#WeWriWa - The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: Unwanted Company

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. Last time, Alex and family (hers and Nick's) left the police station. Each to their own home.

Snippet: 

Pop punched in the code to unlock the back door to the office then ushered me through. I’d closed the agency for the wedding . . . and for the following week. Now, I wished I hadn’t. I needed work. First, I needed to get out of the dress. Spanx held everything in, but now it had to come off.

A rapid pounding on the door behind us stopped us both. Pop and I looked at each other. He checked the peephole then let in my two best friends and their husbands, their arms loaded with packages. 

I so did not want company.

And a little more:  

After hugs and questions—which I didn’t/couldn’t answer—we all trooped upstairs to my apartment.

“We gathered the leftovers from the reception.” Practical Dottie explained the packages. “We figured you all hadn’t eaten since breakfast. I called Tony and Maria. They’ll be over shortly.”

More company. Great. Just great.

Leaving the men to deal with the packages, Dottie and Ellen followed me into my bedroom. Ellie turned me around. I expected more questions. Instead, she said, “Let’s get you out of your gown.”

Between her and Dottie, I was soon free of the beautiful, white tulle and crepe. And the Spanx. Now, I could breathe again.

“I can’t bear to look at that dress.” Ignoring Ellie’s cringe, since the dress came from her store, I said, “I don’t want to ever see it again.”

Without a word, she hung the gown on the back of my closet door. Out of sight, out of mind. My perfect day had been shot to shit. Sorry, Mom, I mentally apologized for cussing. Mom would be so ashamed of me.

That’s when I lost it. I sank down on my bed and burst into tears.

 

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and healthy and have a great week.

#WeWriWa ~ #WeWriWa - The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: Time of Death

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thank you all for your comments on last week's post. Your encouragement really helps.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. When we last left Alex at the jail, Nick said he can't tell her where he was between one and three the morning before.

Time to leave the jail scene. After everyone has been interviewed by the police, they meet up outside.

Snippet:

In the parking lot, Maria, Pop, and Tony stood clustered around Maria’s car, parked two spaces over from the limo. Since we weren’t allowed to talk about the interviews before, I asked what the chief had asked them.

“He seemed very interested in where Nick was between midnight and three,” Tony said.

“If only that boy had listened to me. He should’ve stayed put, in our house.” Maria wrung her hands. “I told him it was bad luck to see you.”

From the glare she shot me, she blamed me for her horny son. Great.

And now a little bit more:

“We heard him go to bed at twelve-thirty,” Tony said. “We realized he was gone when we got up at seven. I didn’t hear a thing in between.”

“You wouldn’t hear a truck smashing into the house,” Maria said. “You and your snoring.”

“I do not snore.”

Maria shot him the look. Having been the recipient of that look, I sympathized with Tony. “I heard Nick leave at one,” she said.

“It doesn’t take two hours to get from your house to Alex's apartment,” Tony said. He still hadn't forgiven Maria for buying a home in Michigan since they had a perfectly good condo in Arizona. Ack. They could work that out.

I needed to concentrate on Nick. I turned to his lawyer, Hans Bogardus, as he helped his dad into their car on the other side of Maria’s. “Why did Dan ask us so many questions about the time we saw Nick?”

Hans straightened. “Because the medical examiner put the time of death between one and two in the morning.”

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and healthy and have a great week.

IWSG: Author Envy

Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world!

The awesome co-hosts for the March 1 posting of the IWSG are Diedre Knight, Tonya Drecker, Bish Denham, Olga Godim, and JQ Rose!

Am I the only one who thinks 2023 is flying? February didn't start out well, not with a dead computer and the prospect of buying a new one. My wonderful tech guy neighbor was able to retrieve my files that weren't backed up to the cloud, including a whole bunch of family pictures. The transition to the new computer has not been easy. Same company, but they put some of the keys in different places. What the heck was that for??? Anyway, I don't have an excuse for not writing much this month, although I have read a lot. Refilling the well. I hope March will be better.

