Unringing the Bell VBT

Blurb:

In the small town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania, people don't forget. Especially something as sensational as 12-year-old Jacob Gillis burning down the town. Nineteen years later, Jacob returns, hoping for redemption. Instead, he finds himself entangled in a murder investigation. The prosecutor, taking advantage of Jacob's involvement with the victim's beautiful sister-in-law, threatens Jacob with loss of career and reputation if he doesn't play by his rules. Only by outwitting the prosecutor can Jacob save his future.

Excerpt:

When Jacob Gillis was twelve years old, he burned down the town of Goose Bend, Pennsylvania. The fire didn’t actually consume the entire town – only two blocks of the four-block business section went up in flames – but when the folks in Goose Bend spoke of the incident, they persisted in saying that Jacob Gillis, abetted by his friend Charlie Garrett, burned down the town.

Jacob watched Laskey walk back to the Sequoia, his limp barely detectable, and for the thousandth time he wondered why his friend kept what had happened to his foot a secret. But there were some places Laskey didn’t go – formidable Laskey with his gruff manner and hard-muscled body. He was a private person and sometimes a grizzly bear, but he had a goose-down heart which he tried like heck to hide. But Jacob knew.

Laskey grasped the arms of his chair and pushed his feet hard against the floor to contain himself. For a brief moment, the thought had rushed through his head that a jail term for assaulting a DA would be worth enduring for the pleasure of smashing Inglehook’s head against his desk.

Laskey squared his shoulders, turned around, and looked Jacob in the eyes. “Don’t get yourself in a mess, Jake. Extrication isn’t always possible.” He started for the door.

“Give back the painting,” he called over his shoulder. “And Jake,” he paused and twisted around. “Don’t ever mistake pretty wrappings for the quality of the gift inside.”

Do you have tattoos?

NO! I have loads of freckles and that’s quite enough stuff on my skin.

Is your life anything like it was two years ago?

Very much so. But it’s nothing at all like it was seven years ago when I decided to do what I’d always wanted to do: write. I had been living in the Middle East (Qatar) for eight years and decided to give up teaching, move to Kentucky, and write. I have spent more time in pajamas during the past seven years than I have during the entire rest of my life. I enjoy a nice, lonnnnnng cup of coffee every morning. I write; I play tennis; I read; I socialize; and then I write some more. Heaven!

How long have you been writing?

In my head, all my life. On paper, the last seven years. Although I did write plays for my cousins to perform at Christmas time when I was in elementary school. I also wrote five plays for children’s theater which were performed at Qatar Foundation while I lived in Qatar. But it wasn’t until I moved to Lexington, Kentucky that I began writing novels which is what I’d always wanted to write.

What advice should you give a new writer just starting out?

First, make a place to write, and then make a schedule and stick to it like it’s a religion. Every day, week in, week out, you write. And while you’re writing, learn the craft: go to workshops and conferences, read books on writing, join a critique group. But the really big thing is to just do it!

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Author Bio and Links:

Judy Higgins was born in South Georgia where she grew up playing baseball, reading, and taking piano lessons. To pay for her lessons, she raised chickens and sold eggs to neighbors. She attended Mercer University for two years, and then Baylor University from which she graduated with a BA in German. She received her MA in German literature from The University of Michigan. After teaching German for several years, Judy decided to become a librarian and earned an MA in Library Science at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania.

Judy’s life took an exciting turn when she left her teaching job in Pennsylvania to be Head of Library at the Learning Center School of Qatar Foundation. She lived in Qatar for eight years, enjoying the experience of living in a different culture and traveling to exotic places during every vacation. Recently, she returned to the United States and lives in Lexington, KY. Judy has two children, Julia and Stephen, two children-in-law, Jim and Erin, and four grandchildren: Kyle, Jon, Karina, and Addy.

Judy’s first book, The Lady, was a finalist in the 2012 Amazon Break-out Novel Award. The first two novels of her Bucks County Mysteries, Unringing the Bell and Bride of the Wind are available March 1, 2018. The series is set in an imaginary small town in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Call me Mara, the story of Ruth and Naomi, is scheduled for publication in March 2019.

In addition to writing, Judy’s passions include travel, tennis, elephants, and playing the piano.

http://www.Judyhigginsbooks.com

http://www.Buckscountymysteries.com

http://www.Callmemara.com

http://www.Judyhigginslady.com

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