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Book 3, June 18, order now

Amazon.com: The Scrawl on the Wall: A Dagny Gray Thriller eBook : Miller, Jeff: Books

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So what's the deal with the third book?

A number of you have been asking about the third book, which I finished writing a year and a half ago.  Here’s the deal . . . Borderline Insanity didn’t sell well enough, so the publisher didn't want to continue the series.  (I get it . . . when you're publishing Dean Koontz and Patricia Cornwell, my numbers are going to seem puny, and why not concentrate efforts on things with more mass appeal?) It’s a shame, because I’m very proud of Borderline Insanity, and very proud of the new one too. 

I’m not shopping the third book to other publishers because my sense is that no one wants to buy a book mid-series if they can’t control the whole series. There are two options at this point:

1.  People who want more Dagny Gray books can let the publisher of the first two, Thomas and Mercer, know that they’d really like them to publish more in the series. Maybe tweet at them. Maybe leave Facebook comments. Leaving reviews on Goodreads and Amazon can help a ton too. If there's enough demand, maybe they change their mind.

2.  I will try to publish it myself, but this will require time for editing, cover art, formatting, audio-recording, etc., that I don’t have right now, so this option will take some time.

I’m sorry about this--I really want you all to see what’s happened to Dagny and the gang.

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Very cool Instagram post from the Sioux Falls library system.

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Third Draft Done

I finished the third draft of the next Dagny Gray thriller.  Next, I’ll get some feedback from friends, polish it, and send it off to the agent.

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The first draft of the next Dagny Gray book is finally done.

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In Chapter 38 of The Bubble Gum Thief, Dagny Gray wakes up in the field at the Del Ray YMCA in Alexandria. This is the same ball field where a mad man fired upon Congressmen, staffers, and officers today. My girlfriend (now wife) and I used to go the that Y, and we crossed through these fields regularly. She lived two blocks from the YMCA. I gave Dagny a home just down the street because I knew and loved the neighborhood. You won’t find any other neighborhood this unbelievably quaint so close to D.C.–it has a real small town feel, even though it’s very close to the Metro and a stone’s throw from Old Town.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of today’s attack, and the neighborhood that had to witness it.

[jeffmillerwrites]

Book 3 Update

So far: 33 chapters; 5 murders; 2 sessions with Dr. Childs; and 1 flipped car.

[jeffmillerwrites]

What is the sheriff's name in the prologue to borderline insanity?

Hal Dickens.

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Jeff, I just finished "Bubble Gum Thief" and down loaded "Borderline Insanity". Why am I getting your books for no charge? As a retiree I am pleased at a bargain. As a realist I understand that authors with a family occasionally like to eat food. I just don't understand the system. But, I do enjoy your writing style and look forward to your next release. Jim Hartneady

Don’t worry . . .  sometimes Amazon does promotions where books are free, but the authors still get paid.  I’m happy as long as they are getting the books to people to read.  Thanks for you kind words!

[jeffmillerwrites]

Book 3 Update/Free Book/Library Speech

I’m currently writing Chapter 21 of the third Dagny Gray book.  Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?  Well, I’ll slower than either of them, but hang in there.  It will be worth the wait.

Borderline Insanity is still free to Amazon Prime members right here.  Please spread the word.  Every download helps.

Also, I’ll be speaking at the West Chest, OH library on May 10 at 7 pm.  Info here.  If you’re in the Greater Cincinnati area, drop on by. 

[jeffmillerwrites]

Download Borderline Insanity for Free

If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can download my latest Dagny Gray thriller for free right here.  There is no catch.  You don’t have to sit through a timeshare presentation.  You don’t have to subscribe and save.  Just click the button, and you get it.  

Even if you have the print book, please consider downloading Borderline Insanity for free, as this will help it in the rankings.  

[jeffmillerwrites]

Progress

On chapter 14 of the third Dagny Gray book.  Things are happening.  

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The Next Book

If you’ve read the first Dagny Gray thrillers, you know that the backdrop of The Bubble Gum Thief was the criminal justice system.  For Borderline Insanity, it was the immigration and economic anxiety in a small town in Ohio.  (It ended up being more relevant in 2016 than I expected.)  The third book will be about the heroin epidemic.  It’s a big deal here in Cincinnati, and lots of other places too.

Last year, a heroin-addict plowed into our car as I drove my wife and kids on the highway.  We were okay, thank goodness, but it could have been awful.  I had nightmares about it for several days.

The kid who hit us had been arrested several times before for possession and use of heroin.  After the wreck, he went to jail for several months.  Two weeks after he got out of jail, he was arrested again.  He’s only, maybe, twenty-three years old.  I’ve got some things to say about this, and you’ll find it in between murders and intrigue in book 3.  It's fully outlined and I've written the first four chapters. There's been gunfire, a foot chase, and a car crash already. Also, Dagny babysat for the first time.

[jeffmillerwrites]

Sometimes real life imitates art.

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Borderline Insanity on Sale

Amazon is running a sale.  For October only, you can buy the Kindle version of Borderline Insanity for only $1.99!  Crazy, right? Or at least borderline crazy?  Maybe even borderline insane?  (Get it? Because the book is called Borderline Insanity?)

[jeffmillerwrites]

In writing book three, I have to balance the plot of the novel with Dagny’s overall character arc for there series. To that end, I’m using charts to remind me of things I have to service in the story. My biggest chart outlines the plot of the book, connecting all of the crimes and characters in the book.  (I won’t share that one. ) The chart above shows the relationships I have to build or develop for Dagny. Each of these relationships will change during the course of the story—some in small way, some in big.