Today I’m joining the blog tour for Fan Mail. I’m sharing an extract from the book with thanks to Zoe O’Farrell for inviting me on the tour and to the publisher for providing the extract.

Blurb:

A barrage of threatening letters, a car bomb, and a heart attack rip apart what was once a close-knit family of adopted brothers.

Randy and Bobby, along with fellow band member and best friend, Danny, receive fan mail that turns menacing. They ignore it, but to their detriment. The sender turns up the heat. Violence upends their world. It rocks the relationship between the boys and ripples through their family, nearly killing their dad.

As these boys turn on each other, adopted brother Brian flashes back to that event in Arizona where he nearly lost his life saving his brothers. The scars on his face and arms healed, but not his heart. Would he once again have to put himself in harm’s way to save them? And, if faced with that choice, will he?

Extract:

Fan Mail is similar to my other books, yet different in many ways. Like my other books, Fan Mail has most of the same characters readers have come to know and enjoy. Like my other books, Fan Mail is written in the thriller-crime genre. However, it is more than a thriller-crime novel. There is a coming-of-age story with an LGBTQ+ theme running in the pages. I am certain readers will laugh and weep throughout the book. I found myself doing that when I wrote it and again, when I edited it. 

In this scene at the hospital after Jeremy’s heart attack, Vicky Evans, Jeremy’s husband and mother to the seven adopted boys, is trying to find the trigger that caused Jeremy’s heart attack. Present in the hospital conference room are the seven brothers, a family friend and his son, and Vicky. During the questioning and conversation, Brian was accused of something by two of his brothers. Rather than say something that he couldn’t take back, he stormed off out of the room. A family friend and successful author, Jeff Limbach, and his son, Danny, explain what Brian has been doing. But like in many of my stories, there is more to it than this.

***

“Brian has been writing a book with my encouragement. He wanted to keep it a secret.”

“He wanted it to be a surprise,” Danny added, shaking his head.

“It’s in a much different genre than mine. I write thriller/horror. Brian is writing a young adult novel, a coming-of-age story, about a boy who is forced to decide between living in his current situation or moving out on his own. He’s almost half of the way into it, and I have to say his writing is terrific. So, no, he isn’t looking at porn, and he’s not looking to move out. Although, after what I heard …”

“I wouldn’t blame him either,” Vicky whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

“I didn’t know,” Brett said. “I was just trying to help Brian with dad.”

“I think that’s why Jeremy showed up this morning to take Brian to school. He wanted to square things with him.” Jeff shook his head and said, “Jeremy probably still thinks Brian was doing research so he could declare himself an emancipated minor.”

“Could he do that?” Bobby asked. “I mean, would he leave our family?”

“Actually, yeah,” Brett answered. “After seeing what Brian was researching, I did my own. Given Brian’s finances, his grades in school, and everything else, he could easily become an emancipated minor.”

“But he has no intention of doing that,” Danny said in exasperation. “We talked about it. Dad, Brian, and me. He never brought that up. In fact, he talked about how hard it would be to live alone. Emancipation was one of the plot points of his book. The difficulty of his character on his own, living by himself and all.”

“Danny’s right. If Brian did anything, he’d move in with Danny and me, or move in with Big Gav and his mom,” Jeff said. “But as of last night, he had no intention of moving out.”

“Brian was hurting last night. He’s probably devastated right now,” Vicky said. “Does anyone know what was said between Jeremy and Brian on the way to school?”

“We never got the chance to talk about it,” Brett said. He turned to George and Billy, who either shrugged or shook his head.

Vicky stood up and said, “I’m going to check on Jeremy. You boys are going to stay in the waiting area. Jeff, do you mind staying with them?”

“I don’t mind at all.” 

“After I check on Dad, I’m going to find Brian and talk this out with him. If I can find him.”

“Mom, I will look for him,” George said.

She nodded and said, “Okay. Just George. No one else.” To George she said, “I would prefer if you just locate him for me. I want to talk to him before anyone else does.”

***

Fan Mail is available from Amazon.

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