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, Supplemental
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is FURY by Bill Bright and Jack Cavanaugh.
You can still enter. Just post a comment on that blog post. On Monday, I'll draw the winner and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
ACFW Genesis contest winners!
First of all, a great big thank you to all the entrants to helped make
the Genesis Contest's first year such a success.
Second, mucho gracias to the judges who so graciously volunteered
their time to judge. We all really appreciate it.
Here are the winners and titles:
In the Contemporary Romance Category:
The 3rd place winner is…. Kristian Tolle, Flirting with Danger
The 2nd place winner is… Kaye Dacus, Happy Endings, Inc.
The contemporary romance category winner is Glynna Sirpless, A Reason to Dance
In the Historical Romance category:
The 3rd place winner is… Charlene Glatkowski, Halfway Home
The 2nd place winner is… Andree Eisenberg, The Legend of Ruby Sanchez
The Historical romance category winner is Audra Harders, Timeless Treasures
In the Mystery/SuspenseThriller category:
The 3rd place winner is… Wayne Scott, The Dark Boys (Wayne had a terrific headshot for the presentation)
The 2nd place winner is… Susan Spencer-Smith, A Death in the Parsonage
The Mystery/suspense/Thriller category winner is Cheryl Wyatt, Stealth
Surrender (Cheryl was in a wheelchair and wheeled up to the side of the stage to receive her award and give her rapid-fire thank you speech.)
In the Romantic Suspense category:
The 3rd place winner is… Kelly Ann Riley, Kitty's Fire
The 2nd place winner is… Robin Miller, Enemy Prowl
The Romantic Suspense category winner is Jill Eileen Smith, One Murder Too Many
In the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Speculative fiction category:
The 3rd place winner is… Sherry Thompson, Seabird
The 2nd place winner is… Rebecca Grabill, In Perfect Darkness
The Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Speculative fiction category winner is Mirta Ana Schultz, Age's End
In the Women's Fiction category:
The 3rd place winner is… Erin Keeley Marshall, The Bluff Dweller
The 2nd place winner is… Julie Saffrin, That Summer Place
The Women's fiction category winner is Marian Merritt, Legacy of Grace
In the General Fiction category, which includes Contemporary Fiction,
Historical Fiction, Chick-Lit, Young adult, and Multicultural fiction:
The 3rd place winner is… MaryAnn L. Diorio, Sicilian Conspiracy
The 2nd place winner is… Lynne Gentry, North of Nowhere
The General fiction category winner is Christina Miller, Twilight (I spent a whole bunch of time with Christina at this conference and it was so hard not to say anything!)
FaithWords has graciously partnered with ACFW for the Genesis contest this year. The top five scoring entries across categories were sent to the FaithWords editorial board, and the Overall winner chosen will receive a $500 cash prize from FaithWords.
This year, only four finalists were sent to the FaithWords editorial board because one entrant withdrew late in the contest.
The three Faithwords finalists are:
Andree Eisenberg, The Legacy of Ruby Sanchez
Audra Harders, Timeless Treasures
Christina Miller, Twilight
The Overall Winner of the Genesis contest is... Marian Merritt, Legacy of Grace
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!
Camy
TMI:
Happy 34! Yesterday was my birthday! I had a great birthday. Didn’t do much. Checked my billion e-mails from the 5 days I was gone.
My husband, Captain Caffeine, ignored my request to not get me anything—after all, we’re not exactly swimming in money these days—and got me a bright red iPod Nano case. He specifically pointed out the fire-engine red color, which assures me he knows his wife’s tastes very well.
Then he surprised me. When I went to my office to start my computer, I saw a Post-It note saying “Happy Birthday, hon.” Attached was a gorgeous pair of amethyst earrings. (Sorry, they're too small for me to get a picture with my digital camera)
I was completely floored. But when I called to thank him, he said he had to give “full disclosure” about the earrings.
My writer’s brain, of course, is going a mile a minute. Did he buy them for his pregnant mistress, but then realized his love for me and wants me to have them? Or maybe he made a deal with the jewelry store owner that I’d critique the owner’s wife’s 500-page erotica manuscript in exchange for 70% off the earrings?
