It’s election time in Spencer, Maryland, and the race for mayor is not a pretty one. In recent years, the small resort town has become divided between the local year-round residents who have enjoyed their rural way of life and the city dwellers moving into their mansions, taking over the town council, and proceeding to turn Deep Creek Lake into a closed gate community—complete with a host of regulations for everything from speed limits to clothes lines.
When the political parties force-feed two unsavory mayoral nominees on the town residents, Police Chief David O’Callaghan decides to make a statement—by nominating Gnarly, Mac Faraday’s German shepherd, to run as mayor of Spencer!
What starts out as a joke turns into a disaster when overnight Gnarly becomes the front runner—at which point his political enemies take a page straight out of Politics 101. What do you do when you’re behind in a race? Dig up dirt on the front runner, of course.
Seemingly, someone is not content to rest with simply embarrassing the front runner by publicizing his dishonorable discharge from the United States Army, but to throw in a murder for good measure. With murder on the ballot, Mac Faraday and the gang—including old friends from past cases—dive in to clear Gnarly’s name, catch a killer, and save Spencer!
Guest Post:
Before You Say “Unbelievable” …
By Lauren Carr
Have you ever wondered what authors talk about when they get
together? I have found that there are certain subjects that just naturally
creep up.
When do you write? Are you a plotter or a pantser? How do
you find time to write three books a year when you have four dogs who now
demand to be fed three times a day? Where do you get your ideas? Are you in
therapy? Have you ever considered therapy? Maybe you should. How do you like
your publisher, editor, book tour coordinator? How were your latest reviews?
Which then leads to the most annoying things readers have
said about your books.
One claim that I have seen made about some authors’ books,
and occasionally, though not regularly, about mine, is that they are
“unbelievable.” Some of the elements in the plotlines are just not realistic.
They would never happen like that.
A few years ago, a friend published her first book, which
was a romantic suspense. At one point in the storyline, a homicidal maniac
walks out of the mental hospital and goes on a murder spree.
While the book received wonderful reviews and decent sales,
some readers have declared it unbelievable—claiming that it is impossible for a
mental patient with a murderous history to simply walk out of a mental hospital
the way the author wrote it.
However … this author had the last laugh (though it was a
tragic last laugh) when less than an hour from where she lived, a patient with
a murderous history simply walked out of the mental hospital where he was
locked up and went on a murder spree—in the same manner that she had written in
her book five years ago!
When this happens, there is something deep down in the
writer that makes her want to say, “Told you so!” Of course, that would be
childish and unprofessional and I am above all that.
Yeah. Right.
In January 2015, when Three Days to Forever was released,
a few readers, not reviewers, but readers, declared that certain aspects of the
plot and storyline were too fantastic.
One reviewer, and a reader or two (plus my own mother),
could not believe the love at first sight storyline involving Jessica Faraday
(Mac’s daughter) and Murphy Thornton (Joshua’s son.) While it was a nice fantasy,
it would never happen. However, there have been cases of love at first sight.
In an article published by the Wall Street Journal on April 20,
2015 (four months after the release of Three
Days to Forever), some 41% of men, versus 29% of women, say they have
experienced love at first sight.
As a matter of fact, my mother told me that when she was
scoffing at the love at first sight aspect of Three Days to Forever, one of her friends became quite offended,
saying, “How dare you! I fell in love with my husband at first sight! We’ve
been happily married for sixty years!”
My mother, who calls herself a realist, went on another
tangent when she learned the plot for Candidate
for Murder.
It’s election time in Spencer, Maryland, and the race for
mayor is not a pretty one. In recent years, the small resort town has become
divided between the local year-round residents who have enjoyed their rural way
of life and the city dwellers moving into their mansions, taking over the town
council, and proceeding to turn Deep Creek Lake into a closed gate
community—complete with a host of regulations for everything from speed limits
to clothes lines.
When the political parties force-feed two unsavory mayoral
nominees on the town residents, Police Chief David O’Callaghan decides to make
a statement—by nominating Gnarly, Mac Faraday’s German shepherd, to run as
mayor of Spencer!
What starts out as a joke turns into a disaster when overnight
Gnarly becomes the front runner—at which point his political enemies take a
page straight out of Politics 101. What do you do when you’re behind in a race?
Dig up dirt on the front runner, of course.
Seemingly, someone is not content to rest with simply
embarrassing the front runner by publicizing his dishonorable discharge from
the United States Army, but to throw in a murder for good measure.
With murder on the
ballot, Mac Faraday and the gang—including old friends from past cases—dive in
to clear Gnarly’s name, catch a killer, and save Spencer!
A German shepherd run for mayor? Never! My mother declared.
She actually hung up the phone.
But, before you say “Unbelievable!” consider this:
According to The
Bark.com, “Bosco Ramos, Sunol, Calif.: Bosco, a handsome
Rottweiler-Labrador Retriever mix, was elected honorary
mayor of Sunol in 1981. He got on the ballot as a joke (not
registered with any party), and wound up beating two human opponents for the
mayorship. As part of his duties, Bosco appeared at social events in a stately
tuxedo and helped lead the town’s annual Halloween parade. Most of Bosco’s
days, however, were spent hanging outside the local bar, fostering neighborhood
spirit and accepting treats.”
Dogs aren’t the only animals who have successfully run for
political office. According to MentalFloss.com:
Ø
Stubbs
the Cat has served as mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, for over fifteen years. When a handful
of residents didn’t like any of the human candidates, they encouraged voters to
write in Stubbs the cat instead. As luck would have it, the feline won. According to the Wall Street Journal, Stubbs is one tough
candidate. During his administration, Stubbs has been
shot, fallen into a restaurant fryer, jumped off a moving truck and been mauled
by a dog. If I was him, I’d be asking for a secret service detail.
Ø
Lucy Lou
of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky: A border collie, Lucy Lou is not the first canine
mayor of Rabbit Hash, but she does have the distinction of having broken
through the glass ceiling that Hillary Clinton has been ranting about. Lucy Lou
is proudly called the “First Bitch of Rabbit Hash.” In 1998, Goofy the German Shepherd was
elected mayor of the quiet Kentucky hamlet. Actually, he bought the election.
In what began as a fundraiser for a local church, townspeople thought it would
be fun to hold a mock mayoral election. Townspeople paid a dollar per ballot
and voted as many times as they pleased. Goofy defeated his bipedal opponent in
a landslide, receiving an astonishing 8,000 votes. Since that fateful day, the
town has elected two more canine mayors. Goofy was replaced by Junior, a black
lab who embarked on a goodwill tour across the state to build improved
relations with the quadruped community. Junior was succeeded by border collie
Lucy Lou, the town’s current mayor.
Of course, there are those realists who will read Candidate for Murder and, like my
mother, will declare the plot totally implausible and about as realistic as
falling in love at first sight … and we all know that never happens.
Author's Bio:
Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries. The twelfth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series, Candidate for Murder will be released June 2016.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, son, and four dogs (including the real Gnarly) on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
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1 comment:
Hey, Book Crazy Scrapbook Mama! Thank you so much for having me at your site today! What a fun blog. Hope you and your readers enjoy the guest post and here's wishing everyone luck in the giveaway! #Vote4Gnarly!
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