Book Releases

Holding On (Colorado High Country #6) —
The Colorado High Country series returns with Conrad and Kenzie's story.

A hero barely holding on…

Harrison Conrad returned to Scarlet Springs from Nepal, the sole survivor of a freak accident on Mt. Everest. Shattered and grieving for his friends, he vows never to climb again and retreats into a bottle of whiskey—until Kenzie Morgan shows up at his door with a tiny puppy asking for his help. He’s the last person in the world she should ask to foster this little furball. He’s barely capable of managing his own life right now, let alone caring for a helpless, adorable, fluffy puppy. But Conrad has always had a thing for Kenzie with her bright smile and sweet curves. One look into her pleading blue eyes, and he can’t say no.

The woman who won’t let him fall…

Kenzie Morgan’s life went to the dogs years ago. A successful search dog trainer and kennel owner, she gets her fill of adventure volunteering for the Rocky Mountain Search & Rescue Team. The only thing missing from her busy life is love. It’s not easy finding Mr. Right in a small mountain town, especially when she’s unwilling to date climbers. She long ago swore never again to fall for a guy who might one day leave her for a rock. When Conrad returns from a climbing trip haunted by the catastrophe that killed his best friend, Kenzie can see he’s hurting and wants to help. She just might have the perfect way to bring him back to the world of the living. But friendship quickly turns into something more—and now she’s risking her heart to heal his.

In ebook and soon in print!


About Me

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I grew up in Colorado at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, then lived in Denmark and traveled throughout Europe before coming back to Colorado. I have two adult sons, whom I cherish. I started my writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor of two different papers. Along the way, my team and I won numerous state and several national awards, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, I was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for Journalism. Now I write historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense.

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Seductive Musings

Thursday, March 08, 2007

M is for Matricide

Today's blog brought to you by the letter "M" and the number "4."

Boy meets girl. They fall in love. They're still in high school, but they move in together with the girl's mom. Boy and girl decide Mom is a drag. Boy asks girl if he should "take care of her mother" for her. She says yes. Boy goes home while a friend drives girl around the block — she doesn't want to watch — and tries to suffocate Mom in her sleep, but fails. Grabs a knife instead and stabs her repeatedly in her mouth and neck.

Now boy and girl and friend with the car have a DB on their hands. Hate it when that happens.

They call another friend, say it was self-defense, ask for help burying Mom somewhere. The four of them drive Mom to a cemetery and bury her in a shallow grave. Then they decide the grave is too shallow and that, sooner or later, Mom will pop up or be found. So they dig Mom up, stuff her in the trunk of her car and drive her home. Now she's bloody and dirty.

Not sure what to do, they leave Mom in the trunk — and go back to normal life. They go to school. They do homework. They try to ignore the fact that Mom is dead in the trunk in the garage. But without Mom around to nag and be a pain in their asses, the music gets too loud. The neighbors call the cops. And suddenly everyone wants to know, "Where is Mom?"

Damned hard question to answer, that.

Arrests follow. The media — pain the ass media — has a field day. Matricide. Teens plot murder. Mom dead in car for a month. (Ew.)

Well, that's the headlines from here, folks. Now here's the kicker — that fourth kid is an acquaintance of my son's. And my son is really torn up about this. He had a lot of respect for that fourth kid. I'm betting the kid will get a fairly light sentence, though he's being charged as an adult with a major felony — accessory to murder after the fact. It sounds like he was deceived and intimidated. Frankly, if my friends confided in me about a dead body... well, I'd call the police.

In other news: A whistleblower story dropped into my lap this afternoon involving a very large sum of money transferred under questionable circumstances, possible fraud, and who knows what at this point. I've got about a zillion documents to go through, and then the real work begins. I think I'm about to make some men in suits very unhappy. Let's hope they're pleasant about it.

How do I crack this nut? How do I get bank records that aren't mine? How do I prove that the money was transferred before the board of directors approved it? How? How? How? These are the questions investigative journalists face. It's a matter of piecing the puzzle together, gaining access to the clues you can by whatever means you can, and proving that some deep, dark secret is the truth.

I always get excited when something like this plops into my lap, but this one presents some really interesting conundrums. I need to crack the nut by March 22. It's going to be a crazy month. Yeah, and there's the small matter of a novel due, too.

Also, I set up an appointment to meet with the good folks about the polluting cement plant north of town. They did a health study proving that the CKD (that's cement kiln dust for those of you who haven't read Extreme Exposure) is causing respiratory problems. Some 30 percent of people living near the plant have respiratory diseases.

So that was my day at work. What did you all do today?

7 comments:

Debbie H said...

OMG, Pamela when it rains it pours around you, huh? The kids are 17ish right? I think the 4th could have been threatened. He should have had enough sense not to help them. I know this is hard on Benj to have thought so highly of this kid and then know he did this.

Apparently this whistleblower trusts you will get to the bottom of this or they wouldn't have given you the info. That is a lot of info to go through and clues to get on that deadline, but I know you can do it and it will really feel good to get this scuz out into the open.

Ah, the cement plant. Did they think that all that dust was fairy dust? Duh, that's a forehead slapper. I feel sorry for those people who have no way to leave that area.

So, Super P.C., you do have your work cut out for you. You can do it, I bet you love a challenge.

Love ya,
Debbie

Well, this is late but welcome to the world of blogs Pamela! I have to catch up and read.

Joanie said...

LOL. I was all serious and nodding wisely, comisserating, questioning etc...Until I got the the last bit!

What did I do at work? Ha! Ha!
I taught Kindergarten 1 (K1)"Do the Monkey" for vocab', I Taught K2 "Rock-a-bye-your-bear"for the melody and I taught K3 "Going on a Bear Hunt"so I could listen to their pronunciation.

Heh, bit easier than being a reporter, methinks!
Works for me though,
Take care, J xx

J said...

Sorry, I was reading your blog at the doctor's surgery and was called mid comment. I could blame my typo's on that, but everyone knows I am a useless typist.

I am sorry that your son is learning some hard lessons so young and that he is having a hard time with this.
He is lucky to have you there for him.

I just know you'll get to the bottom of the whistleblower thing. Is your paper online so I can read the resultant report?

J xx

Leiha said...

Dang girl, I can never complain about my job (as if I would, LOL). It seems like it never stops with you, sometimes that's a good thing, makes life interesting, sometimes that's a bad thing, when you get no sleep trying to finish your book. Good luck on everything. Like I told you yesterday, Benjy is lucky to have you for a mother, someone he can talk to about these things.

I also have to say I'm hoorified by what these kids did. I can't believe that they took a life so callously and coldy and for the simple reason they were tired of her nagging. If I was the mother the bf wouldn't have been living there to begin with so already that mom was nicer then I would have been!

Rosie said...

I seriously thought this was either a book or a movie that you had seen. I'd never believe real life. Well, yes I would. How sad for kid #4, but really, he should have walked away. All I can say is WOW!

How intriguing to do a whistleblower story. But a bit scary to be pissing people off. Take care and good luck getting the info!!

Smooches!!!

Anonymous said...

chiming in late, but I have to say:
OH MY GOOD GOD.
*insert bugging out eyes*
I don't even know what to say about those kids. I'm speachless.

How exciting about the whistleblower case! I always love reading about them, how someone had the guts to step forward to do the right thing, etc. Warms me right up.

I continue to be astounded by the CKD and how it was ripping the finish off paint, yet they continued to blow off any health concerns. Ummm...HELLO!?!

And, speaking of work, I should get back to it. Being gone for 2 1/2 days, my desk is a disaster area. I just begged someone (a drug rep) to bring me a cup of Starbucks though, so there are some perks. *G*

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