New Book

Now that my first book, Blackbird, is available in ebook format on Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook, I am starting on my next book. This will be a series of 2 possibly 3 books in the fantasy/romance genre. I will post updates and tidbits as the story progresses.

Available on Amazon Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NR1R8K

The night before his wedding, 24 year old police officer Eric Todd waits for a taxi in front Shady's Strip Club after his bachelor party, and ends up saving a beautiful, young, blonde haired and green eyed, exotic dancer named 'Maya' from being raped in an alley beside the bar.
  When the girl refuses to press charges against her attacker and flees the scene (speeding off in a mini van), Eric is left with nothing but scrapes and bruises, an unconscious rapist with a concussion, and a laundry list of unanswered questions.
  Three days later, after his fiancée left him standing at the altar, Eric returns to work and is given the task of tracking down the young woman he rescued before her obsessed attacker can lie his way into a get-out-of-jail-free card. Along with his best friend and police partner, Jim Richardson, Eric runs into one crazy dead end after another, false names and ID's and a burned out abandoned house in a gang infested, gun-happy neighborhood.
  Only when he's off duty, can Eric seem to run across the mysterious and frightened young lady, and each time he does, she runs off again leaving him with more questions and a strange, overwhelming desire to protect her from whatever dark secrets she's hiding from him.
  Eventually, Eric gathers enough information to lead Jim and himself to the girl's real name and home address, but when they get there, they're met with more problems than they had bargained for. As it turns out, Maya, who's actual name is Mira, is a sixteen year old adolescent who has been dancing at Shady's to support her selfish, lazy and emotionally abusive mother and her critically ill, hospitalized little brother. 
  In order to help Mira, Eric is faced with a life altering choice that could potentially ruin his career and his reputation as a member of the Parish Hills Police Department. He must either stand by and watch while Mira's mother sends Mira off to a state run coed group home, or agree to the mother's unusual terms and take Mira home to live with him until her would-be rapist is taken to trial and hopefully sentenced to a nice long prison term.
  What exactly are these unusual terms, and what will Eric decide to do? Will he allow the odd twist of emotions and protective urges he feels for this troubled young stranger affect his judgement? Will the frightened and mercurial Mira ever learn what it's like to trust another person and know what it's like to have that person actually care about her in return? And what will happen when Mira discovers a cold case murder file that drags her and Eric into a terribly sordid family history and a deeper mystery than either one of them can begin to fathom?
  Find the answers to those questions and more in the mysterious and thrilling story of heartbreak, friendship, forbidden romance and murder called "Blackbird".

Highlight from chapter 14

     It was 9:30 p.m. before the locks tumbled on the front door. Eric walked in with three thick manila folders tucked under his left arm. He rearmed the alarm for the night, dropped the folders on the dining room table and picked up the wrapped plate from the stove. ‘Still warm’ he thought. ‘She must have just gone to bed.’ He grabbed a fork from the drawer and dug into his meal while standing in front of the sink. As soon as he inhaled the last bite, he loaded the plate into the dishwasher, reached for the folders and then headed for a hot shower and his warm bed.
  An hour later he was sitting with his back to the headboard of his king size four poster bed, browsing through the files he’d brought home.
  Chirping crickets, croaking frogs and whistling whippoorwills sang their nocturnal songs from the trees and bushes outside the window, adding a peaceful calm to the moonlit night.
  Eric had begun to doze, his head dropping to his shoulder, the words in the file running together as his eyelids slipped down. A thunderous bark sounded from across the hall, followed by a shrill and terrified scream, bringing him to a sudden trembling alertness. He sprang from the bed and ran for the door, spilling the contents of the folder across the floor as he did. He flung the door open and collided with an extremely pale and frightened Mira.
  She fell onto the wooden floorboards and backed her shaking body against the wall, her breathing fast and shallow.
  “What happened” Eric questioned, instinctively reaching for her arm. “Were you having another nightmare?”
  Mira stared blankly at the opposite wall, her mouth trying to form the words she couldn’t seem to voice.
  “Look at me” Eric commanded her. He was becoming frightened by her bizarre behavior. He took her face into his hands and directed her gaze toward his own. “What happened to scare you so badly?”
  “H-he w-w-was there” she sputtered.
  “Who was there?”
  “Eyes – black mask – at the window.”
  “Were you dreaming?”
  “N-no. . . the dog was growling . . . I sat up to see . . . he waved at me!” Her voice was high pitched, quivering in time with the tremors that wracked her body.
  Eric pulled her to her feet and shoved her into his room. He snatched a pistol from his nightstand drawer, dialed a number into his cell phone then rushed outside.

Took a day off from my writing yesterday. Spent the day cleaning house (something I've been needing to do for a few days) and even shampooed the carpets in my living room. It feels nice now that it's done, but boy does my back feel the weight of the steam cleaner a day later.
Maybe I'll get another chapter done tonight. My first book is almost completed, just have to decide on the perfect title.

