We authors live for days like this: publication days! Our books hit store shelves, get shipped out in the mail, land on Kindles, iPads, smart phones, all manner of electronic devices.
For me, this is my eighteenth such event, and it's the third time a new Clara Jefferies mystery has debuted. I couldn't be happier.
I have so much fun writing about Clara. She tugs at my heart, sends my pulse reeling. At times, I'm scolding her as I write: "Don't do that! You'll be sorry!"
So much fun.
THE BLESSED BONES begins with Clara shuffling through the Tombs, the file cabinets full of old cases secreted away in Alber PD's hidden back room. She's reviewing which cases might still be salvageable after years, sometimes decades of neglect. It's there that she happens upon the photo of a little boy with a black eye. It brings to the surface old memories of a child she failed to save, and before long, despite the roadblocks, Clara is determined to find justice for the tyke.
It's grand writing about a character like Clara, one whose heart pushes her forward, whose determination takes over when others would walk back, who has a low tolerance threshold for injustice and sees the victims for what they are: people who deserved better. The bad guys? When Clara's around, they need to worry.
This particular book features the parallel story of Violet, a pregnant teenager being held captive. In the throes of labor, she thinks back to how her story unfolded. Is she alive and remembering? Or dead. Is it possible that she's the pregnant teenager found on the mountainside? If she is alive, can she be saved?
Clara's world has become so rich and so real to me. I cheer for her and Max, the chief deputy she's loved since they were teenagers. Their lives are complicated, perhaps too complicated to allow them to have the love and the lives they deserve. And Ardeth. Clara's mother. Will she ever truly open her eyes and her heart to her daughter? Despite all she's been through, Clara craves family. But in this world - one where rules define who counts and who doesn't - Clara is invisible, shunned even by those she loves, and she feels betrayed.
Yes! We authors live for publication days. Here's hoping you read THE BLESSED BONES, and that you share my enthusiasm. Thanks again for all the support.