Amicus Curiae! Half-Way There!

     I'm about halfway through the book. I've just written Chapter 17, which is usually the best chapter for some reason. I really like it. I feel as if the meat of the story can happen around the 17th chapter. It's all uphill and full of conflicts from that point, right up to the time I find a way to solve and seal the deals that only I know about. I say that, it's not true. The characters in my book know long before I do what the ending will be, and how I will come to it - they write the book, not me. I just take the credit.

    Nick has decided to ship himself off to Edinburgh to be with his family. He's really alone without them, but he also has a good enough reason to spend weeks away from his work. He'll need to find a place for Keeper to stay, since he's going to be gone as long as he is. I'll add a mention in the storyline so people don't think my lead character has left his dog at home without anyone to tend to him.

    Good Bill, Bill Wright, at the Garvey House, will be in charge of Keeper, but before he's finished, the little fiesty Jack Russell will find his way into every apartment at 1211 Garvey. He'll have met, been invited to stay with, and slept with everyone in the house. That's something no one else can ever claim to have done. By the time Nick returns, he may have to pry the dog from their hands. I can only imagine -- I can only imagine because it hasn't happened yet. I don't know what I'll write until I write it.

    Going to Scotland makes a lot of sense because Nick will be testifying in a capital murder case in about 5 weeks and he'll need to be protected and kept under wraps until that happens. He's opening up a really big can of whoop ass that can't be sealed once it's been sworn to in court. He is the Amicus Curiae, he is the friend of the court, but not a friend to everyone in the courtroom. 

    What would happen if, maybe, a sheriff's deputy lost control of his firearm the day Nick crosses the street to give his testimony? These things happen. These things have happened in the past, and they could certainly happen again. He'll need to keep his wits and his friends about him. 

    

    Photo Credit: Pinterest (The Kerfoot Hotel in El Reno, Oklahoma)