The release date is only 11 days away! Ready for another excerpt?
“I can’t believe that scene in the diner.” Roxie slammed the butter down into the potatoes. “Marlowe, sweetie. How many years ago was that, Lo?” She made a face as she mimicked Greg’s words. She sloshed the milk in the blender and turned in on high speed, an evil grin on her face.
“Are you making whipped potatoes or emulsified Greg?” Trixie shook her head. “If I’d known you were this disturbed, I’d have had you over to my house for dinner. Floyd could use a good meal. After cooking all day I just can’t seem to do much at night.”
“No way was I going over there. Not on your life. I’m too worked up to tolerate Floyd grunting from his chair and getting you to serve him. It rubs me the wrong way. Especially after the spectacle we witnessed at the diner this afternoon. Why, I came home and almost knitted a whole scarf I was so worked-up. I think Anastasia was getting a little afraid I was going to shave her and use her fur in it.”
“Now, let the poor thing have her long hair. It hides some of her belly fat.” Trixie frowned. “I wonder if that would work for me. Does Monoxidil work on stomachs?”
Roxie rolled her eyes. “Stop getting off the subject. When I want to bash folks, I like to do it all at once and get it out of my system.”
“You mean for twenty-plus years, like you did with Georgia Collins?”
“Trixie, will you stop goading me. This is no laughing matter. My boyfriend almost made love to that woman right under my nose.”
“Question is, does he know he’s your boyfriend? Second question, if Greg and Marlowe ever had a thing, which it appears they had, at least a passing one, is the spark gone or is it in danger of being re-kindled?”
Roxie stomped her foot. “That durned spark is gonna be doused with water and ground under foot and out of existence.”
Trixie cackled. “Well, l I can see this talk has definitely gotten everything out of your system.”
Friday, June 24, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Excerpt of Marriage Murders
The second novella in my Briny Bay mystery series is just a couple of weeks away from being published. I can't wait to see what you folks say. Here's a short excerpt from the book:
Roxie stood over Glynnis, placing a cold rag on her forehead. “A bit of color’s coming back to your cheeks, dear.”
Tears flowed down the bride-to-be’s face. “Butch can’t be dead. He was in my bed just four hours ago.”
Dottie handed Glynnis a box of tissues, pulling one out first for herself.
Roxie shook her head. Her assistant was the world’s biggest softie. “Discretion makes me suggest you not spread around that information.”
“He’s dead!” She burst into sobs. “Besides, it wasn’t a big secret.” Glynnis blew her nose. “We’d been doing it for more than a month, kind of breaking in all the working parts as he liked to say.” A startled look passed over her face and she wailed, burying her head in a new tissue. “I broke all his parts!”
Roxie stroked her shoulder. “Oh, now honey, you know that isn’t true. Fact is, he probably needed an overhaul before you ever took a test drive.”
Glynnis collapsed again into more sobs, covering her face with multiple tissues.
The door opened and Trixie raced in. “Carol’s covering, took me a minute to get her to pop over from her house. Have I missed anything?”
Roxie shook her head. “Not exactly.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, how many brides have fainted on you? Get the poor girl out of the floor and onto the settee.” She held her hand out to the woman. “Grab here, Glynnis and let me help you up. Once you’re seated we’ll talk a spell.” Trixie grimaced as the woman grabbed her hand, tissues and all.
The plump young woman wrestled to her feet with a loud humph and, supporting her under the arm, Trixie helped her to the loveseat. “There. Now, who called you to tell you how Butch died, sweetheart?”
Glynnis’ eyes filled with fresh tears. “Alex Simpson, his best man. They’d gone fishing to take the edge off his nerves, According to Alex, Butch keeled over and fell right out of the boat. Alex said he had a hell of a time getting him out of the Sound, but Butch never revived, even after he dragged him out on the sand. My Butch--just like a beached whale!”
“Did the EMS come?”
“Did I hear you say EMS? If you’re asking if they showed up to get Butch, they did.” Jack entered the bridal shop. “So did the police. Ms. Linden, I know how upset you must be, but could you come with me for just a few questions?”
Trixie frowned. “Why is it so important Glynnis go right now? Can’t you give somebody time to grieve anymore?”
Jack crossed his arms. “Sis, I take orders from my boss. Considering the circumstances, he believes it’s important Glynnis come in now. That’s all you need to know.”
Glynnis nodded, her bottom lip trembling. “It’s all right. I’ll go. Jack’s just doing his duty. Heaven knows I want to make sure this was just natural causes.” She stood, her legs still wobbling and Jack grabbed her arm. “Let’s go, Glynnis, I’ll be as easy as I can.”
As they walked out, Roxie grabbed Trixie’s arm. “I hate to say this,” she whispered, “But Jack was right.”
Trixie stared at Rox, wide-eyed. “How so?”
Roxie took a deep breath and exhaled. “Butch would never have gone fishing to settle his nerves. He didn’t fish. Ever. That man was petrified of the water.”
