Writing

For this newsletter this time I should call this section Writing AND Marketing. In the last six months, I’ve enjoyed more signings for WINNER’S CURSE and the other Lynn Dayton thrillers at the Barnes & Noble stores in Dallas (Lincoln Park) and Garland (Fire Wheel). On Saturday, September 27, I’ll be at the Garland Library’s Curiosity Fest from 1 PM – 3 PM. Please stop by.

I’m also looking forward to signing stock at Midland (Texas) Barnes & Noble in October. Recall that Midland is the main setting for WINNER’S CURSE!

I’ve explored other media in the past six months, completing and publishing audiobooks of STRIKE PRICE and THE SECOND LAW to join the one for 13 DAYS. I’ll soon be working on the WINNER’S CURSE audiobook. And—for fun—some third-party video designers have created new, short book trailers for all four of the Lynn Dayton thrillers. You can see them on my YouTube channel, my Goodreads profile, or individually on my website.

I am considering revisions to one book and, as mentioned, expect to create an audiobook for WINNER’S CURSE. And alas, inflation has caught up to book publishing, too. I expect to have to raise the prices on the first three Lynn Dayton thrillers (13 DAYS, STRIKE PRICE, SECOND LAW) in the next few weeks or months. So, if you are planning to buy copies, you may want to do so before the price increases.

Finally–Book 5 in the Lynn Dayton series. I have identified settings and outlined a few scenes, but I do not yet have an outline or a completion date. Next time!

Reading

Since the spring 2025 newsletter, I have read 26 books, only one of which was nonfiction. With so many to recommend, including several Thrillerfest award finalists, here are a few highlights:

*The Truth About the Devlins by Lisa Scottoline;
*Big Bad Wool by Leonie Swann;
*Hotel Ukraine by Martin Cruz Smith;
*The Last Few Miles of Road by Eric Beetner;
*Butter by Asako Yuzuki;
*Nightshade, by Michael Connelly;
*Whatever Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan;
*Mockingjay and The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, both by Suzanne Collins;
*The Oligarch’s Daughter by Joseph Finder, and
*The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs. 

As always, you can find my book reviews on Goodreads.

Energy

Energy news crossed with thriller news as the Energy Information Administration just published a new analysis of the Eastern Mediterranean, one of the key locations in Winner’s Curse!

On the oil-producing side of the business, OPEC+ looks as if it will be oversupplying relative to demand, which has driven oil prices down. This is a challenge for oil producers but is good for oil consumers—all of us who use gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and rely on truck deliveries.

Natural gas is seeing a renaissance as the fastest, easiest power generation fuel, which is important when utilities and tech companies are building new artificial intelligence data centers requiring far more electricity. The lifting of the regulatory pause on LNG terminal permitting also means increased demand for US natural gas because the US is still one of the world’s cheapest natural gas producers.

If of interest for my energy investment articles, see: Laura Starks’s Analysis | Seeking Alpha

If you are able to, please stop by an upcoming event, such as the one in Garland. Or if you want additional copies or to dive into ones in the series you haven’t read, you can find Lynn Dayton books online at Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.

Until next time,
L. A. Starks

Fiction (books) by L. A. Starks– in reverse order (The Lynn Dayton Thrillers):

WINNER’S CURSE: A Lynn Dayton Thriller
Publisher: Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC. Print ISBN 9780991110759, August 2024, $22.95. E-book ASIN B0DBFKG71J, August 2024, $9.98.

THE SECOND LAW: Lynn Dayton Thriller #3
Publisher: Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC. Print ISBN 9780991110742, October 2018, $18.95. E-book ASIN B07JLDGTVL, October 2018, $8.12.

STRIKE PRICE: Lynn Dayton Thriller #2
Publisher: Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC. 3rd revised edition Print ISBN 9780991110704, March 2014, $18.95. E-book ASIN B01K5Y406A, August 2016, $8.99.

13 DAYS: THE PYTHAGORAS CONSPIRACY-Lynn Dayton Thriller #1
Publisher: Nemaha Ridge Publishing Group, LLC. 2nd edition Print ISBN 978-0991110711, August 2016, $18.95. E-book ASIN B015LI65GI, September 2015, $7.99. Audiobook with Virtual Voice narration, ASIN B0CTXNVNY2, February 2024, $1.99.

Short stories by L. A. Starks, in reverse chronological order

  • “Risk Reduction,” in RECKLESS IN TEXAS, Metroplex Mysteries Volume II, March 2023. Print ISBN 979-8385749362, $11.99. E-book ASIN: B0BW2KJPJW $4.99.
  • “Josh Rosen & Bubbe” gives insight into the series character Josh Rosen and his relationship with his grandmother when she falls ill. 2014. ASIN: B00O854YKA, $0.99. (Amazon Kindle)
  • “A Time for Eating Wild Onions” introduces two key characters in the second Lynn Dayton book, STRIKE PRICE. The tragedy that befalls them profoundly shapes the next generation. 2007. ASIN: B003NE6DGA, $0.99. (Amazon Kindle)
  • “Robert and Thérèse Guillard: Choices” is a story about 13 DAYS’ Parisian antagonist and how it feels to fly in a wing suit. 2007. ASIN: B003NE6D74, $0.99. (Amazon Kindle)

Flash Fiction by L. A. Starks

“Why Are You Running?” in A YEAR OF SHORTS and DOG DAYS OF SUMMER anthologies.

*A YEAR OF SHORTS: FLASH FICTION, Print ISBN: 979-8519555579, June 2021, $5.99. E-book ASIN: B096Y7WBH6, June 2021, $1.99.

*DOG DAYS OF SUMMER: FLASH FICTION, May 2021, E-book ASIN: B095J998Q9, $0.99.

Short Stories Out of Print

“Incurable,” which bubbled up as I developed one of the antagonists in THE SECOND LAW, was originally published on Amazon Kindle, 2020. (out of print)

“Gumbo Filé,” which also provides some of the backstory for THE SECOND LAW, was originally published in DREAMSPELL NIGHTMARES, 2010. (out of print)