Periodically, The Bulletin publishes a roundup of books written by local, self-published writers. Area scribes have been busy in the months since The Bulletin last printed such a list, their books covering diverse subject matters, from trying to solve a 1924 triple murder at Lava Lake to a children’s book about an ant that visits France. Below, we take a brief look at what these writers have been working on.

“Skull Shot,” by Gary Levine

$14.95 paperback, $6.99 Kindle or Nook editions

Levine’s first novel, “Skull Shot,” has two storylines that eventually converge. While Andy Harris is trying to play, study and otherwise pull himself out of a major slump in time for his golf club’s championship, hundreds of miles away in Reno, Nevada, two homicide detectives launch a murder investigation. Events there “spill over to Bend, pulling Andy into a dangerous world of intrigue that might just hold the solution to his slump,” according to the book’s back-cover description. Print edition is available in Bend at Awbrey Glen Golf Club’s shop and at Sunriver Books & Music.

“Odin’s Wake,” by R.W. Magill

$12.65 paperback, $3.99 Kindle

Magill, a software developer, self-published this suspense novel about the fate of a 1,600-ton commercial fishing vessel after an engine room fire forces its crew to abandon the ship near the Flemish Cap area of the North Atlantic. “Reconstructing catastrophic events is all part of the normal workload for former Naval officer and forensic engineer Will Kelly, who has been hired to investigate the accident and piece together the likely chain of events,” reads the description at Amazon.com.

Not that it’s easy. The blurb continues: “Will has his own problems to deal with, including an impossible workload, a mysteriously missing employee and a disintegrating relationship with his beautiful ex-wife.”

“Anthony Ant Goes to France,” by Julie Bettendorf

$13.95 paperback, $19.95 hardcover, $2.99 Kindle, Nook or iPad

The first book in Crooked River Ranch author Bettendorf’s planned children’s travel series, “Anthony Ant Goes to France” chronicles the adventures of an ant who loves to go places.

A sample page captures the book’s educational bent and poetic aspirations: “I traveled to Paris, the capital of France; The home of fashion, poetry and ballet dance. Paris is also France’s largest city. At night, it glitters and is bright and pretty.” Available at Barnes & Noble in Bend.

“The Trapper Murders: A True Central Oregon Mystery,” by Melany Tupper

$15 paperback, $9.99 Kindle

Christmas Valley investigative writer Tupper, whose previous book was “The Sandy Knoll Murder,” returns with the true story of a triple murder that took place at Lava Lake in 1924. The bodies were discovered just offshore from the main boat launch, then, as now, a popular recreation destination. Investigators at that time believed the killings were the work of two men, but Tupper winnows her list of suspects down to one. Paperback is available in Bend at the Des Chutes Historical Museum and in Sisters and Redmond at Paulina Springs Books.

“Catching Rain,” by Sharon Kay Duerst

$14.95 paperback, $4 Kindle

“Catching Rain,” Duerst’s sequel to her first novel, “Mending Stone,” is described on Amazon.com as follows: “Mexico captivates Mia Casinelli with a life long-lost and a mysterious woman in her dreams. She sees a future in the smile of a stranger there, but what to do about Gerald back in Oregon? How can she create a new life with only words and inklings to lead the way?”

Available in Bend at Autry’s Four Season Florist, Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe and in Sisters and Redmond at Paulina Springs Books.

— Reporter: 541-383-0349, djasper@bendbulletin.com