The day the brain stopped working...

Unfortunately, I think that's today. After spending a week frantically cleaning, promoting a new book, and cooking before the company arrived, I'm pretty brain tired. I expect that I'll spend today trying to reset the brain, reorienting my story brain waves. You'd be surprised at how much you forget in two or three days.

I'll read my current work in progress and make notes on what I need to change. Then tomorrow I'll get back to the grind stone and really work on the story from the ground up. I have a couple of ideas. We'll see how they shake out.

In the meantime here's a small tidbit...

Zip knew it was going to be a bad week when she found the body in the ladies restroom. A quick visit with her brother, Quill at the local FBI office turned out to not be such a good idea. Fortunately, it wasn’t her first body discovery so she didn’t scream or do any of the other stereotypical sissy stuff, but it did piss her off. No woman should have to deal with a dead person when it was that time of the month—unless it was somebody the woman had knocked off herself.

She backed out into the hall, bumping into Sebastian Spade, Quill’s partner.

“Zip?”

“Body in the restroom,” she blurted out. “Dead body.”

He tugged her out of the way, pressing her against the wall in the hall. “Don’t move.” He slipped his gun from his holster, opened the restroom door with his shoulder and peeked inside. Damn. It certainly looked like a body to him. He blew out a quick breath, pulled his cell phone from his pocket and punched Quill’s number on speed dial.

“Yeah?”

“Me. Your sister just found a body in the restroom.” Before Quill could ask any questions, Seb turned off the phone. “Quill’s on his way. Do you need to sit down?”

She crossed her arms tightly over her chest to hide her trembling hands. “No. I’m okay until Quill gets here.”

After that, things went downhill fast. Zip spent the next few hours in the company of another of Quill’s team members while the crime scene was processed. Finally, Quill sprung her from the cold sterile office and they went to lunch. Ensconced in a back booth in a small restaurant not far from the office, Quill silently regarded his younger sister. Once their waitress brought them coffee, he asked, “What happened? I know you told everyone else your story, but now I want you to tell me what you didn’t tell them.”

“She was one of us.”

Disturbed by her news, Quill dropped his head. “You’re sure?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Since you were the one who found her, I wasn’t permitted to enter the crime scene.” His wry answer almost disguised the chagrin he suffered at the slight. Almost. It had been a long two weeks for Quill and his exclusion from a crime scene was just one more item in a growing list of slights that threatened to take his job.

“I see. What are you not telling me?” she asked.

“As of now, I’m on paid vacation until further notice.”

“Going home, Quill?”

“Seems that way.”

“Maybe I’ll come with you. I’m ready to spend some time with Momma and Pa.” She sipped her coffee with a sad meditative expression. “I have enough vacation time to last me through New Years. And things are slow at work. It would be nice to be home for Christmas.”

He nodded agreeably. “I thought you might feel that way. I cleared it with Seb for you to go home. If he needs to talk to you, he knows where to find you.”

Her dark eyes speared him with a clear look. “I don’t need a matchmaker, Quill.”

“No, you don’t. I imagine Seb can take care of his romancing on his own.”

Scowling at him, she stuck out her tongue. “So he can, big brother. So he can.”

That's it for now! Blessings on your day!

Anny

Woo-hoo! As part of the celebrations for our new releases, Amarinda and I are launching The Amarinda and Anny Contest

What could be better than kicking back with a good book? Winning two books - one from Amarinda Jones – Knock Three Times and one from Anny Cook – Kama Sutra Lovers. Fantastic. You want more? Be the envy of all with two hand made hair piks to adorn your locks. But wait – there’s even more! How about munching on a delicious care pack of Aussie treats? One lucky reader will win all of this.

How do you win this fantastic prize? Go to www.annycook.com and
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If trapped on a deserted island what two things could Anny and Amarinda not live without? The answers can be found on the websites. As soon as you have them email

amarinda_jones@yahoo.com.au with your answers – there will be 4 in all.

The contest starts 18^th July and closes midnight 23rd July 2008 (USA EST). The first correct entry drawn at random will win the prize. Good luck.