Wowza! The southwest has been under the gun of the Pacific hurricanes! Two weeks ago, or was it three? We got pummeled here in Phoenix, receiving 5 inches of rain in our rain gauge. Now that being said, the rain was blowing horizontal, so there may have been much more than that.
This week/weekend we’ve already received 1.5 inches in our rain gauge. This precip has been continuous, steady downpour for 12 hours. Up until these two events, Phoenix only got about 2 inches all year… Since our average is 7.2 inches per year… Well, you can do the math.
Interestingly, we live in a slightly depressed area of town. That means the barrio/ghetto… Some houses are really nice. Some are awful. Ours is decent, but not really nice. No big issue there, just some information. That being said, we live in an old neighborhood with grandfathered flood irrigation, which we got this past Tuesday. Our yard is already pretty saturated. Now the backyard has another pond for the ducks. They like the rain. So do I, but wow. Phoenix usually spreads this rain out a bit.
Now about that flood irrigation. Salt River Project (SRP) controls the irrigation for those of us who pay for water. They’ve finally decided to help us out by revamping our canals & ditches. The water flows from the south downhill to us. They’ve begun down at the end of the road, which is really cool. I have been walking Ruby Sue passed where they’ve been working. First, they hauled all the old concrete surfaces away, but these (where they are working) are open ditches. They dug way down, then put in big PVC pipes, then covered the whole thing over. Before that, though, as I walked by, I asked the guys if they had found any bodies, yet. The first time, they laughed. They said no. They looked some combination of amused and terrified by my comment. The next time, I said still no bodies? Again, there was general discomfort, laughter, and one guys said, Jesus Christ, under his breath. For my part, if you know this area, you know I’m only half joking. I am thanking God that they didn’t find a body. I watch too many murder mysteries, I guess. This morning as we went by, that part of the job is finished. I can’t wait to watch their progress.
About 2 months ago, TJ published The Man Who Rode Dragons. This is a fun adventure/fantasy story about Bill and Larry (and Larry’s girlfriend) who by a peculiarity in the vortex, find themselves in the realm of magical creatures. This is a place where dreams come from. After spending two days there, Bill and Larry return but have no memories of the place. Then, the day before graduation from Arizona State University, two people arrive from the other realm. They need Bill and Larry’s help. Neither Bill nor Larry remembers anything about their trip to the other side. The two from the other realm return their memories to them. When that happens, they agree to go back. There is one glitch. Diana, Larry’s girlfriend, wants to go as well. During the memory transfer, she learns what they remember. Now the three are off on an adventure they never expected.
I, also, have finished a novel, The Yavapai County Murders, Detective Allen Anderson, and his assistant, Rebecca Tsosie, are on a new adventure to solve another serial murder in their small town of Ash Fork, Arizona. Rebecca is in her last semester at the NAU branch at Yavapai College in Prescott. She hears about murders happening there. Young men who went to Ash Fork High School are found dead. She and Detective Allen begin assisting the Prescott Police Department to ascertain who may be involved, what the motive is, and whether or not they can help before more young men are killed.
This story is a follow-on (sequel, I guess) to Death at Hells Canyon Quarry.
We, the Mirror Gate Chronicles Team, will be participating in the Desert Foothills Book Festival this coming weekend, October 18! If you are nearby, you should come see us! We’ll be outside near the entrance under our canopy from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here’s the address: The Holland Center, 34250 N 60th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85266
We pray over all of our events & our books, asking God to let His will be done with them. They are not all Christian themed. A few of them are, though. You can see them under our names/book pages on this website.
We would love to see you, we would love to hear from you, we would love to see your reviews if you read our books!
Mirror Gate Chronicles 