Josh Lanyon's Blog, page 4

AUTHOR! AUTHOR! REDUX - Chapter Two with S.C. Wynne

 

As longtime viewers know, I used to occasionally do author interviews with friends and folks who interested me. It's been awhile. Not because I don't still have friends and folks who interest me, but, for a variety of reasons, I've become very...disengaged with social media. 

I still use it to promote new releases, and I do the Advent Calendar as a thank you to readers, but beyond that, I just don't have the time or emotional bandwith. There's so just so much going on right now that isn't at all related to my writing life. I think you hit a certain age and that becomes inevitable. 

Still.

The interviews were fun, and helpful to readers and authors alike, so I thought maybe I'd go back to throwing them into the mix now and again. And what do you know? We have someone celebrating a book birthday this very week! 

WELCOME TO CHAPTER TWO WITH S.C. WYNNE

JL  – Tell us who you are and what you do. AND NO PEEKING ATTHE ANSWERS!

 

SCW - Firstof all, thank you for having me on your blog, Josh!  (And I only peeked a little!)

Now I’lllet the voices in my head introduce me third person: S.C. Wynne is a LambdaAward winning author and has been writing MM Romance and Gay mystery since2013. She lives in California with her wonderful husband, two quirky kids, anda loony rescue pup named Ditto. 

JL – The last time we spoke (online in blog format *cough*) you still owned the coffee house and writingwas not yet your fulltime gig. That’s all changed now. Share a little bit aboutthat journey.

 

SCW - Has it really been that long? Oh, God, the days ofrunning a coffeehouse. Don’t remind me. Talk about an exhausting endeavor.These days I like to enjoy my coffee without the joy of jumping up and down toserve customers. Originally, writing was just going to be a side gig. However, Iloved it so much, and it proved to be profitable for me, so I dove in withabandon and, in 2017, became a full-time author. Before we sold the coffeehouse and the writing was full-time, there was crossover. That was a tiring periodin my life. I was writing full-time and also running the coffeehouse. Many,many books were produced during that time. I had amazing concentration skillsback in the day. Probably from the gallons of coffee I drank.

 

JL – Up until now you’ve mostly written contemporary mysteryand romance, with some paranormal thrown in, but now you’ve partnered up withmy friends at Blind Eye Books and completely new and exciting project. Tell usabout Beyond the Veil.

SCW - The partnership with Blind Eye Books came about when Iposted about one of my WIP on Facebook. Nicole Kimberling, the editor of BEB,reached out because she happened to have a free slot in their publishingschedule. Before that, the book I was working on was originally going to be mybasic MM mystery romance thing with paranormal elements. But Nicole needed abook that was more fantasy based and so I tweaked the idea a bit. With Nicole’sskillful guidance, I was able, I hope, to hit the marks needed to make thestory actual fantasy.

 

JL – I remember what an intense and instructive experience itwas working with Nicole Kimberling, the editor at Blind Eye Books, on StrangeFortune. What was the best part of working with Nikki. What was the mostchallenging aspect of the project?

SCW - The edits were indeed intense. That’s a good word for it. But I’ve worked with many houses over my writing journey, so I felt ready for them. The best part was I learned a lot from Nicole, especially about the difference in writing fantasy romance from writing a regular mystery romance. In the mysteries, I hold a lot of info back and feed it out in little bread crumbs. But with fantasy, it seemed as if Nicole wanted answers to things quickly. Perhaps she’s just an impatient little minx? She didn’t like being kept in the dark, which is what I do with mysteries. So, she pushed me to reveal things more quickly than I would have naturally. As I recall she was also very impatient with me for promising spirits, but then not having enough spirits appearing soon enough or often enough. There were many editing comments like this: See, like this scene would be much better with ghosts sprinkled throughout, or How about the ghosts. What are they up to? You promised me lots of ghosts!
JL - THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR. I believe in my case it was rolling heads. FORTUNATELY, a favorite of mine. 😂

SCW - The most challenging thing about working with a publisheragain was going through a real content edit. Since I’ve only beenself-publishing the last few years, I usually just get copy edits. I feelfairly confident in my story telling abilities, but not at all confident aboutcommas. They’re such confusing little things. Having another opinion aboutwhere the actual story should go took a little getting used to. Relinquishingcontrol when you’ve had total control for so long was probably the hardestpart. But I respect Nicole, and I did my best to do as she requested. I onlypushed back a little when her suggestions didn’t feel like something mycharacters would do. Other than that, I tried to be a very obedient littleauthor. Right, Nicole? I was a joy to work with, right? RIGHT?

