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Saturday, June 30, 2018

#WeWriWa: Numbers Never Lie - A Blinking Answering Machine


Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors where authors share an 8 - 10 sentence snippet. Be sure to visit the other authors. You can find them here

I'm sharing snippets from my soon to be released romantic suspense, NUMBERS NEVER LIE. Maggie and Drew are in her kitchen. This snippet continues right after last week's, which ended with: Drew laughed, “That’s Jack—he never leaves anything to chance.”

This week's snippet. Please excuse the creative punctuation, necessary to keep this within the guidelines.
  
He looked at her blinking answering machine in the corner of the peninsula counter that divided the kitchen from the eating area, “You have a message.”
“I’ll get it later,” she said over the running water as she rinsed the lettuce.
“What if it’s important?” He looked at the machine again with its flashing red light.
“The only person I need to hear from is Jack, and he knew I was going on the camping trip so if it was important he would’ve called my cell.”
Drew prowled the kitchen, making her trips from the refrigerator to the sink worse than dodging an obstacle course, “I can’t get over Jack wanting to listen to a CD in the middle of a workday.”
“I don’t understand that either since he’s putting in a lot of hours making up for Ben being out,” she explained about Jack’s business partner’s motorcycle accident, “Jack’s doing an audit over in Muskegon, and I gather it isn’t going well.”
“Muskegon? Seriously? I’m working with a client over there—in fact, I was there all day Friday,” Drew slanted his gaze at the answering machine, “I can’t believe you’re not curious enough to listen to your message—I’d never not check.”


Here's the blurb:

A shocking secret brings danger to Jack Sinclair and his sister Maggie. 

As kids, they were the fearless threesome. As adults, Jack's an accountant; Drew, a lawyer; Maggie, a teacher and camping troop leader. Returning from a weekend camping trip, Maggie receives horrifying news. She refuses to believe her brother’s fatal car crash was an accident. If the police won’t investigate, she’ll do it herself. Convincing Drew Campbell to help is her only recourse.

Drew Campbell was too busy to return his best friend’s phone call. Too busy to attend a camping meeting important to his teen daughter. Too busy to stay in touch with Jack. Logic and reason indicate Jack’s accident was just that--an accident caused by fatigue and fog. Prodded by guilt, he’ll help Maggie even if he thinks she’s wrong.

A break-in at Jack’s condo convinces Maggie she’s right. Then her home is searched. What did Jack do that puts Maggie in danger?



Numbers Never Lie will be released on July 9. I’m organizing a blog tour, so if you're interested in hosting me, here's a form to fill out.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtq0uq2nARRiSy1Gb85U0MgUhoACL-7HA5oaM23wY9zkqEjQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

Thanks so much for your support!

A reminder: I'm always happy to help you celebrate a new release. Just drop me a note at dmburton72 (at) gmail (dot) com




33 comments:

  1. Nah, don't bother checking the call. These days it's undoubtedly just somebody wanting money.

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    1. LOL, Ed. You're right. We never answer our landline.

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  2. Now I'm curious about that message, too. What if something happened to Jack?

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  3. I'll bet anything that call was super important after all! Also my blog link isn't working, so here's my post! http://amybraunauthor.com/sunday-snippet-i-got-the-charm-and-you-got-the-glower/

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    1. Thanks for the link, Amy. Yep, the call was important.

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  4. I couldn't let it keep blinking! Well, unless I knew it was something other people shouldn't hear.

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    1. Good point, Sheila. I couldn't let the machine keep blinking, either.

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  5. That blinking light is stressing me out too. Just check the message already!

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  6. Heck, I'm curious about the message.

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    1. Should I leave you all hanging or put it in the next snippet? Decisions, decisions.

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  7. OK, the unlistened-to message is making ME crazy now LOL. Very well done snippet! And I like the little clues of foreshadowing you're dropping in here and there about goings on in Muskegon. Terrific!

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    1. Thanks, Veronica. I always appreciate your comments.

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  8. Maybe she's afraid to listen to the message. Mysterious goings on here. You have me in suspense.

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  9. Drew's obsession with her not listening to the call is making me suspicious of him! I get the feeling it's a call she'll wish she didn't take when she does listen to it. Great suspense building!

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    1. Good point, Jenna. He's a little OCD, like Maggie's brother.

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  10. I read that snippet thinking--answer the phone. Answer the phone. Answer the danged phone! :-)

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  11. What a great illustration of two different personalities. I'm a Drew--that blinking light must be stopped!

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    1. Glad you saw that, Caitlin. He can't let things go.

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  12. You and me, both, Drew. People who don't check their messages drive me crazy - especially if it's from me! Almost makes you wonder if he knows something . . .

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    1. Love your response, Nancy. I knew you'd have that reaction.

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  13. I couldn't ignore a flashing message - I just have to know who it's from, and in this case I think she is going to regret not checking it sooner!

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    1. Wow. I can't believe how many of you would immediately check the message. LOL Me? I'd get to it, knowing if it was important the call would come on my cell.

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  14. Could it be that she doesn't want him to hear what's on the machine? Because I would never not check either.

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  15. I think she needs to check that message. Something tells me its not going to be good.

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  16. I want to say thanks to you. I have bookmark your site for future updates. Whatsminer M30s++ 112Th/s

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