You guys, this is the week! I started getting things together today and will be going back to it as soon as I've hit post here. I have a lot more to check off on my booksigning prep list before the end of the week, but the game plan is to have it all done so I can load the car on Friday and be on the road early Saturday morning. Two days with 60 authors in so many different genres all in one place. I don't know yet what the weather looks like--last year was non-stop rain the whole time, which was good for us, since people couldn't be outside doing garden things. I'm not saying I want it to rain all weekend, but I wouldn't be sad if it does. Maybe not as much as last year, though, because we don't want flooding again.
In the meantime, though, I still have four days of day-job to get through, and prep to finish, plus we're heading to the season opener for our local minor league baseball team (hoping for good weather for that one!). Before I get back to my signing prep, I have a quick snippet for you today from Hunting Medusa.
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Andi couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. She’d worked into the night after the vacuum salesman’s appearance, until she couldn’t see straight to continue with her beading. Then she’d sunk into the bubble bath long enough to be nearly asleep. Today, she’d repeated everything but the bubble bath. Plus she’d driven into town to ship the big order she’d finished early.
Now she sat in the dark beside the front window, watching the forest. Waiting. Trying to convince herself nothing was coming. No one.
When the phone rang, she jumped about two feet in the air, barely keeping in a shriek. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing herself to laugh weakly as she picked up the receiver. “Hello, Aunt Lydia.” She didn’t need caller I.D. to know when one of her cousins or aunts was on the phone.
“I didn’t mean to startle you, my dear,” came the quavering voice. “I just wanted to touch base with you. It’s been ages since I’ve seen you.”
Her slightly psychic great-aunt must have spoken to Andi’s mother. “I know. I’ve been busy working.” She thought of the small stack of boxed beaded bracelets sitting on her desk upstairs for another customer whose order wasn’t even due for a month and a half.
“You’re aware you could do that here, too, right?”
Andi smiled in the darkness. “I know. I’m not feeling much like company right now.”
“You don’t have to visit your parents, you know.”
Her laugh escaped before she could stop it. “That isn’t very nice of you, Aunt Lydia.”
“Maybe I’m getting selfish in my old age.” Her great-aunt chuckled. “But I’d like to see you.”
“Maybe in a few months.”
The older woman sighed. “All right. But I wanted you to know I was thinking of you. I love you.”
Andi felt her eyes sting a little. “I love you too.”
“Your mother knows she wasn’t there for you eight years ago, Andrea. Perhaps it’s time to let her be there for you now.”
Andi’s eyes dried. “I need to go, Aunt Lydia.”
“Of course, dear. I hope you’ll come soon.”
She looked back at the window and murmured, “Maybe. I’ve got to go, Aunt Lydia.”
Something had moved outside.
Something too tall to be one of the does that frequented the clearing each evening, though not tall enough for the bull moose who came occasionally. Just the right size for a sneaky Harvester posing as a vacuum salesman.
She thumbed off the phone and sat up straighter, her other hand coming to rest on the dagger across her knees. For a long moment, she didn’t see anything. Then a dark shape slid between the trees, a few yards nearer to the house.
Her heart hammered against her ribs and she curled her fingers around the dagger hilt. That was no animal. At least not of the wild variety. No, this was a two-legged animal, and she had the terrible feeling this one really was a Harvester, no matter what her mother had said yesterday.
Let him try, she thought, setting the phone back on its base. He’d find this Medusa wasn’t going down quietly. She only wished she were PMSing so she could take him out without too much effort. Or mess. If only he’d waited just a few more days to make his move…
She stifled a hysterical giggle at that last thought, glad she’d listened to her instincts this evening.
The shape disappeared again in the dark trees, and she held her breath. Then he reappeared for a few seconds, much closer to the house this time. Her pulse pounded in her ears. He was determined. And now out of her line of vision.
A loud, sharp beep indicated her alarm system had shut down, and was accompanied by the sound of every appliance in the house also turning off. He’d killed her power at the junction box outside.
Bastard.
Andi got to her feet, then tried to decide which door he’d come in. She heard the soft sound of a footfall on the back porch. She crossed into the kitchen, not needing to feel her way around the furniture, and positioned herself beside the refrigerator. He wouldn’t make it far into the house, and then he was hers.
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Seriously, I do hope we'll see lots of you this Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5, 2024 at Brook Hollow Winery in Columbia, New Jersey. The area is lovely, the wine is tasty, and then there are all the authors and books who love to meet readers and talk shop. Plus this is the last signing on my schedule for this year at the moment. My next event isn't until early 2025, so I'd love to get to meet as many readers as I can this week.
Now back to signing prep. And maybe a little more book room clean-out--between this morning and yesterday, I packed up about 300 books to get rid of, but I still have a long way to go to thin it out as much as I'm aiming for. At least another 300 books, probably considerably more, since I am planning to not only clear up the stacks that don't fit on the bookshelves, but to clear out two of my bookcases so I can put my Grandma's cedar chest in the room. I'd love to hear what you're up to this week, and if we'll see you in New Jersey!