#amwriting When You Quit Trying, You Lose by Diane Burton

Do you get notices of bargain books from BookBub? A couple of days ago, I saw a book titled

You Don’t Lose ‘Til You Quit Trying by Sammy Lee Davis with Caroline Lambert. It’s about the wartime experiences of a Vietnam Vet and Medal of Honor Recipient. That title caught my attention.

How many times have you wanted to quit writing (or any other major undertaking)? Doubts and insecurities abound with us writers. There’s even an online group called Insecure Writers Support Group where once a month we blog about what’s making us insecure and/or advice on how to overcome difficulties.

Yesterday, I pulled together my 1099s, royalties for 2017. I knew it hadn’t been a good year. I didn’t realize how bad. I used to get my 2017 total in one month! I didn’t even get a 1099 from one venue because I hadn’t earned $10. That got me questioning why I do it. Why am I hitting my head against that brick wall called earning income through writing?

Oh sure, I write because I enjoy writing. Usually. With the exception of the first two weeks of January, when I was going gangbusters, I’ve slogged along on my WIP. Some days, I haven’t written anything. Instead, I’ve binged-watched Netflix. Or taken naps when I should be writing. Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt. It’s my way of dealing with what’s probably winter depression. When the sun doesn’t shine for days on end; when it snows for ten days straight; when it’s too cold to go outside and when I do every joint hurts. Yeah, that can make anyone depressed.

Part of my problem with my WIP is in mid-January I changed horses. Oops, that should have read changed stories. I started the new year writing the fourth in my Alex O’Hara series. I knew exactly how it should begin. I knew the ending and most of the middle. Easy to write. When I was done writing one day, I thought about another project, one that was 80% finished. I reasoned that I should finish it first, so I would get something out sooner. I’m sure you all know that revising an older manuscript is harder than writing fresh. If not, I can vouch for it. Not only does the manuscript need updating (technology, especially), I’ve learned a lot in the intervening twelve years. Sentence structure, repetitive words and phrases, unnecessary backstory. Reading and fixing all that means a low daily word count, which I find also depressing. (Maybe I should count pages completed instead.)

Why not go back to the Alex O’Hara story, you may ask. I’m committed to this new/old romantic suspense. It’s a good story. It’s funny in places, seriously tense in others. A good romance develops. Besides, I’m sharing tidbits every weekend on Weekend Writing Warriors. On Mondays, I’m sharing character sketches. Dropping that story now isn’t a good idea.

Neither is quitting altogether, even though that’s going through my mind. Practical Hubs asks if it’s worth the time and energy to earn so little. He has a point. If I do quit, will that make me a loser, like in the Vet’s story title?

Can Spring come soon enough?

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction, and romance into writing romantic fiction. She blogs here on the 16th and 30th of each month. Except this month. See you in March.

An-ti-ci-pa-tion by Diane Burton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NwP3wes4M8

Did you hum the Carly Simon song as you read the blog title? Or maybe you thought of the ketchup commercial using that song. Either way, we’re always anticipating something, aren’t we? An event, like the book signing I did yesterday. Or a response from your editor or agent. A tax refund. Winning the lottery.

We anticipate the arrival of a new movie or book, especially the next book in a favorite series. A member of the book group I belong to asks me at each meeting when the next Alex O’Hara book is coming out. Like I can pump out a book every couple of months. Right.

But the event my family has been anticipating for months is the birth of the twins. None of us expected their arrival to come on/near the due date, November 22. We didn’t even expect it on November 8^th, the scheduled C-section date. I’ve been anticipating their arrival for the past week. Our daughter-in-law has been very uncomfortable. She’s gotten so big, her skin was stretched tighter than a balloon ready to pop. When I got home from the book event Saturday evening, she apologized for not coming (I didn’t expect her to) because she’d been having contractions on and off for two days. I agreed with our son that she should just rest. We offered to come over and stay with her until Son got home from work. She declined, saying the contractions weren’t regular.

The boys had other ideas. They decided they’d cooked long enough and made their appearance just before midnight Saturday. One weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce; the other 5 pounds 11 ounces, and they were 4 weeks early. Can you imagine if they’d gone full term? Since they had been standing upright (on DIL’s bladder) for the past few weeks, we knew there would be a C-section.

