All Categories - Nicholas Crabtree/A.K.A. D.E.Jackson-Author

New Novel For Sale By Owner now available

1/13/2019

Rick and Janet saw the For Sale by Owner sign purely by chance. They had no idea that by showing interest in the property they would be involved in murder, fraud, attempted murder and strange happenings that could not be explained.
The home was just what they were looking for, an ocean view, the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms and so on. When they pulled up to the front of the house, they encounter a man they presume is the owner, he appears to occupy the house with his daughter, or so he says.
The house sale proceedings become stranger by the minute especially when the State Police and the Coast Guard show up at the attorney’s office during the paperwork singing. They inform the group that the homeowner and his daughter are feared dead and that they have ended their search.
Strange things begin to manifest themselves that pull Rick, Janet and their neighbor Adam into the search for the missing father and daughter. The home owners brother pushes for the sale to move quickly to a conclusion causing the group to wonder why?
The sound of the horn coming from the small sailboat stopped the two coast guard seamen as they loaded their gear on the inflatable. Both men stared at the small boat laying on its side on the stony harbor, their minds told them it was not possible. And yet, they both heard it…

Meet Sammy the Squirrel Illustrator

12/21/2018

“Abbagail Fry is a seventeen-year old artist and illustrator whose imagination helps her to see beyond simple lines and words. She’s illustrated several books, including the Discover The Treasure Yourself series. Her love of learning comes from her love of reading, and she says “Books are like train tickets and taxi cabs, they can take you anywhere you want to go.” Abbagail loves creative writing and creating art. She currently resides in Selma, North Carolina.”

Check out her latest work on the Sammy the Squirrel series of books. Her illustrations bring the words to life.

My new novel For Sale by Owner

11/30/2018

Out soon my new mystery thriller with twists and turns in every chapter.

A couple are looking to buy a house in New England and find the home of their dreams on the Southern end of Cape Cod. Odd things begin to happen from the moment they pull into the driveway of a hose that is For Sale by Owner.

It is not long before they are involved in a conspiracy of murder, fraud and odd paranormal occurrences.

A feint smile slid across the face of the tall gray figure standing in the corner of their hotel room.

Take a ride with Rick and Janet as they become more and more embroiled in this mystery of murder and intrigue. Try to figure out who is who and what is what as the characters reveal themselves.

The Coast guard and the state police get involved from the beginning and even they have a hard time understanding what is going on.

As the two coast guard sailors were loading their gear back onto their inflatable craft, the horn from the yacht Lynette sounded again.

"Huh, how can that be happening, there is no one aboard and the battery has been removed." They quickened the loading of the gear.

The Adventures of Sammy the Squirrel

11/29/2018

These are the adventures of Sammy the Squirrel and his friend Scrappy, follow them on their numerous adventures as they explore the swamps and forests around where they live.

In their first adventure Sammy and Scrappy decide to go river rafting on a piece of wood they find in the swamp. Their adventure soon turns to peril as their control of the piece of wood gets away from them.

The quiet and lazy stream soon turns to a raging torrent, their little plank of wood streaks through the water terrifying it's passengers.

Read along to see what happens to the two intrepid squirrels as they sail along on their piece of wood.

Ghost Writing

5/19/2015

I am currently in the process of writing a trilogy of stories about a terrorist that wreaks havoc in the US, but due to commitments and time constraints I am struggling to complete the work.
Having consulted with a number of ghost writers to help, I find that the only way I can gain any ground is to pay them an upfront fee.

My hope is to find a writer that sees the opportunity and the vision of the stories and would be willing to invest in the time to help complete the stories and reap the rewards at the end.

I have been assured that the premise of the stories are relevant to the times and the complexity or simplicity of the actions are the key to a resounding success.

Countless research has gone into the technical, and physical aspects of the story, now the only thing left is to flesh out the books in their entirety. Once complete these stories could become the most acclaimed works. So we will see where this story goes.

Book Review - An Innocent Man

5/6/2015

Even though this book was published in 2006 it seemed an appropriate read with all of the trials and forthcoming litigations about to unfold.

This, in my opinion, is a classic case or cases of rush to judgment, the police think they have their man and even without damning physical evidence they pursue not only a conviction but the death penalty. The attorneys are no better, their prosecution tactics are a joke and as for the defense I was left wondering throughout the book whose side they were on. I don't normally read non-fiction because I find reality stranger than fiction and in some cases harder to believe.

