Bleeder to be published!

Great news: my first mystery novel, Bleeder, will be published this summer by the Fiction Forge Imprint of Sophia Institute Press.

Here's what the "pitch" to editors was:

When classics professor Reed Stubblefield is disabled in a school shooting, he retreats to a rural Illinois cabin to recover and to write a book on Aristotle in peace. Oddly, in the chill of early March, the campgrounds and motels of tiny River Falls are filled with the ill and infirm -- all seeking the healing touch of the town’s new parish priest, reputed to be a stigmatic. Skeptical about religion since his wife’s death from leukemia, Reed is nevertheless drawn into a friendship with the cleric, Rev. Ray Boudreau, an amiable Aquinas scholar with a fine library – and sure enough, bandages on his hands and bruises on his head that come and go. On Good Friday, Father Ray collapses and bleeds to death in front of horrified parishioners. A miracle? Or bloody murder? Once Reed becomes the prime suspect in the mysterious death, he seeks the truth with the help of an attractive local reporter and Aristotle’s logic before he is arrested or killed. Can he, in the process, find the healing he desperately needs?

I owe many thanks to readers and conference critique-givers who helped to shape the manuscript with suggestions and encouragement. Now let the promotion work begin! As soon as I have information on the book's availability, I'll post it here. I'll revise my web site so that readers can find out more about Bleeder, how to order, and all that.

For the moment, though, it's off to a nice restaurant to celebrate!