 JL - 😁

JL  – What are you most excited about with this new book? Whatdo you hope readers take away from this literary adventure?

SCW - The most exciting thing about writing this book was itforced me to stretch my creative wings. I think authors should do that fromtime to time. I enjoyed the experience a lot. It was tough, but I look back onthe edits with a real feeling of accomplishment. I know the book is better forthem. I’d happily work with BEB again, if asked.

I’m not sure what I hope readers take away from thislittle adventure of mine. Hopefully, while the book has fantasy elements, readerswill see that Beyond the Veil is still very much an S.C. Wynne book. Whathappens to my characters is fantastical, but my characters themselves willstill always be true to my writing style.

 

JL – Are we going to see more spec fiction titles from you?

SCW - Perhaps. I do love writing all kinds of differentstories. I have a backlog of mysteries I’ve promised readers. But once thoseare published, there might be more spec fiction in my future. I’ll have Lorenzolook into his crystal ball and tell me what’s next!

 

JL – How would you say the writing biz has changed since yourlast visit to the blog?

SCW - For one thing, it’s way more crowded. There used to belike three books published a day in our genre, now there are sometimes thirty? Also,I believe Kindle Unlimited came about the year after I began writing. Thatdefinitely changed everything. Many readers now simply borrow books rather thanbuy them.

It also seems like the craft of writing isn’t anythinganyone talks about anymore. Everyone is very fixated on promotion. There are alot of people making money selling authors courses on how to promote theirbooks, but less people talking about the writing itself. I remember when peopledevoured and discussed books. I don’t see that happening much anymore. Everyoneis reading so quickly because there are SO MANY BOOKS.

 

JL  – While it’s hard to get specific data, there’ssignificant anecdotal evidence suggesting most authors, particularlyself-published authors, give up within the first 2 -5 years of launching theirwriting career. So, you’ve already lasted longer than the majority of authorslast in this crazy business. What’s the secret to your success? Do you have anyadvice for someone starting out today?

SCW - I can’t imagine ever giving up. I’ve been writing foreleven years now, and I still absolutely love it. I don’t know that I have a secretto success. The experts say authors should pick one genre and beat that todeath. Maybe I’d be more of a household name if I’d been able to do that andonly written one thing for eleven years. I tend to jump around a lot because Ilove writing so many different things. While I’m not a person who is boredeasily, I do have a lot of things that interest me and so I try them. I don’treally regret that though because it’s made my writing journey more interestingfor me. I think if you’re bored writing something, and I would be if I onlywrote one thing, the readers can tell.

 

JL - What’s next for S.C. Wynne?

SCW - I have a standalone mystery idea I’m really excitedabout. It has to do with a lover presumed lost at sea, who isn’t actually lost.That’s all I’ll say for now. No, shhh. Don’t ask for details. I shan’t tell. Thatbook idea has been percolating in my brain for a year now. I can’t wait tostart that one. There’s also a Dr. Thornton book coming in the next few months.How I’ve missed Max and Royce. Also, I have another book planned for my KipO’Connor cozy mystery series too. Rest assured there are many story ideasping-ponging around in my brain. I’m excited for 2024. :) 

BEYOND THE VEIL IS AVAILABLE NOW! 

Being a psychic in the small seaside town of Fox Harbor is challenging enough, but winter months are brutal. Not that using his clairvoyant abilities to hunt down lost pets isn’t thrilling, but Lorenzo wouldn’t mind a tiny bit more excitement in his life.

Be careful what you wish for?

Things get more stimulating when the charismatic Dr. Ian Thatcher takes a romantic interest in him. Unfortunately, their promising evening takes a ghastly turn when an old man dies on Lorenzo’s doorstep, after warning Lorenzo his life is in danger.

Before Lorenzo can say “Give me my old boring life back, please” his home is ransacked, a fiery being tries to burn him to death, and he’s informed he’s the only hope to save the world.

                                           CLICK TO BUY

LEARN MORE ABOUT SC WYNNE... 

SC WYNNE

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NEW RELEASE: The Lemon Drop Kid

 I'd mentioned awhile-two years ago?--back that I was working on a Christmas short story called The Lemon Drop Kid. Welllll, the more I thought about that story and those characters, the more I realized 1 - Christmas story or not, I wanted to write it, and 2 - There was way too much story there for a short story.

