Finally Did It

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Mission Canyon Secrets is now published to Smashwords and Amazon, and should be live soon!  Many thanks to my patient sister Karen for her edits and comments; they were more helpful than I can say.

This fictional book is set in Santa Barbara my hometown, in Mission Canyon.  While the area does exist, characters, places etc. are fictional.  This area is also the home of the SB Botanical gardens, a wonderful place to visit and one of my personal favorites.

I’ve wanted to write this story ever since I wrote A Murder At Mimi’s, where in one scene she is almost killed while dedicating a memorial to her late husband Red in Mission Canyon.  I used to take my grandmother and great-aunt (no, not Iris in the book) there often to enjoy the changing seasons.  The character Iris in the book is loosely based on my actual great-grandmother who was a Spiritualistic Medium.

And so, now on to Sonoma county, where my favorite character Mimi Griffin will rise again, in Strangled in Sonoma, hopefully early next year.  Here is the description of Mission Canyon Secrets:

Fresh from a broken relationship Nina leaves her life in the San Francisco Bay Area and returns home to Mission Canyon in Santa Barbara, and her great-aunt Iris’s lavish estate.  This homecoming presents an opportunity for Nina to use her online business savvy to help Iris grow her herbal Internet business and try to create a new life.

Soon Nina finds all is not as idyllic as it seems and she is caught up in an ancient mystery.   Centuries ago, according to legend, an early California mission priest driven by a lust for gold betrayed his church causing a loyal servant to be punished and murdered in his place; and now that servant’s spirit is asking for Iris’s help; the help of a renown psychic medium.

Decades earlier Iris’s philandering husband Brad had discovered clues to the legendary lost treasure but he and his lover Jennifer both died before they could locate the gold; leaving a trail of misery for Iris and their love child who now, as an adult, must deal with the consequences of their affair.

During a séance, Iris unravels the hidden secrets of Mission Canyon but finds the truth will cost her dearly.  Old spirits are on the move and are demanding justice, but will this justice destroy the living or bring them the answers to ancient deceptions?

Mission Canyon Secrets

About Time

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Tonto Bridge, AZ

OK, OK, it has been a long time since the last blog, but the good news is that I have been actually writing and am finally nearing the end of the first draft of A Murder in Mission Canyon.  As always the characters in my book have dictated which direction the book is taking, leaving me to just type their experiences.  Oh well, I guess that is probably better as they know their lives better than I do!

October is finally here and it is still hot.  Usually October has some of the best weather in Scottsdale, but so far that hasn’t materialized.  There has always been something about this month (other than my birthday) that has intrigued me.  I love the fall and all the cooking that goes along with it.  The outdoor colors seem more intense and suddenly there seems to be an expectation in the air.  Of course there is always Halloween and all the connotations making that particular holiday so unique.

So it’s time to get back to the book, and I hope you are all enjoying the new season.

Take care,

Nickolas

Labor Day Weekend

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Fall Colors in New Mexico

Well, it’s finally cooling down a bit so I think I might just make it.  The picture above reminds me of Fall every time I look  at it.  This was taken on the way to Taos New Mexico from Santa Fe a few years ago.  The colors of the trees were an electric yellow and truly one of the most beautiful sights I’ve seen.

It has been another busy time since I last wrote here; I am sincerely trying to finish the first draft of A Murder in Mission Canyon.  Again, the book has veered away from my original plan so I’m not sure of the end, but my characters will let me know where they want to go.

Not too much shaking on the cooking front lately but that will probably change once the weather cools a bit more.  I have fun making pasta from scratch so that will probably happen again soon.  Cream sauces are always a favorite, especially one made with shavings of lemon peel to add brighter taste; Piccata sauce is great on ravioli for a change of pace.  This is the time of year when soup starts to enter my thoughts; of course summer soups like chilled Cream of Celery or Gazpacho are interesting too.

It’s hard to believe the holidays are coming so fast; it seems like it was only yesterday that January was here.  One of the truly beautiful times in Arizona is October, when the perfect weather makes you forget the furnace that was the summer.   Until next time…

Nickolas

Sigh…

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Oak Creek near Sedona, AZ

It’s a good thing I have my writing to use as a place to escape.  Yes, it was one of those weeks.  At least I finally found the scorpion that had been running around the house; making a guest appearance and then quickly disappearing before I could give it a proper welcome.  Several weeks ago I saw this alarming intruder (they are fine outside, just not inside) but it managed to run off and hide before I could get something to help it on its way.  Let’s just say I’m glad to have it leave; you know what they say about guests after 3 days, especially ones that can sting the crap out of you.