Below is a quote from John, this quote drew me in to read the book, it is a powerful statement and a fantastic example of how an author, in just a few words, can pull you in and entice you to read their work.

The crime in all of this as in any injustice, the defendant has to spend extreme amounts of money to hire an attorney to defend themselves even though there is no case to begin with. Whatever happened to fair play and sitting down with both parties and talking through the situation. Then again if that were to happen more often than not, more attorneys would have to find other employment.

"If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you."John Grisham

Sticky The Stink Bug

3/13/2015

   At different times of the year we are visited and in some cases invaded by different species of bugs. Some are too tiny to see, others are just downright annoying but some can have an interesting side.
   And so we begin the tales and adventures of Sticky the Stink bug and his friends.
   Stink bugs get their name from the obnoxious odor they emit when they are agitated or squished. So try not to squish them, plus once you read the tale of Sticky The Stink Bug you may come to like these odorous little creatures just a tiny bit.

   The tale begins with an urban legend type of story that has been passed along by insects word of mouth or in most cases mandible. The legendary glow in the dark stink bug is at the center of the story. As the legend states, the glow in the dark stink bug was once trapped inside a microwave oven for 20 seconds not only to survive but have the ability to glow in the dark.
   Sticky decides that he must seek out the legend to see if the story is true. He enlists the help of his friends Speedy and Slider and they set off across the vast inside of the house to find the legend. Their journey takes them through perilous ravines, down dark passages and encounters with four legged furry monsters.
   Stay tuned to this website for the release of the first of numerous stories involving Sticky The Stink Bug.

Has Reading gone to the Dogs?

3/5/2015

So where have all the readers gone?
I recently did an unofficial survey of my close family, a cross section of ages and backgrounds. I simply questioned the last time any one of the family members sat down and read a book, turned the pages and enjoyed the written word on paper.

To my astonishment only a few members had read any kind of publication or book since high school. So I applied math to the result and found only 15% of my survey subjects read books. (a good basic number to be aware of if you are a writer)

I suppose in this day and age of technology and the incessant need for instant gratification in the newer generations the results are not that much of a surprise. Even this blog falls in the same category.

Currently, I am working on a novel and to make sure that the facts contained in the novel I had to do some scientific research. I could have easily "googled" the information but I decided it would be much more fun to hunt down the information I was looking for in the library's reference sections. As detective sleuth would track down any information pertaining to the case I tracked down the information I needed to support the technical parts of my story.

Along the way, I encountered curious other library attendees, some inhabitants were there to read, some to research and some to just evade the cold outside. One of these frigid weather evaders asked me what I was doing so I explained. The returning comment was "why not just google the information". My reply was simple, "If I had googled the information then I would not have met an interesting character such as yourself"

My point is, reading, writing and researching is not just satisfying and relaxing, but it also gets us in touch with our fellow man in person. Entirely the opposite to the technologically obsessed generation of today that communicate with their thumbs.

Story Ideas

2/15/2015

I am often asked where my story ideas come from, and the simple answer is, everywhere. They come from everyday observations, triggers, such as news items, travel experiences or a simple conversation.
For example, my story The Oncers is an adaptation of my childhood fears. I grew up in a traditional English house with a formal lounge or family room as we call it, the house had a simple dining room off the kitchen. The only trouble was that the dining room and the lounge were on opposite sides of the house forcing a young boy to go from the dining room to the lounge at various times of the day. This meant he had to pass through the dreaded front entry and pass by the bottom of the stairs. His imagination had told him not to look up the stairs in case the Oncer was returning his look. So That is one example.

One of my newest stories involves a Doctor who is obsessed with the afterlife, or life after death, he endeavors to follow souls or life forces at the moment of passing. He hand his assistant create and environment and a piece of equipment to follow the life force as it leaves the human remains, only to find that the journey does not end there. They follow the life force or entity as it moves on only to be totally surprised and shocked at where the life force finally ends up.

This story comes from a personal experience in an MRI machine, while in the machine for a lengthy period of time this idea came to me, so I embellished it and am in the throes of completing the story.

There are many more in the archive, it is just a matter of putting them on the page for all to enjoy, think about and may be even a little thrilled at times.