Anyway, it's set at Christmas time, but I don't know that it's really a Christmas story. What I do know is, it's a bit of a departure for me. A little more emotional than of late? A little darker than of late, for sure. 

BLURB

How The Cookie Crumbled

 

As sole heir to the Bredahl Cookiesand Cakes fortune, Casper led a comfortable, happy-go-lucky life. Some wouldsay, a charmed life.

 

Sure, there were challenges:relentless pressure to join the family business, and his unrequited feelingsfor former high school crush Raleigh Jackson. But yeah, a charmed existence,compared to life after being arrested for murder and spending nearly a year inChippewa Falls County Jail, awaiting trial.

 

Exoneration, freedom, came at toosteep a price. To say Casper isn’t in the mood for the holidays, is putting itmildly. In fact, the only thing he wants for Christmas is to see Detective RaleighJackson, the man responsible for wrongly putting him behind bars, get his justdesserts.

 

 EXCERPT

As I stepped out of the wood line, I saw a black SUV parkedbehind the Range Rover. The SUV bore the familiar—and now dreaded—red and whiteinsignia of Little Copenhagen Police Department.

My heart stopped.

I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m allowed to be here.

Before panic—and rage—could take over, I recognized thetall, dark-haired figure peering through the driver’s window of my vehicle. Nouniform. A plainclothes officer. My heart kickstarted back into life, began to poundin a painful mix of anger and hatred—made even more painful by my recognitionthat even now, my instinctive reaction to seeing Raleigh was…delight.

Because I had loved him all my life. And as much as I hatedhim now, the conditioned reflex of my blood and bones to the surprise of seeinghim was…

Stupid.

Raleigh must have caught my approach out of the corner ofhis eye because he straightened up, turned. He didn’t look surprised, but thenhe’d have recognized the car.

The snow made a squeaky-creak sound as the ice crystalsshifted beneath my boots. It seemed to take a very long time to cross thatclearing. Raleigh didn’t move. He was too far away for me to read his face, butthen it was always hard to read his face.

I kept walking toward him, not saying anything, just lookingat him without any expression. You learn fast to hide your feelings in county. Youlearn fast not to have feelings.

Raleigh stared gravely back—his eyes were the color of theshadows on the snow. Maybe he was waiting for me to get closer than shoutingdistance or maybe he was waiting for me to speak first. If so, he was going towait a long time.

I was never willingly going to speak to him again.

Even as that thought formed, it was washed aside by the furynow always bubbling beneath the surface.

“Problem, Officer?” I sounded clipped because I was out ofbreath. It’s funny how anger winds you.

Raleigh gave a short shake of his head. “Hi Casper. Justmaking sure everything’s okay.” He dipped his head, drew a sharp breath. “Actually,I’m glad I—”

“Oh yeah,” I cut in. “Everything’s fantastic.”

His light gaze flickered.

“But you’re a detective now. You probably could tell that justfrom the way I parked.” I made a commiserating face. “Then again, you’re apretty shitty detective, so maybe not.”

Raleigh’s expression changed, grew stony.

Funny—crazy—that I had kissed that straight line of a mouth.That he had kissed me too. Not once, not twice, not by accident, not because we’dbeen drinking. Many times. Many kisses. I regretted every single one.

Raleigh didn’t sound stony though as he stumbled through hisdisjointed whatever-it-was-supposed-to-be. Explanation? It sure as hell wasn’tan apology.  “Look, Casper. I was doingmy job. You know I didn’t—you think it was easy for me?”

“Oh my God,” My parka crinkled in the chilly air as I put ahand to my chest. “It must have been terrible for you. What am Ithinking? All those months you had to go on with your life and suffer throughgetting a big fat promotion you knew fucking well you didn’t deserve. How can Ibe so selfish?”

“I thought you were guilty!”

It seemed to bounce off the distant snowy hills.

And just like that I was calm again. Ice cold. “So you saidat the time.”

Both times. The night he arrested me. And the day he came tosee me in jail to explain why, friends or no friends, he couldn’t overlook mycommitting murder.

Raleigh was calmer too. Quieter. “Casper.”

“But like you said, nothing personal.”

“I never said it wasn’t personal. Of course, it waspersonal. I—” He gave a disarming swallow in the middle of it. “I cared foryou. You know that.”

