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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Chapter excerpt - ECHOES by Kristen Heitzmann

ECHOES
by Kristen Heitzmann

ECHOES is the conclusion to SECRETS and UNFORGOTTEN. Even in the midst of her affectionate and chaotic Italian family, Sofie Michelli feels alone. For too long, she has been caught in a net of loss and despair. It is time to let go, to start again.

Rese is not sure what to make of Lance Michelli's healing gift, but she feels protective of this humbled version of the swaggering man ho turned her life inside out. As they find new footing, the Sonoma villa she renovated becomes a refuge for the downtrodden—including Lance's sister Sofie.

Driven to protect the innocent, Child Protective Service worker Matt Hammond reserves judgment on the unconventional caregivers of the abandoned infant—who both concern and fascinate him—but he is especially drawn to Sofie, the mesmerizing woman with a dancer's poise, eyes like dark copper pennies—and scars on her wrists.

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No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

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