Because it's Friday

Here's a little excerpt from A MORE DEADLY UNION, just because it's Friday:

* * * * * * *

Oh no oh no oh no. Benny’s mind raced about like a cyclone, a whirl of thoughts and ideas, swirling too fast for him to capture one and focus on it. The bright sun outside the hospital had reflected too harshly on everything. The people milling around inside the emergency room had been too loud and too colorful and too busy. It was all too much.

Thankfully, he was home. Home, where he could see all his things and relax. Now that structure was restored to the front of the house, he had been able to move back in. He went into his kitchen and poured himself a glass of milk. Milk was soothing. It was white, a blank slate to calm his brain.

Skip was shot. Skip. Shot. The words kept rolling around. Skip could be scary. Actually, all policemen were scary. He didn’t see Skip, or any of the police, often. Still, there was a leaden feeling to his insides, all the way to his toes. Skip was hurt, and some of the policemen were dead.

Dead, like my mom. I miss her so much. I miss watching TV with her and the smell of her cooking. I wish she was here to tell me what to do.

Willem had told him to give blood, but that was out of the question. Doctors and needles made him want to pass out. Of course, so did talking to police most of the time. Benny waddled from one room to the next, his dress loafers making soft clicks on the wood floor.

I should give blood but I can’t give blood. His brain buzzed in agitation again, and he started talking to himself as a way to focus.

“Skip needs help. How can I help him?”

Benny ambled up the stairs to his room, and looked at the Matt Helm posters on the walls surrounding his round bed, an original from the movie set. Every night, he went to sleep dreaming he could be like the man on the poster. Matt was sure of himself, just like Dean Martin. He knew how to do practically everything. He could drink and gamble and play golf. Sometimes he even played golf for charities.

Benny stared up at Martin, smiling, surrounded by beautiful women. What would Dino do?

An idea sprouted, a tiny idea. Benny wanted to grow it bigger, but he didn’t know how. He knew who could grow it, though.

Picking up the phone, he dialed his friends, the Nickels. 


* * * * * * *

How is Dino going to help Benny out? Want more? Your copy is waiting for you, in either Kindle or Paperback.

Get 'em while they're hot!

I swore I wouldn't, but I'm doing this because I love you.

THE HOT MESS is free this weekend. Free, as in, go to Amazon, click on it, and get it delivered to your Kindle in mere seconds. Read one of my Peri Minneopa Mysteries, and you'll be hooked. Want proof? Here:



This is also absolutely the last weekend that A MORE DEADLY UNION will be available for 99 cents. Why, yes, you can try it before you buy it:



On Monday, the price of both of these thrilling mysteries hikes to a still-manageable $3.99. I'd like to point out that this is less than a tall vanilla latte, lasts longer, and contains no calories. But if you're looking for a good deal...

Get your copies today!

Feeling the love.

On Friday, I released my book, A MORE DEADLY UNION. It was fun, but on Monday, I had the release party. For two hours, we took over Craftsman Wood Fired Pizza (http://craftsmanpizza.com/), thanks to owner Joe Rasic. 

How did it turn out? I think these photos tell the story. 

Rick Ochocki was the first to arrive. And yes, I wore the tiara (and I thought of Tameri Etherton, who couldn't attend).

I get by with a little help from my friends. Dot Caffrey held the mic so I could read.

Dino came to the party. Everyone wanted a photo op with him - even PJ Colando and Garrett Miller.
Garrett, BTW, took most of these shots.

Pina Bell needed an autograph - of course I obliged!

As usual, I was moving around too fast to get a steady photo.

My lovely and talented assistant, Cristina, took over the book sales - she was phenomenal!

MOST of the folks who came - I was so overjoyed! Thanks, Garrett, for this shot!

Me and The Boy.

My only regret is that no one captured Marcus and his smokin' hot combo du jour on video - they were so damned good, everyone was throwing money and compliments at them.

Right to left: Donghee Kim, Mark the Bassist, Marcus the Sonny-boy. They were AMAZING.

And now that the book is out in the world, onward to bookstore signings, library events, and more!

Save the dog!

There's a certain hesitance in writers to include pets in their stories. The reason to include a pet might be to disclose something about the character, but if you're not careful, they can be treated as an afterthought, or even forgotten. 

If you are a pet owner, you know that neglecting a pet makes you a bad person, so if you are a writer and your nice character has a nice pet that they love, you have to make sure they don't forget them.


Even when I put the fat orange tabby in HIT OR MISSUS (aka Mr. Mustard, renamed by Benny to Matt Helm), I knew I was taking on the responsibility of virtual pet ownership. When Matt Helm went to live with Benny's friends, the Nickels, I had to make sure the readers knew he was being taken care of...through every one of the remaining Peri Minneopa Mysteries I'd ever write.

"Forget me? Don't be ridiculous."

Having had some success in keeping the cat alive, I ventured to put a dog in MURDER ON THE HOOF. It seemed natural to have Willie Adams owning a dog, since she spends a lot of time at a horse show, and horse people tend to have dogs. It's just a thing we do. Rudy the miniature schnauzer held his own as a character, even helping Willie at various points in the story.

