Friday, July 11, 2014

Sneak Preview - FAIR PLAY

No cover art yet, but I'm currently working on the edits for Fair Play, and I thought maybe you'd enjoy a snippet for today's blog.




Elliot’s phone rang as he was climbing into his car.


For maybe the first time in his life, he was disappointed to see Tucker’s name flash up.


“Hey.”


“Hey yourself. Where are you?” Tucker asked.


Bellevue.” Elliot stared out the windshield at the distant blue of Lake Washington. A very nice neighborhood with its lofty views and safe distance from downtown Bellevue. “Where are you?”


“I’m here. Home. I’m on Goose Island.”


“You’re early.”


“And you’re…where? You’re not here. Your dad’s not here. What’s going on?”


“It’s kind of a long story.” But Elliot condensed it into a couple of sentences that left Tucker sounding winded on the other end of the line.


“You think your dad went underground. And you’re…what? You’re trying to find him by talking to his former revolutionary pals?”


“That’s about the size of it.”


“What the hell, Elliot.”


“What does that mean? What the hell?”


Tucker made a sound of disbelief. Not quite a laugh. And certainly without humor. “You know better than anyone how a civilian getting involved in an investigation can hinder --”


“I’m not just a civilian.”


“Yes, you are. Worse, you’re an emotionally involved civilian.”


It wasn’t easy, but he managed not to lose his temper. Or at least not let his anger show in his voice. “How do you think this should work? Someone tries to take out my dad and I sit around grading papers and painting miniatures?”


“How I think it should work is you take a step back. A big step. Like it or not, you are a civilian now. You’ve been out of the field nearly two years. You need to leave this to Seattle PD.”


“I’m not getting involved in the investigation. I just want to know where he is.”


“Bullshit. He told you to stay out of it. And the fact that you can’t stay out of it -- your inability to respect parameters -- is the reason he left.”


Elliot sat up so straight he almost hit the ceiling of the Nissan. “My inability to respect parameters? What are we actually talking about here?”


“We’re talking about the fact that your father is a grown man capable of making his own decisions. He wants you to stay out of this. You need to respect that.”


“My father is nearly seventy. Someone is trying to kill him. I get that you don’t always understand family relationships, Tucker, but even you ought to be able to follow that I can’t stand aside and not make any attempt to find him.” That time Elliot didn’t bother to hide his anger.


Tucker didn’t usually raise his voice. When he got mad, his voice went deeper, lower. The chassis was scraping the pavement as he growled, “You know, you can really be a condescending prick sometimes.”


“You know what, so can you. And you don’t even have the justification of caring about anybody.”


“I care about you, you asshole. Which is why I don’t want you getting any further involved. Your father made his choices. You live by the sword, you die by the sword.”


Die by the s-s-sword?” Elliot was stuttering in his rage. “Are you fucking kidding me?”


“Not literally, obviously! I just mean --”


“I can’t wait to hear it. Actually, I can wait. I’ve got people to see. I’ll talk to you tonight. Unless you decide to stay at your own place again.”


“No way,” Tucker said. “I’ll be here. And you’re damn right we’re going to talk.”


They disconnected simultaneously and forcefully, in fact, had they been pressing something other than cell phone buttons, there probably would have been a detonation.

33 comments:

  1. I look forward to reading it, because I'm currently reading Fair game and it is very, very interesting

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  2. Hi Josh,

    Usually I avoid reading your Sneek Peak excerpts to keep my craziness level low, but since I just finished a reread of Fair Game I wanted to treat myself to what was coming up next. And it was a treat. Very much looking forward to Elliot and Tucker verbally sparring with each other as they unravel another interesting mystery, You never disappoint, Josh. Now if you could just move up that release date...

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    1. :-) Well, we will just have to cross our fingers and hope this doesn't make you TOO much crazier, Susan. ;-P

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  3. I'm so looking forwards to Fair Play coming out, I love Fair Game. Hope the edits run smoothly. :-)

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  4. Oh my gosh! Just oh my gosh! I am so looking forward to this one!

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    1. I hope so. It's tough writing the sequel to a much anticipated book. You know readers have expectations and you hope it lives up to them.

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  5. Can't wait!! I love their volatile back and forths

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  6. Great snippet! especially the last bit; love these guys :-) it's so awesome and refreshing that they're willing to keep talking even when...(almost) detonating ;-)

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    1. Oh good! I'm glad. These are not giddy young guys, so yes, I feel like they would try hard to make it work.

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  7. I can't wait for this book! Thanks for the snippet.

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  8. Oh, these two are really good together. They have a way to get under each other's skin... And somehow they make it work at the end. I am really looking forward to finding more about how their relationship is evolving. I just can't wait!! ;)

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    1. I like writing them, that's for sure. Their relationship feels very natural.

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  9. Well, we knew it couldn't be all delicious Christmas dinner compromises and sailboats for these guys. ; )

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  10. Thank you Josh! Tucker and Elliot are so normal in their conflict. That make them to real human beings and in a way to friends. I'm so happy, that you write Fair Play.

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  11. I loved how they could argue without afraid that it will lead to them breaking up. I mean it sounds like there will be hot make up/angry sex that night... I also like that they seems to be an equal partnership.

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    1. That's a good point. They are equal in strength -- and they both understand and appreciate that, which makes them forthright. But they are also committed to each other.

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  12. Oh my goodness. That -- was awesome!!!! Thanks!

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  13. More Tucker, more Elliot. Just picture me with grabby hands, sighing happily because...well...just because more Tucker & Elliot. What about that doesn't make a girl happy.

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  14. Oh, thank you! I just snuck back on my personal computer after too many hours working this past week, and finding Elliot and Tucker here is a treat indeed. Also, I love the idea of Elliot's dad going underground.

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  15. *sighs* I knew I shouldn't have read that. Now I am going to be even more impatient for this to come out. Keep up the good work, I love your writing!

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  16. So excited for the sequel! I've already re-read my new PB of "Fair Game" twice...so happy to finally have a PB, it was fun to revisit Tucker and Elliot, can't wait to see what is in store for them and the hunt for Elliots father.
    I've also just re-read "Come Unto These Yellow Sands" for the nth time, really love SSS and Max. I don't remember you stating a sequel for them, but I would love one... :) ya know, in your spare time... :)

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    1. Thank you! I'm kinda sorta maybe happy with how the book is turning out. :-D There is definitely a lot of Tucker and Elliot interacting.

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