NaNoNovember

I can’t even tell you how excited I am for the 2017 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I’m going to use the push that the contest provides to finish my novel-in-progress, Crescent Moon Crossing.

Yea, I know, you’re supposed to start a new novel for each NaNo, but this is a contest for US, the writers, and this book has been languishing below 30k words all year. It’s time to light the fire and get it finished.

Because I’ll be writing 2,000-plus words a day to make that happen, my blogs will be shorter this month. But I will give you weekly updates on my progress, a synopsis of the book, and some fun character profiles and insights.
My book synopsis and the first character profile, protagonist Rumor Vargas, is below.
Please stop by here and cheer me on! Or, if you participate in NaNo, friend me there (writing under the name SINAZ) and I will follow and encourage you as well.

Crescent Moon Crossing – Synopsis
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Staff Sgt. Jace Merrick's two short-term goals: Join the Army Counter-Intelligence Unit, and kill his wife.

When his bleeding-heart spouse, Abby, begins volunteering at Hope House, a group that leaves supplies in the Arizona desert for illegals crossing the  border, he hatches a plan to make her murder look like a coyote smuggling gone wrong.

Rumor Vargas is first on the witness list of Deputy Sheriff Cooper "Coop" Jones, assigned to investigate her friend's murder. Rumor finds his quick mind and wicked wit attractive and she's curious about his battle-weary eyes. But when he turns that inquiring mind on her little brother as a prime suspect, Rumor finds she has a reason besides attraction to keep Coop close.

The Sheriff suspects Alberto Vargas has Cartel ties, and this certainly look like the notorious Mexican gang's work. On the other hand, Abby's husband—and his lover--have their own motives for murder.

The further Coop digs into the case, the less the facts add up for any of his known suspects.
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Someone has a grudge against Jace Merrick. A life and death grudge. And it's time for payback.

Meet Rumor Vargas - Protagonist
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If you read my first book, Song of the Ancients, you will remember Rumor Vargas as Samantha Danroe’s business partner at their antique clothing store in Sedona, AZ.

Since Samantha took off for London at the end of that book, with no intention of returning to Arizona, they sold off the store and Rumor moved south to Bisbee, another quirky Arizona town near the Mexico border.

Now, in Crescent Moon Crossing, Rumor has again demonstrated her entrepreneurial acumen by opening an antiques store in Bisbee, specializing in folk art, occult pieces and yes, vintage clothing.

She has also earned her private pilot license and travels during the summer, acquiring antiques from around the world. If you’ve ever been to Bisbee, by the way, you know how well this eclectic store would fit in in real life!

Rumor, now 33, is American but has her Mexican father's olive skin, dark hair and eyebrows.  She is bi-lingual and often volunteers at a local refugee shelter called Hope House. By the end of the book, she also decides to advocate in court for illegals fighting to stay in the United States.

Her half-brother, Alberto, is a coyote—a human trafficker for a Mexican cartel.
Rumor's friend Abby has been murdered, and Rumor is a partial witness. She wants to help authorities find the murderer, and also clear her brother, who is a suspect. 

Drop by here each Friday in November to meet more characters from Crescent Moon Crossing, as well as interesting insider fact nuggets dug up in my research that will never make it into the book.
 
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