Ten Days to Jules-Cassidy-mas.
Things are so grim right now.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve already watched Heated Rivalry twice because, well, shoot that hope and love and romance-novel-goodness directly into my veins!!
Last year, during the summer, being a lifelong student of Martin Luther King, Jr., I regularly joined the weekly protests (Wednesdays at 11 AM! And sometimes Thursdays, too!) outside of the Burlington, Massachusetts ICE facility—the office building being used as an inhumane jail—sometimes imprisoning people for days or longer—despite the lack of beds and blankets, with limited bathrooms and no shower facilities.
This building is the New England HQ for ICE, and I recently found out from fellow activists that DHS just delivered twenty-four brand new SUVs to this site. As a result of this ominous news, all of New England is bracing for brutal attack.
I’m currently in Florida, doing my best to spread information like this among my friends and family in New England:
Hey, friends and fam in New England!! Take note!!
Sending special love and support to everyone already fighting for freedom and democracy in Minneapolis, Chicago, Los Angeles...
Me. October 2025, Burlington MA ICE facility. Of course I’m holding a tiny rainbow flag.
Last summer (and through October), up in Mass, I’d take a beach chair and my protest signs to Burlington and park myself away from the very large crowd (as someone with long covid, it’s important I never get acute COV again, and I take that doctor’s advice very seriously), and despite the slight distance and my being seated, I’d stand witness in unity and community with fellow Americans who share my lifelong belief in freedom and justice for ALL.
Because this is how we get through this: Together.
It’s how we get through anything that’s hard—with the help of our partners, our families—chosen or other—and our neighbors and friends.
And that’s what Jules Cassidy, P.I. is about. It’s why I wrote it—why after all this time, I felt the burning need to return to the Troubleshooters series. Writing this book, spending large amounts of time with my old friends Jules and Sam and Robin, made 2025 just a little bit easier for me. (And I hope if and when you read it, you’ll get just a bit of hope and inspiration, too.)
This book is about Jules facing the loss of his career with the FBI. It’s about his good friend and former SEAL Sam Starrett stepping in and stepping up, bringing life to one Sam’s favorite adages: “When a door closes, a window opens, and if that window doesn’t open, you kick the fucker in.”
This book is a bromance novel, focusing on Jules and Sam’s longtime friendship, as Sam helps Jules take on his first case as the new head of the even newer Los Angeles branch of Troubleshooters, Incorporated. It’s about new beginnings and about finding hope and staying in the fight as we hit unexpected forks in the road of life.
There’s a romantic subplot for two secondary characters, Emily and Mick, in this book. But because I wanted the main character to be Jules (and Sam, and also Robin of course, because he and Jules are forevermore a two-for-one), this book isn’t a romance novel.
(FYI, There’s a little bit of Alyssa at the beginning of the book, but she’s basically loaning Sam to Jules for this LA-based adventure. She’s in San Diego, running the office down there.)
So yeah, this book is a mystery—a buddy-movie adventure as Jules and Sam unravel a copious amount of WTF when they attempt to locate a young woman who’s been named heir to a TV producer’s massive fortune.
I saw a picture of David Tennant wearing a similar shirt and absolutely had to have one. After searching the internet, I got this one and a second that’s blue.
There’s also a major subplot that takes place when Jules is a seventeen-year-old high school senior. I wanted to explore Jules’s early years—what makes him join the FBI?
In this subplot, he’s moved with his mom back to her hometown in Connecticut after his dad dies, and he’s the new kid—new gay kid—in a small town. And yeah, highjinks ensue, but even as young as he is, he’s Jules. He can handle it.
All in all, this book is a bit lighter than many of the other books in the Troubleshooters series, because these days life is dire and doom-filled enough, thanks. (Except for the world-wide, enthusiastic, 50-million-thumbs-up response to Heated Rivalry. That is pure light and hope and joy!!)
Jules, despite his crushing disappointment at having to leave the FBI, has always been, for me at least, a character who is filled with inspiring optimism and hope.
And again, let’s circle back to my belief that the best way to survive—and even thrive—during hard times, is with the help and support of our community, our team, our beloved friends.
Jules Cassidy, P.I.’s official public release is January 29th !!
Here’s the page for JULES on my website. Read the blurb, check out an excerpt. Scroll down for the links to your favorite on-line ebooksellers at https://suzannebrockmann.com/books/troubleshooters/julescassidypi/
Some of you have already read JCPI, having participated in my Kickstarter launch for an early and lower priced ebook, along with options for signed paperbacks and hardcovers. (Thank you again! I’ll be sending out an update to those of you who are waiting for signed books soon! There’s movement from the printer!! Whoop!) If you missed the Kickstarter, and you’re interested in getting my next book early, best way to do that is to follow me over at Kickstarter. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/suzannebrockmann/jules-cassidy-pi
The preorder page for JULES at Kobo. Have you tried Kobo? I’ve heard good things about Kobo…
But if Kickstarter’s not for you, no worries, JULES will be out in ebook at all of the usual esellers in just ten days—you can preorder it now.
It’s also available for preorder for readers in the U.S. in both trade paperback and hardcover from NookPress at Barnes and Noble. (It’s print-on-demand, so you won’t find the book in your local store, but I bet they can help you order it.)
My proof copies of the trade paperbacks (three on left are from BN, two on right are printed by Amazon) and the hardcover (BN) print-on-demand editions of JULES.
International readers can get the print paperback via Amazon’s print-on-demand. While the ebook is available via preorder, the link to that print edition won’t go live until January 29. (Why? Who can know? Will it happen? Fingers crossed!! I’ll keep you posted.)
Heads up: the print editions of this book are lovely, but they are pricey. It’s an enormously long book. The paperback clocks in at 544 pages, while the hardcover is 446. Whew. (Filled with Jules Cassidy goodness!!)
And as of right now, there’s no audiobook edition, but I do plan to hold another Kickstarter to fund that, hopefully to be narrated by the one-and-only Patrick Lawlor. Stay tuned!
Last but not least, here’s a link to the Goodreads page for JULES, with some reader reviews, in case you want to find out more: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245144569-jules-cassidy-p-i
Okay, that’s all the news for right now.
Hang in there! (And rewatch Heated Rivalry. It’s even better the second time around!!)
Wishing you peace, light, and joyful inspiration during these dark, uncertain times—with the hope that there’ll be much to be grateful for in the coming days of community, activism, and resistance, brought about by our deep love of freedom and democracy!
Love,
Suz
