Murder Me Twice

Book 1 of The Vacationland Mysteries

Two execution-style killings and a surprise romance make for a full summer for Detective Jeff McClernand in Grace Harbor, Maine, and it’s only June.

The deaths are a far cry from the petty burglaries and small-time crime that typically fill Jeff’s dance card in the fishing village-turned-tourist haven. The victims, retiree Fred Garrett and young newcomer Melanie Branscom, are seemingly unconnected but for the means of their death – a single, clinical gunshot to the head.

Jeff discovers that Fred and Melanie each harbor a violent past and possible ties to Maine’s opioid epidemic. At the same time, federal authorities seek to stop his investigation before he gets too close to several decades-old cases that they want to keep dead and buried.

The arrival of writer Abigail Wrentham further complicates Jeff’s life as he discovers an immediate, undeniable, and very distracting attraction. Together, Jeff and Abigail must solve the murders, past and present, and navigate a passionate romance, all before the killer strikes again.

Chris Watson is a father, a sailor of small boats and tall ships, a passionate storyteller, public speaker, and an award-winning professional writer for corporate and nonprofit organizations for more than 25 years. His contemporary mystery, MURDER ME TWICE, set in the fictional town of Grace Harbor, Maine, is now under representation with Christmas Lake Literary.

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The Blog: Musing and More

Tools of the Trade

by Chris Watson | January 15, 2023 | Best Practices, Events, The Writing Process | 0 Comments

As the publishing industry has expanded through innovative platforms and an explosion of indie authors, so too has the technology to support them. Whether you’re drafting a manuscript, self-publishing your work, designing a marketing plan, leveraging social media for...

The Empty Spaces Between the Other Times

by Chris Watson | January 15, 2022 | Original Writing | 0 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about time ever since I received the call at 5:55 PM on a Wednesday. How much time it took me to put on my jacket. To sprint from my office, down the hall, and out to my car. To drive across the bridge to Jamestown to be with my stepmother and...

Inspired or Not

by Chris Watson | October 24, 2021 | The Writing Process | 0 Comments

Quote of the Day: “If you’re only going to write when you’re inspired, you may be a fairly decent poet, but you will never be a novelist — because you’re going to have to make your word count today, and those words aren’t going to wait for you, whether you’re inspired...

A Writer Who Respected Her Audience and Her Characters

by Chris Watson | March 26, 2021 | Authors | 0 Comments

RIP Beverly Cleary. I adored her books as a child and now, as a parent, I’ve loved them all over again as I read them to my daughter and then watched her become a huge fan of reading as a result. I think she can recite Ramona the Pest word for word by now. I also love...

Seeing is Believing: Map and Manuscript

by Chris Watson | October 15, 2020 | The Writing Process | 0 Comments

While on my writing retreat in western Massachusetts, I realized I had no idea where I was going. Well, not me but my characters. I was 80,000 words into my manuscript, characters were leaving the city in which much of the action takes place, and I couldn’t recall...

Sneakers Greatest Hits and Sneakers Light

by Chris Watson | October 2, 2020 | The Writing Process | 0 Comments

I’m faced with a challenge. A professional resource whose opinion I’ve come to trust advises that I need to cut another 7,000 to 9,000 words from my manuscript to avoid an automatic “too many words” deletion at the hands of prospective agents looking to work through a...

Want to Make Your Case in the New York Times?

by Chris Watson | September 19, 2020 | Best Practices, Media | 0 Comments

Not all writing is just for fun and fiction. Sometimes you want to get another story out there, perhaps your view on some news of the day, community issue, or social concern (as you know, we’re not hurting for those types of topics right now). When trying to get your...

Panic Attack

by Chris Watson | May 3, 2020 | The Writing Process | 0 Comments

“The wonderful thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting. The terrifying thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting.” ― J.K. Rowling “You’re having a panic attack. Write your way out of it.” “Thank you so much for your...

I’m a Writer and I Have an Addiction

by Chris Watson | January 4, 2020 | The Writing Process | 0 Comments

It’s amazing how you can fall into patterns that aren’t recognizable when you’re writing disconnected chapters over the space of a year or so. It’s only when you see the whole thing from front to back (and new eyes look at it as well) that you discover an unfortunate...

Writing Retreat…By the Numbers

by Chris Watson | June 7, 2019 | The Writing Process | 0 Comments

OK, here’s how the retreat wrapped up Days: 6 with the first one really spent figuring out how I was going to organize myself and write during this retreat (harder than it sounds), and 5 focused on serious writing and revision New words written: 25,000+ Words reviewed...

Murder Me Twice

Book 1 of The Vacationland Mysteries

The Blog: Musing and More

Christopher R. Watson