  Eric opened his eyes to the smell of bacon frying and buttery biscuits baking. For a second he pictured his Grandma Isabel standing over her antique, almond colored stove, waiting for him to join her for breakfast before he took the buckets of sweet feed to the horses and then got ready for school. He shook the image from his mind and slid from under his blankets. He slipped on a pair of black half slippers and followed his nose toward the kitchen. He stopped at the opening of the hallway to take in the scene, uncertain if he was awake or not. Mira stood in front of the window over the counter, laughing quietly as she watched Chip racing around the back yard barking happily as he chased squirrels into the trees. Her ebony hair looked like strands of polished onyx hanging below her narrow waist. Two thin braids draped from the sides of her forehead, joined in the back by a white clip. Her full lips were painted a shade of deep mauve to match her shirt and her ivory cheeks were brushed with a soft earthy brown. Long black lashes, glossed with thin coating of mascara brushed below her deep set sapphire eyes whenever she would blink. He almost forgot to breathe as he watched her smiling, the morning sun making her gem-like eyes shimmer and dance as it streamed through the glass. He stood leaning against the wall, gazing intently, for at least ten minutes until Chip came bounding back inside, causing Mira to turn her attention from the window. She shrieked and jumped backward, nearly tripping herself, when she noticed Eric standing there. “I thought you were still asleep” she gasped.

  “I got lost in some old memories” he lied. “It’s been a long time since I got up and found warm biscuits in the oven. I didn’t mean to startle you. The way you jumped, my bed head must be terrifying. Maybe I should have used the hair dryer before I went to sleep.”

Another clip from my book

. The street was fairly quiet  due to the cold, most people were either at home or in a bar looking for some liquid warmth. The lot she had parked in belonged to a pharmacy that closed by 5:30 on weeknights. It was 6:54 and the employees had long since locked up the store. Their parking area was taken over at night, it seemed, by the sport’s grill next door. Mira slowed her pace nervously as she noticed that the streetlight that was supposed to be illuminating the side area of the drug store wasn’t working. “I knew this was a bad idea” she thought aloud. “Bar alleyways, dark sidewalks, I’m just begging for a serial killer to grab me.” She got the keys to the van out in one hand and the pocket taser in the other as she approached the van. She pressed the button on the key fob to unlock the doors and made ready to sprint the last fifteen feet when she heard footsteps on the asphalt behind her. “You really need to find a better place to. . . .” the male voice was cut off as Mira spun around and lashed out with the taser. Thin blue streaks of electricity jumped between the prongs as it met with the man’s outstretched hand. Instantly, he slumped over and dropped to the ground with a thud, hitting the back of his head on the pavement. Mira stood there in a daze, watching him twitch and moan while she waited for reality to set in. Her eyes began adjusting to the ambience of her surroundings and she focused on the face of her would-be assailant. “Oh damn!” she exclaimed in a shrill voice as she looked down at Officer Eric Todd. “Omigod! I’m going to be arrested for trying to kill a cop.”

Monday morning

The southeast had some rough weather last night. Alabama got hit pretty hard. We were spared here, but the next town over got sustained some major damage. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who lost their loved ones, homes and businesses to the tornadoes.

A highlight from chapter one

As I said before, this book is still untitled, but I will be happy to take suggestions. I hope you enjoy this little tidbit from chapter 1 of my book.


   Maya had donned a long coat with a hood and stood inside the alley doorway waiting for Big Steve the bouncer. Big Steve was exactly what his name described, BIG. He was 6’8” tall and weighed in at about 340 pounds of solid muscle. His dark skin, shaved head and deep, Jamaican accented voice made him appear even more formidable. He was an oversized teddy bear when it came to the ladies in the club, but when he needed to handle a problem, he could be down right frightening. She could hear some of the other girls chatting from the dressing room at the end of the hallway. Apparently while she had been in the back, a couple of drunk guys started getting rather rowdy after the cop party had left. Garret, the owner and bartender, had settled them down temporarily with a couple free drinks, but he was going to have to cut them off soon. Just then, loud shouts could be heard from the bar area. There were sounds of glass breaking and furniture being knocked over. “So much for Big Steve” she sighed. She opened the door and headed for the back parking lot. The lot was well lit, but the alley was still shadowed and creepy. There were cameras on all four corners of the building set to record in each direction. The monitors were behind the bar, but Garret would be in the middle of the brawl with the bouncers trying to minimize the damage. The blind spot in the alley was a trash area surrounded by broken chain link fencing right beneath the cameras. The bouncers walked the perimeter of the building every half hour, so it was unlikely anyone would be around. As she got closer, she thought she saw something moving around next to the black garbage bags. ‘Probably just a stray cat’ she thought trying to reassure herself. “Here kitty kitty” she called out. Nothing. Everything was still and quiet. A couple more steps toward the back lot. A rustling of plastic bags. ‘I think I’ll wait for someone to walk me out after all’  she said inwardly as she spun around to hurry back into the building. A clattering of garbage behind her told her it was too late to run. She managed half a scream before a hand clamped over her mouth. Stars danced in her eyes as her head connected with the building’s brick wall.