Other than the discomfort/pain of surgery, Daughter-in-law is doing well. So are the boys. Since we’ve been anticipating this event since April, now that it’s here, it almost seems like a letdown. Of course, I’m not the one in the hospital, hoping, praying that I’ll know what to do with two babies. Although we saw the boys through a window, we haven’t gotten to hold them yet. DIL needs her rest, so we didn’t stay long yesterday. Can’t wait until tomorrow.

What does Toddler Girl think about all this? Her favorite show is Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. When Daniel’s sister was born, Dad took Mom to Doctor Anna’s office then the whole family walked home pushing the baby buggy. Since we’ve watched that episode often, I’m sure that’s what T.G. was anticipating. When she went to the hospital last evening, she got to see and touch her brothers. Definitely not what Daniel saw. Later, she and her daddy talked about what all she saw. Still, she can say her brothers’ names. 

We’re just thrilled and grateful that everyone is well. The anticipation is over. Reality is here.

Road Trip by Diane Burton

I’ve mentioned a time or two that Hubs loves to drive. Being a passenger is an invitation for him to snooze. I’ve adapted by being the navigator. Give me a map (a GPS thingee or my phone) and I can get you anywhere. As you can tell by the map above, it's one I've used a lot--actually, since our first visit after our son moved to Arizona in 2010. Can you imagine Hubs wanted to throw it out and get a new Southwest US map from AAA? Heck, no, I told him. It's got all my notes. Anyway, after all the driving trips to Arizona, the old route is pretty much same-old, same-old: Michigan -> Illinois -> Missouri -> Oklahoma -> Texas -> New Mexico -> Arizona.

When we’re concerned about snow in the mountains (Flagstaff), we’ve taken a diagonal route across New Mexico. I even got to stop in Roswell. Twice! Perfect for someone who writes sci-fi. Soon, that became old, too. So, I suggested we go through Texas on our way home. First thing Hubs and Son mentioned was how close we would be to Mexico. On the map, it looks like the highway runs alongside the Rio Grande. We hear horror stories all the time about Americans being kidnapped, and my imagination worked overtime. I thought about bad guys creeping up the river bank and jumping out in front of our car. Wild imagination, right? For about a hundred miles east of El Paso, we drove next to the river, which we were so far away from that I saw it once or twice.

Next thing the guys said was won’t that take longer. Possibly. But…I’ve never been through that part of Texas—diagonally up through Odessa and Midland then through Fort Worth and Dallas. I had an ulterior motive. I wanted to see oil wells. Not just the pump jacks in the fields that I can see in Michigan, but the rigs/platforms for doing the actual drilling.

You might think that odd until you consider that for four years I worked for an oil and gas company. When I was sent there by a temp agency to do secretarial-type work, I was asked by my boss if I knew anything about oil and gas. I told him I put gas in my car and we heat our home with natural gas. That was the extent. He tried hard not to roll his eyes. What he didn’t know was I’m very curious. I wanted to know everything about how oil got out of the earth and into our cars. Or how natural gas came out and heated our house.

I’m like a sponge when I want to learn something. The guys I worked with were eager to explain things to a novice. After my temp stint was up, I was hired to work in the Land Department—that’s where leases are drawn up before the drilling can start. I still did a lot of secretarial work and learned more.

The thing is…I worked at the corporate headquarters. Never out in the field. I suggested to my (new) boss that we should do a field trip so we understood our jobs better. He said we could. On our own time. LOL Now I suppose Hubs (you know, the one who likes to drive?) and I could have driven up north to see the drilling. Never happened. When the opportunity to see oil rigs from the highway in Texas arose, I had to grab it.

So I convinced Hubs to go that route. Mistake #1: Texas is big, towns are far apart, towns with hotels are even farther apart. Mistake #2: not making a reservation. Hubs likes to see how far we can drive and then stop when we want to. Usually, that works. But not when drilling is going on around our designated stop, Pecos, Texas. Our first clue were the “Christmas trees” (oil rigs) on both sides of the highway. And since it was now dark, they were lit! Just like the nickname.

 

USA Today: Photo Courtesy Sacco, AP

All the pick-up trucks in front of the hotels was our second clue that we might not find a room. Well, there was one room we could have at $245 for the night. Did I ever tell you about Hubs’ Scot’s ancestry? Even though we’d been driving for eleven hours, no way was he paying that much for a room at a Comfort Inn. We drove on down the road. The hotel apps on my phone weren’t working. The internet wasn’t working. How the heck do you find the number for reservations?

