The LOOK Challenge

Loni Flowers has asked me to join in the LOOK Challenge. Before I talk about the challenge, let me encourage you to drop by her blog and check out her debut novel, Taking Chances.

Now on to the challenge! Here are the rules:

• Find the first usage of the word "look" in your work in progress and paste the surrounding paragraph(s) into your blog.
• Invite as many people as you want to take part in the challenge with you.

I’m excited to share with you a brief peek at my work in progress, Gypsy Magick, a novella sequel to my first book, Magick Charm. This story is about Megan Beaty, the sassy police office who helped out the twins in my first book. Her ex-partner, Roberts, has spitefully spread nasty rumors around the department about her. She’s also been secretly dating Pete, the owner of Voodoo Pete’s, a bar in the French Quarter. A body showed up behind Pete’s bar and Megan has been called in to investigate:

            If she thought her reputation was bad now, it would devolve into horrors she couldn’t imagine if she admitted to dating a murder suspect. Oh my God, murder! she thought. It was easier to be detached about the situation when she wasn’t closely involved. No, Pete was no murderer, she was sure of it. The problem was, the gang of cops outside were itching to find the culprit. The murder was gruesome and the body had been seen by enough people that the department was certainly under pressure to arrest a suspect quickly. Someone like Roberts wouldn’t look any further than the surface.

            A murder, appearing to be voodoo related, occurred only a few steps outside a seedy voodoo bar. The proprietor has a well-known reputation for being a voodoo practitioner. Suspect number one could easily be railroaded.

            Megan shook her head at the thought. No, that would never happen if she was involved in the investigation. She wouldn’t allow it.

Here are a few authors whose current works in progress I’d love to check out! Want to play along?

1. John Marani
2. Amy Turner
3. Kendall Grey
4. Kinley Baker
5. Louann Carroll
6. Lindsey R. Loucks
7. Jean Murray
8. Katie O’Sullivan
9. Shawna Romkey
10. Patricia C. Lee