By A.R. Kennedy
ISBN-10: 1718150709
ISBN-13: 978-1718150706
Independently published
Paperback: 394
pages
September 23, 2018, $9.99
Genre: Romantic
Suspense
Also available for Kindle
After
Cecilia’s husband dies, she’s forced to become Ferris’s caregiver, something
she does not immediately warm to. But when his life is threatened by an
intruder, she shoots the intruder to save the golden retriever. Police Chief
Holden Owens thinks Cecilia acted lawfully, but few agree. The prosecutor feels
that Cecilia has committed murder, not self-defense. In the eyes of the law,
one can use lethal force to protect themselves and others, but not property.
Pets are considered property. Holden loses his fight with the prosecutor and is
now in a new fight—his undeniable attraction to Cecilia. Celebrity defense
attorney Wyatt Sewell identifies a sympathetic defendant, a case he can win,
and a way to garner more acclaim. When he learns of Cecilia’s motive, to save
Ferris, he sees a blockbuster case that can set legal precedent. He forces the
jurors to ask themselves— Is your pet property or family? Will saving Ferris's
life cost Cecilia her freedom? And a second chance at love?
Guest Post
Any writer will tell you the importance of editing. (And the
importance of a having a great editor. Thank you Lourdes Venard!). Editing
consists of two elements — developmental editing (big picture review of your
story and its structure and characters) and copy editing (basic level review
for grammar and spelling).
When I first started writing I had the naive notion that you
wrote a book, you re-read it to review it and then you were finished. Oh no,
there are so many more drafts than just that first one and the final one.
I have no idea how many drafts I had of Saving Ferris.
There was the first one, the one I sent to beta readers, the first one
I sent to my editor, the edited one she returned to me, the second one with
many changes I sent back to her, the second edited version, several proofread
versions and then finally the final one, which I hope you read (and enjoy!)
Last week I was in Israel. For 12 days, I traveled around the
country with a group who first started out as strangers. By the end, a few of
us were friends. (Getting lost in an Arab market and repeatedly being mistaken
for family will do that).
I’ve always loved to travel. Trips over the past few years have
a new objective as I seek inspiration for a cozy mystery series, The Traveling
Detective, that I am currently seeking representation for.
After becoming inspired at the Dead Sea for an upcoming novel is
this series (Yes, I know it seems obvious that the fictional death would occur
at the ‘Dead’ Sea but when the muse strikes, it strikes!), we were off to
Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.
Per deadseascrolls.org.il, ‘Among the
Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except
the book of Esther).’
Our guide, Adina, gave us a thorough tour of the area and told
us that many of the scrolls found are identical to texts in the Bible.
(The deadseascrolls.org.il confirmed
this. ‘Many biblical manuscripts closely resemble the Masoretic Text, the
accepted text of the Hebrew Bible from the second half of the first millennium
ce until today. This similarity is quite remarkable, considering that the
Qumran Scrolls are over a thousand years older than previously identified
biblical manuscripts.’)
I was astonished to learn this! Can you imagine copying
manuscripts thousands of years ago in the desert? And not making mistakes? They
didn’t have white-out, auto-correct, or extra paper to just start over.
I’m a good typist but I still make a lot of mistakes. I cannot
imagine the amount of mistakes I would make having to handwrite something, in
the heat of the desert.
While my fellow travelers were most likely overwhelmed by the scenery
and the amazing find of the Dead Scrolls, I was reminded how much I am thankful
for my MacBook and my editor!
Saving Ferris Excerpt (First chapter)
Cecilia woke up. She’d
never get used to the darkness of country nights. She rolled over to return to
sleep and heard the noise that must have been the cause of the early wake-up
call. A small yip from the window. She mumbled her displeasure and slapped her
husband’s side of the bed.
“Joey, wake up.” No response. “Joey.” She reached for him again
and found nothing but his cold pillow. A small yip again. “Dumb dog,” she
mumbled. She was fully awake now, remembering why her husband’s side of the bed
was empty. Why it would forever be empty.
