キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか？ しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか？ 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第九章 - ヘイ、黒いトイプードル マリの心臓は胸で激しく鳴っていた。彼女は母の家の玄関に向かって歩いている。隣の家から耳をつんざくような吠え声が突然爆発したとき、彼女は驚いて身を引いた。 何だとこれは？！彼女はリー
Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.14.2006
Blog Book giveaway:
My Thursday book giveaway is AND BABY MAKES FIVE by Debra Clopton.
You can still enter. Just post a comment on that blog post.
On Monday, I’ll have another giveaway. On Thursday I'll draw the winner for AND BABY MAKES FIVE and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.
Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference: I had a great time meeting new friends, seeing old ones. But man did it rain. Not as much as last year, but enough to wet the books I bought to give away on my blog! Waaaaaaaaaa
I roomed with Meredith Efken, my cohort in crime from the ACFW conference in Nashville last year. We are perfect roommates because we’re both night owls, and there’s no danger of waking the other one up when we get into the room at night.
They put us in a quaint wooden lodge at the bottom of the gully, by a small stream, nestled within towering redwood trees.
I am not a bug person. Creepy crawlies are not my thing. This is probably the reason I don’t go camping very often. That and the fact that anyplace lacking a proper toilet, mattress, four walls and a roof really is not my idea of fun.
So what happens in our quaint little cabin? Not the first night of our stay but the second and third nights (when the sun came out), we were attacked by flying termites! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
By the third night, it was a little too late to change rooms. And the rain came back, which made the kamakazis drop off in number. I cannot convey how utterly grossed out I was by then.
My only saving grace was that I’d brought my lavender and eucalyptus essential oils to sprinkle on my pillow in case I got a sinus headache. Lucky for me, both of those are natural insect repellents. I doused my bed with the stuff to keep anything with more than two legs off my sheets.
Tuesday: What made me almost hurl my breakfast.
Bible in 90 Days: Day 84. I just finished Hebrews and James. I got more out of Hebrews this time because I moved through it so fast. I could see the overall structure of the letter and the writer’s points about Christ.
Writing: Still getting stuff done after being gone from home for so long. I have a new idea maximizing my writing efficiency from an RWA workshop I’m listening to on MP3.
Diet: I think I’m still eating too much and not exercising enough, but I went to PT today. I think I need more water.
Blog Book giveaway:
My Thursday book giveaway is AND BABY MAKES FIVE by Debra Clopton.
You can still enter. Just post a comment on that blog post.
On Monday, I’ll have another giveaway. On Thursday I'll draw the winner for AND BABY MAKES FIVE and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned.
Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference: I had a great time meeting new friends, seeing old ones. But man did it rain. Not as much as last year, but enough to wet the books I bought to give away on my blog! Waaaaaaaaaa
I roomed with Meredith Efken, my cohort in crime from the ACFW conference in Nashville last year. We are perfect roommates because we’re both night owls, and there’s no danger of waking the other one up when we get into the room at night.
They put us in a quaint wooden lodge at the bottom of the gully, by a small stream, nestled within towering redwood trees.
I am not a bug person. Creepy crawlies are not my thing. This is probably the reason I don’t go camping very often. That and the fact that anyplace lacking a proper toilet, mattress, four walls and a roof really is not my idea of fun.
So what happens in our quaint little cabin? Not the first night of our stay but the second and third nights (when the sun came out), we were attacked by flying termites! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
By the third night, it was a little too late to change rooms. And the rain came back, which made the kamakazis drop off in number. I cannot convey how utterly grossed out I was by then.
My only saving grace was that I’d brought my lavender and eucalyptus essential oils to sprinkle on my pillow in case I got a sinus headache. Lucky for me, both of those are natural insect repellents. I doused my bed with the stuff to keep anything with more than two legs off my sheets.
Tuesday: What made me almost hurl my breakfast.
Bible in 90 Days: Day 84. I just finished Hebrews and James. I got more out of Hebrews this time because I moved through it so fast. I could see the overall structure of the letter and the writer’s points about Christ.
Writing: Still getting stuff done after being gone from home for so long. I have a new idea maximizing my writing efficiency from an RWA workshop I’m listening to on MP3.
Diet: I think I’m still eating too much and not exercising enough, but I went to PT today. I think I need more water.
Comments
Sorry to hear about the Terrible Bug Attack of '06. At least they didn't chew through the walls and drop the ceiling on ya.
As for making you almost hurl... It was the poisonous Wasabi on your eggs! Wasn't it?
Happy Easter!
Why don't lavender and eucalyptus work on our nasties? I've used sprays and creams and eucalyptus-scented branches to keep them out but I guess it definitely does not work on spiders--well, they're not really bugs, I guess. They even had those branches all wrapped up in webs!
Remind me to tell you about the Jerusalem cricket sometime...or the Kopifoam cricket...and the skinks that lived under the couch in our sitting room...
Not too sure I want to read tomorrow's post, but I'll peek through squinted eyes. :o)