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Happy New Year ! First, a big thank you for reading! I really appreciate it when you read my books, join my Facebook page or subscribe to the newsletter. To sum up my first full year of blogging, here are my top blog posts of 2016 as ranked by Facebook "likes". See if you agree with the rankings: 1 ) What Makes a Memorable Hero? 2 ) Have you been bitten by the Jane Austen bug?   If I missed one you liked, or if you have suggestions for topics you'd like to read about, please comment!  If you are interested in new books, I am targeting to have one out in the first half of 2017. Watch for updates in the newsletter or join the conversation on Facebook!
Wishing you a great 2017! Nancy Stock up on E-books this July and Save!  My books are on sale, and there are thousands more.
Try a new author or genre! The following is a character study that gives you some insight into one of the characters in my new book. Hope you enjoy it! Silver could spot a loser from a mile away -- and one was coming his way. This definitely was they guy. The portly man meandering over to his Blackjack table, drink in hand, seemed familiar. Or perhaps he was just a composite of the many losers he’d seen in his years as a dealer. The Gucci suit strained at the seams; dark hair slicked back; eyes like a zombie. Whether guy was here to gamble or pick up a chick, this was not his lucky day, for him or his suit. Word was that not only had he blown his stack of chips; he’d been rebuffed at least once by every unattached female in the casino – as well as by several female impersonators. Silver thought that was humorous. You had to admire a guy with persistence. Sleaze oozed as gray suit swaggered up to his table and casually lowered himself into a chair next to a red head falling out of her dress. A lewd smile and a wink. The red head promptly picked up her chips and fled. Gray suit shrugged, plump fingers setting down his two remaining chips. He wore a heavy gold cigar ring. “No fun.” Silver pressed the button under the table as he shuffled the cards. The fun stops here, he thought as two men in dark suits and dark shades appeared. Or maybe the fun begins, Silver mused, depending on who you were. He always wondered why the enforcers wore dark glasses inside the casino. “Come with us.” The taller one commanded, lightly touching a gray sleeve. Panic flashed across the guy’s face, but only for a moment. He straightened and brushed off the bouncer’s touch. “Why? I’m a guest here.” He flashed his chips as if they were his number at an auction. “Just a small matter the finance manager wants to clear up.” Tiny beads of sweat formed on his thick face. For a moment, Silver thought gray suit was going to make a break for it, but he slowly stood up and pocketed his chips. “Hold my spot for me.” He called back gallantly to the table, almost running into a slot machine. The bouncer steadied him and they proceeded towards the back office. Silver smiled at the remaining customers at the table and began dealing the round.  Several hours later, a sliver Cessna Citation Mustang coasted down the runway of McCarran Airport, lights blinking. The plane had barely stopped when the door opened and a tall, silver haired gentleman appeared in the doorway.
“Thank you,” he waved to the pilot, impatiently waiting for the portable stairs. “Wait here for me. This shouldn’t take more than an hour, or I’ll call you.” His brow was furrowed, the look of a urbanite assigned to cleaning out pig stalls; he walked with angry precision down the stairs into the open the door of the waiting limo. Arriving at the casino, the man was escorted inside to the back room; three men stood as he entered. “So good of you to come. I’m Don, the manager here.” The first said, extending his hand. “Would you like something to drink?” “Just tell me what the situation is.” The silver haired man commanded. Don’s eyes widened. “Yes, please sit down.” Once he was seated, Don began. “It seems that our friend here has exceeded his credit limit, then borrowed money on collateral that he doesn’t own. This is a problem.” “I was just a little over my credit. I was on a roll, going to make it all up before they...” The silver haired man shot a look at the man in the gray suit that made him stop mid-sentence. “It’s a good thing I was in LA. Otherwise I might not have come.” He turned toward Don. “I’ll bail him out -- On one condition.” “Certainly. What can we do for you? We have many…” “Don’t let him in any of your casinos again.” “Done, sir.” Don nodded, “It would be a pleasure to comply with that request.” They turned toward the man in the gray suit, who had sunk down in his chair. “There are few people other than my family that I’d get up in middle of the night for. But we go way back. I’m bailing you out this time because you’re an old friend, but this is the last time. No more chances.” He paused. “Give me your word you won’t come back here … that you’ll quit gambling.” Gray suit stared at the table, slowly nodding. “Don, if you’d be so good as to call a cab for this sad specimen, I’ll be off. My driver is waiting.” Then the distinguished gentleman swept out of the room. Don let out a sigh of relief, then disbelief as the man pulled his chips out of his gray suit pocket and waved them. “I’ll just play these – might change my luck.” This is a special preview for readers and not a part of the book. Does it make you curious...? all the best, Nancy The new novel is coming soon. But here's a taste...
Ray’s assistant let Sophia into his office and closed the door. He was faced toward the window rubbing his chin as he listened to the conference call blaring from the speaker. Hearing the door close, he turned gave her a quick wave and held up two fingers. Sophia nodded and plunked down at the round table. She opened her notebook and pretended not to listen, tuning into the conversation while she relished the view. Because the corner office was on the 16th floor, she could see towering cumulonimbus clouds approaching across Lake Michigan, gigantic white puffs casting ominous gray shadows on the water. Ray walked over to the phone on his desk. “Thank you, guys. I appreciate the update. Watch those quality numbers, I’d like to see them above the required range. I’m hopping off the call now, keep up the good work.” He clicked the phone off, made a note on his laptop then looked up and smiled. “Think it will blow over?” Ray’s aquamarine eyes sparkled like the lake behind him. Sophia relaxed, noting his mood -- it was always more fun to talk with him after a call with good news. Ray walked over to the leather couch. “Since I had my office re-arranged, I’ve gotten addicted to the view. It’s constantly changing — waves and boats when it's sunny, and if not, great cloud patterns. I can’t believe I worked with my back to the window before.” “Perhaps you wanted to get more work done before?” She teased as she followed him to the couch, sitting next to him and crossing her legs carefully in her tight black skirt. The heel of new her beige pump slipped off and dangled, something her old shoes would never have done. Designer shoes were cheeky. “No doubt.” He said casually. It was actually the opposite. After a PR trip to Asia that turned perilous, Sophia had become a friend as well as his Account Exec. She knew Ray had instituted sweeping changes to his organization and life; the layout of the CEO office was just a visible indicator. “How’s the family?” She prompted, knowing Ray loved talking about the two girls whose pictures filled every spot on his credenza. She’d also spied a new picture of Karen, his ex-wife. “The girls are doing very well.” He paused. “I didn’t think you’d miss the new picture! And yes, you can consider me a success in your advice giving statistics. In fact, I’m now an official Soccer Dad.” “Really?” “Oh, don’t give me that astonished look.” He shook his head with a smile. “When you have kids, you’ll get to enjoy all sorts of activities you never imagined you’d be a fan of! Anyway, I see all of them every Saturday, and not just for soccer. Karen and I are officially dating again.” Sophia eyebrows arched. “Like high school or college?” she asked playfully. “There's a difference.” Sophia couldn’t resist her reporter’s need to dig, despite the fact that Ray often baited her by dangling information to make her curious before changing the subject. |
Nancy MacCreeryInsights on writing, characters, humor and other tidbits from the author of the "Scoops and Schemes" series of novels. Join the conversation on Facebook !
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