Someone once told me she wasn’t sure my books were cozies. Surprising. I thought they were. Then, I realized she meant that sometimes they lost their coziness and became downright scary. I agree they aren’t exactly bedtime stories. Here are some random excerpts, taken from Moonlight Can Be Murder:
Ulysses stood, white fangs bared. Why didn’t Vermouth call off his dog? Keeping my eyes on the menacing animal, I inched backward until I collided with my car. I kept moving until I touched the door. Just as my fingers closed around the handle, Ulysses sprang.
A figure in white moved swiftly and silently from behind the pines and disappeared inside the carriage house. I stood like a statue, gazing at the ramshackle building, almost afraid to blink, afraid I would miss seeing it again.
At that moment, the door knocker rattled. Jumping to my feet, I gazed wildly around, thinking for a brief moment that I was transported backward in time. Pushing my hand against my chest to slow my hammering heart, I took a deep breath and tried to see out the front window. A gray curtain of rain ran in sheets down the glass. Who would be out in such a storm?
I awoke to darkness. Lying in a cramped position, consciousness returned in small increments. Where was I and how had I gotten here? Why was something heavy across my head, making it hard to breathe? Trying to move, I found that my hands and feet were bound. I couldn’t even open my mouth because a tight, sticky band stretched from ear to ear.
Paper crackled and smoke burned my eyes. Turning my head toward the stairs, I saw that the candle’s flame had caught one of the newspapers on fire. Like a live thing, the blaze ate through the papers, coming nearer and nearer to me. Tongues of fire licked hungrily at the ancient, dried timbers.
Funny, I never find it hard to sleep after writing a scary scene. Maybe that’s because I’ve put all my shivery moments onto paper!
By the way, the moon isn’t full tonight. It is in waning crescent phase, 6% full; still, you can never tell what might happen in the moonlight!
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