Shakespeare said, “All’s well that ends well.” I found a phone number, got a reservation for a room at the next town. We’d driven 700 miles in 12 hours through two times zones. We were whipped. It’s amazing what comfortable beds and a good night’s sleep can accomplish.

In our youth, we could drive through the night and think nothing of it. We’d take turns sleeping and had a blast. Newsflash. We aren’t young anymore. The second day, even though we drove through (around) Fort Worth and Dallas, we stopped earlier. I'm writing this on Saturday, our 3rd day on the road. No problems. Until the storms started. Thank goodness, we're in a hotel room where we watched on TV about all the flooding...of the highway we're supposed to take in Illinois. Hopefully, we'll make it home. (I'll let you know in the comments.)

I don’t think Hubs was thrilled with my route. But we saw parts of the country we’d never seen before. I got to see the oil rigs. If I’d planned ahead, we could have stopped at the Petroleum Museum in Midland. I saw the sign as we whizzed past going 75 mph. Oh, well. Maybe another time.

As an aside, I’ve used my experiences at the oil and gas company in my Alex O’Hara PI mystery series. In The Case of the Meddling Mama, one of the characters worked in the Land Department of a fictional oil and gas company. Can’t let experience and good info go to waste.

Once again, Alex O’Hara is up to her ears in mysteries. After surviving an attempted murder, all she wants is R&R time with Nick Palzetti. But his mother leaving his father (“that horse’s patoot”) and moving in with Alex puts a crimp in their plans. Then Nick leaves on assignment and the teen she rescued from an abusive father believes his buddy is doing drugs. Meanwhile, Alex has two easy cases to take her mind off her shaky relationship with Nick—a philandering husband and a background check on a client’s boyfriend. Piece of cake.

Amazon US ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ Barnes & Noble ~ iTunes ~ Smashwords

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction, and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and the Alex O’Hara PI mysteries. She blogs here on the 30th of each month.

Spring & a New Release by Diane Burton

Where has the year gone? It’s the end of March already. I know that’s not very original. We all seem amazed at the quick passage of time. Remember when we were kids and time dragged? Spring has finally come to Michigan. I don’t dare say it’s the end of snow. If past years are any indication, we’ll get more—hopefully, only flurries. Trees and bushes are budding and spring bulbs are poking their heads through the dirt.

Easter will be here before we know it, and that signals the release of my newest book. Connecting a religious holiday with a PI mystery probably sounds sacrilegious. In recent posts, I promised to have The Case of the Meddling Mama published by Spring, then I narrowed it done to by Easter. This is the book that seemed to take forever to finish. And I have no idea why. I love my character. Alex O’Hara is quirky, fun, and gets into almost as many scrapes as Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum. Alex’s main squeeze Nick is a mystery. He comes and goes at the will of his employer, a secret government agency. A hot topic in today’s news—opioid addiction—is featured in the story.

Even though the manuscript is with my editor-extraordinaire, our own Alicia Dean, Meddling Mama is up for pre-order on Amazon and Kobo at a reduced price. You might think that’s an odd combination. I have a good reason. Amazon covers the U.S. and its subsidiaries hit most other countries. Kobo is huge in the rest of the world. Amazing the things you find out on writer loops. I’d never even heard of Kobo when I first started to self-publish. The Case of the Meddling Mama will be available at most online vendors on April 17, the day after Easter.

My wonderful cover designer, Florence Price at The Novel Difference, did a fabulous job on the cover. When I started the series, she suggested we use the same scene but change with the seasons. The Case of the Meddling Mama takes place in Spring, so she added pots of tulips in front of Alex’s office. Although people are enjoying a sunny day at the beach, they’re too smart to go into Lake Michigan’s frigid waters. A big event in West Michigan is Tulip Time, a week of Dutch-themed parades, crafts, food, and dancing. Of course, I had to add that to the story that takes place in the fictional resort town of Far Haven, similar to Holland, Michigan.

Here’s a little bit about The Case of the Meddling Mama.

