-
As many of you know, I've been working on the third book in the Jayne Stanford Mystery series.  This book, tentatively titled, No Reservations, continues Jayne's story on a girlfriend getaway to Colorado.

I'm excited to announce that I won first place in the Desert Sleuths Write Now! conference first line competition. For those of you who follow the series, I'm including a snippet from the beginning. This working copy may be different than the final version. Until I complete the entire story and run through several rounds of edits. every word is subject to change.

I hope you enjoy this teaser.

No Reservations


Three hours and twenty dollars that’s all I had to get my life in order. I clutched hastily written instructions in my sweaty hand. I repeated the most important part—be at the airport at nine a.m. and not a minute later.

            I may have overreacted slightly. My best friend Bailey called me at way too early to be awake for a night shift worker to invite me as her plus one. This trip was last minute but who questions an all-expenses paid trip to a stunning resort in Colorado—not this girl. Unfortunately, I’m not the most organized person and most days I struggled to find something clean to wear from the pile on my bedroom floor. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be allowed to board the plane sans clothes. I gulped a can of super strength energy in the form of a diet soda and hit the road on a mission to find appropriate attire for cold weather.

            As a server at the Wild Bronco Steakhouse in the small town of Cave Creek my limited budget, has made it difficult to afford groceries, let alone buy a winter wardrobe at the last minute. My Arizona warmed body was not accustomed to any temperature that fell below sixty. I needed to beg, borrow or steal, well not steal, but purchase at a super good price, everything.

I started with my friend and co-worker Emmett, because he had a two bedroom apartment, one bedroom which was used exclusively as a closet. It’s not as if we were the same size but if he didn’t have something, he always knew who would.

Emmett was my mentor in the restaurant business since I started a year ago. More significantly he was my closest guy friend and the big brother I never had. His model good looks and impeccable taste made him my go to person if I needed to dress better than my usual wrinkled capris, t-shirt and flip flops.

================================


Stay tuned for more from No Reservations.
Happy Trails,
Leslie


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Does the Wine Glass Matter by L. A. Keller

-
Image
As part of my restaurant series, this post is about the vessel you use to consume your juice - the fermented grape juice variety. Personally, I love a beautiful glass from which to drink wine. The more shapely and delicate the more I enjoy the wine - not because it always makes the wine dramatically  better but it adds to the pleasure of the act.  I also tend to break them routinely so I go through lots of different glassware. The first question you may ask is whether to have stemware or stemless (also known as a tumbler).  There was a trend a few years ago to move away from glasses with stems.  I agree that the stemless version is sturdier all around. You are less likely to knock the glass over and unable to snap off the stem when washing. These are easy to load in the dishwasher, but not always advisable for any wine glass depending on the quality of the glass. However, the biggest issue with stemless glasses is that you are holding the glass, and thus the ...
Read more

What Makes a Cowboy by L. A. Keller

-
Image
I love many things - the purple hues of an Arizona sunset, the purr of my rescue kitties, an elegant meal with a fabulous glass of wine, time with family and friends and, of course - cowboys. TI wondered what makes a person a cowboy. If you've read my posts, you know that I use the term Cowboy to represent either the male or female version. Cowgirls work just as hard as their male counterparts.  For the purposes of this discussion I'm going to focus on the male version. There are movie and television cowboys, rodeo cowboys and cowboys who've never ridden a horse or wrangled a cow (which may be the same as movie and t.v. cowboys). I suppose it's not so much if the man is a real cowboy or if he simply represents the idea. For my women readers, what does your ideal man look like? Does he have a hint of a beard on his face, dark penetrating eyes, unruly hair? Is he strong enough to lift a baby calf and carry it in his arms back to its mother? Would he take o...
Read more

I Don't Believe in Happily Ever After by L. A. Keller

-
I've been so busy writing Reunion in the Desert and trying to finish the third book in the Jayne Stanford series that I left this short story hanging. I'm including part Nine with the new installment as a brief review.  You can read the entire series in my blog posts or email me for one complete copy.  Part 9 “I gave up on happily ever after. Maybe I'm not cut out for a relationship. Maybe, I just don't like being committed to one person for longer than two weeks.” Clare kicked off her running shoes at the back door of her grandmother, Mae’s house. She winced when she thought about how much she spent on them but the fabric absorbed manure like a sponge and there was no way they would ever come clean. She figured she may as well throw them out, along with all her plans for this weekend. Hours of chores around the farm had worn her down more than all day client meetings. Mae hummed a tune as she prepared their lunch. Clare knew she had been guilt tripped in...
Read more