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 07.21.2006
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is DIVINE STORIES OF THE YAHWEH SISTERHOOD edited by Michelle Medlock Adams and Gena Maselli.
My Thursday book giveaway is WEB OF LIES by Brandilyn Collins.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for YAHWEH SISTERHOOD and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
ICRS, part 7 (continued from part 6):
I had such a great time for that one day. Here’re some random encounters.
I ran into Tracey Bateman and Rachel Hauck numerous times. The cool thing was that both of them gave such sage, sisterly, godly advice for me in my writing career. It was awesome.
I had one of those weird, Oh my gosh moments. I’m still such a goober when editors remember my name, maybe because I’m such a small fish in this big publishing pond.
While at the Zondervan booth with friends, NavPress editor Jeff Gerke had joined the crowd and I managed to “officially” meet him. I’d seen him at Mount Hermon Writers Conference but never formally introduced myself.
Later that afternoon, I was at the NavPress booth and had picked up some books from Mary DeMuth and Claudia Mair Burney (both faboo writers!). There were actually five authors signing at the same time, but the lines were kind of long. Suddenly I get a tap on the shoulder.
“Camy, did you get all five books?”
It’s Jeff. I’m in shock that he remembered my name, so I blurt out, “Uh, no.” Good thing I didn’t complete the thought with something like, “Have you seen those hecka long lines?”
Jeff takes it in stride. “Make sure you get Kimberly Stuart’s mom-lit.”
Now I’m in anaphylactic shock that he remembered I wrote chick-lit and bothered to recommend a mom-lit. Granted, it was his publishing house, but technically, ICRS is for publishers to serve the retailers, not the authors.
It was just a nice moment. A little ego boost.
(Robin is now choking because any more “boosting” and my ego will enter the stratosphere.)
I had a happy chance meeting with Beth Adams, who writes under the pseudonym Anne Dayton as one of the authors of the chick-lits EMILY EVER AFTER and CONSIDER LILY. It was so great to meet her in person after we’ve been talking over e-mail.
I unwittingly shoved aside Steeple Hill senior editor Joan Golan in my haste to get a Ray Blackston book. Poor woman. I did apologize for bulldozing her, though.
Meeting Ginny Aiken face to face was so great! I firmly believe she’s the Christian Sopranos romance writer!
She reminded me of the Steeple Hill discussion boards’ code phrase “exploding pants.” I don’t remember how we thought of it—I think Shirlee McCoy brought it up in a news article or something—but we all said we’d include “exploding pants” in some form in our books as a secret signal to Steeple Hill board readers that we were one of the Sisterhood of the Exploding Pants.
I included it in the suspense manuscript I wrote, but I forgot it in my chick-lit. Hopefully I can sneak it in when I do my substantitive edits.
Newsflash for writers: Michelle Medlock Adams and Gena Maselli, who edited DIVINE STORIES OF THE YAHWEH SISTERHOOD, are looking for stories for the second volume! Submission information is not yet up on their website, but you can e-mail them via their website to find out more information.
It was fun, but my feet were SO SORE I thought I’d die. I found a table and hung out—or rather, lounged around—with Randy Ingermanson, Tracy Higley, Meredith Efken and her husband Jason, and Danica Favorite-McDonald (a.k.a. Dream from the Steeple Hill discussion boards).
Next: Stalkers and the Personality Party
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is DIVINE STORIES OF THE YAHWEH SISTERHOOD edited by Michelle Medlock Adams and Gena Maselli.
My Thursday book giveaway is WEB OF LIES by Brandilyn Collins.
You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for YAHWEH SISTERHOOD and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
ICRS, part 7 (continued from part 6):
I had such a great time for that one day. Here’re some random encounters.
I ran into Tracey Bateman and Rachel Hauck numerous times. The cool thing was that both of them gave such sage, sisterly, godly advice for me in my writing career. It was awesome.
I had one of those weird, Oh my gosh moments. I’m still such a goober when editors remember my name, maybe because I’m such a small fish in this big publishing pond.
While at the Zondervan booth with friends, NavPress editor Jeff Gerke had joined the crowd and I managed to “officially” meet him. I’d seen him at Mount Hermon Writers Conference but never formally introduced myself.
