the Marriott on Canal Street, picked up our race packets at the Convention Center, and then ordered some dinner from a little restaurant next door to the hotel. We then retired to our room for a picnic that consisted of shrimp poboys, French fries, and Great American double-stuffed chocolate chip cookies.

Early Sunday morning we ate (more) cookies and milk for breakfast and walked to the starting line of the Rock ‘n’ Roll 10K, which was a few blocks away. The weather was great and the crowd large. We ran the 6.2 miles through the city–enjoying some great views along the way–and finished at City Park. After collecting our medals and eating everything we could find at the finish line, we took the shuttle back to the hotel and relaxed before heading back home. We both had things to do later on Sunday, so it was back to our busy schedule.

I have to give a shout-out to my grandfather, who turned 94 that Sunday. A man of few words and a hard worker, he’s the most honorable man I know. Here’s to many more birthdays!

MARCH 4^th DATE-AWAY

This weekend found us in Lake Charles visiting with members of the Bayou Writers’ Group. The group’s vice president, David Chang, invited me to speak at their monthly meeting and I readily accepted. I last visited with the BWG back in September of 2007 and I was looking very much forward to seeing the members I already knew again, meeting some new members, and introducing them to Amanda.

(Before giving me credit for having such a great memory, you should know that I had to look up the pictures from the last time I was there to figure out the date.)

We checked into the SpringHill Suites on West Prien Lake Road Friday night, took a scenic drive downtown and along the lake, and then grabbed dinner. As is our custom on date-aways, we picked up some take-out and retired to our room for a picnic. This picnic consisted of a pile of food from Ichiban Japanese Grill and Yeung’s Lotus Express, along with–of course–some Great American double-stuffed chocolate chip cookies and a half gallon of milk.

The real treat was Saturday morning when we met with the BWG at the Carnegie Memorial Library on Pujo Street. It was immediately apparent to me how much the rectangle of tables had grown, and it was great to see that the group was expanding.

Here’s a photograph showing the size of the rectangle of tables in 2007:

And here’s present day:

After Cliff Seiber, the group’s president, held the official meeting, I gave the little speech I’d prepared. (It actually went much longer than I’d anticipated–oops!) I talked about mysteries, explained why I couldn’t write erotic romances, offered some ideas on researching, and provided a list of resources I thought might be helpful to all writers who needed a cop, a gun, or a law in their stories. The members were engaging and asked some great questions.

They then treated Amanda and me to lunch and we got to visit with them a little longer. I can’t say enough how welcoming they are and how much of a great time we had with them. I look forward to going back to Lake Charles and visiting with them again in the future. It was definitely a very rewarding experience and just being around them energized me.

Unfortunately, Amanda and I had to leave the restaurant at about 1:15 PM to quickly return to our room and check out before 1:30 PM. As it turned out, the hotel had already deactivated our room keys and we couldn’t get in to grab our stuff. Thankfully, a nice lady who was cleaning rooms down the hall let us in and we reclaimed our clothes and–most importantly–the rest of the Great American cookies.

In closing, I want to say how saddened I was to hear about the passing of Harvey Honsinger. It was almost exactly four years ago that he passed away, but I just found out yesterday. The few times I got to visit with Harvey, I had a great time talking about writing, my all-time favorite genre, westerns, and guns. Like my all-time favorite author, Louis L’Amour, Harvey was a western writer and a really interesting man. I’m really sorry he’s gone.

Here I am with Harvey at the Bayou Writers’ Group Conference in November of 2007:

2016 EPIC eBook Awards Finalist

January 10, 2016MysteryBJ Bourg

So, on the day before my birthday I received word that my first published novel, JAMES 516, was a 2016 EPIC eBook Awards Finalist for the category of Mystery. It was a nice surprise and a great birthday present (almost as great as the crossbow my wife and kids got me:-).

New mystery novel out NOW!

December 6, 2015Mystery, Novel, WritingBJ Bourg

My third novel, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, has just been released in e-book format through Amber Quill Press. It’s on sale right out the gate and only costs $4.55. It’ll be available in print and on Amazon in mid-December, but it’s only available through the publisher at the moment.

In BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, which is the first in a planned mystery series, Clint Wolf’s life has been dealt a heavy blow, thanks to the anti-cop sentiment and policies of Governor Lester Katz. Alone and utterly lost, Clint trades his detective shield for a framing hammer and puts homicide investigations as far in his rearview mirror as he can—that is, until he’s asked to serve as police chief for a quiet little town deep in the swamps of southeast Louisiana.

While the job seems uneventful, the tranquility of the sleepy town is shattered when the severed arm of a missing businessman is found in the jowls of an alligator. Drawing upon his experience and training, Clint sets out to investigate the case with the assistance of Sergeant Susan Wilson, a no-nonsense cop who moonlights as a cage fighter. When they finally locate the body of the businessman, they discover he’s been murdered—shot pointblank in the forehead—and things begin to get even uglier from there.

As the investigation ensues, Clint battles secret demons from his past while trying to get to know a local reporter named Chloe on a personal level. Chloe proves to be an asset to the case when she shares information from a confidential informant who says the murder was part of a larger plot.

Will Clint and Susan unveil and foil the larger plot before it’s too late, or will the citizens of Louisiana awaken to a horror worse than any in their state’s history?

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Teaser from BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

November 1, 2015Mystery, Novel, WritingBJ Bourg

Here’s a short teaser from my upcoming novel, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN:

I continued down the street, and Susan pointed ahead to a small trailer on the right.

“That should be it,” she said.

I pulled to the side of the road in front of the trailer and parked parallel to it. After throwing the gearshift in park, I stepped out and walked around the front of the Tahoe and met Susan near a small ditch. We paused to scan the area. An older model Caprice sat in the muddy driveway. The yard was clean, with the exception of an old dog kennel that lay on its side. “I need one of those for—”

A gunshot suddenly erupted from the area of the trailer and the taillight on my passenger’s side exploded into tiny shards.

“Holy shit!” Susan dropped to her face beside the Tahoe and scrambled on all fours around the back of the SUV until she reached the other side and it was between her and the trailer.

Another shot rang out and the headlight on the passenger’s side blew out.

BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, the first in my Clint Wolf Mystery Series, will be available in e-book form through the publisher, Amber Quill Press, on December 6, 2015, and the print version will be out soon after. Please help me spread the word.

Whatever you do in life, make sure to leave a mark!

bjb

Cover Reveal for BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

October 25, 2015Mystery, Novels, WritingBJ Bourg

I’m really excited about my next novel, which is titled BUT NOT FORGOTTEN and is due out December 6, 2015 through Amber Quill Press. This will be the first in a series of books featuring Clint Wolf. Clint’s a tortured soul who works as chief of police for a small swampy town in southeast Louisiana called Mechant Loup. He mans a four-person department that includes Sergeant Susan Wilson, a strong female officer who moonlights as a cage fighter.

When a severed arm is found in the jowls of an alligator, Clint and his team must work to figure out to whom it belongs and how it got there. I hope everyone will check it out when it’s available.

Here’s the cover art: