Catching Up with G.B. Pool

Words Are My Life

It’s been a few years since we at Writers in Residence have posted and we all have a story to tell. Maybe that’s why we decided to dust off the blog and tell you about what’s been happening.

As for me, my back has been acting up and that has given me a great deal of time to write. Both my Johnny Casino Casebook series and the Gin Caulfield P.I. series have two additional books to keep the original ones from getting lonely on the shelf.

I found that Johnny’s past (The first casebook is subtitled Past Imperfect) led to a bunch of new stories. Johnny really found himself in the second book (subtitled Looking for Johnny Nobody). Digging deeper into his back story revealed things even Johnny didn’t know. In book three (subtitle Just Shoot Me) Johnny is working on several cases and it turns out some are connected.

Gin Caulfield is back in the private detective business in book two, Hedge Bet. This is where she belongs. It’s in her blood. I used to work in banking, playing with stocks and bonds. Gin gets a crash course that nearly kills her. And Damning Evidence, the third in the series, takes her on a ride you won’t soon forget. It takes place up at the old Tujunga Dam… a scarier place there never was. This is where Gin is pitted against a guy who threatens not only her but a vast portion of southern California.

I even wrote a stand-alone called Eddie Buick’s Last Case that features detective writer Frank Pennell who penned the famous fictional detective, Eddie Buick, a 60’s era gumshoe. When Frank’s family is killed, he goes on a binge and nearly kills himself, but Frank is saved by a guy who looks awfully familiar. The guy who helps him is his fictional sleuth: Eddie Buick.

But that isn’t all that came off the presses. I tried my hand at a Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (YARF) that features a lovely young girl who grows into a beautiful woman who has fallen in love with someone she thinks is a ghost. What he really turns out to be is the stuff of fantasy. The title: Enchanted – The Ring, The Rose, and The Rapier.

Then there is The Santa Claus Singer. An out-of-work lounge singer in Las Vegas ends up playing Santa Claus at the mall and makes a very sick young girl a promise that could cost him everything. But sometimes the best gift you can give is yourself.

And last, but not least, a story near and dear to my heart and one that features photos of many of the Christmas decorations in my home and miniature houses I built, is Bearnard’s Christmas. It’s the story of Elaine Ivy, a woman who loves animals, but sometimes she gets herself into trouble trying to defend them. Even her husband tells her she can’t save them all. At a Christmas Party she is given a stuffed Polar bear. A magical voice tells her its name is “Bearnard.” On Christmas Eve, Elaine falls asleep under the tree and wakes up at the North Pole where she meets Santa Claus, Mrs. C and a big Polar bear named Bearnard. It turns out even the animals at the North Pole need a little help, but it will take more than human kindness this time to make everything right.

I guess writers can’t help themselves. We have to write. Those words need an outlet and we at Writers in Residence keep finding a few more to share with readers. We are a diverse group, but our books can be enjoyed by all types of readers. I guess the fact we enjoy each other’s work will testify to that.

Happy reading. We’ll keep writing.