My latest book, Ghosts of Maryland, is now available for pre-order and will be released in January!

"Explore the supernatural history of Maryland through ghost stories and legends, and discover why the state may be one of the most haunted in America. Learn how a woman, killed by an oil lamp, locked the parlor doors of her house from her coffin. Play cards with the devil in a home where a ghost led a player to a hidden gold chain. See the impression left in a bed at the Dr. Samuel A. Mudd house and discover what person of infamy may have left it. Solve the mystery of the ghost of a headless peddler that kept pointing a stick at the ground, and read about the testimony of a ghost used in court. These and other stories form a comprehensive collection of ghosts in Maryland, including details unearthed for the first time in decades!"

Available at:
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble
Booksamillion.com
Schiffer Books

Originally published at R&R Developments on 10/27/2009:

The world of private investigator Chase Michael DeBarlo is about to make its long-awaited game debut. After a number of false starts dating all the way back to 1997, the witty detective of Fallsbury, Massachusetts, will finally find his way to the PC this October as a collection of small, single-puzzle "mini-mysteries."

Mike Ricksecker, author of the Chase Michael DeBarlo novel Deadly Heirs, produces a monthly newsletter which includes a solvable DeBarlo mystery. The solutions for each month's case is provided in the following month's newsletter. The mini-mystery games will provide a fun and interactive way to verify the reader's solutions a month ahead of time.

Since the current story arc is already two episodes or "chapters" deep, the second chapter, "Chestnut Park," will be republished in the newsletter with the first chapter provided as a text piece from within the game menu to give new readers and players background of the case they're currently working. This may be a bit unconventional, but R&R Developments didn't want to reboot the entire arc and force current readers to wait even longer for the third chapter. Also, the game is provided as a free additional component to the newsletter at this time.

President and Game Design Lead of R&R Developments, Mike Ricksecker explains the DeBarlo game vision. "We have big plans for Chase Michael DeBarlo in a virtual world setting. Robin and I are a bit hesitant to show our hand, but this is really just the beginning of something much larger that we think readers (and now players) of the series will really find immersive. In the short run, we're looking to expand from the stand-alone format of 'Chestnut Park' and making the gameplay more community-oriented online. It's likely we won't see that until the second 'book' as we continue to streamline and enhance what we're currently doing, but it's definitely in the works."

A special guest appearance from the rock band StoneWater (www.stonewaterrocks.com ), with whom R&R Developments has worked with in the past, is also slated in a future chapter.

While the bigger news is that we've moved to Oklahoma, the news that's a bit more fun to talk about pertains to the good ol' writing career.

I am now, officially, Oklahoma City's Non-partisan Examiner! What this means is that I will be writing articles for the Oklahoma City section of Examiner.com that will take a non-partisan political view. It will be a challenge because I certainly do have some partisan views (check out my American Live Wire articles and podcasts), but I usually try to be as fair as I can be.

This shouldn't take away from my other writing -- Ghosts of Maryland is still due out this coming spring, and I'm working on another Chase Michael DeBarlo novel while still trying to find a new publisher for System of the Dead. I will also have some new media announcements from R&R Developments in the coming weeks as well.

Please take a quick moment to stop by my Examiner articles... I do get a few cents for traffic. :)

Recently the small company a friend of mine works for stopped paying her insurance. Ironically, she had insurance her whole life and never really needed it. Now that she doesn't have it she suddenly has developed some teeth issues thanks to impacted wisdom teeth and 70s-80s silver fillings. She found AmericaSmiles.com and would LOVE to their contest. Help a girl out and vote for her! :D

Please follow these simple instructions to cast a vote for my friend to win a smile makeover! (The more votes she gets the better chance she has of winning)

1) Go to AmericaSmiles.com
2) Select the link that says, A $10,000 SMILE MAKEOVER"
3) Select the "Vote Now" with the orange star on the bottom right side of the page

4) Enter her Winning Code: ams-18073

I will be reading and signing at this year's Bookfest at the C. Burr Artz library in Frederick, Maryland, on Saturday, May 2nd! There will be many activities that will be going on there all weekend long, but the part I'm participating in will run 1:00 - 2:30 PM. 

My 13 year-old daughter, with the help of my wife, has begun her own Avon business. It's her first forray into the business world and we're trying to encourage and support her as much as we can. We're hoping this will teach her about responsibility and self-motivation, and she can gain some pride for herself while bettering her self esteem. These are things with her that we've had a challenge with in her young life, so we're hoping this is something that will help her build a more positive self image. We're asking friends and family to help get her started by purchasing a little something through the website that's been set up for her. With the holidays fast approaching, it's a perfect time to order a gift for a loved one.

Thank you in advance!

http://rricksecker.avonrepresentative.com/

Inspired by the new MySpace background on my page, there are now two new t-shirts available for purchase from the Mike Ricksecker shop. Both feature the eerie house with "Mystery" splattered across the front in chilling red. There's still a bit of time to get one for Halloween and plenty of time as a gift for the holidays.

Men's T-Shirt


Women's V-Neck



Thanks again to Collin for the artwork!

I've had a number of positive comments on my new background, and while I appreciate the compliments I can't take any of the credit. The background was created by my son for the Halloween season as well as my upcoming ghost book. He's been a rather good artist for a number of years and has more recently been trying his hand at Photoshop. His first love is acting, but he definitely has other talents to fall back on should that not work out.

Thanks again for all the kind words!

I'm going to be at the Florida Public Library in Florida, NY, at 6:30 PM on May 15, to discuss the publishing industry and sign copies of Deadly Heirs. I'll cover writing, methods of publishing, agents, query letters, and a few things about myself. I'll also open the floor for a brief Q&A session.

Florida Public Library is in the Catskills area of New York at 4 Cohen Circle, Florida, NY.

Here's the Eventful link:
http://eventful.com/events/florida/books-mike-ricksecker-publishing-talk-with-book-signing-/E0-001-010931640-5

I am being featured today on horror/sci-fi author Gabrielle Faust's Eternal Vigilance website. I took a few moments to sit down and answer questions about:

- What drives me.
- What I consider to be my most significant accomplishment.
- My interests outside of writing.
- My advice to young writers and first time authors.
- How I want the world to remember me.

Link to Eternal Vigilance Site