A Little Criticism Leads to Fourth Book

I got a three-star rating for "The Case of the Running Bag" where the critic liked the book but felt the main character was too skilled. I figured I might not have left enough clues to his potential. I realized that I had access to the backstory that wasn't fully disclosed. I had intended to do it over a series of stories and it was time to begin. "The Case of the Dead Detective" is one such story.

Who killed Mickey Phillips?

      Jonas Watcher went to the docks for some clam chowder and sourdough bread. He became aware of two men who showed an unusual interest in him. He played cat and mouse with them and finally led them back to his office.
     The confrontation wasn't what Jonas expected. After a discussion with the two men over some coffee laced with
Irish Whiskey, Jonas learned a shocking truth. A truth that sent him on a journey to Sacramento with his newly acquired girlfriend Mei Lin Fong and her family butler Charles,
In Sacramento, Jonas made a phone call that resulted in them being put under surveillance that took an ominous turn.
     In the 1930s, political isolationists had an agenda focused on keeping the United States out of the current conflicts in Europe. And, they added one item to the top of their list: Kill Jonas Watcher.
Jonas needs the wisdom of Solomon to get out of this alive, and he finds it wearing a rumpled fedora and coat.
You can purchase "The Case of the Dead Detective" by clicking Here

More to Come...                

Jonas Watcher and Chinese Dragon Mythology

This may be my most researched book when looking into the cultural mythology of another people. This is by no means a treatise on the mythology of China. The truth is that I barely scratched the surface of a small part of western Chinese history and mythology. As an author of mystery fiction, I created a heady brew of mystery, fantasy, and history to create "The Case of the Jade Dragon".

I started with an opening from "Have Gun Will Travel", but don't look for it, because you wouldn't recognize which one I used for the basis of my opening. I spent some time coming up with unique names for all my characters but researching Chinese names was especially fascinating when one considers that The Chinese sir name was and is often ahead of any given names. I discovered when interviewing a number of Chinese families that the custom is not universally observed by everyone.

I tried to keep it clear in the book, and I hope I was successful without insulting anyone. The Chinese history in the United States is both wonderful and disturbing. They had to gather in neighborhoods because of the bigotry of white America. Chinese citizens in the United States have battled against prejudice, ignorance, and stupidity for the couple of hundred years they have been here. Their culture has been integrated into our country. We still misunderstand the role of the Tongs and what they meant when they first appeared here. The use of herbs and acupuncture are only now being integrated into modern medicine. This was all a part of the backstory I never directly included in my narration but was very much with me as I wrote the book.

The synopsis is as follows:

Who said Weddings Couldn't be Dangerous?

     

When PI Jonas Watcher sees a Chinese couple being kidnapped; he sighs, grabs his gun, and goes to help them. This selfless act involves Jonas with the Chinese underworld. He is hired to unite two families by bringing a prospective bride from St. Louis to San Francisco for an arranged marriage. There are several factions who will kill to keep him from succeeding. His mission is complicated even more by his employer's beautiful granddaughter. She's the only one who knows where the bride is and she insists on going with him. A girl, his Colt 44, and diplomacy; Jonas will have to use all three if he wishes to complete the mission, end the feud, and live to tell the tale.
     “The Case of the Jade Dragon” is the third novel of the Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure series. It's the 1930s in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where old traditions conflict with the new, and Jonas gets caught up in a world of mysticism, a deadly family feud, and a potential underworld war. Author Gene Poschman brings a new slant to the noir hard-boiled detective by introducing him to a world out of his comfort zone and adding an exotic love interest.     To Purchase “The Case of the Jade Dragon” Click  Here   and travel by train, plane, and automobile to learn the fate of the Azure Dragon.

You're gonna love Charlie

I was told this was too
Amateurish and I shouldn't
do my own covers.

I found a man to create me a
cover and this was the result
I approved of.  I guess they
were right.

Murder in the Bayou!