Captain Caffeine: I didn’t buy the earrings. I found them in a parking lot.
Crazy Asian wife: What?
Captain Caffeine: They were on the ground.
Happy Asian wife: Did someone buy them and then drop them?
Captain Caffeine: Yeah, I think so.
Materialistic Asian wife: Sucks for them. Cool for me!
So you see, GOD gave Captain Caffeine the earrings to give to me.
I should also clarify that I’m very HAPPY he didn’t spend all that money on me. I’m not terribly romantic as a person, I’m usually more practical.
Writing: I posted another "Health and the Writer" post at WriterQuotes, and an agent post at my Story Sensei blog.
Had a great time at the conference! Met lots of nice people. Didn’t have enough time to meet people as I’d like.
Plus I forgot ALL their names. I am horrible with names. So if I met you this weekend, sorry about that. Nothing personal.
The contest went well, everything went well. I’ll blog about it when I’m not so flippin’ tired. My parents are also coming to town on Wednesday so I might be AWOL on blogging the rest of this week, although hopefully not.
Diet: I went to the gym two days out of the four, so that’s not bad. But I didn’t exercise yesterday. As for eating...well, let’s just say the fries at the hotel restaurant were quite, quite, good. As were the strawberry margaritas.
I don’t think I overate too much, so that’s good. Now to get back on track.
Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is FURY by Bill Bright and Jack Cavanaugh.
You can still enter. Just post a comment on that blog post. On Monday, I'll draw the winner and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
ACFW Genesis contest winners!
First of all, a great big thank you to all the entrants to helped make
the Genesis Contest's first year such a success.
Second, mucho gracias to the judges who so graciously volunteered
their time to judge. We all really appreciate it.
Here are the winners and titles:
In the Contemporary Romance Category:
The 3rd place winner is…. Kristian Tolle, Flirting with Danger
The 2nd place winner is… Kaye Dacus, Happy Endings, Inc.
The contemporary romance category winner is Glynna Sirpless, A Reason to Dance
In the Historical Romance category:
The 3rd place winner is… Charlene Glatkowski, Halfway Home
The 2nd place winner is… Andree Eisenberg, The Legend of Ruby Sanchez
The Historical romance category winner is Audra Harders, Timeless Treasures
In the Mystery/SuspenseThriller category:
The 3rd place winner is… Wayne Scott, The Dark Boys (Wayne had a terrific headshot for the presentation)
The 2nd place winner is… Susan Spencer-Smith, A Death in the Parsonage
The Mystery/suspense/Thriller category winner is Cheryl Wyatt, Stealth
Surrender (Cheryl was in a wheelchair and wheeled up to the side of the stage to receive her award and give her rapid-fire thank you speech.)
In the Romantic Suspense category:
The 3rd place winner is… Kelly Ann Riley, Kitty's Fire
The 2nd place winner is… Robin Miller, Enemy Prowl
The Romantic Suspense category winner is Jill Eileen Smith, One Murder Too Many
In the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Speculative fiction category:
The 3rd place winner is… Sherry Thompson, Seabird
The 2nd place winner is… Rebecca Grabill, In Perfect Darkness
The Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Speculative fiction category winner is Mirta Ana Schultz, Age's End
In the Women's Fiction category:
The 3rd place winner is… Erin Keeley Marshall, The Bluff Dweller
The 2nd place winner is… Julie Saffrin, That Summer Place
The Women's fiction category winner is Marian Merritt, Legacy of Grace
In the General Fiction category, which includes Contemporary Fiction,
Historical Fiction, Chick-Lit, Young adult, and Multicultural fiction:
The 3rd place winner is… MaryAnn L. Diorio, Sicilian Conspiracy
The 2nd place winner is… Lynne Gentry, North of Nowhere
The General fiction category winner is Christina Miller, Twilight (I spent a whole bunch of time with Christina at this conference and it was so hard not to say anything!)