“No doubt there.”

“But if you were capable of murder—”

“Except I wasn’t.”

He sounded sincere and kind, like the old once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-princeRaleigh. “I know that now. We all know that now. And I’m glad you’ve been exonerated.I can’t tell you how sorry I am for everything that happened.”

I smiled. “Worried about the lawsuit?”

He stared.

There wasn’t any lawsuit. Not yet anyway. My lawyer hadbroached the idea; I figured he was disappointed he hadn’t been able to makemincemeat of LCPD in court.

I laughed.

It wasn’t much of a laugh. It sounded like icicles falling.

I think one of those icicles must have found its target,because Raleigh seemed frozen. He continued to stare at me and then he snappedout of it.

His face was cold, his voice hard as he said, “Do your worst,Caz. In the meantime, what are you doing parked out here in the middle ofnowhere?”

I opened my mouth—the old Casper would have snapped backwith a smartass answer. But I was eleven months older and, if not wiser, muchmore careful. It took a lot to make Raleigh angry, but he was angry now. I didn’twant to push my luck. The idea of being arrested, jailed—for even fiveminutes—was enough to fill me with panic.

I understood how very fragile freedom was.

“Looking for Freyja. She ran away two days ago.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Raleigh was as crazyabout dogs as me. That was one thing we’d always had in common. For another, I’dgot Freyja from Linda, Raleigh’s mom. Linda raised golden retrievers. Raleigh’sdog Loki was from the same litter.

He said neutrally, “She’s chipped. Did you try the animalshelter and the vet clinics?”

“I tried.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll keep an eye out for her.”

I nodded, shrugged. “Thanks. I know she’s gone. She wouldn’tstay away this long.”

Just one more thing I blamed him for, and he probably saw itin my face.

He nodded curtly. “Drive safely. It’s getting dark.” Heturned his back on me, not waiting for the response that he correctly assumedwasn’t coming.

I didn’t watch him walk away. I unlocked the Range Rover,got inside, and started the engine—and nearly jumped out of my skin as someonethumped on the driver’s side window. Hard.

Raleigh glared down at me.

I fumbled to find the button to lower the window.

As the window slid down, he said hotly, “You know, I wasn’tthe only one. Everybody thought you were guilty—”

I said, matching his anger decibel for decibel, “You aren’t everybody,Raleigh. You knew me. You were my—” My voice gave a humiliating crack, but Igot control. “You were supposed to be my friend.”

He was supposed to be a hell of a lot more than my friend. 

So far it's only listed on Amazon and Smashwords. I'll try to get it up everywhere else today. 

(I guess there's still an issue with the book being searchable on Amazon's global sites, so here are some direct links to the obvious suspects)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CWB2T8DN Amazon UK

https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0CWB2T8DN France

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CWB2T8DN Amazon Germany

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CWB2T8DN Italy

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CWB2T8DN Canada

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CWB2T8DN Australia

Now Open: CLOAK AND DAGGER (new JL Author Merch)

 

A funny thing happened on the way to creating merch for my Patreon account...

The first funny thing was that I ended up creating an Etsy store. That one is still a puzzle. But, I mean, everyone needs a retirement plan, right? Okay, probably not Etsy. But still. Everyone needs a hobby. 

So then, I finally got around to creating some Patreon-exclusive merch, but the problem was where and how to handle that merch. I didn't want to mix it into my Etsy store. I didn't want to have Patreon handle my merch given the issues Patreon has with super basic things like...search functionality and internal messaging. Yeesh. 

Once upon a time I had--well, I didn't have it, but there was a Zazzle store to handle my author merch, but that store was run by my various and dear mods in order to fund the book launches and giveaways and celebrations. But I don't really do book launches anymore. 

And of course, I've changed a lot of covers and written a lot of books since back in the day.

Anyway, that's a long way of saying I finally have a new author merch store. It's called Cloak and Dagger after you-know-whose-place-of-business. 😉

New Release - A FUNNY THING HAPPENED... An Adrien English Christmas Story

 

To make a long story short, I'm withdrawing the ebook edition of Fatal Shadows: The Collector's Edition from publication. 

The idea was to make a very expensive (even in the paperback!) collector's item available in some form to everyone who loved the Adrien English Mysteries series, without regard to cost or geographic restrictions. And the ebook has been available for a year--and I'll leave it up through January 1st. 

