Monthly Archives: September 2011

The Last Exit ‘Director’s Cut’ Giveaway…

Posted on September 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

Busy, busy, busy. That’s my life these days.  Anyone following this blog should know that. My calendar is filled with deadlines, my days with non-stop writing and editing, and it’s going to stay that way well into the foreseeable future. Not that I’m complaining – in fact I’m having a blast. I promise as some of the dust settles I’ll start posting here a bit more regularly, but until then, I’ll just say it’s Thursday again.

This week, it’s all about the edits, and I’m clearing out some space in my office, giving away a limited number of signed copies of Last Exit In New Jersey.

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Taking a momentary breather…

Posted on September 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

…to mention that it’s Friday, which means yesterday was Thursday, and yesterday’s Write On The Water post pretty much says it all. And with that, I’m back to work!

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Author C.E. Grundler signs a two-book deal with Amazon’s Thomas & Mercer imprint

Posted on September 15, 2011 | 6 comments

Yes, kind readers, it’s true. Last Exit In New Jersey and No Wake Zone will be published in Spring 2012 under the Thomas & Mercer imprint. I would like to thank everyone out there who has helped me reach this point, from those of you who have to deal with me first hand as I walk around plotting murders to the growing number of readers who have enjoyed my story. I do wish to apologize; you’ll all have to wait just a bit longer for No Wake Zone. I originally planned to have it out by late fall of 2011, but my publisher (wow, did I just say that?!) will be putting the professional polish on both books for a Spring 2012 launch.

Being that it’s Thursday, you can find a bit more on this subject over at Write on the Water.

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Where Should We Put This Body…

Posted on September 14, 2011 | 1 comment

I couldn’t resist… what a great heading! I can’t take credit for it, though; it’s the caption from a wonderful review J.P. Hansen posted on his blog for Last Exit In New Jersey

He followed up with a few interview questions with me.

Be sure to check out his site and his other reviews as well!

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And sometimes, everything goes smoothly…

Posted on September 13, 2011 | 3 comments

Such as pulling the transmission last weekend.  We hooked up the straps to support it, removed some bolts, and winched it up to deck level.

That’s not to say anxiety levels weren’t set to ‘high’, though happily none of the worst case scenarios running through my head manifested. The tranny rose from the bilge, we slid the temporary engine hatch beneath and eased it onto a dolly. From there we rolled it out to the cockpit…

And from there, moved it down to the truck, where it was secured and hauled home.


What’s next? Well, the tranny will get a proper service, replacing the old seals and anything else that might be worn. We can replace the worn damper plate, replace the motor mounts and a multitude of other odds and ends around the engine. With the transmission and exhaust removed the already roomy engine room is downright spacious. But now that temperatures are dropping we’re coming into optimal ‘glassing’ range, so the time has come to cut away the delaminated section of the salon ceiling/bridge deck and replace it with the laminated mahogany plywood we built earlier this year, then glass that in place.

I foresee much itching ahead.

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Oh, hey – It’s Thursday…

Posted on September 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

Today, tugboats, Darwin Award candidates and the perils of navigating the internet.

And with that, I return to my non-internet distracted writing.

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What I did over my (last weekend of) Summer Vacation…

Posted on September 6, 2011 | 1 comment

Beach?

Nope.

Barbeque?

A little bit.

Crawl around the engine room and attach our custom-designed temporary motor mounts to the engine and prep to pull the transmission?

Yup.

These temporary motor mounts, will support the rear of the engine once the tranny, resting on the rear motor mounts, comes out.

We would have gotten further, but upon closer inspection of the winch arrangement I decided I’d be more comfortable if it was thru-bolted to the 4×4, rather than lag bolts.


However, due to yesterday being a holiday, local hardware stores were closed, and by time we completed the two hour round trip to the mega-stores that were open it would have been too late to start the next phase of madness.

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Posted in Annabel Lee, boat

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