New Orleans, the Crescent City... (It is the nineteen-thirties, New Orleans is not yet the Big Easy) An armed standoff between Louisiana State Troopers and New Orleans Police... An art swindle that will end in murder... Smugglers working the Bayou...
Jonas Watcher arrives to determine if a dead man is really dead. Someone is dogging him to make sure he doesn't find out. The investigation takes him from the French Quarter to its surrounding Bayou where Jonas discovers that all the criminals aren’t in the city. 
If he's going to stay alive, Jason will have to rely on “invisibles” that aren't his own and a Colt 44 that is.

“The Case of the Bourbon Street Hustler” is the second novel in the Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure series. The story is picked up from the first novel, though it stands on its own. Author, Gene Poschman, takes Jonas out of his element and drops him into the Crescent City during political turmoil between New Orleans police and Baton Rouge troopers. He mixes in an old love interest, the New Orleans underworld, and friends from San Francisco for a heady brew of murder, mystery, and mayhem.

Purchase “The Case of the Bourbon Street Hustler” HERE and take a journey back to the 1930s New Orleans and the Bayou, where the most dangerous reptiles walk on two legs. 

Oh, Charlie, you want to know about Charlie?

Smile Charlie, you're on Candid Camera.

To Be Continued...                  

It Started with the "Continental Op" by Dashiell Hammett

The one question everyone asks is "Where do you get your ideas from?"

The simplest answer is from everywhere. Unfortunately, while that answer is accurate it doesn't answer the question. In order to come up with ideas, one must be open to ideas. That's another non-answer. There are a number of wise-sounding non-answers out there, but for me to honestly provide you with an answer that doesn't help, let me share with you how the Jonas Watcher Detective Series was born.

I was looking for something to read in my local bookstore in the mystery section. I can't tell you why I suddenly started looking up writers from the thirties, but I came across Dashiell Hammett. I had read a number of novels by him, so I looked for something he had written that I hadn't read. There it was, a book of short stories names "The Continental Op". My wife had found a couple of books and so we went home with our purchases. After dinner, I put my feet up and read. I can't tell you the story I was reading, or much about it, though I know I enjoyed it. 


The one thing that stuck with me was an incident that was part of a background for a set of stories. A husband was "missing" and his wife was trying to get some money to him. After I had finished reading the book, the idea stuck with me. What if the husband was dead? What if the husband wasn't dead but didn't want to be found? 
I had remembered a story from a TV show called "The Outsider" with Darren McGavin. It had an episode with a husband who staged his death to get away for financial reasons and then he found he had a talent that would make him rich and he needed to make things right. Earl Stanley Gardner had used this idea also. 

Did I have a new vent on the idea? I started outlining a story. First I needed a detective. I wanted him to be a bit of a fish out of the water, but not too much. A man who is down and out who accidentally falls into the position that isn't as coincidental as it seems. I have a bit of a quirky side and I needed an element to satisfy that need. Ever hear the phrase "Life is a bitch"? Well, "Fate" can be a bitch too. With some additional research, I realized that fate isn't a bitch, but fate is three bitches; Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Now I needed just a couple of additional touches. His name is born from a comic book character and a name that just works; Jonas Watcher. I had always wanted to write an episode for "Have Gun Will Travel" so I will put Jonas Watcher in San Francisco. He needed a unique weapon, a modified single action Colt 44. Next was "When"; The Nineteen-Thirties, No internet, no TV,  no fancy forensics, and not the wild west, but close enough.

The first book in the series is free and you can get it Here.

The Beginning of the Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure Series

I am slowly moving my interactions with people through my blogs. My blogs allow me a single
platform to communicate to a number of social media platforms thereby broadening my internet reach. I get to share my journey as an author and give my readers a backroom view to my creative process, a deeper look into my characters, a better understanding as to where stories come from.

Welcome to my world.

"The Case of the Running Bag" in the first volume of The Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure Series. The eBook is free on all internet sites that deliver eBooks. Running bags have been in existence, I guess since men have been in wars. Men who no longer wanted to return home or who were hiding out always had one. Clothes, money and whatever one felt was necessary to make a clean getaway. A man or woman could grab the bag and go. A Running Bag plays a major role in the first case Jonas Watcher finds himself involved in.

