Tag: #Action

The Fall of Jake Hennessey #NewReleases #Suspense

  By Uncategorized

This isn’t the kind of Harmony Duprie story you are used to – this is pure Jake Hennessey at his best – and his worst – in his own words and his point of view.

Tagline: Jake Hennessey is always on top of his game, anticipating the next big play…until Harmony Duprie changes everything.

I didn’t expect to write this book. Four or five years ago, I’d tried to write a short story from Jake’s point of view, but he wouldn’t talk to me. When I wrote “The End” after finishing The Ranger’s Dog Tags, I thought I was done with Harmony Duprie and her friends. But as I was doing research for a story featuring a female PI in Pittsburgh in the 1980s, Jake intruded. This book is the result.

Description: Jake Hennessey deals in selling fine jewelry of an illegal nature. The thrill of getting away with it is his addiction. When he hears a rumor about a rare old book in the personal collection of a small-town librarian, he gets the urge to try a new game.

After all, even jewel thieves get bored.

But the librarian, Harmony Duprie, isn’t what he expected and the challenge becomes serious business.

In order to win, Jake’s going to have to play by a new set of rules—and make them up as he goes along—because this time, he’s playing for the rest of his life.

Here’s a short excerpt:

The Bargen house was simple to break into. It was well-maintained, but Jake knew the tricks. The windows were the easiest point of entry once the family left to go to a concert. With the police busy controlling the crowds, the neighborhoods were unguarded.

The locked doors would be easy to pick, but that left behind traces a good cop would find. The first window Jake tried was firmly latched, and he didn’t want to break a window if he didn’t need to. But they’d left the kitchen window open a crack. He had to go through at an angle to get his shoulders through the narrow opening and use his arms to pull the rest of his body past the sink and onto the floor.

He waited a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness. Older people favored nightlights throughout their house. They gave him all the light he needed to work. There hadn’t been time to scope out the interior, so he crept from room to room to find the main bedroom.

The door stood open, but he slipped on the latex gloves he’d swiped from the motel before he entered. If he got lucky, the case and the brooch would be sitting on top of the dresser. He hoped Mrs. Bargen hadn’t worn it. But the cluttered tray held no jewelry box.

He worked quickly, opening and closing each drawer, not finding what he was looking for. The next place to check was the closet. He turned on the light and closed the door behind him. And hit paydirt.

The Fall of Jake Hennessey is available at the retailers below, and will soon be available with Nook Press, I hope you’ll pick up a copy today. If you enjoy it, please  leave a review, and thank you!

Amazon

Kobo

Apple

Books2Read

COVER REVEAL! The Fall Of Jake Hennessey

  By Uncategorized

 

 

Jake Hennessey is always on top of his game, anticipating the next big play… until Harmony Duprie changes everything.

 

When I decided to release “The Fall of Jake Hennessey,” one of the first things I did was to confer with my cover artist, K.M. Guth. I knew I didn’t want the book to look as if it was another Harmony Duprie Mystery because the story is crime/suspense. Still, I wanted to pay tribute to the series, which provided inspiration for this story.

We studied the covers of best sellers and drew ideas for what we wanted and what we didn’t want, and her marvelous brain went to work. Once she’d developed a general concept, it didn’t take her long to bring it to life.

She fiddled with the placement of the graphics and letters, decided what fonts looked the best, and how to pay homage to her earlier designs. I think she’s a genius, and I watched in awe as she pulled all the needed elements together until we were both happy with it.

But before we get to the cover—you haven’t peeked, have you?—here’s a short excerpt.

The flash of metal reflecting a blinking neon beer sign in the front window had Jake on his feet and halfway across the bar in a second.

“Settle down, Duane,” the bartender said, backing up a few feet.

Jake recognized Duane’s type. Too skinny, pockmarks in his face, scabs on his arms, shaking so hard Jake didn’t know how he remained standing. If Duane was crashing, he became doubly dangerous.

Chairs scraped as other customers moved out of reach of the steak knife Duane waved, aiming at everyone and no one. There’d be no happy ending to the situation, at least as far as Jake foresaw. He circled to get in behind Duane.

“Put down the knife,” said one of his friends from several feet away.

“Take it easy,” said the other.

Duane didn’t pay attention. The weapon traced aimless circles in the air. He advanced two steps closer towards the bartender. “Don,” he slurred. “Don cheat me.”

“Nobody’s cheating anybody,” the bartender said. “Put down your knife and go home and sleep it off.”

