Gerrie Ferris Finger's Blog, page 2
May 27, 2016
RUNNING WITH WILD BLOOD
See Kirkus Review Below
Richard Lake of the Atlanta Police Department gets a cold case when a witness suddenly gets his memory back.
Lake recruits Moriah Dru to look into the murder of Juliet Trapp‚ sixteen when she died‚ and a student at Winters Farm Academy.
Juliet Trapp had told her mother she was going to Bike Week with Wild Blood‚ an outlaw motorcycle gang‚ over the Christmas break.
The police were unable to solve Juliet's murder after interviews with the bikers.
The case roars into high gear when Juliet's father‚ Sherman Trapp‚ is murdered in Chattanooga where Wild Blood is the predominant motorcycle club.
Dru discovers that Trapp was trying to find the killer of his daughter‚ but got too close.
Dru and Lake join forces with a wary Wild Blood to solve the murders and clear the club -- if, indeed, everyone in it can be cleared of murder.
RUNNING WITH WILD BLOOD Kirkus Review
Author: Gerrie Ferris FingerReview Issue Date: November 15, 2014Publisher: Five StarPages: 320Publication Date: January 21, 2015ISBN ( Hardcover ): 978-1-4328-2966-7Category: FictionClassification: Mystery
A tracer of missing children investigates a murder involving an outlaw motorcycle gang. Atlanta Detective Richard Lake asks his girlfriend, Moriah Dru, owner of Child Trace (Murmurs of Insanity, 2014, etc.), to look into the unsolved three-year-old homicide of Juliet Trapp. The spoiled daughter of a wealthy family, Juliet had a history of taking off on wild adventures, and her involvement with the Wild Blood Motorcycle Club may have led to her death. Although her body was found, raped and murdered, near the club's hangout, the police have never proved anything against them. Juliet's missing father, Sherman, may have been reduced to the remains Dru discovers have been stolen from a Chattanoogacrematorium.
Dru's only lead in Chattanooga, a Wild Blood girlfriend, has vanished. Since Juliet attended the Winters Farm Academy, Dru starts nosing around there and soon learns that some of Juliet's relationships with the faculty were problematic. One of her two best friends was left a paraplegic by a riding accident during a wild, unapproved steeplechase Juliet planned. The other, Bunny Raddison, proves hard to find. Lake and Dru get permission to ride Lake's Harley with the Wild Bloods to a gang convention in Florida. After Dru fatally shoots a wannabe biker trying to kill Wild Blood leaders at a Blood funeral, the gang agrees to help find Juliet's killer. Dru's mission is complicated by ambitious FBI agent Grady, who has a snitch in the gang. Grady follows the Bloods to Floridaand seems to be trying to roll their case into his big investigation of outlaw bikers. While Dru and Lake desperately try to find Bunny, Dru's computer specialist continues to dig for background. When Dru is nearly taken down by hired killers, she knows she must be getting close to the solution. A heady mixture of thriller and mystery with so many red herrings that you'll need a trawler to catch them all.
A blogger's review:http://www.mikishope.com/2015/01/book-review-running-with-wild-blood.html
Thanks for reading my blog and check out the books in the Dru/Lake Series.
Running with Wild Blood
http://amzn.to/1HZxd1A
Murmurs of Insanity
http://amzn.to/1qnIZf6
The Devil Laughed
http://amzn.to/14cExnt
The Last Temptation
http://amzn.to/NQGdK7
The End Game (national award-winning debut)
http://amzn.to/nndEx2
Also check out The Ghost Ship, A Glorious Curse, Whispering, and the novels in the Laura Kate O'Connell Series: Honored Daughters, When Serpents Die and Wagon Dogs.
Happy Reading
May 6, 2016
RUN FOR THE ROSES
The horn will blow the call for the "Run for the Roses" on May 7, 2016 in the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The race is the first of the famous Triple Crown races for three-year-old horses.
Post Time: 6:34 p.m.
HISTORY
In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, traveled to England, visiting the Epsom Derby, a famous race that had been running since 1780. From there, Clark went on to Paris, France, where a group had formed the French Jockey Club and had organized the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp -- the greatest race in France.
Back home, Clark organized the Louisville Jockey Club to raise money to build a quality racing track. That track would become Churchill Downs, named for John and Henry Churchill, who provided the land for the racetrack.
The Kentucky Derby was first run at 11⁄2 miles, the same distance as the Epsom Derby. The distance was changed in 1896 to its current 11⁄4 miles.
WINNERS
American Pharoah won it in 2015. Ridden by Victor Espinoza and trained by Bob Baffert.
