Lots of things have been going on. Two new books have been released. ‘The Golden Disc of the Mayans’ came out in KINDLE and paperback versions on Aug. 13, 2025. It’s the third book in the Lizard Key Series following the adventures of the modern-day pirate, Nick Roberts. And now, the second book in the Victor Grant, Private Detective series, ‘DRAGON EYES’ was released on Oct. 28 in both KINDLE and paperback versions. All books are available through AMAZON BOOKS. Just type in my name and they should all come up.
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Victor Grant, Private Investigator: Dragon Eyes
When Victor Grant, a private investigator, gets a call from Detective Captain Walt Ritter from the San Francisco Police Department he gets an offer he can’t refuse. As a former police detective with the SFPD, Victor and Walt are old friends. The assignment seems simple. A wealthy widowed relative of Walt’s wants a bodyguard to escort her on a very secretive trip to Hawaii where she plans to buy something. She won’t divulge what it is, but she is a well-known art collector, so it’s assumed it’s a valuable art object.
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The Gold Disc Of The Mayans
In 1542 Spanish conquistadors led by El Mozo began their final conquest of the Mayans in the Yucatan area of what is now Mexico. The Mayan king knew the end was near and gave his son the assignment to hide their most sacred object before it would fall into the hands of the Spanish. The object was a golden disc with a pure quartz stone in the middle and was said to be a gift from the Gods. The disc was kept in a box made of jade and the young prince was instructed to hide in a place where it could not be found. It should remain hidden until such time when the Mayans could rise up again against their Spanish oppressors.
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News from Lizard Key Books
Summer 2025
I haven’t posted any news for some time, so here it goes. Two books have come out so far in 2025, ‘Ride into Hell’ and ‘Brimley, TX- Lies, Lust, Corruption, Murder’. Both books are part of the ‘Texas Jack’ western series.
In other book news, the third book in the ‘Lizard Key’ series, ‘The Golden Disc of the Mayans’ is completed and will be available soon. This is the third book following the adventures of the modern-day pirate, Nick Roberts. The second book in that series, ‘Black Bart’s Treasure’ is now back and available on Amazon as a second edition with a new cover. Originally, the book was self-published before it was picked up by a publisher. I went through it and made some corrections/changes, a new cover was produced, and the book is now released.
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Texas Jack: Brimley, TX
Lies, Lust, Corruption, Murder
A Western Adventure: Texas Jack Book 10
Joshua Brimley went to Texas just prior to the end of the Civil War. He was a tough, hard man willing to fight and take land. He pushed out the Indians and fought off bandits to build his Empire Ranch. He rounded up stray cattle and any other cattle he found, branded or not. If they were on his ranch, they were his cattle. The Empire Ranch was vast and before long he had established a town bearing his name. Joshua didn’t care which way the war ended because he would still have his land.
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Texas Jack: Ride into Hell
A Western Adventure: Texas Jack Book 9
When Jack McKenna, Texas Jack, first met Grady Jones, he was a quiet family man with a wife and daughter. He fought in the Civil War on the Union side and after the war he became bitter and disillusioned. His marriage changed all that and he renounced violence and became Preacher Jones, a peaceful man of God.
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August News from Lizard Key Books
Over the last four weeks or so, two new books were released. The second book in the Bo Avery series, ‘The Adventures of Bo Avery-Shanghaied’ is a continuation of Bo’s story when he reaches San Francisco. It took some time for this book to come out, but it’s now available in KINDLE and paperback formats.
My newest book is a departure from other stories I’ve written but still a historical fiction type book. The publisher asked a small group of authors to write some war related adventure type stories. I already had an unpublished short story of that type, so I decided to do some research and possibly expand and re-write the story. This story takes place in the Solomon Islands in 1939 as the war in Europe begins and the Japanese are at war in China and making inroads into the South Pacific and Indonesia. It’s called ‘The Voyage of the Island Girl – A wartime tale of the South Pacific’. It is currently available in the KINDLE format with the paperback version coming out in a few weeks.
Continue reading August News from Lizard Key BooksBuffalo Milk
This is another Catalina favorite… think of it as a milkshake for adults! There are several bars on the island that make this drink and the recipe can vary a little. As you can see, there is no buffalo milk in the drink… I don’t think I would even try to milk a buffalo! I understand they get pissed off easily!
