#Snippet Time!

Like a book lover with a whole day to spend at Powell's City of Books, I am faced with a few too many options right now. That is to say, I have too many books going at once! Last week I finally decided which I would focus on, so hopefully I can make better headway in the next two months than I did in the previous.

Much of what I have recently written won't be real books until almost Christmastime, or even later, the poor dears, so I thought it would be a good time to share a sample.

Have you ever seen Renovation Realities on HGTV? I love that show. They follow hapless (sometime not so hapless) homeowners as they fix up their homes. The families have realistic budgets, realistic skills and abilities, and realistic time constraints. None have those crews of twenty working day and night you see on other HGTV shows. It's hilarious, and comforting, if like me, you have a tendency to tear your house apart and put it back together when you are bored.

So when I thought it might be time for a Mitzy Neuhaus novella, I thought of renovation realities. Something short and funny, and maybe with no dead bodies, a little more like Foreclosed, if you will, but a tad shorter.

So, without further ado, here is what may well be the intro of the next Mitzy Neuhaus Mystery.

The Neuhaus Job

The renovation you are about to see is real…

The shoemaker’s children go shoeless, and the developer’s wife lives in an unfinished home. But that’s about to end for Mitzy Neuhaus and Alonzo Miramontes. Alonzo, a local developer has just completed a warehouse renovation and has taken the week off to finish the basement of his 1970’s custom home with his wife, Realtor Mitzy Neuhaus. They have seven days and a maximum cash budget of three-thousand dollars, but are their eyes bigger than their wallets? We’ll find out as the Neuhaus-Miramontes family takes the next week to make their old house…as good as new.

“My name is Alonzo Miramontes. My wife Mitzy and I are turning the wasted storage area in our daylight basement into a workout room. We’ll be ripping out the drop ceiling, plumbing a drinking fountain, adding mirrored walls, a ballet bar, a TV and surround sound. I’m a licensed contractor and my wife isn’t completely useless, so I think we can get this done in a week.” Alonzo nudged Mitzy with his elbow. “You’d agree, right?”

Mitzy smiled for the camera. “I’m far from useless, and we’ll get it done in three days or my name isn’t Mitzy Neuhaus!”

“It isn’t. It’s Mitzy Miramontes, remember?”

Mitzy laughed. She looked away from the camera and fanned herself. “Can I get a retake on that one?”

“No way. We’re keeping that one, right guys?”

The guy with the mic nodded silently, a grin plastered on his round face.

Mitzy drained her coffee mug and checked the time on the microwave clock.

It was five in the morning, but the television crew had already filmed their breakfast sequence.

Now they had to walk around the house explaining the job they were about to undertake.

Alonzo led the way downstairs. He sniffed and tipped his chin at the camera.

“Ready?” The camera man asked.

Mitzy appreciated that the crew wasn't chatty in the morning. She was chatty in the morning, and wouldn't have minded a bit of cheerful company herself, but she had to live with Alonzo, and getting him to film the intro sequence with a smile had been hard enough.

“Sure.” Alonzo shrugged.

The camera man waved to get their attention again. “Okay, you’re live.”

Mitzy smiled for the camera, “Alonzo is a professional. Finishing our basement should be a snap.”

“I usually have a bigger crew than this.” Alonzo grunted. “But we can probably get this done if you can keep your mind on the job.”

Mitzy laughed. “Drink your coffee.”

Alonzo sniffed. “I’m getting a cold, so I don’t want to mess around. Get in, get done, get out.”

Mitzy rolled her eyes. “He’s much nicer by noon, I swear.”

***

In the mean time, if you haven't read any Mitzy Neuahuas, Foreclosed, the first in the series, is always free, for Kindle, Nook, iTunes, Kobo...you get the picture! (The linked Title above takes you to my blog's book page where you can find links for the book at all available outlets.)