Blurb:

Once again, Alex O’Hara is up to her ears in mysteries. After surviving an attempted murder, all she wants is R&R time with Nick Palzetti. But his mother leaving his father (“that horse’s patoot”) and moving in with Alex puts a crimp in their plans. Then Nick leaves on assignment and the teen she rescued from an abusive father believes his buddy is doing drugs. Meanwhile, Alex has two easy cases to take her mind off her shaky relationship with Nick—a philandering husband and a background check on a client’s boyfriend. Piece of cake.

Excerpt:

When two women entered the exclusive dress shop, Ellie left to greet them while her assistant chivvied me to put on the shoes. White socks, black strappy heels, and the gorgeous emerald green bridesmaid dress. I made such a fashion statement as I stood on the platform. Call Vogue.

I so didn’t want to be there, especially when I recognized one of the women. I’d been the bearer of bad news to Nora Finley last week. Her Mr. Perfect turned out to be a Black Widower. He and his cohorts had the perfect plan to kill her. A plan I thwarted just in time.

“Oh, you’re here,” Nora cried out when she spotted me and tugged on her companion’s wrist, practically dragging her over. “Ginnie, this is the PI that saved my life. Alex O’Hara!”

I cringed while heat bloomed in my cheeks.

Nora looked up at me. “I’ve been telling Ginnie here that she absolutely must hire you to check out her boyfriend. She met him on one of those online dating sites.”

Ginnie winced, like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her. I knew the feeling.

The Case of the Meddling Mama is now available for pre-order at $1.99.

Amazon ~ Kobo

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. When she isn’t writing cozy mysteries, like the Alex O’Hara PI series, she’s writing science fiction romance and romantic suspense. She’s a regular contributor here on the 30^th of the month, at Paranormal Romantics on the 13^th, and on her own blog every Monday.

The Mistletoe Kiss - Part Three by Diane Burton

Part Three

Though dinner passed in a flurry of excitement, at least on Bethany’s and Flo’s part with George grinning happily, Sam watched Abby as she pasted a smile on her thinned lips. A smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Though she made a production out of moving the food around on her plate, he knew she’d eaten little.

When she started to get up, Bethany announced, “Mom, sit. You cooked. Grandma and I will clean up.”

“Me, too,” George added. “I’ll help, if you ladies don’t mind.”

As the others grabbed bowls and platters, Sam held up the bottle of wine to Abby. “There’s a little left. Would you like to finish it?”

She glanced around at the empty table. “Sure. I could use something stronger, though.”

“You aren’t pleased.” He poured the last of the wine into her glass.

“Surprised.” When her cell chirped, she pulled her phone out of her slacks’ pocket.

“I’ll get you a stronger drink.” As Sam scooted behind her, he glanced down at her phone.

George Watson checks out A-Okay. No worries for your mom. Report to follow via email. Merry Christmas! – Alex, O’Hara & Palzetti Investigators.

“What is that?” He pointed. “You had my dad investigated?”

“Shh.”

“Don’t you shush me.” Sam felt his blood pressure escalate. She’d sicced an investigator on his dad?

“Let’s go outside.” She rose and grabbed his hand. “Sam and I are going for a walk,” she called to those in the kitchen before hauling him to the front closet. “Please don’t make a scene.”

“Me? Make a scene? Why would you think that?”

When she rolled her eyes at him, he knew his sarcasm had gotten through. Bundled up in hats, gloves, coats, and boots, they headed outside. The snow had stopped and the sun, though low in the sky, made the trees sparkle. The fairy tale scene was lost on him.

“You had my dad investigated?” he repeated when they reached the sidewalk. He brushed aside a twinge of guilt.

“When I got home from the jail yesterday morning, all I knew about your dad was that he and my mother had been arrested and were spending Christmas in jail. At the time, I thought it was your father leading my mother astray.” As he sputtered at the unfair accusation, she added, “Note, I said thought he’d led her astray. I know better now. Anyway, I called my girlfriend Alex who is a PI. Can you blame me? I had to protect my mother. Father left her comfortably well off. For all I knew, your father could be a gold digger.”

Sam threw his head back and laughed. If she only knew. “Dad doesn’t look like much, but he’s pretty well off himself.”

More than well off. With several patents to his name and a smart attorney, Dad was a millionaire several times over. “I suppose I should tell you, I did the same.” Despite the cold, his ears burned.

They’d circled the block. At Sam’s announcement, she stopped in front of her mother’s house. “What do you mean you did the same? The same what?”

