Magpie Moments: Who Doesn’t Have a Soft Spot for Pretty Boats?
Today’s post is another installment of Magpie Moments, snippets I snatched from real life and incorporated into my Sydney Brennan Mysteries. I’m continuing with one from my most recent novel, The Perils of Panacea. I was reasonably sure the first boat I’d passed after jumping down was JD’s. I have a soft spot for pretty boats with lots of exotic hardwoods and long bowsprits. In other words, ones that are a pain in the ass to maintain. His was not a pretty boat, but it did look like it would still be afloat tomorrow, which was more than I could say Read more…
Magpie Moments: Caught Between the Moon and Pensacola (Flashed in a Florida Jail)
Time for another installment of Magpie Moments, posts about shiny bits I snatched from real life and twisted into a fictionalized shape in my Sydney Brennan mysteries! Today, we’ll continue with one from my latest novel, The Perils of Panacea. I’m omitting some of the plot stuff in this selection, but here’s the context: my PI Sydney Brennan and attorney Richard Frey have just finished visiting an inmate in a Florida jail in connection with a case (or two) they’re working. They’re waiting in an area in view of the inmates. Richard is not in his happy place (gotta read Read more…
Magpie Moments: Of Course She’s Talking About Food Again
You may have noticed that I have—I mean, Sydney has—a thing about food. Okay, so most of the food on my blog has shown up in my Magpie Moments, bits of Sydney’s world that I snatched and repurposed from real life (bad iced tea, no-bake cookies, Italian restaurants, and coffee shops; but the fried corn nuggets were all me). I guess that means we both have a thing about food. It was only a matter of time before I made my way to donuts. “You want to get something to eat?” I asked. We’d had toast with our coffee, but it would Read more…
Magpie Moments: Chilling at St. George Island
Time for another installment of Magpie Moments, sort of. In this case, I haven’t stolen a specific bit of experience, but rather just a sense of place. I slid my butt forward until my slouching form barely remained in the chair and sighed. “Right now, I’m worn out. I’ve been beaten up, shot at, and lost my best underwear. It’s time for a little retail therapy, maybe a few days at the coast with a good book. I’m heading home, boys.” “Now?” Mike asked. He might be reading me too well. “If I leave now, I’ll be home in time Read more…
Magpie Moments: Driving Under the Influence of Thinking
I felt we were due for another Magpie Moments today, my occasional series sharing bits of real life that I’ve hoarded, magpie-like, for use in my fiction. I have a few things in mind from the upcoming The Perils of Panacea, but it seems unfair to share something from a novel you haven’t read yet, especially when these little bits are often much more than background or window dressing. (The Panacea release is March of 2015; I’ll announce the date shortly.) But since this sort of falls in the background category, and is found in both novels… I’d rather drive Read more…
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