Roxie stood over Glynnis, placing a cold rag on her forehead. “A bit of color’s coming back to your cheeks, dear.”
Tears flowed down the bride-to-be’s face. “Butch can’t be dead. He was in my bed just four hours ago.”
Dottie handed Glynnis a box of tissues, pulling one out first for herself.
Roxie shook her head. Her assistant was the world’s biggest softie. “Discretion makes me suggest you not spread around that information.”
“He’s dead!” She burst into sobs. “Besides, it wasn’t a big secret.” Glynnis blew her nose. “We’d been doing it for more than a month, kind of breaking in all the working parts as he liked to say.” A startled look passed over her face and she wailed, burying her head in a new tissue. “I broke all his parts!”
Roxie stroked her shoulder. “Oh, now honey, you know that isn’t true. Fact is, he probably needed an overhaul before you ever took a test drive.”
Glynnis collapsed again into more sobs, covering her face with multiple tissues.
The door opened and Trixie raced in. “Carol’s covering, took me a minute to get her to pop over from her house. Have I missed anything?”
Roxie shook her head. “Not exactly.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, how many brides have fainted on you? Get the poor girl out of the floor and onto the settee.” She held her hand out to the woman. “Grab here, Glynnis and let me help you up. Once you’re seated we’ll talk a spell.” Trixie grimaced as the woman grabbed her hand, tissues and all.
The plump young woman wrestled to her feet with a loud humph and, supporting her under the arm, Trixie helped her to the loveseat. “There. Now, who called you to tell you how Butch died, sweetheart?”
Glynnis’ eyes filled with fresh tears. “Alex Simpson, his best man. They’d gone fishing to take the edge off his nerves, According to Alex, Butch keeled over and fell right out of the boat. Alex said he had a hell of a time getting him out of the Sound, but Butch never revived, even after he dragged him out on the sand. My Butch--just like a beached whale!”
“Did the EMS come?”
“Did I hear you say EMS? If you’re asking if they showed up to get Butch, they did.” Jack entered the bridal shop. “So did the police. Ms. Linden, I know how upset you must be, but could you come with me for just a few questions?”
Trixie frowned. “Why is it so important Glynnis go right now? Can’t you give somebody time to grieve anymore?”
Jack crossed his arms. “Sis, I take orders from my boss. Considering the circumstances, he believes it’s important Glynnis come in now. That’s all you need to know.”
Glynnis nodded, her bottom lip trembling. “It’s all right. I’ll go. Jack’s just doing his duty. Heaven knows I want to make sure this was just natural causes.” She stood, her legs still wobbling and Jack grabbed her arm. “Let’s go, Glynnis, I’ll be as easy as I can.”
As they walked out, Roxie grabbed Trixie’s arm. “I hate to say this,” she whispered, “But Jack was right.”
Trixie stared at Rox, wide-eyed. “How so?”
Roxie took a deep breath and exhaled. “Butch would never have gone fishing to settle his nerves. He didn’t fish. Ever. That man was petrified of the water.”
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Release Day--Slam Sisters of Serendipity
Terry Campbell's book, Slam Sisters of Serendipity, released today from Eternal Press. Yay! For those of you who may not know, Terry Campbell is my co-writeen oen name that I share with Linda Campbell. We're known for our generous dose of humor, and this book has a lot of mystery to go with it. If you love quirky southern women who are obnoxiously wealthy and very outspoken, you'll love this book. I shared the cover and trailer a long time ago. Here they are again to enjoy.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
New Books on the Horizon
To my followers, my apologies for my long hiatus. I've been on many deadlines and pressed for time. But, the good news is I have a bunch of new books ready to roll out to you folks.
The Briny Bay girls are back in July with The Marriage Murders:
Roxie Turner is back in the hot seat when the bridegroom of her latest wedding is pulled from the bay, apparently drowned under questionable circumstances. She’s dead on the scent to find his killer, but has other things to worry about, like the femme fatale who opened the naughty lingerie shop and the witch’s former connection to boyfriend, Greg.
Things heat up further as more people die in Briny Bay, and all from the same wedding party. Is Roxie’s career headed for demise at the same time as her love life?
In September
Get ready for another heaping dose of Southern charm mixed with sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense.
This is not the Briny Bay mysteries but the Climax series:
The Briny Bay girls are back in July with The Marriage Murders:
Roxie Turner is back in the hot seat when the bridegroom of her latest wedding is pulled from the bay, apparently drowned under questionable circumstances. She’s dead on the scent to find his killer, but has other things to worry about, like the femme fatale who opened the naughty lingerie shop and the witch’s former connection to boyfriend, Greg.
Things heat up further as more people die in Briny Bay, and all from the same wedding party. Is Roxie’s career headed for demise at the same time as her love life?
In September
Get ready for another heaping dose of Southern charm mixed with sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat suspense.
This is not the Briny Bay mysteries but the Climax series:
Book Number One--Coming to Climax, debuts the week of September 5th:
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