The idea of a digital "collector's edition" is just a bit NFT, isn't it? 😂🤣 But I'm glad we did it. I'm glad the ebook was made available to everyone.

The print editions will of course remain available.

What I am going to do though--in fact, I've already done it--is take that "final" AE coda in the collection (yes, THAT one) expand it a wee bit and publish it as a short story. Because that story seemed to be what a lot of readers were actually after anyway.

So that is now available as A Funny Thing Happened...

It's not even on my website yet, but you can purchase it through Amazon and Smashwords and Google Play. It will be everywhere eventually, but I plan on taking a little time off during the "holidays," that doesn't involve me lying in bed with a Nyquil bottle in one hand, the TV remote in the other, to the background music of Murder, She Wrote. 

We've Got Winnahs!

 Happy Holidays again! 

As you may have guessed, I did have an unfortunate collision with the latest strain of Covid virus and that was pretty much all she wrote for Christmas. So, yes, I'll confine my comments to NOT THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER. 

I'm just hoping that when that last calendar page flips over at midnight on Sunday, that will be the end of what felt like a truly jinxed year. Not that it was all bad. Some really terrific things happened this year too, and it's better to focus on those, I know that, but I can't help feeling a little bit like...what the what?! 

Anyway, I have Advent Calendar winners to announce! 

From Advent Calendar Day 6 - The winner of the LGBTQAI Holiday Blanket is... Teresa F.

From Advent Calendar Day 10 - There are still copies of HIDE AND SEEK available for download, but that giveaway ends tomorrow night! 

From Advent Calendar Day Day 14 - The three winners of The Thin Man-inspired ceramic mugs are Mr. Pinkerton, Sandra @ Waiting For Wentworth, and Karla!

I just want to add how much I enjoyed reading about everyone's family traditions. I was severely pressed for time this year and wasn't able to comment on the calendar, but I read every comment and I do truly appreciate everyone who took the time to read and engage!

And, finally, Advent Calendar Day 21 - Our three winners of ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS are CathyR, Claudia, and Byron B.

Now, just a reminder, don't put your personal contact info here in the comments! Contact me through my website or Facebook or, if you're on Patreon, DM me there. I need physical addresses to ship these items to you. :-) 

This concludes 2023's Advent Calendar. Thank you so much to everyone who took part, from the talented authors to the generous and supportive readers. I hope this little annual tradition brings a few extra smiles during your hectic holiday season. Thank you so much for being here--not just for the calendar, but for the books and my musings and all the rest of it. 

Here's to 2024! 

Advent Calendar Day 25 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 Merry Christmas to one and all. Wishing you every happiness this holiday season and best wishes for a splendid New Year!

I can't deny I'm looking forward to seeing the last of 2023, especially since it's final parting gift was to give me and the SO Covid. Well, the SO has it for sure. As of writing this post, I'm feeling okay. My throat's a bit sore, but that could just be...well, whatever. There's probably no slipping through its clutches, but I'm going to do my best to have a merry Christmas anyway. Although it's looking like it will be me and the dogs cuddling in front of the fire and having a midnight cocktail on Christmas Eve. 

Anyway, thank you to all of you for your kindness and support this year! Thank you for your patience as well. It was not the year I planned, that's for sure. Right down to the final days. But so it goes. I hope you enjoyed this year's calendar and thank you so much to Byron, Natascha and Meg for their lovely contributions. 

Oh! I'll figure out who won what next week and post it on the blog. 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Christmas Coda--No. Wait.

 

This morning's coda is actually a Halloween Coda for Cosmo Saville and John Galbraith of the Bedknobs and Broomsticks series.   That wasn't the original plan, but plans change as I am here to tell you. 

Anyway, this coda follows the end of Bell, Book and Scandal.

 

When I got home, I found John peering inside the 19thcentury wedding armoire carved with carved love birds, flowers, and acanthusleaves, given to us by my great-aunt d’Estrées.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Ex-navy SEALS do not jump in surprise, but he definitelygave a little start, before turning to face me. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I tried something different and it worked.”

His dark brows drew together. “Oh…kay.” He was a littleperplexed, I could see that.

“I didn’t have to use kiddie Craft. I just thought of thisroom and I was able to step into it.”

John said slowly, “You mean you materialized?”

“Close enough.”

“That’s new.”

I nodded. “Yes. Do you mind?”