The first winner: Out of a field of 15 horses, Aristides, trained by Ansel Williams and ridden by Oliver Lewis, won.
Thoroughbred owners began sending their successful Derby horses to compete a few weeks later in the Preakness Stakes, in Baltimore, Maryland, followed by the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York. In 1919 Sir Bartonbecame the first horse to win all three races. However, the term Triple Crown didn't come into use for another eleven years. In 1930, when Gallant Fox became the second horse to win all three races, sportswriter Charles Hatton brought the phrase into American usage.
The fastest time ever run in the Derby (at its present distance) was set in 1973 at 1:59.4 minutes when the great Secretariat broke the record set by Northern Dancer in 1964. Not only has Secretariat's record time yet to be topped, he did something unique in Triple Crown races: in each successive quarter (distance markers around the track), his times were faster. (The history of Secretariat is fascinating. Google it.)
Secretariat
DERBY TRADITIONS:
Mint Julep: Iced drink of bourbon, mint, sugar syrup.
Burgoo: A stew of beef, chicken, pork and vegetables.
Derby Pie: A tart filled with chocolate and walnuts. (Secret family recipe).
My Old Kentucky Home: As the horses are parade before the grandstands, the University of Louisville Marching Band plays Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home," a tradition began in 1921.
Run for the Roses: So called because a garland of red roses is draped across the mane of the Kentucky Derby winner each year. The tradition originated in 1883 when a New Yorker presented roses to ladies at a post-Derby party that was attended by Churchill Downs founder and president, Col. M. Lewis Clark.
Large (race-obscuring) Hats:Though horse racing was “old hat” for British and French society, American women shied away from horse racing – yikes - gambling and drinking! Clark, being the visionary that he was and not wanting his new race to seem seedy, encouraged women to attend in the guise of a picnic with friends. Thus they created an allure by positioning it as a fashion event with full morning dress for men and women. Col. Clark would be proud: Through the decades, we women kept our responsibilities in curtailing seediness. We wear ornate, ridiculously large, hats -- and sometimes gloves.
Watch the most anticipated shortest two minutes in sports!
Gerrie Ferris FingerBooks: Running with Wild Blood (Nothing to do with horses except for those powering a motorcycle.)American Nights - release date: Aug 17, 2016
Post Time: 6:34 p.m.
HISTORY
In 1872, Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition, traveled to England, visiting the Epsom Derby, a famous race that had been running since 1780. From there, Clark went on to Paris, France, where a group had formed the French Jockey Club and had organized the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp -- the greatest race in France.
Back home, Clark organized the Louisville Jockey Club to raise money to build a quality racing track. That track would become Churchill Downs, named for John and Henry Churchill, who provided the land for the racetrack.
The Kentucky Derby was first run at 11⁄2 miles, the same distance as the Epsom Derby. The distance was changed in 1896 to its current 11⁄4 miles.
WINNERS
American Pharoah won it in 2015. Ridden by Victor Espinoza and trained by Bob Baffert.
The first winner: Out of a field of 15 horses, Aristides, trained by Ansel Williams and ridden by Oliver Lewis, won.
Thoroughbred owners began sending their successful Derby horses to compete a few weeks later in the Preakness Stakes, in Baltimore, Maryland, followed by the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York. In 1919 Sir Bartonbecame the first horse to win all three races. However, the term Triple Crown didn't come into use for another eleven years. In 1930, when Gallant Fox became the second horse to win all three races, sportswriter Charles Hatton brought the phrase into American usage.
The fastest time ever run in the Derby (at its present distance) was set in 1973 at 1:59.4 minutes when the great Secretariat broke the record set by Northern Dancer in 1964. Not only has Secretariat's record time yet to be topped, he did something unique in Triple Crown races: in each successive quarter (distance markers around the track), his times were faster. (The history of Secretariat is fascinating. Google it.)
SecretariatDERBY TRADITIONS:
Mint Julep: Iced drink of bourbon, mint, sugar syrup.
Burgoo: A stew of beef, chicken, pork and vegetables.
Derby Pie: A tart filled with chocolate and walnuts. (Secret family recipe).
My Old Kentucky Home: As the horses are parade before the grandstands, the University of Louisville Marching Band plays Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home," a tradition began in 1921.
Run for the Roses: So called because a garland of red roses is draped across the mane of the Kentucky Derby winner each year. The tradition originated in 1883 when a New Yorker presented roses to ladies at a post-Derby party that was attended by Churchill Downs founder and president, Col. M. Lewis Clark.
