Welcome to The Roll Top Desk Newsletter

don't ask why it's called that... it just sounded right.

Why am I doing a newsletter? Why am I sending it to your mailbox? You would think that with all the communication gimmicks at our fingertips a blog or newsletter is overkill. We have Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and a bunch of other platforms catering to a galaxy of communities with as many centers of interest as there are individuals on the planet.

One of the reasons has to do with the recent turmoil in the social media world. To be depending on the whim of some billionaire tech wizard who can decide to pull the plug without warning is a bit unnerving. With a newsletter, I can stay in touch with friends, readers, and other writers independently of events I have no control over.

So, what will this newsletter be about?

Writing news of course, but not only. I plan to share mood pieces, recipes, photos, books I’ve read, films I’ve seen, and the like. Once a month. A cultural buffet that I hope will amuse you. This will also be the place where I’ll post snippets of work in progress – goodies that won’t be available anywhere else. Scoops!

This being the first issue and a welcome post, a little housekeeping to begin.

Website launch

It took a while but I finally decided that having an author website was a good idea. All my short stories are now in a neat, well-organized and frequently updated place, with the links a hundred times verified to make sure they work. If you haven’t read some of them it’s an opportunity to catch up. Added bonus: most of these are free to read.

The website is also preparation for the launch of the first Declan Shaw book, Street Song, that will be published by TouchPoint Press next year. As soon as I have the release date and the cover design, I will let you know. The site is at www.shawmystery.com and includes a sample of chapter 2 as an appetizer.

Short stories

I wrote a tiny piece Boating Day for Punk Noir Magazine. You can read it for free, or if you want to hear what happens when Scott Cumming (@tummidge), a poet from Scotland, reads it listen to his podcast. The story takes place on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico, and Scott's reading adds a spoonful of single malt to the brew!

Pulp Modern published my story Apples in the Attic in their Special Halloween issue. I am in great company, with stories from Ramsey Campbell (a classical haunting that revolves around books), John Kojak (a freaky presence on board a Navy ship), Sarah Cannavo (where does that clown come from?), Brandon Barrows (the ghost of a victim helps solve a crime), Stanley Rutgers (how far would a writer go to get a story accepted?), and others. A great issue in the time-honored tradition of pulp literature. You'll find it on Amazon. Don’t let the cover below scare you!

That’s it for now. See you next month!

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