"Don't let her kid you - I solved that case, all by myself."

For some reason, I decided at the beginning of writing A MORE DEADLY UNION to add a dog to the story. I could give you a calculated and creative answer about why, but seriously, who knows why writers do anything? We just get a wild hair and go with it. 

My couple, Jared and Willem, needed a dog, perhaps to anchor them to the idea of being a settled, monogamous couple, ready to legally tie the knot. Their dog served as a baby for them to dote on. A sweet, fluffy, little...

Pitbull.

I've never owned a pitbull, but I have friends with pitties (is that how you spell it?) and they are a much-loved dog. A mystery author has to be thinking of dangerous situations for her characters, so it seemed that owning a pittie would open up a world of danger, more so than a Chihuahua. 

"Really, I'm lovable!"

Yes, a pitbull is sturdier than a toy breed, but they're the most often assumed to be aggressive. Anyone with a weapon, facing a pitbull, is probably going to shoot first and worry about it later. If ever. For the hundreds (thousands) of pitbulls who are big babies, pussycats, sweethearts, this is a danger they face too often.

Any danger Jared and Willem face would be doubled with a pitbull at the end of a leash.

Anyway, I'd like to introduce you all to Miss Moonie:

******

(Peri) spotted a black and white lump staring at her from the porch. An American Pit Bull Terrier sat askew, its back legs jutting at awkward angles, and a goofy grin splitting its broad face. One eye had a black half-moon underneath and the other had the matching half over, giving it the look of someone who’d been in a fight but was still too dazed to remember who won.

“Hey, Moonie.” Peri rubbed the dog’s head as she passed. Moonie’s tongue rolled sideways, the grin widening.

******

I've been looking all over the internet for a pittie that looks like Moonie, to no avail. Perhaps you could help a girl out. Anyone got a pittie, or a picture of one, who looks like my little Moonie, as I've described her? 

Post it in the comments below - I'd love to meet your babies!

But... will you still like me?

My fourth Peri book, A MORE DEADLY UNION, has a cover, jacket copy, has been edited and formatted. It is *thisclose* to being ready to release, apart from all the hoopla that surrounds a book before it's unleashed upon the world.

My editor, Jennifer Silva Redmond says, "A book is released too late for the author and too soon for the publisher." She is correct. My author's heart is telling me to hurry up and hit the bright red Publish button, while my publisher's head is saying, "Whoa, there, Flicka."

I need to make people want it first. It's the tension before the kiss, the suspense before the fright, the build-up that makes you run screaming for the Buy-Me option on Amazon. So here's your first tease:

"How far would you go for someone you love?

Someone is threatening Peri Minneopa’s client. The most likely suspect is a man whose past relationship with her client could ruin his chances at being elected mayor.

This would be easier if her boyfriend, Detective Skip Carlton, wasn’t in a coma after being shot. Peri’s been dating him for 10 years, but without a marriage license, she can’t even visit him in the hospital.

She knows better than to interfere with the police’s efforts to find Skip’s shooter, but her case keeps showing up in the middle of their investigation.

Now she’s questioning her skill and her need for independence. What is she willing to do to solve her case and see Skip wake up?"

I worked and slaved over this story. It was important for me to tell it well and get it right. Granted, my goal is to make each book a well-told, wonderful story, but this one cuts close to my bones. For this one, I aimed for excellence, not knowing if I could settle for exceptional.

Before I release this story to the world, we need to talk.

One thing I've learned in three Peri mysteries is who my readers are. Most of you are women, and of those women, many of you are of a certain age. With Peri being in her 50s, she is a gal you can relate to. There are women (and men) within my age group that hold attitudes about people, attitudes that I will not judge, but that I may not agree with. It's all okay. We can still be friends, I hope.

My original idea for A MORE DEADLY UNION came from the repeal of Proposition 8 (this made gay marriage illegal) in California. Not being gay, Prop 8 didn't affect me personally, except that it did. Being married to a black man, I'm aware that interracial marriage was not approved in the US until 1967, that it wasn't approved by over 50% of public opinion until 1994, and that Biblical verses were cited as being the reason many people disapprove.

A MORE DEADLY UNION is a mystery, of course, but it's also about Peri's fight to be with Skip as he lies in the hospital, in a coma. To underscore her predicament, she is working with a gay couple, who help her understand the importance of marriage from their own experience.

I'm not certain if some of you will be turned off by a gay couple, but I'm hoping for one thing: that you trust me. You know that my mysteries do not feature graphic violence or sex. And my discussion here about the book should let you know that I'm sensitive to your opinion, I'm aware of potential backlash, and I'm not going to blindside you. 

Well, almost... I admit, the ending of this book surprised me. Sometimes characters do that.

If you're still (or even more) interested in the book, you can pre-order the ebook on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01D3MMZ9K. Don't worry, there'll be a paperback version, too. 

And stick around for any contests, launch party swag, etc!