Large (race-obscuring) Hats:Though horse racing was “old hat” for British and French society, American women shied away from horse racing – yikes - gambling and drinking! Clark, being the visionary that he was and not wanting his new race to seem seedy, encouraged women to attend in the guise of a picnic with friends. Thus they created an allure by positioning it as a fashion event with full morning dress for men and women. Col. Clark would be proud: Through the decades, we women kept our responsibilities in curtailing seediness. We wear ornate, ridiculously large, hats -- and sometimes gloves.
Watch the most anticipated shortest two minutes in sports!
Gerrie Ferris FingerBooks: Running with Wild Blood (Nothing to do with horses except for those powering a motorcycle.)American Nights - release date: Aug 17, 2016
May 5, 2016
Cheers!
Today is Cinco de Mayo or as some say Cinco de Drinko!
Cinco de Mayo, Spanish for "May 5th", or literally, "Five of May", is a celebration held on May 5. The date is observed to commemorate the Mexican Army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of General Ignacio Zaragoza. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is sometimes mistaken to be Mexico's Independence Day—the most important national holiday in Mexico—which is celebrated on September 16.
Thanks to Wiki, now you know.
Celebrate!!
Gerrie Ferris Finger
RUNNING WITH WILD BLOOD
AMERICAN NIGHTS (released Aug. 17, 2016)
April 18, 2016
RUNNING WITH WILD BLOOD, A Thriller
Richard Lake of the Atlanta Police Department gets a cold case when a witness suddenly gets his memory back. Lake recruits Moriah Dru to look into the murder of Juliet Trapp, sixteen when she died, and a student at Winters Farm Academy. Juliet Trapp had told her mother she was going to Bike Week with Wild Blood, an outlaw motorcycle gang, over the Christmas break. The police were unable to solve Juliet's murder after interviews with the bikers. The case roars into high gear when Juliet's father, Sherman Trapp, is murdered in Chattanooga where Wild Blood is the predominant motorcycle club. Dru discovers that Trapp was trying to find the killer of his daughter, but got too close.
March 17, 2016
Green Beer, a Beard and a Potato - Hail to the Irish!
Happy St. Patricks Day.
Murphy told Quinn that his wife was driving him to drink. Quinn thinks he's very lucky because his own wife makes him walk.
Reilly went to trial for armed robbery. The jury foreman came out and announced, "Not guilty." "That's grand!" shouted Reilly. "Does that mean I can keep the money?" Irish lass customer: "Could I be trying on that dress in the window?" Shopkeeper: "I'd prefer that you use the dressing room." Finnegin: My wife has a terrible habit of staying up 'til two in the morning. I can't break her of it.Keenan: What on earth is she doin' at that time?Finnegin: Waitin' for me to come home .
Did you hear about the Irish newlyweds who sat up all night on their honeymoon waiting for their sexual relations to arrive? Paddy and Mick get a pilot to fly them to Canada to hunt moose. They bag six. As Paddy and Mick start loading the plane for the return trip, the pilot says, "The plane can only take four of those." The two lads object strongly. "Last year we shot six, and the pilot let us put them all on board; he had the same plane as yours." Reluctantly, the pilot gives in and all six are loaded. However, even with full power, the little plane can't handle the load and down it goes and crashes in the middle of nowhere. A few moments later, climbing out of the wreckage, Paddy asks Mick, "Any idea where we are?" "I think we're pretty close to where we crashed last year," says Mick. Paddy says to Mick, "Christmas is on a Friday this year" Mick says "Let's hope it's not the 13th." The Irish have solved their own fuel problems. They imported 50 million tons of sand from the Arabs and they're going to drill for their own oil.
Paddy is said to be shocked at finding out all his cows have Bluetongue. "Be Jeysus!" he said, "I didn't even know they had mobile phones!" Mick and Paddy are reading head stones at a nearby cemetery. Mick say "Crikey! There's a bloke here who was 152!" Paddy says "What's his name?" Mick replies "Miles, from London!"
Mick hasn't kissed his wife in years, but he'll mash in the ol' potato any man who does.
Be Irish, Be Happy!
Murphy told Quinn that his wife was driving him to drink. Quinn thinks he's very lucky because his own wife makes him walk.
Reilly went to trial for armed robbery. The jury foreman came out and announced, "Not guilty." "That's grand!" shouted Reilly. "Does that mean I can keep the money?" Irish lass customer: "Could I be trying on that dress in the window?" Shopkeeper: "I'd prefer that you use the dressing room." Finnegin: My wife has a terrible habit of staying up 'til two in the morning. I can't break her of it.Keenan: What on earth is she doin' at that time?Finnegin: Waitin' for me to come home .
