I have made great progress this week on Mitch Turner #6! The story is coming together as a whole. At this stage, I’m usually focused on what I can cut out. Many times, when I am writing, I will have various ideas that make their way into the manuscript. Many make it through into the final pass, but a lot of them don’t because they don’t fit, and because of that, I always have to be careful to look at what’s there, decide if it makes sense for it to stay, and if it does, how is it going to work into the overarching plot.

Mitch Turner #6 features Frank Ward as the defendant. It starts out with Turner coming out of a meeting at the State’s Attorney’s office in downtown Chicago. He becomes curious when emergency responders pull up to the building, and he sticks around to see what’s happening. He soon sees a woman rushed out on a stretcher and a few minutes after that, Frank Ward is brought out in handcuffs.

Ward looks dazed and confused, and when he sees Turner, his eyes light up and Turner knows exactly who Frank Ward is going to call for representation.

The problem is Turner still hasn’t forgiven Ward for what he did to Barbara.

This story has been on my mind for a while now. I knew Frank Ward would be Mitch’s defendant at some point and that it would be an uphill battle for Turner every step of the way. Things are moving very well on this project. I’m technically at the end of draft four and will start draft five soon. At this point in my process, I am usually trying to do a draft a week for a book that’s this long because I like to work on the book as a cohesive whole, and doing rapid iterations through it allows me to see the pieces that need to be brought together or massaged or edited or deleted.

Also, don’t forget that The Fixer is on the horizon and will be coming out in November! I am super excited about this book. It features Kirk Hoffman. This is the first novel in which Kirk Hoffman appears. He’s an attorney who works with a dedicated team that he has collected together over the years. His express goal is to find justice, and he’s usually interested in making it happen outside the courtroom rather than within. So be on the lookout for The Fixer! Just a reminder, The Killers Club is now out as an audiobook. Anyhow, that’s how everything is going over here. Have a great week everybody!

Here is a partial transcript of the show, for a full transcript, go to DanDeckerBooks.com!

On today's show: a writing update, an inspirational thought, and a first look at The Fixer!

This week’s episode features a chapter from Blood Games, Jake Ramsey Book #3, the first book Black Brick is available as a free ebook from most ebook vendors. Here is an excerpt from the show:

THE REST OF THE drive passed slowly, with Kris making several more attempts to talk me out of my plan.

“You don’t have to come,” I said on the third try. “It’s better if you don’t.”

I wished I would have thought to look through Gary’s wallet when I’d searched him and the woman back in the alley. If I’d have known about his keycard, I would have gagged the two of them and made sure they wouldn’t be found for hours.

It was too little too late now, but I had an opportunity I could not afford to pass up, if we hurried and made it to the DataRader headquarters before they were found.

“You can’t do this alone and I’m all the help you have right now,” Kris said. “Unless you think Shannon is going to help.” There was something strange in her voice when she mentioned Shannon, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.

Her words rubbed me raw, so I took several seconds to calm down before responding. She didn’t know Shannon was the last person I wanted to think about right now, it wasn’t her fault.

“I can handle myself,” I said through clenched teeth.

“That’s part of the problem. You’re out of control. How many people died at Reed’s place? Or was all that blood from men who walked away?” She took my silence as an affirmation that her guess was close to the mark. “You need to stop before you do something you won’t be able to live with. I know you, Jake. This isn’t you.”

I thought of how I’d almost killed Gary Walker back at the alley. I’d been prepared to do it. It was because the woman had caved that he still had his life. Kris’ words were having more of an effect on me than I would have liked. She must have taken my lack of response as evidence she was getting through to me because she continued talking.

“All the people you killed, they deserved it, right? That’s what you’re telling yourself. Are you certain they’re part of Reed’s supposed criminal enterprise? How do you know they weren’t just his security guards?”

“You’ve seen the videos--” I began, but she cut me off.

This week’s episode features a chapter from Blood Games, Jake Ramsey Book #3, the first book Black Brick is available as a free ebook from most ebook vendors. Here is an excerpt from the show:

I ALMOST DROVE RIGHT past the mall and kept going. It would have been better for Kris if I did. She was way too involved as it was. But I thought of the kids, and that was what kept me going forward.

I needed additional resources if I was going to track them down. Besides, I needed to ditch the car anyway because the drone had recorded everything that had happened and was following me. I’d turned my driver’s side mirror up to spot it but so far hadn’t had any luck.

I drove around the mall one time before I pulled into a parking garage. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to Kris. But I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t rescue the children. It was simple math, two lives against one.

My burner phone beeped as I pulled into the underground parking. Once I had parked, I saw I’d received a text from a number I didn’t recognize. It just said one word. Sorry.

I assumed it was Shannon texting me from a phone Diggon knew nothing about. Even though she’d made it obvious what she was doing, I didn’t know what to make of her apology.

The wound was too fresh. I supposed I should have been grateful she’d warned me but I wasn’t in the mood to think that way. Maybe once things had calmed down, I’d feel differently, but I was still trying to work my way out of the mess that she’d created for me.

Not bothering to respond, I left my car window unrolled and placed the keys on the dashboard. With a little luck, somebody would swipe the vehicle and throw DataRader off my scent for a few hours.

This week’s episode features a chapter from Blood Games, Jake Ramsey Book #3, the first book Black Brick is available as a free ebook from most ebook vendors. Here is an excerpt from the show:

I CAME TO A halt as soon as I turned. It was a dead end. Muttering a curse, I flipped around and saw the car had pulled up right outside the alleyway and that the front doors were opening.

Rushing towards the driver I grabbed him by the arm, yanking him all the way out and ramming him up against the car while putting my pistol to the side of his head.

“Back away if you want him to live,” I said to the woman getting out of the other side of the car.

Because it was Diggon chasing me, I had expected to recognize them from my time with Black Brick, but I did not.

The man I held at gunpoint looked familiar, but I was having a difficult time placing him. He hadn’t worked at Black Brick, I was certain of that, but I couldn’t say how I knew him.

“Back off,” the man said to the woman with a frown on his face that didn’t show much fear. He looked me in the eyes. “It doesn’t have to go this way.”

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“Easy,” said the dark-haired woman as she moved to come around from the other side of the car, thinking she was gaining something by getting closer to me. She had her hand at her side as if it rested on a holstered pistol. “Just calm down.” Her voice sounded familiar, so I took a closer look while jabbing my gun into the man’s neck.

“You’re the woman who almost chased me down.” She’d had blonde hair back then. The darker color suited her far better. The blonde had looked fake, and while she’d been attractive before, she was now stunning. It was a struggle to take my eyes off her even while she glared at me.