Bay Tanner is plunged into the world of international intrigue when old school friend Jordan von Brandt returns to South Carolina to bury her mother. Widowed socialite Leslie Herrington is found dead in her South American hotel room. Natural causes, the authorities say. Murder, insists her estranged daughter, who sets out on a campaign to enlist Bay's help in proving it. Lined up in opposition are Jordan's brothers, especially Trey, perpetually broke but charming Hollywood hanger-on, who desperately needs the estate settled quickly. Bay resists until she accidentally stumbles across a bizarre website that seems to support Jordan's suspicions. Suddenly she finds herself sucked into a vortex of undercover Interpol agents, the glittering highlife of the moneyed elite, and the twisted mind of a monster, while over all hang the frightening shadows of Bay's own past and the looming threat of a killer hurricane. All around her, from the beaches of Hilton Head to the fa! bled islands of the Carribean, the storm is rising
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Like many of you, I found turning 50 more than a little traumatic. It suddenly dawned on me that, if I ever hoped to realize my goal of becoming a published writer, I needed to get cracking. Fortunately, that "ugly" birthday coincided with my husband's and my early retirement to South Carolina. With the pressure of my accounting business behind me (although I still get a little twitchy around April 15), I set out to chase my dream.
It took nine months (hmmm...?)to complete "In For a Penny," the first Bay Tanner mystery, and much longer than that to get it published. You can read about that whole odyssey on my Web site. Now, with several books in print, I have come to appreciate how very fortunate I've been because there aren't many people who get to realize their childhood fantasies. So if you've ever had a dream, and earning a living or raising a family has kept you from pursuing it, go for it now. It's never too late.
When I'm not hunched over my keyboard, I try to resurrect my tennis game and read voraciously, even in the kitchen. My philosophy? Why waste all that time while you're waiting for things to boil? I love working in the local schools to encourage kids to write, and I've been a mentor for more than eight years. I used to list travel as one of my favorite pastimes; but, now that we live on our island paradise, we don't seem to have much incentive to leave. I have come to a deep appreciation of the beauty and grace of the South Carolina Lowcountry, and I hope that love shines through in all the Bay Tanner mysteries.
The business of being an author takes up a lot of time, too. When I was yearning after a writing career, I never fully understood how much time and money would have to be expended on marketing and promotion. I do dozens of signings, speaking engagements, conferences, and appearances every time a new book comes out. In addition, I've been a Kids Love a Mystery representative and been in charge of the Eastern Region of the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. I'm currently the treasurer of that chapter. I've spent two terms as National Publicity Chair of Sisters in Crime, including being heavily involved in the planning for their 20th Anniversary celebration in 2006.
Did that sound like complaining? A little, I guess, but it all comes with the terriotry of being a published writer, and I wouldn't change that for anything. I'm doing something I love, and you can't ask for much more than that. Life is good.
