Sunday, April 12, 2015

A Little Inspiration


On my evening constitutional with Dude -- my hubby -- this old Evanescence song came up on my iPod playlist. It's always been one of my faves, and it seems to fit what my character, Detective Kendra Dean, is going through in this scene from my Work in Progress, COPPER LAKE, the third book in the Stutter Creek suspense series from 5 Prince Books.

This scene is where Kendra and her younger partner, Woodrow, find themselves in a small bar far from home while wrapping up a prisoner transport job. Kendra is a career detective who always tried to keep her job related horror stories away from her home life. She'd thought she was doing the right thing until recently when her husband, Bill, told her he was leaving, he was tired of being in their marriage alone.

Bring Me to Life is the name of the song ...



https://youtu.be/i3MKTm-49uI

Scene:
           After ordering their drinks—beer for him, White Russian for her—Woody excused himself to the men’s room.
            When he returned, his path led directly behind her chair. He must have noticed her rubbing at her neck and shoulders because he stopped and gave her a thirty-second massage.
            “Ahh,” she said. “Everything’s in knots.”
            “I hear ya." He rolled his own head around slowly. “Not used to riding fourteen hours with a perp sitting behind me. Even if he was behind wire and asleep most of the time.” He took his seat across from her again.
            Kendra shrugged and met his grin with a tired one of her own. “The things we do for the job.” She took another sip of her drink and inspected the nearly deserted bar. “Thank God there’s not much going on.”
            Woody nodded. “I’ll be ready to hit the sack after this.” He glanced around. “It’d be our luck for a fight to break out. Guess we’re taking quite a chance having a drink when we’re technically still on-the-job.”
            Kendra raised her short glass. “Here’s to taking chances.”
            “Amen.” Woody clinked his beer bottle against her glass.
            When a slow song came on the jukebox, he stood and held out his hand. “Take another chance?”
            She took one more sip of her drink and then placed her hand in his. It’s only one song, she remembered telling herself. But a flame of longing grew in her belly as she allowed him to pull her in close. He didn’t press her body to his; he simply curled his large hand around hers and held it against his chest while the music led them around the tiny dance floor. When she chanced a glance at his face, she was surprised to find his eyes were closed.
            She relaxed and rested her temple against the shelf of his chin. Even now, chained to the floor in this nightmarish bunker, she could still recall the way she felt in his arms, as if she’d just arrived home from a long, arduous, journey. Kendra also remembered wondering how long it had been since she and Bill had gone dancing. How long it had been since they had held each other so tenderly and carefully.

            When the music stopped, they both opened their eyes. What the hell am I doing? She stepped back, head down, not looking at him until they paid their bill and left.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

A Bit of Lilac Lane

Lilac Lane is the follow up book to Stutter Creek, my bestselling Suspense novel from 5 Prince Publishing. In Lilac Lane, Ella and her ten year old son, Nick, flee their hometown of Albuquerque, NM to start a new life in a small town. Her ex-husband is in jail for abuse, and they just want to start a new life without him.

Within days they meet local wildlife biologist, Chet Boone. This is what happens after the three of them share pizza and a song together:

*
         “You’re humming that Brown Eyed Girl song aren’t you?” Nick asked.
         “Hmm. So I was. It’s an old song from way back. I’ve always liked it.” She pulled into the carport and engaged the Jeep’s parking brake. The pine trees were fragrant. Several branches touched the metal roof of the carport. They made a shushing sound when the wind blew. It also sent their tangy green fragrance into the Jeep’s open windows. “We may regret not having a garage when it snows this winter,” she said.
         “I think he likes you,” Nick replied.
         Ella stopped with her finger on the automatic window button. The windows stopped halfway up. “Chet Boone?”

         Nick rolled his eyes. “No. The Incredible Hulk.”




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