He was still frowning as he reached me, but he said, “Ofcourse not. You live here too. You can enter rooms however you please.”

“You don’t like magic though.”

He dipped his head to kiss me, murmured, “I make exceptions.”He kissed me lightly, then drew back. His expression uncharacteristicallyconcerned. “You’re like ice, Cos. Are you all right? You’re so pale.”

“Oh yes.” I smiled and titled my head back to kiss him.

But John rested his hands on my shoulders, examining me. “Thereare twigs in your hair and you’ve got a scratch over your eye. Were you runningthrough the brush?”

I laughed.

His alarm increased. “Are you on something?”

I laughed again, shook my head. “No.”

“Your pupils are huge.” Immediately, he was all business. “Weneed to get you in bed and warm.”

“That sounds wonderful.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.

He kissed me, but it was almost absent-minded, as he efficientlyand swiftly undressed me. “What happened up there in those hills?”

I only smiled.

Magic things. Wondrous things. Secret things.

He said a little grimly, “You were drinking, that I cantell.”

“Well, yeah.” I kept kissing him, and he kept kissingme back in that quick, distracted way, and then he scooped me up and tumbled meinto our bed, building a nest of blankets and pillows around me.

I shoved the bedding away, tugging him down. “Make love to me,my consort.”

John snorted. “That again.” But he lowered himself besideme.

“It’s true though.” I stared at him, and I could see thatdespite the hardness of his face, he was genuinely worried for me.

I smiled. “Truly, I’m fine, John. Just a littlechilled.” I teased, “And with your military background, surely you cantake care of that?”

He regarded me for moment, but apparently what he saw in myface reassured him. He shook his head, said, “I know a trick or two…”

 

It was quite a bit later, when he muttered, “Did the bedmove?” 

I laughed shakily. “I don’t doubt it.”

“No. I’m asking.”

“Hmm?”

“Because I thought it lifted a few inches at one point.”

The words slowly sank in. I blinked back to wakefulness,thinking it over.

“It’s possible. It’s a witch’s bed.”

“That, I know. But it’s never tried to fly before.”

“No, I mean, it was built for a witch. Originally craftedfor a witch. Not me.”

The bed in question was a black and bronze Victorian antiquefour-poster with a superbly cast brass plaque decoration in the shape of afive-pointed star and one perfect crystal knob atop each tall and gracefulpost.

I turned my head to study John’s face in the soft lamplight.“That’s one of the things that’s so funny about your wanting this bed so much.That star on the footboard is a witch’s star.”

He was silent and then finally he said, “I didn’t want thebed for myself. I wanted it for Jinx.”

“But that’s even funnier, really.”

Given John’s feelings about Jinx “dabbling” in the occult.

He wasn’t laughing though. He was still thinking it through.

I changed the subject, “Maybe you were dreaming?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

I didn’t think so either. In fact, I had wondered about thebed for a while. Those crystal knobs were real crystal. The kind used forscrying stones.

John said suddenly, “It wasn’t the bed that I wanted. It wasyou.”

I grinned. “Now you’re rewriting history. You mostdefinitely did not want me.”

We had come a long way if I could laugh about that.

John pushed back a little, reached over and brushed my hairfrom eyes, holding my gaze with his own. “Of course I did. Whether I knew it ornot. Everyone needs a little magic in their lives.”

 

Christmas Coda 70 - Zach Davies and Flint Carey from PUZZLE FOR TWO

Christmas Coda 70 – Zach and Flint from PUZZLE FOR TWO

 

“God bless us, every one!” Brooke raised her plastic champagneflute and downed the last mouthful of bubbly.

They all laughed, but Zach couldn’t help opening his mouthto remind her she still had to drive home after their office Christmas partywas over. He was forestalled by Flint’s light nudge—Flint was standing behindhim, methodically disposing of the last butter cookies Arlisse had baked for theirlittle get-together.

This was their first official celebration as SecuritySolutions, LLC, and there was plenty to toast to. The last two months had been busy,even chaotic, as Carey Confidential merged operations with Davies DetectiveAgency. While business couldn’t be said to be booming, it had definitelypicked up, and with two investigators—well, two-and-a-half, since Brooke wasnow working part of the time as a trainee-investigator—they were able to takeon more complex cases.

Next month, Flint’s lease was up on his space in the DelSello Center, so they would be paying one less office lease. And with Arlissetaking on office manager duties, Brooke was freed up to handle a lot of theresearch and background checks in between her Criminal Justice courses.

