Marina Melee is now available as an E-Book!

I took the plunge into the e-book world! Marina Melee is now available as an ebook in a variety of formats (Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, IPad, etc) through online bookstores like Amazon and Barnes and Noble, or at Smashwords.com.

Enjoy!

Chasing the Chupacabra

Interested in what I'm working on now? Here's a "teaser"!

CHUPACABRA

Bestselling mystery author Jack Halliman has problems. His wife threw him out of their house and will only speak to him through her attorney, their daughter won’t speak to him at all, and his super sleuth protagonist, Franz Henle, has gone silent in his head, leaving Jack unable to write a word of his next novel. The only one who still wants to talk to him is his agent wondering when the next manuscript is coming. Running away from his problems has worked for Jack in the past, so he thinks some distance might be just the answer to all his troubles now, too.

Jack and his loyal dog Hanna sail to Puerto Rico. When he arrives at the marina, Jack finds a real-life murder mystery—and the dead body to go with it—floating next to his boat.  Now everyone wants to talk to him. The mayor wants him to go hunting in hopes of capturing both some publicity and the prime suspect, the legendary chupacabra. The local police detective wants Jack’s help proving the killings are the work of a man, not a monster. Fourteen-year old Kiki Cristatello wants Jack to convince the police and her parents to lock her away before she uses magic to kill again. And, a mysterious woman who is rumored to be a witch warns Jack that there is more to the chupacabra myth than ignorance and superstition. “People’s belief brings legends to life,” she tells him. “The stronger the belief, the more powerful the god.”

Jack doesn’t have time to get caught up in island folklore and crazy monster hunts. His agent is coming to collect a manuscript he has yet to write. But when Jack becomes a suspect, he has to find out who—or what—is responsible for the killings before he ends up in jail. Could the witch be right? Is the chupacabra more than a scary story? Does believing in monsters make them real? Or is there a madman on the loose, waiting to strike again? Jack’s best hope of finding the truth lies with a fourteen-year old girl, a crazy homeless woman, a self-proclaimed “angel,” and two dogs. He isn’t optimistic about his future.

What are people saying about Marina Melee?

Just thought I'd post some excerpts of reviews  and feedback I've received for Marina Melee. I'm so very pleased!

On Amazon:
This book was a fun read from beginning to end. The author does a great job of portraying the highs and lows of someone "from America" trying to live and work "down island" for the first time. She has a clear understanding of the many details that make island living so complex, and yet so rewarding when you start to relax and get things right. It brought back many great memories of island life when I lived (and tried to work) in the Caribbean a decade ago. Anyone involved in the marina or recreational boating business will love the book for its hilarious portrayals of all the marina characters that make life interesting along the waterfront. -The Professor

This was a fun read. Lynne paints a wonderful portrait of a rich ( because of his father) screw up who buys a marina on a small Caribbean island. He has everything going against him. So how does he manage to screw this one up? Ah, you will just have to read it for yourself. And trust me, you will enjoy it just as much as I did. I loved the use of the Caribbean 'slanguage'. -Tekay

 Lynne Hinkey's hilarious, slightly raunchy, and damn good debut novel should make anyone think twice, maybe three times, about doing serious business in the Caribbean.  - Bob Sanchez
This was a great summer read. It was set in the Caribbean and the description of the island was great! I enjoyed the cast of characters who were well developed. I would recommend this to anyone as a great beach book! -corbinam

And on Facebook:
Connie: I'm loving your book. Especially the coors light joke,
Julia: Just finished the book, and it's awesome! Love the ending! Can't wait to read your next one...
Jim: It's a fun book
Steve: So much fun to see you! The book is so much fun too Very Cool! I am loving the book! almost finished.
Hanna: It's a great book! Can't wait to share it with everyone I know!


I'm now hard at work on my next novel, Chupacabra. Set in Puerto Rico, it's a supernatural murder mystery (think Scooby-Doo) featuring "the Jack Halliman," a best-selling murder mystery writer, and minor character in Marina Melee. When, upon his arrival in Puerto Rico, Jack finds a dead body floating in the marina, life takes a surreal twist and imitates his art. Except the prime suspect in his books has always been a human. Now he's chasing the legendary Chupacabra!

For more details, see my next post: Chasing the Chupacabra.

Bucket Lists

I’m not sure if the term “bucket list” predates the movie by that name or if I was just not aware of it. Or maybe my ADD just won’t let me think that far into the future. I don't know when I'll die or what direction I'll decide to head between now and then. I know I don't want to do or be the same thing "forever." While I do have a few things on the long-term plan list (live in Europe again, possibly Spain, live on a sailboat in the Caribbean), mostly I can't think that far ahead. Who knows when I'll decide something isn't as important or interesting as I once thought it was?

But I do have my own lists of things I want to accomplish. What I call those lists are my “to-do this year” lists. Every year in December, I would look back in my journal or day planner, where twelve months earlier, I’d written what I wanted to accomplish in the upcoming year. Items that I hadn’t done carried over to the new list. I’d also have my decade list: By the time I’m 20, 30, 40 I want to have done x, y, and z.

When I was twenty, I wanted to get my bachelors and masters degree and become a real, working marine biologist, take up running, and later in that decade, return to the VI to live. I also wanted to write and publish a work of fiction. When I was in my thirties, I wanted to get my Ph.D., learn to speak Spanish fluently so that I could move to Costa Rica to work, run a marathon, travel, and write and publish a novel. When I turned forty, I wanted to live in a foreign country, return to a job that was fulfilling, and write and publish a novel.

There were other items on those lists; things that I could and did accomplish in a year, or things that I’ll have to work on forever. Swim more, eat healthier, drink less, be the kind of wife my husband deserves. But the one item that has been on my to-do list since I was a kid, writing and publishing a novel, finally got the big check mark next to it! Aside from moving to Costa Rica (which continues to carry over each year), I’ve completed all my to-do items.

That doesn’t mean I’m done. It just means I have to think of more things to do now. It’s early to start planning this year’s list, but I have.

• Complete the draft of novel #2, edit it, and start looking for an agent or publisher
• Continue to improve in the craft of writing
• Go on vacation to Costa Rica (I’ve downgraded for now, at least until I can convince Matt that it should be on our list)
• Travel

I used to list the countries I wanted to visit, but one of the best lessons I learned living in Germany was to not limit myself when it comes to travel. If you have the chance, GO! There are new and wonderful things to do, see, and learn everywhere. It’s the places you don’t know you should go to that offer some of the best adventures. So, I won’t say where I want to travel to, only that I want to go. If the opportunity presents itself, I’m there, wherever there is.

Now, if I really want to put a check mark next to the first item on that list, I’d better quit procrastinating and get back to that manuscript I’m working on.

Review of Marina Melee

Bob Sanchez at the Internet Review of Books posted a review of Marina Melee. To see what he has to say, go to:

http://internetreviewofbooks.blogspot.com/