Did you hear about the Irish newlyweds who sat up all night on their honeymoon waiting for their sexual relations to arrive? Paddy and Mick get a pilot to fly them to Canada to hunt moose. They bag six. As Paddy and Mick start loading the plane for the return trip, the pilot says, "The plane can only take four of those." The two lads object strongly. "Last year we shot six, and the pilot let us put them all on board; he had the same plane as yours." Reluctantly, the pilot gives in and all six are loaded. However, even with full power, the little plane can't handle the load and down it goes and crashes in the middle of nowhere. A few moments later, climbing out of the wreckage, Paddy asks Mick, "Any idea where we are?" "I think we're pretty close to where we crashed last year," says Mick. Paddy says to Mick, "Christmas is on a Friday this year" Mick says "Let's hope it's not the 13th." The Irish have solved their own fuel problems. They imported 50 million tons of sand from the Arabs and they're going to drill for their own oil.
Paddy is said to be shocked at finding out all his cows have Bluetongue. "Be Jeysus!" he said, "I didn't even know they had mobile phones!" Mick and Paddy are reading head stones at a nearby cemetery. Mick say "Crikey! There's a bloke here who was 152!" Paddy says "What's his name?" Mick replies "Miles, from London!" Mick hasn't kissed his wife in years, but he'll mash in the ol' potato any man who does.
Be Irish, Be Happy!
March 15, 2016
RUNNING WITH WILD BLOOD, A Thriller via @buzzfeeders via @Linkis_com
Richard Lake of the Atlanta Police Department gets a cold case when a witness suddenly gets his memory back. Lake recruits Moriah Dru to look into the murder of Juliet Trapp, sixteen when she died, and a student at Winters Farm Academy. Juliet Trapp had told her mother she was going to Bike Week with Wild Blood, an outlaw motorcycle gang, over the Christmas break. The police were unable to solve Juliet's murder after interviews with the bikers. The case roars into high gear when Juliet's father, Sherman Trapp, is murdered in Chattanooga where Wild Blood is the predominant motorcycle club. Dru discovers that Trapp was trying to find the killer of his daughter, but got too close.
February 24, 2016
National Tortilla Day - Feb. 24
National Tortilla Chip Day needs to get together with National Margarita Day!
(See Feb. 22 post).
And when is National Guacamole Day?
The Tortilla "holiday" is called corny by some, but not me. Just a few decades ago, Americans seldom ate corn chips and salsa or cheese, or a combo thereof. (Although we devoured Fritos by the bagful when I was a kid, and I still love them best.) Tortilla popularity has grown to be one of America's favorite munchies. Doritos, anyone?
The corn chip was born in Mexico and then imported by recipe to the U.S. by Texas businessman Elmer Doolin. Although first mass-produced in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, tortilla chips were always considered to be a Mexican food, known as totopos and tostadas.
According to Wiki, that know-it-all (sometimes) online encyclopedia, "the triangle shaped tortilla chip was popularized by Rebecca Webb Carranza as a way to make use of misshapen tortillas rejected from the automated tortilla manufacturing machine that she and her husband used at their Mexican delicatessen and tortilla factory in southwest Los Angeles. Carranza found that the discarded tortillas, cut into triangles and fried, were a popular snack, and she sold them for a dime a bag at the El Zarape Tortilla Factory. In 1994, Carranza received the Golden Tortilla award for her contribution to the Mexican food industry."
So now you know.
Gerrie Ferris Finger
THE END GAME
THE LAST TEMPTATION
THE DEVIL LAUGHED
MURMURS OF INSANITY
RUNNING WITH WILD BLOOD
AMERICAN NIGHTS - Released Aug 2017
February 22, 2016
Who sets these dates anyway?I like Margaritas, espec...
Who sets these dates anyway?
I like Margaritas, especially those concocted with freshly made agave (tequila) at Pablo's in Fernandina Beach, Florida.
Salute!
(I also like tequila, also known as Mexican Mule, for a reason.)
Now you don't have to wait for Cinco de Mayo to taste the variety of recipes of this Mexican drink which can be done in different styles and flavors, including cranberry, peach and lime.
Let's make a Classic Margarita:
(From Epicurious)
INGREDIENTS2 ounces tequila made from 100 percent agave, ( preferably reposado or blanco)1 ounce Cointreau (AT LEAST)1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juiceSalt for garnishPREPARATIONCombine tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice in cocktail shaker filled with ice. Moisten rim of Margarita or other cocktail glass with lime juice or water. Holding glass upside down, dip rim into salt. Shake and strain drink into glass and serve
facts garnered from other websites:Tequila is distilled from the blue agave plant. Blue agave is larger in size and sweeter than regular agave.