One thing I did in February was awesome. My former RWA chapter disaffiliated from RWA and started up a new writers' group. I'm so glad. I had to quit the chapter last February when my RWA dues were due. How I missed our monthly meetings--the programs but especially the members. Fortunately, our group offers virtual meetings along with in-person ones. We cover most of Michigan, except the Detroit area, and distances to meetings can be great. I attended (virtually) our first meeting. Yay! Great to see so many familiar faces. Groups that support writers are so essential, well, to my sanity at least. That's why the Insecure Writers Support Group is wonderful. Thanks, Alex and all who work hard behind the scenes to keep this group going.

Now, on to the optional question.

March 1 question - Have you ever read a line in novel or a clever plot twist that caused you to have author envy?

I sure have. I'm always amazed at the way some writers produce atmosphere--especially spooky, creepy, chilling. A shoutout to one of our members who does that: Nancy Gideon. The atmosphere in her books draws me in and doesn't let go until the final page. 

I love a plot twist that totally surprises me. You would think with all the mystery stories I read that I could foresee what will happen. Some authors are so good at leading the reader down the primrose path. LOL Then, wham. To borrow a line from a Bruce Willis movies: I didn't see that one coming.

Hope you all have a great writing month.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

#WeWriWa - The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: Motive, Means, Opportunity

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thank you all for your comments on last week's post. Your encouragement really helps.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. I'm picking up where we left off last week. Alex is talking to Nick in jail. He tells her why the authorities think he killed Mike Amerson. He had motive. He continues.

Snippet:  

“Then there’s means. My gun was found at the scene.” He snorted. “As if I’d be stupid enough to leave my weapon behind, if I did kill someone.”

“But you always keep your gun locked in your duffle.”

“Not always.”

I didn’t know that. “That means someone broke into our apartment to steal it.”

“Uh huh. You might want to check into that.”

As if I wouldn’t check the logs with our security service.

“And, of course, my fingerprints are on the gun.”

“Anyone else’s?”

And a little more:  

 

“I don’t know.” He gave a sharp glance at Deputy Jenny who was now leaning against a wall. “They won’t tell me. Worse, supposedly I called Amerson and told him to meet me at the cottage where his body was found.”

“What do you mean supposedly?”

“There’s a message on Amerson’s phone. From a burner, but the message appears to be from me. And last, but not least, opportunity—I can’t tell the chief where I was between the time I left Ma’s and when I got to your apartment.”

“Okay. It’s ten minutes from Maria’s. What could you possibly do in ten minutes?”

Nick leaned in close and whispered, “It was more than ten minutes. I left Ma’s at one.”

“Oh, dear God,” I blurted then slapped my hand across my mouth. My turn to whisper. “Two hours? Where were you?”

“I can’t tell you.”

 Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and healthy and have a great week.

#WeWriWa - The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: Buck Up, Girl

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thank you all for your comments on last week's post. Your encouragement really helps.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. I'm picking up where we left off last week. Alex is talking to Nick in jail.

Snippet:  

“I don’t understand why they charged you.” I sounded shaky. I was shaky. My clasp on him and the bars kept my knees from giving out.

“The evidence is pretty damning.”

“What evidence?” I clung to him to keep from dropping to the floor.

He chucked me under the chin. “Hey, girl. Buck up. You’re stronger than you think.”

And a little more:

I shot him a nasty glance. “How am I supposed to ‘buck up’? You’re under arrest, and I don’t know why.” Because I didn’t want him to worry about me, I straightened and clasped the bars instead of him. “Why did they arrest you?”

“Good girl. Don’t let them win. They had the big three. Means, opportunity, and motive.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “Motive—he threatened you and held Ma hostage. I threatened him.”

“But that was weeks ago.”

“Doesn’t matter. You know the quote about revenge being a dish best served cold? Dan thinks I let it fester then exploded.”

