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:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
My Monday book giveaway is @Home For the Holidays by Meredith Efken
My Thursday book giveaway is Balancing Act by Kimberly Stuart.
You can still enter both giveaways. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for the @Home For the Holidays and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
Win an iPod Nano! Exclusively for my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, I have a huge contest running until January 31st! Get more info on my contest page!
It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas...
Last year, I came across an article on gifts for writers, and I expanded on it with an article of my own. I’ll be posting a part of it every Friday and then eventually post the entire article on my Story Sensei blog.
I’m starting this series early so your loved ones—er, Santa can start saving up for maybe something extra special.
And if you have ideas of your own, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list!
Gifts for Writers, part five (continued from part four)
• Clipboard—fancy or engraved/personalized
• Large water bottle so she gets her full water quota while writing
• Healthy snacks: almonds or other nuts, fruit (fresh or dried), popcorn, pretzels, beef jerky, trail mix, etc.
• Not-so-healthy snacks—M&Ms, bite-sized candy bars, Dove chocolate, Dove ice cream bars, etc. Her favorite chocolate or candy, pick your poison. ;)
• Home-made or store-bought writer’s fodder—fudge, truffles, cookies, brownies, biscotti, muffins, cake, Chex-Mix, caramel popcorn, chocolate dipped pretzels, candy/caramel apples, candied walnuts/almonds, cheese and crackers, sweet breads, cinnamon rolls/buns, individual frozen pizzas, apple cider or mix, hot chocolate mixes, wine/alcohol.
• coffees or teas, a tea cup and saucer or just the cup, a large mug, an insulated mug
• Coffeemaker for one
• coffeemaker that brews into her favorite insulated mug
• Tea kettle (there are some nice ones with special handles or in bright colors and designs)
• Electric hot water pot (my favorite is the Zojirushi 3 liter electronic hot water dispenser)
• Tea pot or tea cup or both (especially if she loves tea cups and pots, several nice bone china pieces can be found inexpensively at flea markets or online)
• Mug warmer
• Gift card to Starbucks, Jamba Juice, or her favorite beverage place.
• Anti-virus and/or anti-spam software (recommended in Consumer’s Reports: BitDefender Standard, Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Antivirus, Kapersky Labs Anti-Virus Personal, Norton Antivirus)
• A computer backup drive or subscription to an online backup service
• A GPS system so she can find her way home after brainstorming in the car again and getting lost (don’t laugh, this totally happens)
To be concluded next Friday.
Blog book giveaway:
To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there.
My Monday book giveaway is @Home For the Holidays by Meredith Efken
My Thursday book giveaway is Balancing Act by Kimberly Stuart.
You can still enter both giveaways. On Monday, I'll draw the winner for the @Home For the Holidays and post the title for another book I'm giving away.
Win an iPod Nano! Exclusively for my newsletter YahooGroup subscribers, I have a huge contest running until January 31st! Get more info on my contest page!
It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas...
Last year, I came across an article on gifts for writers, and I expanded on it with an article of my own. I’ll be posting a part of it every Friday and then eventually post the entire article on my Story Sensei blog.
I’m starting this series early so your loved ones—er, Santa can start saving up for maybe something extra special.
And if you have ideas of your own, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list!
Gifts for Writers, part five (continued from part four)
• Clipboard—fancy or engraved/personalized
• Large water bottle so she gets her full water quota while writing
• Healthy snacks: almonds or other nuts, fruit (fresh or dried), popcorn, pretzels, beef jerky, trail mix, etc.
• Not-so-healthy snacks—M&Ms, bite-sized candy bars, Dove chocolate, Dove ice cream bars, etc. Her favorite chocolate or candy, pick your poison. ;)
• Home-made or store-bought writer’s fodder—fudge, truffles, cookies, brownies, biscotti, muffins, cake, Chex-Mix, caramel popcorn, chocolate dipped pretzels, candy/caramel apples, candied walnuts/almonds, cheese and crackers, sweet breads, cinnamon rolls/buns, individual frozen pizzas, apple cider or mix, hot chocolate mixes, wine/alcohol.
• coffees or teas, a tea cup and saucer or just the cup, a large mug, an insulated mug
• Coffeemaker for one
• coffeemaker that brews into her favorite insulated mug
• Tea kettle (there are some nice ones with special handles or in bright colors and designs)
• Electric hot water pot (my favorite is the Zojirushi 3 liter electronic hot water dispenser)
• Tea pot or tea cup or both (especially if she loves tea cups and pots, several nice bone china pieces can be found inexpensively at flea markets or online)
• Mug warmer
• Gift card to Starbucks, Jamba Juice, or her favorite beverage place.
• Anti-virus and/or anti-spam software (recommended in Consumer’s Reports: BitDefender Standard, Zone Labs ZoneAlarm Antivirus, Kapersky Labs Anti-Virus Personal, Norton Antivirus)
• A computer backup drive or subscription to an online backup service
• A GPS system so she can find her way home after brainstorming in the car again and getting lost (don’t laugh, this totally happens)
To be concluded next Friday.
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