FaithWords has graciously partnered with ACFW for the Genesis contest this year. The top five scoring entries across categories were sent to the FaithWords editorial board, and the Overall winner chosen will receive a $500 cash prize from FaithWords.
This year, only four finalists were sent to the FaithWords editorial board because one entrant withdrew late in the contest.
The three Faithwords finalists are:
Andree Eisenberg, The Legacy of Ruby Sanchez
Audra Harders, Timeless Treasures
Christina Miller, Twilight
The Overall Winner of the Genesis contest is... Marian Merritt, Legacy of Grace
Congratulations to all the finalists and winners!
Camy
TMI:
Happy 34! Yesterday was my birthday! I had a great birthday. Didn’t do much. Checked my billion e-mails from the 5 days I was gone.
My husband, Captain Caffeine, ignored my request to not get me anything—after all, we’re not exactly swimming in money these days—and got me a bright red iPod Nano case. He specifically pointed out the fire-engine red color, which assures me he knows his wife’s tastes very well.
Then he surprised me. When I went to my office to start my computer, I saw a Post-It note saying “Happy Birthday, hon.” Attached was a gorgeous pair of amethyst earrings. (Sorry, they're too small for me to get a picture with my digital camera)
I was completely floored. But when I called to thank him, he said he had to give “full disclosure” about the earrings.
My writer’s brain, of course, is going a mile a minute. Did he buy them for his pregnant mistress, but then realized his love for me and wants me to have them? Or maybe he made a deal with the jewelry store owner that I’d critique the owner’s wife’s 500-page erotica manuscript in exchange for 70% off the earrings?
Captain Caffeine: I didn’t buy the earrings. I found them in a parking lot.
Crazy Asian wife: What?
Captain Caffeine: They were on the ground.
Happy Asian wife: Did someone buy them and then drop them?
Captain Caffeine: Yeah, I think so.
Materialistic Asian wife: Sucks for them. Cool for me!
So you see, GOD gave Captain Caffeine the earrings to give to me.
I should also clarify that I’m very HAPPY he didn’t spend all that money on me. I’m not terribly romantic as a person, I’m usually more practical.
Writing: I posted another "Health and the Writer" post at WriterQuotes, and an agent post at my Story Sensei blog.
Had a great time at the conference! Met lots of nice people. Didn’t have enough time to meet people as I’d like.
Plus I forgot ALL their names. I am horrible with names. So if I met you this weekend, sorry about that. Nothing personal.
The contest went well, everything went well. I’ll blog about it when I’m not so flippin’ tired. My parents are also coming to town on Wednesday so I might be AWOL on blogging the rest of this week, although hopefully not.
Diet: I went to the gym two days out of the four, so that’s not bad. But I didn’t exercise yesterday. As for eating...well, let’s just say the fries at the hotel restaurant were quite, quite, good. As were the strawberry margaritas.
I don’t think I overate too much, so that’s good. Now to get back on track.
Comments
Thank you so much for all of your hard work on this year's contest. You'll never know how much it means to those of us who entered that everything flowed smoothly. Because of your hard work, the contest has taken on even more prestige in the eyes of editors and agents and you are to be highly commended.
It was great seeing you this weekend!
FUNNY earring story, LOLOL! What a hoot. Your hubby must be WAY honest, 'cause I don't think mine would admit it!
Way to have fun and not tell anyone...
Na, seriously, it was GREAT meeting you in person, even though you didn't invite me to have a margarita with you...
Okay, I'll stop.
Hopefully next year we will have more time to chat, but you have too many friends - you were always surrounded by a crowd - stop being so popular okay???
Enjoy your earrings and I hope you recover from Dallas quickly. I'm still not sure what time zone I'm in...
:)
Staci
I'm sorry I didn't get to snag you on Saturday to say hi. Someone was talking to me at the book signing, and you and Robin breezed by. My dh and I were there from about 4:00-6:30. He had to drag me off before the banquet started. :)
Congratulations to the Genesis winners! Walk through those open doors. :)
And yeah, those fries were awesome, weren't they???