There is a thing that happens
When you do a difficult thing
You develop an ability
To do more difficult things
But there’s a catch
Once you start
You can’t stop
So it’s a commitment
And that’s a problem for a lot of people
Because it requires…
Sacrifice
And the thing you sacrifice when you commit to doing difficult things
Is the person you are
OR who you think you are
And that can be the scariest thing in the world
Because the majority of us tell a bunch of little white lies to the man (or woman) in the mirror
To keep our comfort
Warm showers, warm bed, warm body to curl up with
Salty food, bland tv shows, cushioned chairs
A hundred ways we have designed our lives to keep our comfort
Too hot?
Turn down the AC.
A little snacky for a taste of something?
Pop open a bag of chips and drink an extra large high fructose carbonated sugar water
My favorite of these is Coke
Cushion shoes, and expandable waist bands
The list goes on and on
A thousand adjustments so we don’t have to experience more than a few minutes of discomfort
Day after day until it’s more than a habit or routine
It is a way of life
Our way
And it erodes the vast majority of people into…
Homogeny
A sameness
A bland way of living
Or worse
A bland way of thinking
A narrow way of looking at the world through the lens of comfort
And anything that shows up outside that lane
is weird
is crazy
is stupid
Except…
On the outside of that lane is an incredible world
A world of failing and learning
A world of getting better
Picking up a musical instrument
Learning a new language
Learning to knit or crochet
Growing a garden
Building a table
Building anything with your hands that you have never done
Pushing
going on a bike ride longer than you have ever gone
Talking to someone who disagrees with you about everything
Exposing your self to something hard every day
Hard to think
Hard to learn
Hard to try and harder to do
Every single day
Yes, it’s a life long commitment to learning how to live with discomfort
But…
Once you do, that long life becomes brighter, more vivid and just plain BETTER
Because doing hard things teaches you something about yourself
And if you Get After It and keep after it
You’ll love that self more than anyone ever has in your life
SUNSET SUSPECTS
5 Books for $5 Boxset
The Gumbo Files: A Gulf Coast PI Mystery Collection
Retirement was supposed to be simple.
Sunshine. Fishing. Quiet mornings. Maybe a little golf.
Then Gumbo Malone found a dead body.
Then another.
And another.
Now the former corporate executive turned accidental PI can’t seem to walk into a bar, marina, condo meeting, or beachfront bingo hall without stumbling into a crime someone really doesn’t want solved.
On Florida’s Gulf Coast, the sun is hot… but the secrets are hotter.
And every smiling retiree has something to hide.
This Boxset Includes:
BONE DEEP
A case that starts with a missing contractor and ends with something buried far worse than money.
ABOVE BOARD
There’s no such thing as clean business on the coast—only cleaner lies.
PI PROBLEMS
Gumbo didn’t want the job. The job wanted him anyway.
DUMB AND FAMOUS
A washed-up influencer. A dead assistant. And a scandal that refuses to stay buried.
SWEET TROUBLE
A sugar-sweet small-town façade hiding something rotten underneath.
Welcome to Florida. Where the water is warm… and the alibis are weak.
Gumbo Malone is not a hero.
He’s not trained.
He’s not licensed.
He’s just stubborn enough to keep asking questions when everyone else wants him to stop.
And in the Gulf Coast retirement communities, beachfront condos, and fading tourist towns—asking the wrong question is how you end up in the water.
Readers who love these will devour SUNSET SUSPECTS:
Carl Hiaasen-style Florida chaos
PI mysteries with humor and bite
Retired-detective / accidental sleuth stories
Quirky small-town crime with sharp twists
Fast, bingeable mystery series with recurring characters
Why readers are hooked on The Gumbo Files:
Because every book starts the same way:
A normal day.
A bad decision.
And a case that won’t stay buried.
5 full novels. Endless trouble. One unbeatable price.
If you like your mysteries sun-drenched, sharp-tongued, and just a little unhinged…
Welcome to the Gulf Coast.
And whatever you do—
don’t retire too peacefully.
👏👏👏👏👏👏