Byron's Bibliomania

This weekend chilly weather hit Central Texas; thank God. It was nice to don long sleeved shirts and jackets and not have to run the air conditioner.

We’re in the final throes of working on the proof of our new novel The Iris Covenant due to be released late this year or early next year.

Last month we had our dining room and office painted as well as the front door refinished. With that we’ve had every room in the house repainted since we moved in. We also bought a round granite top table dinette set for the breakfast nook. It’s a much better fit for the room than our old dinette set.

Next now that the weather is cooler, we’re having the exterior brick power washed and trim repainted as the house is 13 years old. Nothing like being a happy home owner.

Our sons and families are well. We’re happy that both sons are gainfully employed considering the state of the economy.

Since our last blog, we saw three movies that were noteworthy – Trouble with the Curve (Clint Eastwood’s movie was much better than we expected), Won’t Back Down (A good story of a mother and a teacher overcoming odds to save a failing school in Pittsburgh) and Taken 2 (Liam Neeson in an exciting follow up thriller to the original).

Last Friday drove 100 miles to the Round Top, TX area to an antique and flea market spread along four miles of rural highway. Although it was hot and dusty, the experience was enjoyable and we found a bargain for our effort.

We’re looking forward to the cooler weather and the upcoming holidays.

Here we are on Labor Day. Hard to believe the months have passed so quickly.

Last week we approved the design for the cover of our latest novel The Iris Covenant.

Below is the promo for the book that is to be released either the end of this year or the first of next year.

A young nuclear scientist is found dead in the parking lot of a Virginia laboratory. The briefcase he was carrying has disappeared.

A hero abroad and at home, Buck Whithers gains new notoriety when he saves a mother and her son from a murderous attack. But when tragedy strikes his own family, Buck is ill prepared to respond to a faceless opponent. A phone call in the dead of night opens the door to the shadowy world of global industrial espionage, and Buck is led to believe that the death of his son is related to the theft of industrial secrets. He agrees to demands of secrecy in hopes of finding justice for his son. The unfolding drama reveals a scheme bigger than he could have imagined, striking at the heart of America’s nuclear power. An enemy rooted in decades of resentment strives once again to use America’s resources against her. The leader of the conspiracy, a corporate mogul, is driven by an ancient vow of vengeance that reaches back to World War II.

When a sensitive facility is seized by terrorists, Buck’s plans for revenge are put on hold, and he is called to active duty. From Kyoto to the Gulf of Mexico, one man’s industrial espionage tightens its grip on American power. Building from Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, The Iris Covenant binds the far-reaching consequences to the personal impact each decision will have.

Can peace ever settle between the nations that inflicted such suffering upon each other? Betty Byron and Cassius Mullen offer a testament to enduring loyalty and profound love in this sweeping drama. A sweeping drama of clashing countries, The Iris Covenant portrays the lengths two families will pursue to right the wrongs committed against their ancestors.

It’s been a while since we last updated our Blog. We’ve been busy editing our next novel The Iris Covenant most of June and July in order to keep on the publisher’s schedule. Right now we’re coordinating the cover with the designer. We expect the book to be released early next year if not sooner.

Cash, Jr. and Douglas and families treated us to dinner for our 50th wedding anniversary the end of last month. As we look back, it’s hard to believe a half century has passed since we were married on the hottest day of the year in Louisville.

We took a couple of breathers this month. First we traveled to Ft. Worth and stayed at a B&B. While there we visited the Kimball and Carter art museums. The Kimball museum mainly displayed art from the middle ages and renaissance periods. The Carter museum focused on western and more current art works. We also visited a huge indoor antique mall housed in a former golf equipment factory. Also dined at a few top restaurants.

We just returned from a trip to Rockport on the TX Gulf coast. We stayed at a B&B there as well. Visited the TX Maritime museum and several galleries. While there we dined on fresh sea food.
Over the past couple of weeks we saw two movies – The Dark Knight Rises and The Bourne Legacy. Although both films were entertaining, neither was memorable in our opinion.

Cash, Jr.’s daughters spent the month of July in Wasilla, Ak visiting friends who moved up there a couple of months ago. They should have interesting stories to tell when they return to school next week.

It’s hard to believe Douglas’ son, Nathaniel enters his first year of college next week.

We hope to be more active with the Blog in the future.

The last couple of weeks have really been busy. We received the first edit from our publisher for The Iris Covenant on May 31 and had to have the marked-up manuscript back by June 15. We made it on time in spite of all the other things we did.
On June 9 we had a booksigning in Waco, TX. After the signing we picked up our two granddaughters and brought them to our house for a week stay. During that same period we spent most of our time editing. Between editing sessions we were able to do some things with the girls – movies, flea market in Austin, shopping, dining out, etc.
We had Father’s Day dinner in Waco with our son Cash, Jr. and family.
We were disappointed that the race horse I’ll Have Another went lame and couldn’t run in the Belmont after winning the Derby and the Preakness. We were looking forward to a Triple Crown winner this year.
We went to the Austin new car show in May and enjoyed looking at the new models; a lot better looking than in previous years.
We saw a couple of movies since our last blog entry. The Avengers in 3D was disappointing in that although there were a lot of good special effects, there was little plot. We saw Dark Shadows which could have been funnier. It was okay. Then we saw Men in Black 3 – the best movie we’ve seen in a while; funny; better than MIB2. Last we saw Snow White and the Huntsman; a lot better than Mirror, Mirror.
On June 23 we have another booksigning in San Marcos, TX.
Lastly, we expect to receive the next edit cycle for the novel on June 29 for another two week crunch to turn it around for the publisher. By then the manuscript should be in near final form with two more cycles to touch it up.

Our new novel is a of a different genre – action adventure. It is not historic fiction like our current release; it is pure fiction. Tentatively titled The Iris Covenant, it is currently undergoing editing by our publisher. This industrial espionage thriller is scheduled to be released early 2013. With book signings and working with the publisher on our next novel, we’re going to be busy through the summer and into the fall.

As a reminder, today is the running of the Preakness in Maryland. Let’s keep an eye on I’ll Have Another to see if we’ll have a potential for the Triple Crown. To get in the mood, you should view the movie Secretariat, one of our favorite movies.

Hooray, we’ve had two good rain falls in the past two weeks totalling 3.5 inches according to our rain gauge. This is really helping our new sod take root as well as boosting the growth of the exting shrubbery. More importantly, our lakes and ponds in Central Texas are filling for the long hot summer.

Tonight we plan on eating out and going to the movies, most likely to see The Avengers in 3D. We’ll let you know what we think of the flick.