It was easy to predict Duane’s next move. Jake had seen it repeated too many times. The druggie lunged at the bartender, but Jake reacted first and grabbed his arm. A dangerous maneuver, because tweakers often found bonus strength out of nowhere. He’d been in fights where it took three bouncers to subdue one meth head. Fate was on his side this time. The knife clattered to the floor, and a kick to the back of his knee ensured Duane did, too.

While all hell broke loose, with everyone yelling at Duane and Duane’s friends yelling at everyone else, Jake slipped out the front.

The Fall of Jake Hennessey will be available on April 2nd at the usual retailers.

Now, on to the cover!

 

Jake Is On The Way!

  By Uncategorized

 

Do you love Jake from the Harmony Duprie Mysteries? Well, he finally shared his secrets with me, so I could write his story. The result is The Fall of Jake Hennessey. 

This book is a prequel to the Harmony stories, written from Jake’s point of view. Here’s the description:

Jake Hennessey deals in selling fine jewelry of an illegal nature. The thrill of getting away with it is his addiction. When he hears a rumor about a rare old book in the personal collection of a small-town librarian, he gets the urge to try a new game.

After all, even jewel thieves get bored.

But the librarian, Harmony Duprie, isn’t what he expected and the challenge becomes serious business.

In order to win, Jake’s going to have to play by a new set of rules—and make them up as he goes along—because this time, he’s playing for the rest of his life.

 

Watch for it on April 2nd at all the usual retailers. (Amazon, B&N, Apple, Kobo)

He Said, She Said: Embracing Dialogue #OpenBook Blog Hop

  By Open Book

 

October 19, 2020

Do you embrace dialog or narrate your way around it? Why?

“Evening, Ms. Duprie,” he said, as he took the brim of his hat between his thumb and index finger for the briefest of moments. “Welcome back.”  from The Marquesa’s Necklace

And welcome (or welcome back) to all of you! 

I couldn’t resist. Despite recently coming across a “rule” that you should never start a book with dialogue (does that count for blog posts, too?) I had to do it. Open with dialogue, that is. 

Because yes, I’ve fully embraced dialogue in my stories. Because no matter how well-written, it’s hard to read page after page of prose with long paragraphs and few breaks. For me, anyway. I used to be able to do it, but my mind doesn’t work that way anymore. And if I can’t read it, I certainly don’t want to write it.

That doesn’t mean I ignore narrative prose. I also don’t want to read page after page of dialogue, like reading a script for a play.  The trick is in finding a balance between the two. And using that balance to move the story along. 

The first thing I noticed when walking into my apartment was the afghan I kept on the back of the recliner. It was on the floor and hadn’t been like that when I left. “So who’s been sitting in my chair?” I asked. “Eli?” I called hopefully to no response.

Then I noticed the dirty dishes in my kitchen sink. “So who’s been eating my porridge?” I whispered to myself. Surely a thief wouldn’t have stopped to make himself a sandwich.

I tip-toed down the hallway, holding my breath. The bathroom was empty, but my bedroom door was partially closed. I carefully pushed it open and peeked inside. A familiar head nestled on my pillow. “So that’s who’s been sleeping in my bed.”  from Her Ladyship’s Ring

That was a fun scene to write. Even though the dialogue was one-sided, it moved the plot forward.

It can be tough to write dialogue for more than two people in the scene. The standard “he said” or “she said” dialogue tags don’t work when there’s more than one he or she.  That’s when the use of actions and descriptions come into play. 

“You waiting for someone?” a gruff voice asked to my right.
“My ride,” I answered blandly, without looking up. I didn’t want to show any interest.
“The night is young,” came a second voice from my left.
I was in trouble. The voices held no hint of helpfulness. “And I have an early morning. So it’s time for me to go home.”
“Don’t you want to party with us?” The smell of alcohol lingered heavily on the first man’s breath.
“No thanks.”
The man on the left reached out and grabbed my arm. “Sure you do.” from The Baron’s Cufflinks

The rules are different for non-fiction and screenwriting, of course. We have at least one screenwriter in this group and I’m looking forward reading to her post. (You can follow the links below to find the other posts)

One more thing before I go. I checked twice, and either dialog or dialogue are acceptable spellings according to the grammar police. So, let’s not start that argument! 

Until next time, stay safe!

October 19, 2020

Do you embrace dialog or narrate your way around it? Why?

Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.

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