My Writing Corner : A Challenging Mystery

Reading and writing have always been a major part of my life. Having spent summers as a teen, walking to the library every week to get at least one or two books, I always enjoy hearing about others who are also "infected" by the reading bug. Today' guest in My Writing Corner certainly fills that order.

My guest today is Linda Griffin, so let's hear directly from her about her own "love affair" with the written word. Linda, please tells us about yourself:

Growing up in San Diego, California, I developed a passion for the printed word with my very first Dick and Jane reader. I read it aloud to everybody in the house, including two captive kittens, one under each arm, and then I read it backwards! As soon as I figured out that somebody must create those words, I knew I wanted to be a “book maker” when I grew up.

I didn’t wait, though; I wrote my first story, “Judy and the Fairies,” when I was six and never stopped. My love of books also led me to an MLS degree from UCLA and a career as a reference and collection development librarian at the San Diego Public Library, including twenty-two years managing the Central Library’s fiction collection. Retirement allowed me to put writing front and center. I’ve had twenty-three stories published in literary journals, and The Axe is my seventh book from the Wild Rose Press.

I should say that I never imagined they would want to publish this story, since they are primarily feel-good romance publishers. I entered the first 500 words in the Hooked On a Book Competition, and it won second place. One of the judges, Morena Stamm of The Wild Rose Press, asked to see the complete manuscript. Next thing I knew it was under contract!

What a great story! How about a blurb for your latest book, The Axe:

Sweethearts Eric Leidheldt and Desiree Chauveau are spending a weekend at his uncle's cabin when they encounter two strangers cutting wood. Eric is knocked unconscious, and Desi is viciously attacked. The following day two police officers come to their apartment to arrest Desi. Her assailants are dead, murdered with an axe, and her fingerprints are on it. She confesses—but is she really guilty? Eric is determined to stand by her, but the physical and emotional effects of the attack severely challenge their relationship.

Want to know more? I do! Let's talk to the characters, starting with Desiree:

What draws you to Eric?

Are you kidding? Have you seen his eyes? No, seriously, he’s a really nice guy. He’s very smart too, and not just brainy, but down-to-earth common-sense kind of smart. The most important thing though is that he lets me be me. I never feel like he’s competing with me or condescending to me. He came from a fancy, rich family, and I was just a kicked around foster kid, so you’d think he’d be all superior and stuck up, but he’s not. We’re more alike than we’re different. In the beginning, he made me feel safe…but now nothing makes me feel safe.

Tell us how you came to be in your current dilemma.

We just wanted to have a nice weekend, and Eric’s uncle has this great cabin in the woods over near Nickels, in the back country. There was somebody cutting wood on the property without permission, and Eric told me to go on up to the cabin while he talked to them, but of course I didn’t. I was afraid he’d start a fight. And those bastards…They deserved it…I don’t want to talk about it.

Why do you turn to Eric for help?

Honestly, I tried not to. He’s too good a guy to be dragged down with me, and I know he can’t really understand what I’m going through. But damn it, he wants to help, and he tries so hard, and for some strange reason he loves me. He still loves me. He’s all I have.

And now, let's hear from Eric:

What draws you to Desi?

You mean aside from how pretty she is? From the first time I saw her I couldn’t get enough of that smile. She had a rough start in life, and I admire the way she overcame it. I love her sense of humor and even her stubborn streak. She isn’t like anybody else I ever met. I never believed in fated love or any of that nonsense, but when I met Desi I knew I was done for. She’s the person I want to share the rest of my life with.

Why do you agree to help her?

I can’t imagine not wanting to help her. I love her. We’re a great team. Even if we have to fight or wait a long time to be together, I don’t think we can give up on that. She thinks this has changed her, but I know everything I love about her is still there.

What is your biggest fear?

That what happened to her will come between us and destroy our relationship. I can deal with anything else.

I still want more! How about an excerpt:

“Lunchtime?” Desi asked. They were coming up the hill toward the cabin after a leisurely hike to the spring-swollen river, comfortably hand in hand. It was a beautiful blue-sky day, promising a whole weekend of Southern California sunshine.

“Definitely,” Eric said, smiling at her. He smiled a lot these days. She was not the sort of girl he had always thought he would marry—she was simply the girl he was going to marry. She was only twenty-three and appeared younger, maybe because of the way she wore her long dark hair in a single braid. She wore stone-washed jeans, a red sleeveless blouse, and scuffed red sneakers, and her lightly tanned skin was like honey.

Ahead of them rose a murmur of voices and the familiar thunk of an axe. “It sounds like it’s on the property,” he said, frowning. Plenty of fallen branches lay around his uncle’s cabin, and nobody would object to other area residents cutting them up for firewood, but none of the locals would do so without first asking permission.

“There’s a truck up there,” Desi said, pointing. The pickup was barely visible through the trees.

“Go on up to the cabin,” he said. “I’m going to tell them to ask next time.”

She didn’t let go of his hand. “Don’t start a fight,” she said.

“I never start fights,” he said. “I’ll be polite.”

She stayed close as they climbed toward the truck. Desi never followed instructions unless she wanted to. She just ignored them.

The pickup was a very old, battered Dodge with California plates. Beyond it were two bearded men in plaid flannel shirts. The one with the axe was about forty, broad-shouldered, and dark-haired. The other one was tall, scruffy, a little younger, and had red hair. They both turned toward the approaching couple. The red-haired one stared at Desi in a way Eric didn’t like, but the other man smiled genially and said, “Howdy, folks. Pretty day, ain’t it?”

And then he swung the axe.

I don't know about you, but I'm hooked! You'll have to buy the book to get the whole story! Here are the buy links for The Axe and social contact information for Linda:

Buy links:

Social Contacts:

Thank you, Linda, for being my guest today. Any questions or comments for Linda?