Early Friday

Kind of an early start today. My doggy decided she wanted to go outside at 6a.m. and wouldn't be quiet till I got up. Not fun when you didn't go to sleep until 4a.m. Oh well. Maybe I'll get a nap this afternoon. Got a bit more writing done last night. My sweet hubby was home from work, so he kept me a little distracted, but he's usually very considerate when I'm trying to write. He's been quite supportive of my desire to write books. I was afraid to tell him my idea at first in fear he might think I was crazier than I've led him to believe in the past. LOL.   I'm truly grateful to him for being so understanding the past 17 years and not wanting to choke the life out of me. I know I can be quite the handful most of the time, but he's never failed to say "I love you" every day.
  On to my book. I've decided to post the first excerpt today. I will pick the part later this morning and post it later this afternoon. Please look forward to it and enjoy.

Thursday book update

I finally decided what to do about the poisoning issue for my character. It was a difficult decision, but thanks to Wikipedia I finally came up with an idea. I don't want to give out any spoilers, before I have the chance to try and have it published. I will be including a few excerpts and highlights from the story as I update this blog, so those of you who read this, please look forward to it. Thanks for reading.

Thursday afternoon

Just woke up about an hour ago. Had a long night. I got a few pages written last night, not as much as I would have liked though. Wikipedia came back up from the blackout protest, then, less than thirty minutes later, my internet service decided to crash. Go figure. Finally got service back about 9 a.m., hopefully I can get some much needed work done today.

Back to my book

I've harped on SOPA long enough today, so back to the writing of my book. No title for it yet, but I'm open to suggestions. The story is a mystery/romance about a young woman (Mira) who is attacked outside a bar and is rescued by an off-duty police officer (Eric) right after his bachelor party. As the story develops, the two are thrown into a strange relationship with one another. They each feel an attraction to the other, but there are circumstances that prevent them from revealing their feelings. The heroine's mother and younger brother also play a large part in the story. The mother is spoiled and selfish, seeing her daughter as a rival, she will do anything to get Mira out of her way. The younger brother (Alex) has been ill, in and out of the hospital for the better part of a year. Everything (hopefully) will end in a heart stopping and unexpected climax that will (again hopefully) leave the readers on the edge of their seats.

Been Sending E-Mails

I have been sending emails all day to the various companies supporting SOPA / PIPA. Many of the corporations and companies who were previously supporters have since removed their names from the support list because of people just like us boycotting their products and stores. Don't be afraid to make a stand against the government's attempt to police our free speech and civil liberties. Stop Piracy not Liberty!

Research Hindered

Most of the best research sites on the Internet are down for the next 24 to 48 hours in protest of SOPA & PIPA. If you are reading this and don't know what I'm talking about, just go to www.wikipedia.com or craigslist.org. You will be able to find all the info you could possibly need as well as links that refer you to your local senate and congress representatives. Please write, fax or email them in order to stop this bill from passing. It will give the government to completely shut down web sites (at their discretion) for whatever they happen to believe is copyright infringement. The wording of the bill is quite vague in terms of what they can and can't stop. Our favorite sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Wikipedia and many others are in danger of being lost to us if this passes.

A cold but sunny Wednesday afternoon

Spent all last night researching munchausen syndrome by proxy. The case studies and court reports I read about really sickened me. I've seen stories about it on the various cop shows and hospital dramas I have watched in the past, but never thought much of it until I decided to write about it. Women abusing their innocent children, making them terribly ill with the sole intent of getting attention for themselves. My stomach was in knots and I was close to tears. Most of the cases involved babies and toddlers, unable to speak up for themselves and tell the doctors what was actually wrong. I didn't realize before now just how often that sort of thing happens. The people who abuse children like that should be put under whatever prison they're sentenced to. I pray that the part of my book (if it ever gets published) will raise awareness about this type of abuse among the readers. During my research, I was astonished to find out just how often it happens.
  On a slightly different note, I am still studying about various poisons. I still can't find one that has the effects I am looking for. I read about arsenic, lead poisoning, radiation poisoning (can't use this one, character is not employed where anything radioactive would be readily available), cyanide, mercury, and atrazine (herbicide) just to name a few. The child that is being poisoned in the story, is a 12 year old boy. I need something(s) that will make him ill enough to become gradually worse over the period of about a year, and cause him to be hospitalized for several months. All of this, of course, without killing him. I need the poison, or poisons, to be easily attainable and easy to disguise in food or drink in small amounts. I guess I have my work cut out for me. I see plenty of reading and google searches in my future.

 Blehhh!

A night with writer's block - 2am Wednesday morning

I am in the middle of writing two fictional novels, although one has been temporarily put on hold. The one I am currently working diligently on is a mystery/romance story with, hopefully, a suspenseful twist. One of my characters is a mother who is slowly poisoning her 12 year old son. I need some ideas on how the woman would go about this over a period of several months to a year, only making the child sick enough to require hospitalization without actually killing him. I've been doing research, unfortunately Wikipedia is down right now, and case studies of actual crimes tend not to divulge every detail. I want my writing to be as realistic as possible. Please keep in mind folks, this is totally fictional, for the purpose of my book. I do not wish to actually make anyone ill or commit murder. If anyone has any ideas for me, feel free to respond.