Here’s the recap and a few more photos for those who weren’t able to make it last Saturday, August 15^th.

Kicking off the event with a short welcome and introduction was Tanya Mills, proprietor of The Book Bungalow, St. George’s finest independent bookstore.

After Tanya turned the podium over to me, I launched into a quick backstory about growing up in SoCal during the 60’s, amid the surfing craze. And how, later in life, I trained in martial arts, following a home break-in. When I finally did turn to writing long-form mysteries, I did what every wannabe author does and followed the age-old advice—Write What You Know. Naturally, that meant drawing on the worlds of surf and self-defense to craft my fictional detecting duo: Thad Hanlon, former pro surfer & Bri de la Guerra, Krav Maga self-defense baddie on the mat.

With the background about me and the book setting the stage, we moved into The Reading portion of the night. Here I am really getting into a snippet of Chapter 1 to give everyone a sample of what to expect.

I’ll be honest. The excerpt literally starts with a bang:

“I was sitting under a beach canopy in the spectator section of the California Central Coast Surf Trials, watching the first heat of the semifinals, when I heard the sonic crack of a large firearm.”  

And from there the storyline intensifies. So much so that as I continued reading, the audience became entranced, as if they were really there, on the beach in Pismo, where the opening scene takes place.

Or at least it seemed that way. ;o)

[A big shout-out to my son-in-law, Dr. Josh Cameron, for the digital magic.]

Following the reading, we moved into the Question & Answer Session. I answered a few queries  I usually get when I talk about my books—How Did You Come Up with the Idea for Pismo Beach Sniper? Who Inspired You to Write It? Are Your Characters Based on Real People?, and What Are You Working on Now? And then I opened the floor for audience questions. One particularly fun one was from young Tate Crawford, my neighbor, about whether I wrote stories as a kid. Short answer: I did. What kind of stories? Mysteries, of course.
 

Then it was time for the Door Prize Giveaway. We used a bucket beach hat to collect the name slips, and Michael Mills, co-owner of The Book Bungalow, assisted with picking the winners. First prize: an autographed copy of Pismo Beach Sniper. Second: Death at Area 51—A Murder Mystery Game. And third: an official Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass.

With the winners selected for the Door Prizes, we moved to the highlight of the party—Ice Cold Treats: Häagen-Dazs Bars, Outshine Frozen Fruit Bars, and Organic Popsicles for our young readers in attendance.
 

While the mingling continued, we wrapped up the evening with the Book Signing until the sun went down.

I want to share One Final Shout-Out. This one is to Dr. Warren Stucki, mentor and friend, who inspired me to take nothing more than a working title for Pismo Beach Sniper and turn it into a full-blown manuscript. If you live near St. George, Utah, consider taking one of his novel writing courses offered by the Institute for Continued Learning. He’s a master teacher. His next class—Creative Writing: Your First Novel—runs from Sep 16, 2026 – Nov 18, 2026 at 1:30-2:50 p.m. on the Utah Tech University campus. Registration info here: https://reg125.imperisoft.com/ICL/Search/Registration.aspx

Thanks again to Tanya and Michael Mills for all their help in making the event such a success.

Can’t wait to do it all over again when Book Four in the Thad Hanlon & Bri de la Guerra Mystery Series is published, hopefully sometime next year.

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