Pictured above is beautiful Oak Creek, that runs through Oak Creek Canyon and Sedona, AZ.  Before moving to AZ, I used to vacation in Oak Creek Canyon every year.  It is a wonderful place of high canyon walls and, as you can see, a peaceful year ’round creek.  The Sedona red rock formations are quite unique and beautiful; the town itself is too commercial from my perspective, but still one of the very grand places on Earth.

I haven’t written as much this week as I would have liked to, but such is life.  Oddly enough I’ve been thinking a lot about the book after the one I’m now writing.  My sister suggested the location; the Napa valley where I used to live as I have mentioned before.  I guess I’m getting anxious to see where and what my favorite character Mimi Griffin will get up to this time.  Mimi and unlimited wine; a deadly combination!

Have a good week and take care.

Nickolas

August 12

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Finally the weekend is here; it has been a very long week.  I did take the time last night to make Pioneer Woman’s Restaurant Salsa; this is just the greatest for a busy week and very easy to make.  Check it out, if you like salsa it will be a hit!

I’m still making progress on my next book, A Murder in Mission Canyon set in Santa Barbara, CA.  I’ve had to do a lot of research into several topics and have delved into the history of the early Santa Barbara settlers.  I certainly have learned a lot about the city of my birth and what my ancestors were up to in those days.  I love the picture above, it was taken during October, sometimes the islands off the Santa Barbara coast look so close you could almost touch them.

As usual my new book is not anything like I’d first imagined.  This is good as my characters have started giving me their take on the way this mystery first took place and is now impacting their lives.  Hopefully by the end of August the first draft will be complete so I can soon share it with you.

Well, I hope this post finds you enjoying the summer and the ones you love.  Until next time.

Nickolas

Another Week

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Open Space Three Blocks Away

And another 30 pages on my new book.  It has been miserably hot and humid here, too hot to even enjoy the pool.  I sincerely can’t imagine what people did in this climate before air conditioning.  At least it’s easy to sit in front of the computer and be creative without getting too overheated.

I’d run into a dry spell with the new book, and I felt I’d written myself into a corner.  I had no idea where to go with it, and my characters were not helping me at all.  One evening I was watching a Monsoon storm approach over the mountains and without even thinking about it, I had the answer and was off.  I always find it amazing how the characters will speak to you when you stop trying to push them around.

I’ve been dreaming about home lately, California that is, and how great it would be to enjoy the wonderful Pacific ocean.  Working all week and writing all night (or so it seems) does take its toll.  I haven’t visited my home town of Santa Barbara in quite some time so maybe that will be a nice fall respite; by then my skin should look like jerky from living in the blast furnace!

Until next time,

N

From Nickolas Drake

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Flowers from the yard

So where to begin. After a lot of heavy thinking (and a few glasses of wine) I decided to write a blog.  I thought it would be interesting to give my blog and novel / eBook readers a look into who I am, my interests, and my books; so here we go.

I live in North Scottsdale, AZ in the foothills, this of course doesn’t help the heat any.  It is the middle of the summer and the Monsoon storms are finally starting.  I reserve the weekends for the usual house stuff; I do like to garden as evidenced by the picture above, but at this time of year it’s a chore to even get my dog outside.

My books are listed in the menu above, hopefully soon the list will be expanding; my next book is again set in Santa Barbara and involves two murders, one ancient and one in modern times.  Again, a cozy murder mystery only this time I’m exploring characters with psychic abilities.  One character is actually based on an ancestor of mine so in some ways I’m bringing her back to life in my book.

My next novel will include my favorite character Mimi Griffin (see A Murder in the Grand Canyon, and A Murder At Mimi’s).  Of all my characters, she is the one truly alive in my mind, and generally causing havoc when I don’t write about her.

Another great interest of mine is cooking; I am a vegetarian (my dog of course is not) and love to explore new recipes when I have the time.  Once I get back to trying out new things I plan to post interesting ones here for your enjoyment.

Well that’s my beginning, so I hope you come back and visit me.  Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

N