Clyde Skaggs has been busy once again.
Skaggs recently published his fourth book in April called “The Little Joke Book.” A resident of Raddison, this was Skaggs first attempt at a humor book. He is an avid mystery man at heart, writing his three other published books “Crossroads Murder,” “The Inheritance,” and “Revenge,” with a mystery twist. “I wrote “The Little Joke Book” as a gift book,” Skaggs said. “It is a small book and not very expensive.” Skaggs was a corporate engineering manager with General Electric for 27 years before retiring. All the reading that he did with the company led him to want to write. “I was a technical person,” Skaggs said. “I did a lot of reading and decided before I retired that I was going to write. Technical writing is work, fictional writing is fun.” Skaggs has his own publishing company, CWS Enterprises, where he publishes his books along with a book from author Cornelius Hayes, a past member of the Syracuse Writers Roundtable group, which Skaggs is currently a part of. All the books Skaggs has written are standalone, but there is a thread of the same characters throughout each of the mystery books. Skaggs tries to add some local ties into the books. For example, “Crossroad Murder” is about a murder that takes place in the parking garage of a mall, which is based on Carousel Center. A fifth book, “Love, Death, & Deceit” is currently in the works. This fourth mystery book should be out in the fall. All of Skaggs books can be found at the Sunshine Market in Baldwinsville, along with at Borders Bookstore, the Baldwinsville Public Library, among others. From August 2003 to May 2008 around 400 books have been sold, and this is just addressing the local market. There will be an end of August book signing in Clinton and one on University Ave near SU. No dates have been set yet for either signing. Keep a look out for a web site that Skaggs plans to get in the near future. “I love to write,” Skaggs said. ” I will keep doing it as long as I am inspired to do it.”