“Did you want this last cookie?” Flint inquired, handhovering over the solitary remaining butter cookie on the grease-soaked paperlace doily.

Zach threw him a sardonic look. “No, no. You go on. You’vegot to keep your strength up.”

“Ha.” Flint finished off the cookie, brushed the crumbs offhis hands. “I’ll remind you I didn’t have lunch.”

Zach and Brooke exchanged knowing glances, then Brookeexclaimed, “Oh my gosh! Is it that late?” She hopped off the reception desk andgrabbed her coat.

“Where are you running off to like your hair’s on fire?”Zach inquired.

“I’ve got a date with Devin.” Brooke’s tone was breezy asshe wrapped a long blue scarf printed with cherry blossoms in an elaboratearrangement around her neck.

Zach frowned. “I thought you weren’t—oww!” He glaredat Flint.

“Have fun, kiddo.” Flint wrapped his arm around Zach’sshoulders, mostly in affection but partly in restraint. He gave Zach a littlesqueeze for good measure.

“I plan to!” Halfway out the door, Brooke paused. “We’ll seeyou guys Monday for Christmas dinner?”

“Of course,” Zach said.

“Yep.” Flint was a lot more cheerful about it.

He had briefly fallen out of favor with Mrs. Davies when sherealized his buying out her share of Davies Detective Agency did not mean hewas going to oust Zach from the PI biz and back into accounting. But she hadsince forgiven him, and he was now, to Zach’s exasperation, the apple of hereye. Something Flint was smugly aware of.

“Great! Have fun you two crazy kids. Don’t do anything Iwouldn’t!”

“Is there anything you—” Zach began only to have Flintgive him another of those increasingly-less-subtle squeezes.

The glass door swung shut with the sweet chime of jinglebells, and Brooke was gone, her slender shadow darting past the plate glasswindows as she hurried to her car.

Zach didn’t move out of the circle of Flint’s arm, but hesaid shortly, “The guy’s married.”

“Separated. They’re getting divorced.”

Zach groaned. “Like we don’t spend half our time followingaround guys who claim to be separated from their wives?”

“I know,” Flint said soothingly. “But McLaughlin really isgetting divorced. And he seems like a pretty decent—”

“He’s almost seven years older than her.”

“Uh oh,” Flint said. “Is the age difference a dealbreaker? Because…”

Zach made a face and wrapped his arm around Flint’s waist. “That’sdifferent. We’re both adults. Anyway, you’re only five years—”

“Brooke is an adult too,” Flint cut in.

“Maybe technically.”

“And I’ll tell you something else, she has to figure thisone out for herself. In fact, the more you kick, the more likely she is to digher heels in.”

Zach scowled, met Flint’s green-gold gaze, and sighed. Flint’smouth curved into a slightly sympathetic grin. He turned Zach so that they stoodface-to-face.

For a moment they just studied each other, half-smiling,half-serious.

“Alone at last,” Flint murmured, and swallowed Zach’s laughin a kiss.

 

 

 

  

Christmas Coda 69 Adrien English and Jake Riordan

 Adrien and Jake from The Adrien English Mysteries.

This coda follows the events of "A Funny Thing Happened" (the little coda in Fatal Shadows The Collector's Edition). I hope to release the expanded short story version of that coda later this month. Fingers crossed! Anyway, you might want to skip this if you haven't read the coda/shortie.

Or not.

Christmas Coda 69 – Adrien and Jake

 

“Married?” Lisa squeaked.

My mother is not a squeaky woman. I’m not sure I’d everheard that particular songbird note from her before.

I said quickly, “It’s not like it was planned or anything.”

“But it was planned. The plan was that you werewaiting until we could all be together.”

I glanced automatically at Jake. His tawny eyes gleamed inthe firelight. We were back at the ranch, as they say, sitting in front of thefireplace, having a bottle of celebratory champagne, and test-driving theunexpected delight of finding ourselves well and truly hitched.

“Right. Well, that’s true. But the opportunity presenteditself—”

“Darling, you got married without us. You do realizethat?”

Jake made a sound that fell somewhere on the scale betweensnort and scoff, and shook his head.

It was funny, but there was real hurt in Lisa’s voice and, of course,I didn’t want to hurt her. But yeah, that comment did say a whole lot aboutLisa. And probably me as well.

