So last weekend I had a very enjoyable time at the Lakeshore
Arts Festival in Muskegon, surrounded by a number of other authors and a steady
flow of potential readers. One young
lady who stopped by late Friday afternoon was very memorable. She expressed interest in the Jamie Richmond
character.
I gave her a quick summary of Jamie and her activities in
all three books.
The young lady winked at me, smiled and said. “Stubborn
redheads.”
Recognizing that she was also a redhead, I merely nodded. “Smart
too.”
Her smile widened and reached all the way up to an amazing
pair of pale blue eyes. “That goes without saying.”
When I described Jamie’s interactions with Malone and police
investigations, she picked up a copy of “Fleeing Beauty” and scanned the back cover. “This reminds me a bit of that TV
series, “Castle”, except she’s the writer helping the cops solve the crimes.”
I hadn’t consciously made that connection before, but saw
the similarities, particularly since Beckett was a redhead. I explained that I'd started working on the first book in the series long before "Castle" was ever broadcast. We talked for a few more minutes and she
decided to buy a copy of the book.
But
her comments stayed with me. I kept thinking about Jamie and her combination of
intelligence and stubbornness. So here’s
a bit out of “Fleeing Beauty” that ties into that line of though.
In this scene, Jamie is trying to figure out how someone was
able to break into her late father’s studio and steal part of the
collection. She refuses to sit back and
let the police work the investigation without her.
When I was working as
a reporter, I’d made it a practice to keep the details on any of the people I
interacted with on a regular basis. I’d broken it down into folders with
different professions. There were attorneys, judges, cops, business people,
contractors, editors, and other reporters.
Flipping through the lists, I started making calls. It was interesting
how quickly I fell back into reporter mode. I was chasing an idea, just a glimmer
of a thought.
Two calls later, I had
a new lead. Three more calls and I found someone in the know. Not only that,
but they were willing to make an introduction.
Now it was time to hurry up and wait. I spent the time online, doing
more research. It took an hour before my phone rang.
“I would like to speak
with Miss Jamie Richmond,” a deep, cultured voice said when I snatched up the
phone.
“This is Jamie
Richmond.”
“A mutual friend
suggested it would be our best interest to meet. Are you familiar with the
Townsend Hotel?”
I bit back a smartass
reply. Everybody in Motown knew that swanky spot in downtown Birmingham. “Yes,
I’ve been there before.”
“Tomorrow evening at
six-thirty you will find me in the Rugby Grille. I will have an
associate present. You may have one hour.”
“How will I know you?”
There was a pause and
a dry chuckle. “That will not be necessary, Miss Richmond. I will know you.
Will you be alone?”
I couldn’t help but
mimic his tone. “I will also have an associate present.”
“Very well, I will see
you tomorrow evening.”
So it's just a little sample, but you can see a bit of that stubbornness. And since I've always music playing, here's what's on as I write this blog. Appropriate? You tell me.
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