Tag: Jazzi Zanders

Snippet

~ Judi Lynn ~ 2 Comments

The Body in the Beauty Parlor comes out March 2nd. Right now, it’s only $5.99, and here’s a little snippet to tease you:

When they stepped into the kitchen, the cats ran to greet them and twine around their ankles, begging for food.  Jazzi laughed and bent to pet them, then noticed the answering machine blinking in the corner.  They only used it for business, so she went to push the button to listen to the message. 

“Sorry to call this number, but it’s the only one I had for you, Jaz.  This is Chad.  Can we meet somewhere to talk?  Maybe the coffee house on Anthony we used to like?  Ginger and I are having problems.  I blew it with you, and I thought you could help me so I don’t blow it with her, too.  I’d sure appreciate your take on it.  Tomorrow night, if you can?”

Ansel stiffened ramrod straight.  “I call you Jaz.  He did, too?”

She shrugged.  “What other nickname can anyone come up with for Jazzi?  Did Emily have a nickname for you?”  When a flush colored his face, her eyebrows flew up, and she grinned.  “That good, huh?  I’m a slouch.  I only call you Norseman or Viking because of your coloring.”

“And my parents are one hundred percent Norwegian,” he added.

“What did Emily. . . . ?”

He cut her off.  “Don’t ask.  She was a nurse, obsessed with body parts.”

“Really?  Who knew?  Did you play doctor?”  She was enjoying watching him squirm.

He glanced at the answering machine again, and his humor faded.  “Your Gran warned you about Chad yesterday.”

She gave him a look.  “Not to go back with him.  Like I ever would.  I have you.  I hit the jackpot.”

His shoulders relaxed a little.  “Are you going to meet him?  He was a jerk the last time we saw him.”  They’d run into him at a restaurant when he was with his buddies at a bar.  He’d stopped to say hi, but all he did was complain because he’d found out Ginger had an abortion when she was young and somehow it made it so that she couldn’t have babies.  Chad had always wanted a houseful of kids.  That’s one of the reasons they broke up.

Jazzi studied him.  “What would you do if Emily was in town and called you for help?”

Ansel’s blond brows furrowed into a frown.  He grimaced, and she knew his answer.  “I’d meet her.”

She went to wrap her arms around him.  “I know you would.  That’s why I love you so much.  You’re so nice.”

With a sigh, he dropped a kiss on her forehead.  “Can you meet him early enough to come home for supper tomorrow so we can eat together?”

She nodded.  “He can meet me on my terms or forget about it.”  She called Chad back and agreed to be at the coffee house at five-thirty.  When she hung up, Ansel didn’t look happy, but he’d come to terms with her going.

The Body in the Beauty Parlor (A Jazzi Zanders Mystery Book 6) – Kindle edition by Lynn, Judi. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Mystery Musings: My Brain’s BioRhythm

~ Judi Lynn ~ 6 Comments

I’ve finally made it to my book’s last quarter, and as always, I looked at my plot points, and there weren’t enough to fill enough pages.  That’s a usual.  I think when I’m plotting, my brain can only come up with so many ideas and then it fizzles.  Pfft!  And I always overestimate how many pages I’ll get from each plot point.  WHY can’t descriptions flow for pages for me like some of my friends’ writing can?  Not padding.  All good.  But no, I write tight and can’t seem to expand as much as I’d like to.  So, it’s always back to the drawing board…or my version of an outline.  And I always have to reach the point where I panic before adrenaline makes my TINY gray cells think of a new twist or a little distraction to finish the story.

And just when I’m irritated with my Muse and my brain, it offers me a consolation prize.  Yup, last night, while I was fiddling with a scene, Ta Da!, an idea came for book 7 in my Jazzi series.  Then an idea came for book 8 and another one for book 9.  I scribbled them down and meant to push them away for another day, but book 7 wasn’t finished trying to tempt me.  And bless my subconscious, three different ideas came together in a swoop.  And a new character sprang to life to introduce as a recurring part of Jazzi and Ansel’s lives.

I’m crediting C.S. Boyack for the new character.  He’s been writing a series about the archetypes in stories for Story Empire’s blog, and his last post was about the Trickster.  You can find it here: https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/2020/03/23/character-archetypes-the-trickster/

Now, forever ago, I wrote urban fantasy as Judith Post, and I wrote a three book series about a fallen angel.  Enoch was sent to Earth to clean up after his friend Caleb, who meant to join Lucifer’s rebellion, but Enoch tackled him and stopped him, thinking he’d save him from being thrown in the pit with the other rebels.  And he did save him from that, but Caleb was punished anyway.  He was thrown to Earth instead, and had a wonderful time spreading trouble and creating a new race of vampires.  The thing is, it’s hard to hate Caleb.  He’s a self-absorbed, careless Trickster, and I had a wonderful time writing him, so when C.S. Boyack did a post on them, I decided I wanted one in my cozy mysteries.  And bless my mysterious brain, it sent me a fun one to add to Jazzi’s stories.  If I can pull it off.  Tricksters aren’t so easy to write.  But I’m willing to give it a try.

I think every writer’s brain works with different chemical or inspirational impulses, but mine seems to work best when I least expect it.  Or when I panic.  Whatever triggers yours, I hope you find ideas and inspiration.  And happy writing!

Wednesday’s Shameless Plug

~ Judi Lynn ~ 6 Comments

My fourth Jazzi Zanders cozy mystery is available for pre-order now and is due out March 17, two days after the Ides of March, so you don’t have to beware:)  https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/book.aspx/39309

It’s also available from NetGalley for review right now.  And you can win two POD copies of it on a Goodreads giveaway if you enter fast enough. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/302087-the-body-in-the-apartment

In this story, Ansel and Jazzi are helping his brother, Radley, move into his first apartment in the same building where his work supervisor lives.  Radley and Donovan are friends who often get together on Saturday nights to play poker.  While they’re loading more of Radley’s things into their van to take to his apartment, Ansel’s oldest brother, Bain, comes to tell Radley he has to come back to Wisconsin to work on their family’s dairy farm.  Tempers flare, and Bain goes to the apartment with them to continue arguing with Radley.  When Donovan supports Radley’s decision to stay, Bain blows up at him before storming out of the building.  A short time later, Donovan returns to his own apartment, and then a gun shot is heard.  When Ansel and Jazzi run to the second floor, they watch Donovan stagger into the hallway, blood saturating his shirt.  Bain is the main suspect in the shooting, and as before, Jazzi joins detective Gaff to try to prove Bain’s innocence.

TheBodyInTheApartment_ COVER