First Word

The following excerpt is taken from the forthcoming Thriller titled The Abused by Michelle Gamble. Release coming in Spring 2020. For more information, visit 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com).   17 Stanley Lentwood stared down at the rose garden. He noticed the crazy lawyer Finley Sullivan walked all around the hedges in a nervous pace. Stanley wondered if Finley’s drug use had damaged his brain. Just then a knock came to the door. “Come in.” Robert Scoffer opened the door with his usual bravado and strolled into the room with his cool confidence. Stanley turned and took a seat in front of the sofa. Robert just dropped down to the sofa. He appeared bored and put out that he had to do therapy. “So you going to give me some of that God crap?” asked Robert. “Pray for me … all that?” Stanley looked at Robert puzzled by his sudden comment. “Why would I do that?” “Eh, I went to this therapist once with Lynn—” “The woman you conned.” “Yeah, t...

Booth duty :). So, I'm sitting in my booth space at the Northwest Book Festival , and I'm with my friend Kirk who volunteered to help that day. People walk up to the booth and walk away. Kirk, who is new to sitting in a booth space, made some keen observations that I found amusing. First, we had many folks walk up the booth who clearly suffered from poverty -- and this is a political statement. What we found actually kind of strange when the say through their (how shall we say) "dental challenged" teeth that we should have the festival on the 1st of the month when they get "paid." It was Kirk who said, "Welfare pays at the beginning of the month." Paid? I thought paid meant you earned a "paycheck" ... you get "paid" for working (that is my fiscal conservative viewpoint). The other observation bemused Kirk. He said, "Why do people stand back, avoid eye contact, and look at the books?" I said, "Because it's ...

I am prepping for the Northwest Book Festival  that is scheduled for July 27 in Portland, Ore. I have a great tip for you if you ever need to buy a table and chairs for your booth space: Costco . So, I went over to Costco and picked up this really cool fold-up long table with a handle to carry it like a suitcase and two (padded) folding chairs. It cost me $75 for the whole shindig. We also needed a canopy tent structure (I guess it rains or too much shines) in Portland. So I borrowed an easy-up tent from a friend. I am set for my display already ... so check! Done. Now I emphasized padded chairs ... have you ever sat for 8 to 10 hours on a metal surface? Not comfortable so make sure you get padded chairs if you're going to sit for any duration of time. We also have the standard banners and the dog-and-pony show necessities. FYI, do you have the following for your display: Poster-board signage Business cards or (in this case) bookmarks with proper contact information Drop cloth...