Cecilia sat up at the edge of the bed and hung her head. She no
longer wanted to be in the empty bed. A low growl emanated from the dog. “Okay,
Ferris. I’m coming.”
She snapped on a nightlight and shielded her eyes from the
small, yet bright, light. In the city, she could have seen the bedroom without
such an aid. Some people called it light pollution. Cecilia called it the life
of the city.
She could make out the profile of Ferris, staring out the window
onto their backyard. He stood tall enough that his head rested on the
windowsill. She often found the golden retriever looking out any window of the
house like this. Waiting for Joey to return, she assumed. She had done it for
weeks too.
But tonight, he stood at alert.
“Do you want to go out or what? Remember, I’m not the one who
likes you, so hurry up.”
He turned his head briefly and looked at her, then returned his
attention to the backyard. “I am not taking you out in the middle of the night
to chase a squirrel.” The backyard’s motion sensor light was on and she cursed
the squirrel that must have triggered it.
She started to lie back down and return to her dreamless sleep.
The dreams, in reality and in sleep, had disappeared with Joey. The call of
nature diverted her and she headed to the bathroom instead.
With the door to the hallway open and the rest of the house now
available, Ferris took off and ran down the stairs. “I’ll take that as I got to
go now too, woman.”
Putting Ferris’s bathroom needs before her own, she followed him
downstairs to the kitchen’s sliding glass door, his exit to the spacious
backyard. It was far more likely he’d have an accident than she and she didn’t
want to spend the rest of the night cleaning up his mess.
She snapped on the kitchen light. Now that she was fully awake,
the light no longer caused discomfort. She doubted she’d return to sleep again
tonight anyway.
“Calm down,” Cecilia told the dog as she struggled to put on his
leash. “I know Joey lets you run around but I’m not chasing you at two in the
morning.” It was no surprise that Ferris continued to move. Listening was not
his forte. It was how he got homed here.
Cecilia finally got the camouflage leash on Ferris’s collar and
opened the sliding glass door. Ferris squeezed through before she had it fully
open, pulling her through as well. An alarm beeped and she reached for the
doorframe to stop her momentum. “Ferris, come on!”
Ferris had a lot of flaws but pulling her on their walks was not
one of them. Holding the leash in one hand and firmly placing her foot over the
doorframe, she quickly punched in the alarm code. The incrementally louder and
faster beeping stopped. She stepped onto the patio and Ferris pulled her onto
the backyard’s grass. “You really are a pain in the tush tonight.”
The motion light flicked on as Ferris pulled her into the middle
of the yard. He stopped and surveyed what Cecilia figured he imagined as his
kingdom. Again, he was in high alert.
She looked around the yard but could only see as far as the
backyard’s light illuminated. She couldn’t see the fence that ran around the
acre of land. She couldn’t see her closest neighbor’s home. She couldn’t see
anything but Ferris. And her breath in the cool night air.
“What’s wrong with you?” She patted him on his back. Usually
when she petted him on his back, he squirmed in glee. Tonight, she didn’t think
he even noticed the touch.
With the damp grass soaking through her socks, Cecilia wished
she had put on shoes. The chill ran up her body and she regretted not putting
on a jacket as well. Joey’s T-shirt and boxers did little to keep her warm.
Hoping to generate a little warmth, she told Ferris, “Come on, one lap and
we’re back in.” Several pulls on his leash yielded no movement. With no motion,
the yard’s light flipped off. Suddenly engulfed in darkness, Cecilia let out a
short scream.
Ferris twirled around, yanking Cecilia with him. As the light
flipped back on, Cecilia screamed again.
Alicia Kennedy
A R Kennedy was born and raised on Long Island, New York.
(And no, she doesn't have that Long Island accent). The finale of her Nathan
Miccoli Mystery series, the 8th in the series, is expected in 2019.
When not working on her next novel, she works full time in
healthcare to feed (and sometimes clothe) her two little dogs. Both are named
after her favorite fictional characters from British entertainment, which few
friends and neighbors understand.
The Nathan Miccoli Mystery series is her debut
series.
Her next book, Saving Ferris, is expected September
2018.
