キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか? しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか? 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな?』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう?もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Captain's Log, Stardate 04.29.2006
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is THE REMEDY FOR REGRET and A WINDOW TO THE WORLD by Susan Meissner.
My Thursday book giveaway is MOTHER OF PREVENTION by Lori Copeland.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for Susan Meissner's books and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.
Care packages: I am one lucky girl. I don't know if it's just my parents, or if it's all Asian parents, or if it's parents in general, but my folks send me care packages all the time. It's just like college.
A few weeks ago, my dad sent my husband a case of home-made beer. Porter stout. Yesterday, I got a huge box filled with Styrofoam chips and three packages of taro chips, because they know it's hard for me to find those here in my area.
I admit, occasionally call home and ask for something. A few weeks ago, I asked Mom for any Asian-y jewelry she doesn't wear that I could wear for writers conferences. (She owns TONS of nice jewelry but rarely wears any of it, so I didn't feel too bad about asking.) She sent me some really nice vintage pieces that will crop up at RWA National and ACFW in Dallas.
Any of you still get care packages?
Technorati: Okay, here is something that's probably only cool to me. I'm checking my stats and find that if you plug in the keyword "Asian" in Technorati, my blog is the 12th one listed. That's pretty cool! Especially because I'm still sharing Google space with that Hong Kong singer Camy Tang.
TMI:
Writing: Going slow. Please pray I can write FASTER and be more efficient. I am really blessed by all the writing friends who have emailed me to encourage me, especially now with the pressure and stress of a contract. I'm not complaining (Robin), but I would like to be a better writer.
Diet: I'm trying a new addition to my eating habits. Before, I was concentrating a lot on eating vegetables with every meal and controlling total calorie intake. Now I'm going to try to do 300-350 calorie meals every 2-3 hours and see how that works out.
If you're also wanting some support in your weight loss (and obviously you're not going to get that here, cuz all I do is complain), head over to Rhonda Gibson's blog A New Day Begins Here. We're weighing in and being encouraging. However, if you'd like to continue the course of whine and cheese, tune back here tomorrow.
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is THE REMEDY FOR REGRET and A WINDOW TO THE WORLD by Susan Meissner.
My Thursday book giveaway is MOTHER OF PREVENTION by Lori Copeland.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for Susan Meissner's books and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.
Care packages: I am one lucky girl. I don't know if it's just my parents, or if it's all Asian parents, or if it's parents in general, but my folks send me care packages all the time. It's just like college.
A few weeks ago, my dad sent my husband a case of home-made beer. Porter stout. Yesterday, I got a huge box filled with Styrofoam chips and three packages of taro chips, because they know it's hard for me to find those here in my area.
I admit, occasionally call home and ask for something. A few weeks ago, I asked Mom for any Asian-y jewelry she doesn't wear that I could wear for writers conferences. (She owns TONS of nice jewelry but rarely wears any of it, so I didn't feel too bad about asking.) She sent me some really nice vintage pieces that will crop up at RWA National and ACFW in Dallas.
Any of you still get care packages?
Technorati: Okay, here is something that's probably only cool to me. I'm checking my stats and find that if you plug in the keyword "Asian" in Technorati, my blog is the 12th one listed. That's pretty cool! Especially because I'm still sharing Google space with that Hong Kong singer Camy Tang.
TMI:
Writing: Going slow. Please pray I can write FASTER and be more efficient. I am really blessed by all the writing friends who have emailed me to encourage me, especially now with the pressure and stress of a contract. I'm not complaining (Robin), but I would like to be a better writer.
Diet: I'm trying a new addition to my eating habits. Before, I was concentrating a lot on eating vegetables with every meal and controlling total calorie intake. Now I'm going to try to do 300-350 calorie meals every 2-3 hours and see how that works out.
If you're also wanting some support in your weight loss (and obviously you're not going to get that here, cuz all I do is complain), head over to Rhonda Gibson's blog A New Day Begins Here. We're weighing in and being encouraging. However, if you'd like to continue the course of whine and cheese, tune back here tomorrow.
Comments
And now it hit me...why your name sounded so familiar - the 'Tang' part at least. I only knew that Camy Tang as Tang Chui Ha...LOL
I accepted the four things challenge at lauradomino.blogspot.com. I'm like you in the food department. I really enjoy eating. Especially because my husband is talented in the kitchen.
No, I don't get care packages. My mom shares her clothes now that she's lost a lot of weight. I get her "fat" clothes. Gee, thanks. Actually, I'm thankful - because they're nice clothes.
Keep writing! I'll be bugging my bookstores for your books soon. Right?
resist being taken care of until they're so completely unable to care
for themselves that they're forgetting to take medication and falling
down and hurting themselves or setting their stove on fire, stuff like
that. Isn't that a switch from Asia Asian parents?
Camy
I thought I'd alert you to the other Christian writer I know and whose blog I enjoy. She's doing a First Place book called "Everyday Victory for Everyday People" and deals with the same problems you've been discussing today. She's a published writer but seems to have rather few people at her blog. See what you think.
She began that blog with "Do any of you struggle with healthy eating or maintaining an exercise program?" I personnally don't have a "weight" problem as such unless it's that I weigh less than I should. But I know I'm not eating healthy if I'm skipping meals, forgetting to eat, don't feel like eating, get IBS. Maybe all of us can even get together and make this work or at least try to.
Her blog is a little more difficult to navigate but this particular entry is at http://bensonink.com/2006/03/30/first-place/
I see that you've got the Breast Cancer Site link up. I go there daily and click on all the different ecological or humanity- oriented sites (only 6). I have never gotten any e-mail from them. I mention this in particular because I also tried the ...2care site. I got so fed up with the e-mails I got. There was no place to unsubscribe. So now I have it blacklisted and don't go there anymore though they have one site, for battered women, that is important to me.
This group of 6 sites lets you click and shows you other ways you can contribute by buying products but you are never harrassed. I really am in favor of that.