Murder In The Garden

My title this week may sound like a cozy mystery, but if only that were the case. The events I'm about to relate actually did happen.

I had hired a lawn service this summer to mow and edge the yard every two weeks. The first time they came, a few weeks ago, everything was fine, except they left the fence gate open so Mary could run out and play in the street. Fortunately, we discovered the open gate before she did.

But this past week, they came again when we weren't at home. The guy wielding the edger had obviously been told the only things to keep were the flowering plants, regardless of whether they were in a flower bed or not. So all my hostas with their big fat leaves,

so evenly spaced out at the edge of the house, and my wild ferns,

which had looked so lush just that morning, were mowed down. Even the back fern bed, which had a rock border around it, was not spared. And the rose bush, who dared to not have a bloom on it? Cut to the quick. What he did manage to leave behind were some weeds that were blooming. Thanks, guy.

I called the owner of the lawn service who came out and witnessed the carnage. All he could do was put down some fertilizer and offer his condolences. I'm now searching for a new lawn company.

This would have been devastating to me if not for two things happening in the same week. I was offered a contract from Wild Rose Press for a Christmas novella in their Sweetheart Rose line,

and another contract from Prairie Rose Publications for a full-length historical. I have just added two new roses to my repertoire. So...out of the ashes of my desecrated yard came two new flowering bushes. My garden is growing once again.

To quote Bruce Willis from the Die Hard movies--"Yippee-kai-yea." You know the rest.

Thursday Threads--Janis Lane

Say hello to Janis Lane, everyone.
She's got a cozy mystery for your enjoyment. Murder In The Neighborhood proves that even in a small town, there's murder afoot.


Heat Level: Sensual

Blurb:
A handsome detective and a sexy reporter team to capture a killer who threatens their small-town-American community, even as they are tempted by sweet romance.
A killer is attacking respectable citizens in picturesque Hubbard, NY and leaving corpses on their front steps in the middle of the day. Detective Fowler isn’t certain who causes him to lose the most sleep, a certain sexy reporter with bouncing curls and sparkling black eyes or the elusive psychopath creating panic in his small town community. Together the detective and the reporter race to find the monster in their midst and return the town to the desirable place where people come to raise their families in peace and contentment. Can they sort through their differences to find romance even as they search for a determined stalker with murder on his mind? The clock ticks down on a man in a rage with a deadly mission.

Excerpt:
A young woman competently filling a pair of gray slacks and a blue sweater was backing out of a bedroom with her hand still on the door. She was slightly built but of medium height with a thick mop of curly brown hair cut just at jaw line. A tiny waist and the snug slacks accented a firm, rounded bottom that strained and rippled the material as she stepped backwards from the room.

He thought he had seen those hips someplace before, but he waited patiently for the intruder to turn around. Would she recognize him outlined against the light? She finally did and gave a visible start and squeak of surprise.

“Miss Hampton,” he greeted keeping his voice quiet and noncommittal. He nodded with raised eyebrows, as he leaned against the doorjamb with his arms crossed in front of him waiting for her explanation. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she came toward him. He had never known such a rounded woman before. Everything about her made him think of succulent apples. She wasn’t fat. Just curvy round. He tried not to look down at her chest, which he knew would bring thoughts of Delicious to mind. He was slightly acquainted with Beverly Louise Hampton and more than a little wary. His attraction to her had his automatic defense mechanisms clicking, one by one, firmly into place.

“Hey, Detective Fowler,” she said warily by way of greeting. “I came in the back door from behind. I parked my car over on the next street because I knew the short cut through the yards. Used to ride my bike through here to get to school,” she babbled. “I guessed you would have all the official vehicles out front. I said hello to the police earlier,” she added, winding down and giving him a slightly apprehensive look. He knew she knew she shouldn’t be here.
She clutched a notebook to her chest nervously but tilted her chin up slightly. So, she wasn’t sorry she’d intruded herself into a crime scene. Just as he knew she’d monitored the calls to the police.
“Just because your daddy, a mannerly gentleman, by the way . . .” He gave her a hard stare. “. . . owns the newspaper does not give you the right to contaminate a crime scene, Miss Hampton, and you are perfectly aware of this fact,” he said between clenched teeth. He strode past her and walked through the house.


Links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Murder-In-The-Neighborhood-ebook/dp/B00GAOTNLC
Website: http://ejanislane.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000338539637