“But you didn’t. I know you didn’t.”

 

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay safe and healthy and have a great week.

#WeWriWa - The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: The Great Detective

 

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thank you all for your comments on last week's post. Your encouragement really helps.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. Alex finally gets to see Nick in jail.

Snippet:  

“How can they even think you killed a man?” I said.

He glanced over my shoulder. I’d forgotten Deputy Jenny hadn’t left. I glared at her. “You don’t have to watch me. I don’t have a sawblade under my gown.”

She shrugged. “SOP.”

“What?” I blurted out.

“Standard Operating Procedure, babe,” Nick murmured.

 

And a little more:

Deputy Jenny would follow the rules. The hell with her. I was going to kiss my husband, even if she watched. As best I could, I clasped Nick’s face. The bars between us made it difficult but not impossible. I’d never seen such despair in his dark eyes before. I ached to help.

“We’ll get you out,” I promised. “Hans is working on it.”

“Find out who did it. Who set me up.”

“Of course.” I gave him a crooked smile. “The Great Detective is on the case.”

He reached through the bars and hooked a long curl that had fallen forward behind my ear. The tender gesture brought tears to my eyes.

“You are a terrific detective, Lexie. Use those sleuthing skills to get me out of here.” With his thumb, he wiped my tears away.

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay healthy and have a great week.

#IWSG: Book Covers

Welcome to the Insecure Writer's Support Group. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world!

The awesome co-hosts for the February 1 posting of the IWSG are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!

February 1 question - If you are an Indie author, do you make your own covers or purchase them? If you publish trad, how much input do you have about what goes on your cover?

I've been both indie and trad. My first experience with a traditional publisher's cover was great. It helped that the artist had read the story. With the second publisher, the first cover was awful and presented to me only 4 days before publication. With the support of friends, I asked for a change. What I got was not what I'd envisioned but acceptable.

As an indie author, I've been very lucky to hire terrific cover artists. I love their ideas and their willingness to work with me. Right now, I'm between artists. If anyone would like to recommend someone either here or privately (dmburton72@gmail.com) I'd love to hear.

I hope January was good for you. Until last week, mine was great. Then, my computer had a major problem--one my terrific neighbor and computer guru couldn't fix. From past experience with the same problem, I knew the Geek Squad couldn't fix it either. Now, I'm using my husband's old computer until I can retrieve what's on mine. <deep sigh> 

But before that, I was on a roll with working on my WIP. Yes, I was writing again. I guess my word for 2023, acceptance, is working. I'm doing what I can and accepting what happens. Your supportive comments and those from another group (Weekend Writing Warriors) encouraged me so much I got back into the story, writing between 500 to almost 2k words a day. Then, my computer died. That put the kabosh on writing. Temporarily. I'm not giving up. I'm accepting that my computer needs replacing and, until then, doing what I can.

I hope you have a great month.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.

WeWriWa - The Case of the Wedding Wrecker: Damning Evidence

 

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thank you all for your comments on last week's post. I was really on a roll last week . . . Until my computer refused to work. I’m typing this on my iPad—one finger at a time. 

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. I've skipped a few paragraphs from the previous post. Alex is still at the police station. Alex finally gets to see Nick . . . in jail.

Snippet:

“How can they even think you killed a man?”

He glanced over my shoulder. I’d forgotten Deputy Jenny hadn’t left. I glared at her. “You don’t have to watch me. I don’t have a sawblade under my gown.” 

“Standard Operating Procedure, babe,” Nick murmured. 

She would follow the rules. The hell with her. I was going to kiss my husband, even if she watched. As best I could, I clasped Nick’s face. The bars between us made it difficult but not impossible. I’d never seen such despair in his dark eyes before. 

And a little more: 

“We’ll get you out,” I promised. “Hans is working on it.”

“Find out who did it. Who set me up.”

“Of course.” I gave him a crooked smile. “The Great Detective is on the case.”