BUFFALO MILK
Ingredients
- 1/2 shot Crème de Cacao dark
- 1/2 shot Crème de Cacao white
- 1/2 shot Kahlua
- 1 shot vodka
- 1/2 shot cream
- 1/2 piece of a fresh banana
- 1 sprinkle of nutmeg
- 1 whipped cream topping
Preparation
Add everything except the last two items in a blender half full of ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a glass. Add a dab of whipped cream and sprinkle with nutmeg on top.
Santa Catalina Island Golf
When Your Home Golf Course Is Catalina Island
Golf is often referred to as the game you love to hate. No matter how good you think you are, the “Golf Gods” are always ready and able to knock you down and return you back to earth. You might be able to string together a couple of good holes. You get a couple of pars, then you get that birdie and start feeling really good about your game… then that double or triple boogie comes along; the horrible sand trap; the deadly water hazard, and you quickly become mortal again. It’s the great equalizer in life and even happens to the great ones. How many of us smile just a little when you watch golf on TV and see a great pro player have that horrible hole just like the rest of us. Since I play for fun and don’t have to depend on my game to support myself (thank God!), I try not to take the game too seriously.
I have been fortunate to have played some of the most beautiful courses in the world, the Olympic Club, the Old Del Monte Course, The Presidio S.F., Cabo del Sol, just to name a few, but there is nothing like playing island golf. “Mainland” courses are pretty, but when you add golf to an island, the courses become truly beautiful.
I have played the Tryall Club Course in Jamaica, the Waikoloa King’s Course and Wailea Golf Club Hawaii, the Pearl in Morea, the Coronado and yes, I have even played at St. Andrews in Scotland. What they all have in common is that they are located on islands! What I consider to be my “home island course” is here on Catalina.
All the courses I have listed above have their own unique histories. Many have hosted major tournaments and as we all know, St. Andrews is the legendary home of golf. We here in Catalina have a great deal to be proud of with our course history as well. Our course was built by the Banning Brothers in 1892 and is the oldest operating course west of the Rock Mountains. Not only has the Catalina course been played by numerous movie stars, athletes and celebrities over the years but is was the home to the Bobby Jones Invitational from 1931-1955. The Catalina Island Junior Golf Tournament started in 1967. Future pro golfers, Corey Pavin, Craig Stadler and Tiger Woods played in the tournament.
If you visit Catalina, take a little time to enjoy golf here. And for those of us who play here on a regular basis, next time you play a round, take a moment to remember the history, enjoy the beauty and realize how fortunate we are to be in such a special place.
Reprinted from the Catalina Islander February 10, 2017
Seaplanes in Catalina
Sea Planes have been crossing from the California mainland to the Channel Islands for almost a century. The first service was operated by Charlie Chaplin’s half-brother Syd in 1919. Operating for a couple of years, other firms moved in to operate the service until 1931 when Wrigley stepped up.
Phillip K. Wrigley, began the Wilmington-Catalina Airline, Ltd. through his Santa Catalina Island Company, and took over the sea plane services. The airline’s fleet were mostly comprised of Douglas Dolphin’s designed by Donald Douglas.
In 1931, Wrigley helped design a unique airport at Hamilton Cove, the 2nd cove north of Avalon, to accommodate the Douglas Dolphin ‘Amphibion’ planes. The twin-engine Dolphins landed just offshore & would taxi up a ramp to a large turntable mechanism. The airplane would then be rotated until it was facing the water & ready for a trip back to the mainland. A small Spanish-style terminal building welcomed residents, business people & tourists to Catalina.” There was also a large hanger behind the terminal building.
According to the Catalina Goose, Wilmington-Catalina Air Line was noted in the March 1941 issue of Flying & Popular Aviation as “the shortest airline in the world.” The article points out that not only was Wilmington-Catalina Air Line, serving 2 towns less than 30 miles apart, the shortest but also the safest airline, having flown the channel 38,000 times carrying over 200,000 passengers with no accidents or injuries between 1931-41.
Seaplane service was discontinued & replaced by a landplane base in the spring of 1941 and following the entry of the USA into WWII, civilian air traffic to Catalina Island was shut down and the Coast Guard took over the Hamilton Cove Seaplane Base.
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