“When Dad started dating Flo, I had her investigated. Alex is quite thorough.”

“You what?” She stooped to retie the boot laces—although he couldn’t figure out why since they were going inside.

“You heard me. I hired Alex O’Hara. She does a good job.”

As Abby rose, she let loose a round, white ball. Smack into his chest.

“You know this means war.” With an evil laugh, Sam grabbed a handful of snow and packed it well. As he threw it, she dodged. The snowball clipped her shoulder.

“Bring it on.” She fired another ball and got his ear.

They flung a barrage of snowballs at each other. Finally, he lunged for her and brought her down. Her fall was well cushioned by the snow that had fallen two nights ago and that which had fallen since last night. “You will pay for that last one,” he said in a falsetto. “I plan to have children someday.”

She dumped a handful of cold stuff down the back of his collar. “Someday? You’d better hurry. Someday is about to pass you up. Ooh,” she shrieked as his handful of snow went down the V-neck of her holiday sweater.

With strength that surprised him, she managed to roll him over then sat astride him. “Did you say war? You ain’t seen nothing yet, mister.” With a girlish giggle, she rubbed a handful of snow in his face.

“What are you two doing?” Flo stood on the front porch, hands on her hips. “Get up before someone sees you acting like children. What will the neighbors say?”

Eyes twinkling, Abby scrambled to her feet then reached down to help him up. “Oh my, yes. What will the neighbors say?”

When he clasped her hand, he laughed softly. “Can’t have that.” He scooped her up in a fireman carry and headed for the backyard.

“You two behave yourselves,” Flo called out.

“You’d better let me down, Sam Watson, or you’ll be sorry.” She pounded on his back.

With all her struggling, her jacket had pulled up as well as her sweater, exposing a delicious strip of skin. He couldn’t resist. Using his teeth to remove a glove, he scooped some snow off her jacket and, oh so carefully, trailed it along that strip.

She shrieked and wiggled so much, he had to drop her . . . in a big snowbank. This time, he straddled her. “Uncle?”

“Never. Soldiers never give up. Or in. We never cry uncle. We make war.” While she protested, she gathered two hands full of snow.

Before she could throw it, he stretched out on top of her. “I’d rather kiss than make war.”

He lowered his head, making sure his lips hovered over hers. “What do you say? Kiss or war?”

Her eyes darkened, not in anger. In anticipation. She wanted that kiss. Thank God. He brushed his lips against hers. A deep sigh ran through her as she raised her arms to loop them around his neck. Oh, yeah. Her lips softened, drawing him in.

Something wet and cold was shoved down the back of his neck. With a yelp, he scrambled off her. She lay in the snow mound, laughing, as he shook off the snow.

“You are a menace,” He groused. “A sneaky menace.”

“Poor baby.” She got up. “Want some help?”

He checked her hands. “I’d rather have another kiss.” When she hesitated, he added, “Only a kiss, Abby.”

After hesitating for another moment, she said, “I’m not sure if I’m ready for more than that.”

“I can wait until you are.”

Looking out the kitchen window, George turned to Flo. “They’re kissing again.”

“Wonderful.” Flo leaned against him.

“Gross,” Bethany said. “They’re too old for that stuff.”

George and Flo just laughed. “Never too old.”

I hope you enjoyed The Mistletoe Kiss. For more stories that take place in the fictional town of Far Haven, Michigan, read The Case of the Bygone Brother (An Alex O'Hara novel) and The Case of the Fabulous Fiancé, both available at online retailers. Coming soon: The Case of the Meddling Mama.

Please return tomorrow for Barbara Edwards’ story, The Magic of Mistletoe.

Family Vacations by Diane Burton

I recently returned from a 3-generation family vacation. First, let me tell you about some of our vacations when my kids were younger. They called them “encyclopedia” vacations. When we went to a famous site, I wanted them to know about it. (You can take the teacher out of the classroom…) As they got older, I gave them the Triple A book, and had them choose places to stop—which meant they had to read about these places.