He reached through the bars and hooked a long curl that had fallen forward behind my ear. The tender gesture brought tears to my eyes. 

“You are a terrific detective, Lexie. Use those sleuthing skills to get me out of here.” With his thumb, he wiped my tears away.

“I don’t understand why they charged you.” I sounded shaky. I was shaky. My clasp on him and the bars kept my knees from giving out.

“The evidence is pretty damning.”

“What evidence?” I clung to him to keep from dropping to the floor.

He chucked me under the chin. “Hey, girl. Buck up. You’re stronger than you think.”

I shot him a nasty glance. “How am I supposed to ‘buck up’? You’re under arrest, and I don’t know why.” Because I didn’t want him to worry about me, I straightened and clasped the bars instead of him. “Why did they arrest you?”

“Good girl. Don’t let them win. They had the big three. Means, opportunity, and motive.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “Motive—he threatened you and held Ma hostage. I threatened him.”

“But that was weeks ago.”

“Doesn’t matter. You know the quote about revenge being a dish best served cold? Dan thinks I let it fester then exploded.”

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay healthy and have a great week.

WeWriWa - Wedding Wrecker: It Doesn't Look Good

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thank you all for your comments on last week's post. This has been a good writing week. After many, many weeks/months, I'm finally writing again and this story is finally going places. I attribute that to you for your encouragement.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. I've skipped a few paragraphs from the previous post. Alex is still at the police station. Chief Dan Hoesen has finished questioning her, her dad, and Alex's parents and told them all to go. Alex insists on seeing Nick.

Snippet:

Dan called Jenny. “Take her back to the jail.”

The deputy hurried over to him. “You’re not arresting her, too, are you?”

“Arrest her? Lexie, uh, Alex? What? No.” Dan was more flustered than I’d ever seen him. “What are you—”

Then she smirked. Ah. She tried to make us lighten up. As much as I appreciated her effort, I wasn’t going to lighten up until Nick was out of jail.

The bad thing about writing a lot of dialogue is that the 8-10 sentence limit gets eaten up quickly. Thanks for letting us add a little bit more.

And a little more: 

I followed Jenny down a short corridor and around a corner. She unlocked a door to another short hall, then to the jail itself. Nick sat on the edge of a cot, his head in his hands, defeated. His tuxedo jacket lay on the end of the bed, his tie undone, and the first couple of buttons open at his tanned throat. No cufflinks, but he’d rolled up the sleeves of his once pristine white shirt, revealing his strong forearms. Arms I wanted around me.

“Nick?” I hesitated before rushing to the cell.

Two strides, and he was shoving his arms through the bars. I pressed as close as I could and held him, too.

“Oh, babe.” He caressed my face, misery riding in his. “It doesn’t look good.”

 

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay healthy and have a great week.

WeWriWa - Wedding Wrecker: A Clock Watcher?

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. Thank you all for your comments on last week's post plus your good wishes for my husband and me.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. After a deputy arrested Alex's groom, Nick Palzetti, at the altar, the police chief, Dan Hoesen, is still interviews Alex. The lawyer, Hans Bogardus, tries to keep her from giving away too much information and/or shooting off her mouth. The latter is a hard task.

Snippet:

“Did Nick leave the apartment again?" the chief asked. "Before you went to church?”

“Yes.” I groaned. “His mother came over to help me dress. When she found him there, she shooed him back to her house. And before you ask, that was about eight this morning.”

“Eight? Before or after eight?”

“If I knew you were going to ask me exact times, I would’ve looked at a clock when he left.”

And a little more:

“He left before eight-ten because that’s when Dottie arrived, and he was gone by then.” After a severe scolding from his mother for bringing bad luck by seeing me. Maybe there was something to that. Bad luck had certainly found us.

“And the next time you saw him?”

“At the church, when I was waiting to walk down the aisle.” I remembered how happy I was at that moment. Happiness dashed within minutes.