Later that afternoon, I was at the NavPress booth and had picked up some books from Mary DeMuth and Claudia Mair Burney (both faboo writers!). There were actually five authors signing at the same time, but the lines were kind of long. Suddenly I get a tap on the shoulder.
“Camy, did you get all five books?”
It’s Jeff. I’m in shock that he remembered my name, so I blurt out, “Uh, no.” Good thing I didn’t complete the thought with something like, “Have you seen those hecka long lines?”
Jeff takes it in stride. “Make sure you get Kimberly Stuart’s mom-lit.”
Now I’m in anaphylactic shock that he remembered I wrote chick-lit and bothered to recommend a mom-lit. Granted, it was his publishing house, but technically, ICRS is for publishers to serve the retailers, not the authors.
It was just a nice moment. A little ego boost.
(Robin is now choking because any more “boosting” and my ego will enter the stratosphere.)
I had a happy chance meeting with Beth Adams, who writes under the pseudonym Anne Dayton as one of the authors of the chick-lits EMILY EVER AFTER and CONSIDER LILY. It was so great to meet her in person after we’ve been talking over e-mail.
I unwittingly shoved aside Steeple Hill senior editor Joan Golan in my haste to get a Ray Blackston book. Poor woman. I did apologize for bulldozing her, though.
Meeting Ginny Aiken face to face was so great! I firmly believe she’s the Christian Sopranos romance writer!
She reminded me of the Steeple Hill discussion boards’ code phrase “exploding pants.” I don’t remember how we thought of it—I think Shirlee McCoy brought it up in a news article or something—but we all said we’d include “exploding pants” in some form in our books as a secret signal to Steeple Hill board readers that we were one of the Sisterhood of the Exploding Pants.
I included it in the suspense manuscript I wrote, but I forgot it in my chick-lit. Hopefully I can sneak it in when I do my substantitive edits.
Newsflash for writers: Michelle Medlock Adams and Gena Maselli, who edited DIVINE STORIES OF THE YAHWEH SISTERHOOD, are looking for stories for the second volume! Submission information is not yet up on their website, but you can e-mail them via their website to find out more information.
It was fun, but my feet were SO SORE I thought I’d die. I found a table and hung out—or rather, lounged around—with Randy Ingermanson, Tracy Higley, Meredith Efken and her husband Jason, and Danica Favorite-McDonald (a.k.a. Dream from the Steeple Hill discussion boards).
Next: Stalkers and the Personality Party
Comments
I'd be afraid to knock Joan Golan out of the way, she's a nice lady but gave me the impression she doesn't take much guff. That's a word, right?)
Enjoying this much, Camy. Thanks!
Glad you got to meet Jeff! He took my place at NavPress... he's a good guy. I remember meeting you two years ago at Mt. Hermon, I don't know if you remember! Anyway I'm freelancing now and Sue Brower just told me I'm going to do the edit on your first book -- yipee! I'm excited to work with you. Stop on by my website/blog one of these days. www.thewordstudio.com. Congrats on your amazing book deal with Zondervan!
Is Zondervan in fact one of the oldest Christian publishers of fiction or is it just my impression because the books I got as a child and teen were published by them? I can't think of any other that I knew of except maybe Moody before I came back to Canada in 1979. After all, fiction was a no-no for a long time. Even my pastor now agrees, and the analogy had occurred to me on my own, that he enjoys some of the fiction and that you can learn a lot from it just as you can learn God's truth from the parables.
It must be so liberating for booklovers like me to be surrounded by Christian writers, to be able to talk books all day long. I've never really had a chance to share that until the blogs.
Days like yesterday are usually a washout for me. I had a doctor's appointment on Wed. and then went downtown to do some errands walking quite a bit. Usually I manage to keep myself together for the rest of the day but one the day after, all I want to do is sleep. And I did. Actually, even today hasn't been all that great for getting things done. Even though it's getting a touch cooler the humidity last night was 100% with the result that we had a lot of fog during the night. Yesterday I missed doing one of the things that I do daily on the Internet: the Word Power on the Canadian Reader's Digest site. I just wanted to lie down for a few minutes and before I knew it, it was 1:30 this morning and I had missed the 12:00 deadline. You can say that I was a *little* upset.