According to NationalDayCalendar.com, Tequila is made primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila in Mexico.
"Mexican law states that Tequila can be produced only in the state of Jaliscoand." reports the website.
Just like the French. Champagne is only Champagne when it comes from the Champagne region in France. I like Champagne. When is Champagne Day?
Another fun fact: Don Cenobio Sauza, the founder of Sauza Tequila and Municipal President of the Village of Tequila from 1884 to 1885, was the first to export Tequila to the United States.
And the rest, as they say, is hysterical. Enough to make you take your clothes off.
Thanks to Total Wine for this kickin' recipe:
Celebrate!
Gerrie Ferris Finger
THE END GAME
RUNNING WITH WILD BLOOD
MURMURS OF INSANITY'
THE DEVIL LAUGHED
THE LAST TEMPTATION
AMERICAN NIGHTS - Aug 17, 2016
http://amzn.to/1HZxd1A
February 20, 2016
RIP Harper Lee
It's always sad to report the loss of a talented, much-loved author, or any human for that matter.
I was a young girl when I first read To Kill a Mockingbird. I did not understand it at the time. We lived in the country where there were no black folks. This was west St. Louis County, Missouri. One thing the years have taught me -- as I write from my desk in south Georgia -- that collectively we must experience the framework of ethnic groups to fully understand people of different religious, cultural practices, race, and attitudes, and their places in time.
Could the events in "Mockingbird" happen today? Of course. We have also learned that technological progress over time doesn't translate to people progress.
Harper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama.
Go Set a Watchman was written by Lee before Mockingbird, but published decades later. It became a phenomenal #1 New York Times bestseller when it was published in July 2015.
Harper Lee received the Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and numerous other literary awards and honors. She died on February 19, 2016.
Respectfully submitted,
Gerrie Ferris Finger
Journalist and Author
I was a young girl when I first read To Kill a Mockingbird. I did not understand it at the time. We lived in the country where there were no black folks. This was west St. Louis County, Missouri. One thing the years have taught me -- as I write from my desk in south Georgia -- that collectively we must experience the framework of ethnic groups to fully understand people of different religious, cultural practices, race, and attitudes, and their places in time.
Could the events in "Mockingbird" happen today? Of course. We have also learned that technological progress over time doesn't translate to people progress.
Harper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama.
Go Set a Watchman was written by Lee before Mockingbird, but published decades later. It became a phenomenal #1 New York Times bestseller when it was published in July 2015.
Harper Lee received the Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and numerous other literary awards and honors. She died on February 19, 2016.
Respectfully submitted,
Gerrie Ferris Finger
Journalist and Author
January 15, 2016
International Handwriting Week
Cursive going the way of the Dodo?
January 17 starts International Handwriting Week, culminating on January 23 in The USA's National Handwriting Day. The 23rd was chosen by the International Writing Instrument Manufacturer's Association because it's John Hancock's birthday.
Hancock signed his name big and bold on the Declaration of Independence so King George could read it without his specs. Sadly, many of today's children cannot read Hancock's signature, let alone the Declaration of Independence or other important source documents. As president of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF) I've watched the decline of handwriting training in US public schools with great concern. Our kids need the opportunity to learn this vital lifelong skill. For some of the reasons why, visit www.cursiveiscool.com
Here's the Good News: Three years ago, AHAF formed the Campaign for Cursive committee, starting a grassroots campaign to turn this shameful situation around. Since partnering with other concerned companies and organizations, we're seeing progress. Several states have already returned the requirement to teach cursive writing to the curriculum. Check www.cursiveiscool.com to see how you can help.
Gerrie Ferris Finger
January 17 starts International Handwriting Week, culminating on January 23 in The USA's National Handwriting Day. The 23rd was chosen by the International Writing Instrument Manufacturer's Association because it's John Hancock's birthday.
Hancock signed his name big and bold on the Declaration of Independence so King George could read it without his specs. Sadly, many of today's children cannot read Hancock's signature, let alone the Declaration of Independence or other important source documents. As president of the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation (AHAF) I've watched the decline of handwriting training in US public schools with great concern. Our kids need the opportunity to learn this vital lifelong skill. For some of the reasons why, visit www.cursiveiscool.com
Here's the Good News: Three years ago, AHAF formed the Campaign for Cursive committee, starting a grassroots campaign to turn this shameful situation around. Since partnering with other concerned companies and organizations, we're seeing progress. Several states have already returned the requirement to teach cursive writing to the curriculum. Check www.cursiveiscool.com to see how you can help.
Gerrie Ferris Finger