Dan consulted his notes, not that there were a lot of them. I tried to read what he’d written upside down, but his writing was too cramped.

“To reiterate,” he said, “You know for sure Palzetti was in your apartment from eleven forty-five until shortly after midnight. He returned at three—” He glanced up at me. “—oh-five, left again before eight-ten this morning. Is that correct?”

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay healthy and have a great week.

WeWriWa - Wedding Wrecker: Bad Luck

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, where writers share snippets from their work-in-progress or new release. 

A new year and new efforts. After an almost five month hiatus, I'm back. Once again, life got in the way of doing what I want to do. Hopefully, I can follow through sharing snippets this year. As I wrote in another blog post, I'll do the best I can and accept when I can't.

I'm sharing snippets from the 4th Alex O'Hara cozy mystery, The Case of the Wedding Wrecker. After a deputy arrested Alex's groom, Nick Palzetti, at the altar, the police chief, Dan Hoesen, interviews the family, starting with Alex. The lawyer, Hans Bogardus, tries to keep her from giving away too much information and/or shooting off her mouth.

Snippet:

The chief cleared his throat. “When did Nick leave the apartment to go to the bachelor party?”

“I don’t know. You’d have to ask—” I stopped remembering Hans’s caution.

“Who should I ask?” Dan slanted a glance at Hans. “She can tell me that.”

When Hans nodded, I said, “Jim, Jim Matthews. And Pop, uh, Frank O’Hara.”

“I know your dad.” Dan's lips curved into a sort-of smile--the first since this mess began--then scribbled a note on his legal pad. “After you got home from your party, when did Palzetti leave?”

And a little more:

“It must have been around midnight, since his mother came up to the apartment and said she’d dismissed the driver. She told Nick he had to drive her home.”

Dan made another note. “What time did he return?”

“Three-oh-five.”

He eyed me with a raised eyebrow. “And you know the exact time because . . .”

“Because he woke me up when he crawled into bed.” Heat flooded my cheeks. “I looked at the clock. His mother said he couldn’t—”

“Alex?”

I ignored Hans’s caution. “I want to explain. His mother said it was bad luck for him to see me on my wedding day. But he came back anyway.”

“And you say he came back at three o’clock.”

“Three-oh-five.”

 

Be sure to check out the other WeWriWa authors. Stay healthy and have a great week.

 

IWSG: My Word for 2023

Happy New Year and welcome to the first meeting of the Insecure Writer's Support Group in 2023. IWSG is the brainchild of Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Thanks, Alex, for starting this group and keeping it going. We are rockin' the neurotic writing world!

The awesome co-hosts for the January 4 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pett, Debs Carey, Kim Lajevardi, Sarah Foster, Natalie Aguirre, and T. Powell Coltrin!

First, apologies for November and December. I fell down on the job. On November 1st (IWSG Day), my husband went into the hospital for 8 days with RSV, V-tach (very rapid heartbeat), and acute bronchitis. Meanwhile I was sick with (my guess) RSV, since our grandsons shared it with us. Thank goodness for our adult children who took their dad to the ER, visited him every day, and kept me informed. I owe a special apology to Alex because I was supposed to be cohost in November. I'm sorry I let you down. In December, I just plain forgot. Shame on me.

Enough chest beating and mea culpas, on to 2023. It has to be better than last year.

January 4 question - Do you have a word of the year?

Every January, I plan what I want to accomplish for the year in my writing career. Aren't we supposed to make a biz plan? A 10-year, 5-year, 1-year plan? Not this year. While a good business practice, a plan doesn't allow for "life's" intrusions. Sometimes, you can't control the things that happen around you. I have to keep repeating the Serenity Prayer and learn to accept the things over which I have no control. 

Acceptance is my word for 2023.

What's yours? I can't wait to visit to see what word you choose.

Click here to find others on the Insecure Writers Support Group Blog Hop. Or go to IWSG on Facebook to see who’s blogging today.