It Began with a Simple Accident, or was it an Attempted Murder?
A woman in search of her missing husband; A dead private detective; And a dangerous game of mistaken identity...
It all started when Jonas Watcher found a business card along with some keys – curious... some money – a really good thing... and a gun. It's the nineteen thirties and Jonas Watcher must solve the mystery of a dead PI if he wants to stay alive. This is classic noir with a P.I. dealing with extortion, kidnapping, and murder. 
Author Gene Poschman brings back the hard-boiled detective novel, featuring the romance and humor reminiscent of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.

Pick up your free copy of "The Case of the Running Bag" Here.

 "The Case of the Bourbon Street Hustler" is the second book in the Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure Series. While I love San Francisco, I decided to put Jonas into a location he was unfamiliar with. Mix in a little bit of 1930s New Orleans, the surrounding Bayou, and some wonderful Louisiana characters; let marinade; serve Hot.

Murder in the Bayou!

New Orleans, the Crescent City... An armed standoff between Louisiana State Troopers and New Orleans Police... An art swindle that will end in murder... Smugglers working the Bayou...
Jonas Watcher arrives to determine if a dead man is really dead. Someone is dogging him to make sure he doesn't find out. The investigation takes him from the French Quarter to the surrounding Bayou. 
“The Case of the Bourbon Street Hustler” is the second novel in the Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure series. The story is picked up from the first novel, though it stands on its own. 
Author, Gene Poschman, takes Jonas out of his element and drops him into the Crescent City during political turmoil between New Orleans police and Baton Rouge troopers. He mixes in an old love interest, the New Orleans underworld, and friends from San Francisco for a heady brew of murder, mystery, and mayhem.

If he's going to stay alive, Jason will have to rely on “invisibles” that aren't his own and a Colt 44 that is.

You can purchase “The Case of the Bourbon Street Hustler” Here. 

"The Case of the Jade Dragon"  I had three goals with this book; Bring in a love interest for Jonas (the romantic in me), explore the San Francisco underworld a bit, and mix some Chinese Mythology with reality and see what I get.

When Jonas Watcher sees a Chinese couple being kidnapped; he sighs, grabs his gun, and goes to help them. This selfless act involves Jonas with the Chinese underworld. He is hired to unite two families by bringing a prospective bride from St. Louis to San Francisco for an arranged marriage. There are several factions who will kill to keep him from succeeding. 
His mission is complicated even more by his employer's beautiful granddaughter. She's the only one who knows where the bride is and she insists on going with him. A girl, his Colt 44, and diplomacy; Jonas will have to use all three if he wishes to complete the mission, end the feud, and live to tell the tale.
“The Case of the Jade Dragon” is the third novel of the Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure series. It's the 1930s in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where old traditions conflict with the new, and Jonas gets caught up in a world of mysticism, a deadly family feud, and a potential underworld war. 
Author Gene Poschman brings a new slant to the noir hard-boiled detective by introducing him to a world out of his comfort zone and adding an exotic love interest. To learn the fate of the Azure Dragon, purchase “The Case of the Jade Dragon” Here.

 "The Case of the Dead Detective" is the fourth book of The Jonas Watcher Detective Adventure Series. It seems I got a critical review of "The Case of the Running Bag". The observation had some truth to it, and I realized I had a backstory in my head that had yet been shared. Hence the fourth book. You gotta love readers.

Who killed Mickey Phillips?

Jonas Watcher went to the docks for some clam chowder and sourdough bread. He became aware of two men who showed an unusual interest in him. He played cat and mouse with them and finally led them back to his office.
The confrontation wasn't what Jonas expected. After a discussion with the two men over some coffee laced with Irish Whiskey, Jonas learned a shocking truth. A truth that sent him on a journey to Sacramento with his newly acquired girlfriend Mei Lin Fong and her family butler Charles.
In Sacramento, Jonas made a phone call that resulted in them being put under surveillance that took an ominous turn.
In the 1930s, political isolationists had an agenda focused on keeping the United States out of the current conflicts in Europe. And, they added one item to the top of their list: killing Jonas Watcher.
Jonas needs the wisdom of Solomon to get out of this alive, and he finds him wearing a rumpled fedora and coat.

You can purchase "The Case of the Dead Detective" Here.

More To Come...