“I do realize that,” I said patiently. “And you’re right, itwasn’t the plan—”

“Plans change,” Jake remarked.

I gave him a warning side eye. “But since we had thisopportunity—and after what we’ve all been through these last months, we didn’twant to wait.”

“You can’t just get married.” My mother spoke with suddendark suspicion. “One of you had to have the wedding rings with you. That makes it premeditated.”

 I felt a twinge ofguilt, which was ridiculous, I know. Especially since I hadn’t been the onecarrying our rings around in his breast pocket.

Well, you know what I mean.

“I…”

Jake put his hand out. “Let me talk to her.”

I opened my mouth, but really, that was just too good topass up. I mean, how endearing. Not the part where he imagined hewas running interference for me. Though, yes, sweet. But I mean the part where he thought he would succeedwhere so many had smashed to pieces on the reefs.

I handed my phone over and sat back to enjoy the show.

“Hey, Lisa. It’s Jake. This is really my fault. Adrien wasjust as surprised as—”

“Oh?” Her tiny long-distance voice chirped, “Was heunconscious? Did you marry my son against his will?”

I laughed at his expression, leaned over, clicked settings, pressedthe speaker button.

“You have a very evil laugh,” my husband muttered.

My husband.

“What? I didn’t catch that,” Lisa objected.

“Me again. You’re on speaker now, Lisa. First, I’m sorry. Iknow you wanted to be there. I wanted you there. Of course. But itreally did feel right. The moment presented itself and we both felt it wasright.”

“We waited a hell of a long time for it.” Jake’s voice wasquiet; those words weren’t intended for her. They might not have been intendedfor me.

Lisa said, “But you do understand why I wanted so much tosee my only ch—son married? Do you really feel that’s so unreasonable?”

Jake looked at me and cocked an eyebrow.

“Of course not,” I said. Then added unwisely, “Anyway, itwas just the wedding. We’re still going to have a little—”

“Big,” Jake corrected.

“Medium-sized reception with everyone who matters to us.”

“The wedding is the important part!”

I sighed. Jake took the phone back, said, “Lisa, you’remaking Adrien feel terrible on his wedding night.”

“No, don’t,” I said.

He gave me a quick serious look, and waited for Lisa’s response.

It took a couple of moments.

“Adrien, darling, you know I don’t mean it. I do understand.I just—I was a little disappointed, that’s all.” Her voice wobbled. “After all,I was there at the very beginning.”

Jake grinned silently, it was a kind of feral grin, but hesaid quite kindly, “We know.”

“But of course I’m very happy for both of you. Youknow that, darling. You know that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. To be happy,I mean. And if it’s with Jake…”

Jake made a soft sound of amusement.

“I do know,” I said quickly. “And I’m very happy.”

Jake said as solemnly as if we were reciting our vows allover again, “Lisa, I give you my word I will love, honor, cherish, and protectAdrien with all my heart till my dying breath.”

I wiped the corners of my eye, glared at him.

His face softened, he leaned in and kissed me.

When we parted at last, Lisa was talking about setting datesfor the reception.

“Okay-dokey,” I said. “We’ll talk when we get home.”

We said our goodbyes, then Jake refilled our champagne coupes,raised his glass, which sparkled in the firelight.

“Here’s to you, Mr. Riordan.”

We clinked glasses and I said, “And to you, Mr. English.”

 

Advent Calendar Day 21 - A Giveaway!

 

Happy Solstice!

This giveaway has no geographic restrictions. Today I'm giving away 3 print copies of ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS.

In 2012 I began a holiday tradition of writing Christmas codas for some of my -- and your -- favorite stories. I ran the codas on my blog and left them up there for readers to enjoy all year round. Eventually readers began asking if the codas could be collected, formatted, and made available for purchase. 

I thought that was a fun idea, so I did that very thing. The codas were edited, some expanded a bit, formatted and collected in two digital collections along with a few recipes for cocktails and dishes that were either featured in the original works or added (IMHO) a final comment or insight into the era or the characters or their relationship.

This print collection contains the two digital collections, meaning codas from 2012 - 2017. I've just about got enough codas to do a third digital collection, which I plan to put together after this year's holiday codas. At that point I believe I'll have written a holiday coda for nearly every one of my stories! 

Anyway, to win one of these three copies, just comment below on which of my character pairings are your favorite--and why that is.