Today's guest is Patricia
Gligor!
Patricia is a Cincinnati native. She enjoys reading mystery/suspense novels,
touring and photographing old houses and traveling, especially to the ocean. Mixed Messages, the first novel in her Malone Mystery Series, was published in
April 2012 by Post Mortem Press. Unfinished
Business is the second novel in the series.
Prologue from Unfinished Business
I pace the floor, my mind going a
mile a minute, while the rest of the world sleeps. There is no rest for me
because I am not like the others. I have a responsibility. So much to do. So
little time. It is all up to me.
I light a candle and the flames
make dancing shadows on the walls, in sync with Mozart’s Requiem. Pure,
beautiful music: the way life should be. Not like the mindless trash I hear
thumping from car stereos these days, screaming words of profanity. Quality has
virtually disappeared and in its place? Quantity.
People want more and they want it now.
They insist on instant gratification. Fast food. Faster everything. They drive
their cars like lunatics, virtually riding the bumper of the car in front of
them, urging the driver to go faster or get out of their way. They risk other
people’s lives so they can get home two minutes earlier. And for what? To sit
in front of the television set staring mindlessly at nothing, nothing of any
value. It is sinful!
The world is a terrible place.
God should be first! No one puts God first anymore. If they would turn their
lives over to Him, they would be saved. But some refuse to be saved. Instead,
they go about their pathetic lives, thinking only of
themselves. What do I want and what
do I have to do to get it? They use
sex to manipulate others. Women haunt bars and flaunt their scantily clad
bodies to get what they want. They have no family values, no morals. Adultery,
abortion: atrocities against God.
Some people don’t deserve to
live. They do not even care that their immoral acts, their lack of common
decency, their selfishness, harms everyone around them. That has to stop. I
have to stop it. It is all up to me. God has spoken to me. He has chosen me to
carry out His work and He has shown me The Way. I know what needs to be done
and, to honor Him, I will do His will. People have to pay for their sins. I
will make them pay.
Actually, the deed itself is
almost always so easy. People are creatures of habit. They leave their doors
unlocked when they walk out to get the morning paper or take out the garbage,
never thinking that someone might be watching them, waiting for an opportunity.
They assume that “it” will never happen to them. But, for some, it will. I will
see to it.
I must be the strong one. In the
time I have left here, I must do my part to save at least this little corner of
the world. And I must be careful. I must plan everything in advance, down to
the smallest detail. Timing is of the utmost importance. I must be patient. It
all comes down to control: self-control. I must suppress the rage inside me.
I need to play my role perfectly.
I must continue to do all the things that are expected of me. Never show anyone
the way I feel. I must say all the right words. Do all the right things. It is
all up to me. No one must suspect me. No one must ever know. I cannot afford to
make any mistakes. That would ruin everything. They would never understand and
they would try to stop me. Then, there would be no one to carry out God’s work.
It is sad enough that, when I’m gone, there will be no one left to rid this
neighborhood of the human garbage.
I blow out the candle,
extinguishing its life and pray for a few hours of sleep before dawn. I
will not have to wait much longer. I can feel it.
It is almost time again.
*
Here's a link to Patricia's Blog and Amazon Page.
Giveaway:
At the
end of the blog tour, I will be giving away one copy of Unfinished Business, the second novel in my Malone mystery series.
Leave a comment and you’re automatically entered to win. Please include your
email address with your comment so that, if your name is selected, I may
contact you to get your mailing address. The winner will be announced on my
blog: http://pat-writersforum.blogspot.com/
on December 11. Best of luck!
19 comments:
Jean,
Thank you for inviting me to be here today.
Hi Patricia! Unfinished business looks good!
Joyce,
Thanks! I don't know if you've read "Mixed Messages" yet but, if you have, you'll find that there are some BIG surprises waiting for you in "Unfinished Business."
So glad to have you. Unfinished Business looks really great.
Patricia, I really like Prologues, and yours is lovely!
Madeline
Madeline,
Thank you. I like prologues too and I was so glad my publisher agreed with me.
Patricia, I finished Unfinished Business yesterday. The only reason it took me so long was because of this tour and trying to write another book.
Loved Unfinished Business--classic mystery--lots of great characters, many of them suspects, all the secrets you'd expect in a small town, and some interesting twists.
Marilyn,
I'm so glad you enjoyed "Unfinished Business." I can hardly wait to begin writing the third book for my Malone mystery series!
Great prologue, Pat. I can't wait to read Unfinished Business.
Thanks, Jean. I hope you enjoy it.
Great prologue, Patricia. Very insightful, very thought-provoking, very scary... Good job!
Thanks, Evelyn! Serial killers are very scary!
I'm really looking forward to your book Pat. Great blog. I enjoy all our work.
*edit I enjoy all YOUR work.
Thanks, Chris! It's okay to enjoy all of "our" work. :)
Love how you set this up in a prologue. I keep hearing prologues are out of fashion, but I think they can add much to a story.
Collin,
I didn't use a prologue with my first novel, "Mixed Messages," for exactly that reason. For "Unfinished Business," I decided (and fortunately my publisher agreed) to use a prologue. I'm glad I did.
Already read Unfinished Business and loved it!
Marja McGraw
Marja,
Not only did you read it but you wrote a wonderful blurb for the back of the book. I hope everyone will check that out. Thank you!
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