Our last family vacation with just the four of us strained Hubs’ and my patience. A 10^th grader who PMS’d the whole time and didn’t want to do anything, and a 9^th grader who wanted to be home with his friends. Later—many years later—he said that was a really great vacation. The kicker, though, was daughter, who had groused the whole time, got on the phone with her girlfriend (while we were emptying the car) and exclaimed about how she had so much fun. I thought Hubs’ would kill her. LOL

The kids are grown with kids of their own. We went on a cruise with daughter, SIL, and their two kids, along with SIL’s parents and his sister and her son. Not just any cruise but a Disney cruise. What fun. Especially because this was a Star Wars Disney cruise. I might have mentioned a few times that my family are Star Wars’ fanatics—from the 6 y.o. through Hubs. One day during the cruise, Star Wars characters walked the decks, had photo ops, while those into Star Wars more than my family also dressed in costume. I have to admit, Hubs’ and I hung out with some of the characters. 

 

Before leaving on the cruise, I had a brilliant idea. I would set the fourth Alex O’Hara book on a cruise. So I paid special interest in things I could use in the story. I also asked our tax preparer what I needed to do to be able to take my cost of the cruise as a business expense. She asked her supervisors. I didn’t get the not-so-good news until we got home. Nope. Can’t do it. Darn!

We had a great time (even if I can’t write it off). The kiddies had their activities. The younger adults had theirs. And Hubs and I did our thing. We all met for dinner each night and had fun discussing what we did. I have to say Disney does customer service well. The food was to die for and the staff couldn’t have been nicer and friendlier. I would definitely recommend a cruise for a multi-generation family vacation.

Diane Burton writes romantic suspense, mysteries, and science fiction romance. She blogs here on the 30th of the month and on her own blog on Mondays.

Halloween (again) by Diane Burton

When your turn at blogging here comes at the end of the month, all the topics you thought of have been taken. Unlike my character Alex O'Hara, I'm not crazy about Halloween. I don't like scary books or movies. I hate dressing up in costume for parties. And I hate having so much candy in the house.

Rather than a trick, here's a treat. An excerpt I haven't shared before from my PI mystery THE CASE OF THE BYGONE BROTHER.

Like many of the downtown businesses, I participated in Fair Haven’s Candy Walk. Costumed kids went from door to door and we handed out treats. Since the weather was so nice, I sat in a lawn chair out on the sidewalk. As did many other business owners. In previous years, we scooted our chairs together so we could chat.

Not this year. My two bodyguards insisted on standing close by. Big concession that was. They wanted me to stay inside. In fact, they didn’t want me to participate at all. I told them nobody was keeping me from having a little fun. Sacerne and her minions had already interfered with my life. I wouldn’t let them intimidate me into missing out on my favorite Halloween activity.

I dressed in my witch costume and hid my still-bruised face behind a mask. Jasper worried that Tyler would also wear a mask and sneak up on me. I poo-poo’d that idea, asking if he thought Tyler would rent a kid for more camouflage. The two guys didn’t think that was funny.

My favorite part of the Walk had always been watching the kids. I loved the costumes. More than last year, many wore home-made outfits. Even many parents and dogs wore costumes. After the third Darth Vader, I gave some credence to Jasper’s warning about Tyler coming in disguise. Let me tell you, when a huge black-clad figure with a helmet and cape lumbers toward you, fear streaks down your back. Fortunately, I recognized the Darth Vaders—more from the kids attached to them.

When a blue cardboard police box without a child nearby headed directly toward me, Norman and Jasper went into high alert. They sandwiched Doctor Who’s TARDIS between them and ordered the person inside to show himself.

At the menace in my guards’ voices and actions, parents grabbed their surprised children to pull them out of the way.

Oh my gosh, I knew who was inside the TARDIS. When it looked like Jasper and Norman were going to pull out their guns, I jumped up and cackled. “I’ll get you, my pretty.” Then I pointed my broom at the box. “Ex-ter-min-ate!”

Some parents—Doctor Who fans, I assume—laughed, the rest and their kids eyed me warily, and a freaked-out RJ opened a little hatch at the top.

“See? It’s all part of a game,” I said. “Happy Halloween.”

After the group moved on, I quietly apologized to RJ.

“Man, oh, man, Alex,” he exclaimed. “I thought those guys were going to take me down. Who are they?”

“A present from Nick Palzetti.”

  

The Case of the Bygone Brother is available at Amazon: http://amzn.com/B00P1GPR0Q

 Diane Burton writes romantic adventure . . . stories that take place on Earth and beyond. She blogs here on the 8th and 30th of each month and on Mondays on her own site: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/