Title: A Killing at the Creek
Author: Nancy Allen
Genre: Legal Thriller
Release Date: February 17, 2015
Publisher: Witness Impulse an imprint HarperCollins
~Synopsis~
Another suspenseful legal thriller set in the Ozark hills starring prosecutor Elsie Arnold, who’s been waiting for a murder case to make her career--but when a body is found under a bridge and the only suspect is a 15-year-old boy,Elsie’s in for more than she bargained.The Monday morning meeting of the McCown County prosecutor’s office is interrupted by news of a discovery:the lifeless body of a woman, who was dumped under abridge, her throat cut from ear to ear.
The investigation reveals that the deceased was transporting a school bus,and when the vehicle, its interior covered in blood, is recovered in Oklahoma, the police arrest its sole occupant,Tanner Monroe, a fifteen year-old boy.When the head prosecutor assigns the case to Elsie Arnold and Chuck Harris, the new chief assistant, Elsie’s got herwork cut out for her. She’s been chomping at the bit to try amurder case, but win or lose, this case will haunt her. Noone has successfully prosecuted a juvenile for first degreemurder in McCown County.
If she loses, it’s her career on the line and a chilling murder unresolved; if she wins, a boy’s liberty will be taken from him before he reaches his sixteenth birthday.
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About the Nancy
Nancy Allen is a member of the law faculty in the College of Business at Missouri State University. She practiced law for 15 years, serving as Assistant Missouri Attorney General and as Assistant Prosecutor in her native Ozarks. When
Nancy began her term as prosecutor, she was only the second woman in Southwest Missouri to serve in that
capacity. During her years in prosecution, she tried over 30 jury trials, including murder and sexual offenses, and she
served on the Rape Crisis Board and the child protection team of the Child Advocacy Council. She lives in Missouri
with her family.
Connect with the Nancy
Guest Post
Six Writing Rules I Cannot Follow
By Nancy Allen
When I was writing my first book in the Ozarks Mystery
series, The Code of the Hills, I read
every piece of writing advice I could find, scouring the internet for nuggets
of wisdom. I absorbed many tips, so much wise counsel. But what I recall best
are the rules I routinely break. I thought I’d share the top six writing rules
I simply can’t follow.
1. WRITE EVERY DAY.
Really? Every day?!? What about my birthday? National
holidays? How about Thanksgiving??? On Thanksgiving, I have to make a turkey
dinner with all the trimmings, and clean up afterwards. I can’t write my own
name on Thanksgiving.
Yesyesyes, I understand: if you want to be a writer, you
have to write. But I suspect that those who declare that they write every day
without fail are fibbers.
2. SET ASIDE A DESIGNATED PLACE TO WRITE.
Ooooohhh, that sounds so luxurious: like Ernest Hemingway in
Key West, typing away in his writer’s den.
But like most writers, I have a day job: I’m on the law
faculty at Missouri State University. I write at odd times and places: in my
living room chair, in the parking lot waiting to pick up my kid after practice,
in the passenger seat of a car. For me, the magic isn’t in a designated spot.
The key is to seize the available moment when it appears.
3. DON’T USE METAPHORS.
Damn! I hate that one. Because sometimes, something is like
something else. I LOVE a good metaphor.
4. NEVER USE CLICHES.
I find this piece of literary advice soooo cliché.
5. AVOID REGIONAL DIALOGUE.
Well, I’ll be dog.
My novels are set in the Ozark hill country. Believe me,
there are regional speech patterns that are unique to the setting. In fact,
what you’uns call regional dialect is what we’uns consider everyday speech.
6. CUT EVERY SINGLE UNNECESSARY WORD.
I try, really.
Cut every unnecessary word.
Cut unnecessary words.
Cut words.
Cut.
Hmmmm. Something was lost in the process. Must ignore Rule
#6 and reinsert words.
So those are a few of the rules that I’ve thrown to the
winds. I’m not advocating that anyone should follow my bad example. I’m kind of
a rabble-rouser, a rule-breaker from way back—just like my protagonist, the
incorrigible Ozarks prosecutor, Elsie Arnold. Check her out in my new book, A Killing at the Creek. She’s one of a kind!
Giveaway
5 individual promo codes for a free download of the book for an entire tour. Winner must have access to Bluefire Reader and have an Adobe account to receive free download.
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