Murder, Romance, and Mystery: The Bare Bones of "Maypops"

Here’s What’s Coming! The tangible reward for all these long, long winter days spent indoors with nothing but time on my hands. What is it? Hmmm . . . A mastery of P90X and the resultant ten pound weight loss? Pursuit of online continuing education hours in my chosen profession? A Cleaver house complete with tidy cupboards?

These flowers are Maypops - aren't they the brightest, 

most bizarre flower you've ever seen? Also known as 

Passion Flower, and crucial to my story,

but that's all I'm saying for now!

Alas, none of the above. (Lol! How well do you know me?)  But rest assured, dear reader, December and January (and ahem, the previous year and a half) have not been wasted. And so, without further adieu, I give you . . . The Sequel.

Okay, this announcement may be somewhat premature, trapped as I am about two thirds of the way through. But I’ve become a firm believer in early promotions and so - well in advance - I want to set forth the bare bones of Novel Two.

I loved my people so much I couldn’t leave them! And, in fact, I hoarded them all away from "Sugar Man" and stuffed them into “Maypops in September.” (Don't worry, they fit.) Rush is classically cool as ever, tattooed and grungy and totally hot. And Benny is absolutely incandescent beneath her own spotlight, putting her “gift” to use in all sorts of dubious ways. Bobby has a much stronger role, and although I hadn’t intended for him to fall in love (he’s way too smart-ass and oh-so-jaded) when Sophie walked into the Valley Booze, he fell - as he would say - like a hammered sheep. There was no saving him, and very quickly I decided I didn’t want to; this side of Bobby has been so much fun to work with.

What else? Murders, of course. Plural. Romance – the sort of sexy, gritty, streetwise love that my characters seem to excel at. More EMS and fire! My crew got tired of not having enough to do, so they’re featured a couple of times in this novel, in some pretty major ways. I love these guys, such big heroes; Nic is up for lieutenant, so exciting!

Mystery, undercover narcing, and oh yes, Delilah. Johnny’s daughter has every bit of his smarts and cool, plus a heavy dose of angst and a lovely flair for dramatics. Fatherhood isn’t a role that Johnny has dabbled in as much as he should have, so he’s more or less on a learning curve.

Big crime, although I haven’t quite solved it yet.

But I will! “Maypops in September” should be reaching completion by summertime, and I’m so looking forward to dressing it up with a gorgeous cover and tossing it out there.  Get ready people, here it comes!