Happy Wednesday, my friends! It’s Patricia, fully caffeinated and looking forward to spending time with you. I’m happy to welcome to the blog my friend and fellow cozy mystery author J.C. Eaton. J.C. recently released Casting Call 4 Murder (book 16 in her wonderful Sophie Kimball Mystery series) and Board to Death (book 5 in her fabulous Charcuterie Shop Mystery series.) J.C. will be offering two Kindle copies of Casting Call 4 Murder one each to two commenters. Let’s get this party started! J.C., you have the (virtual) floor!

Thank you, Chicks, for inviting me to be a guest on your blog. It’s mid-August here in the Phoenix area and if my brain hasn’t completely turned to mush from the heat and humidity, just give it a few more days.

When I retired from education and moved out here from New York eighteen years ago, my Arizona relatives told me, “You’ll love the delightful weather. It only gets hot here in the desert for the summer months and it’s a dry heat. You’ll hardly notice.”

Hardly notice? I’ll tell you what I noticed – the relatives went up north for the summers!

But somehow, I got acclimated. Which meant my blood was now as thin as water and anything less than seventy degrees required thermal underwear. Still, it’s a great place for writers who don’t venture outdoors for eight months of the year. And when they do for the other four months, they’re on the lookout for rattlesnakes, javelina, coyotes, and bobcats. But staying indoors can be downright scary, too. Like the “unfortunate air-conditioning incident” last month.

You see, here in my community, some imbecile came up with the idea to put the huge, heavy air-conditioning units on the roofs. Yep, the roofs. I believe it’s a throwback to the old swamp cooler days, but what do I know?

Anyway, I get my unit serviced twice a year because, as I mentioned, my teeth are either chattering or my body is producing enough sweat to fill Lake Mead. So, last month, while I was enjoying my morning coffee and jotting down notes for my next Charcuterie Shop Mystery, two technicians from my air-conditioning company arrived and promptly set up their ladder and climbed to the roof.

I glanced outside and all was well. Even my two ridiculously barky Chihuahuas were quiet. I took another sip of coffee and continued to jot down aimless thoughts. And then, I looked up to see one of the technicians falling off the roof! He was airborne one second and flat on the ground, face up, the next.

I’d seen similar things a zillion times before, but that was on TV or the movies, not three feet from my patio door! The technician didn’t move an inch, even when I opened the door and screamed, “I’m calling 911!”

The other technician, still on the roof, shouted, “I already did,” before climbing down the ladder.

I shouted back, “Don’t move him,” even though I was positive he’d died.

Then the not-so-dead man managed to speak. “Don’t call anyone. I’m fine.”

In what universe?

Next thing I knew, the entire patio area reeked of natural gas because the guy who fell also took out the gas meter from the wall and gas was leaking all over. The technician who was still in one piece, called the gas company.

In minutes, my patio became the epicenter for emergency crews from all over the county. My neighbor, who recently had a leg amputated, hobbled over and asked if he could help.

Then, as if on cue, the dogs decided they needed to bark. For the next few hours, it was utter chaos and I wanted to have my courtyard declared a disaster area in hopes of getting federal aid.

But nothing compared to the final words uttered by the man who fell – “Don’t worry. I’ll be back tomorrow to finish up.”

As I mentioned, it’s mid-August and soon I’ll be free to leave the captivity of my house and embrace the fall wonders. Hmm, I think it’s copperhead mating season here in Arizona…

Readers, what are you looking forward to this fall?

About Author J.C. Eaton

Ann I. Goldfarb, writing as J.C. Eaton, spent most of her life in the classroom before taking on the role of a middle school principal and professional staff developer. With enough fodder from her middle school target audience, she wrote a number of YA time travel mysteries before acquiescing to her late husband, who wanted to coauthor cozy mysteries with her. With nothing to lose, other than her marriage, she agreed. Now, four series later, she can relax. That is, when she isn’t busy cleaning up after her demanding cat and spoiled Chihuahuas!

She has authored the Sophie Kimball Mysteries (Kensington and Beyond the Page), the Wine Trail Mysteries, (Kensington Lyrical and Beyond the Page), The Charcuterie Shop Mysteries (Level Best Books) and the Marcie Rayner Mysteries, (Camel/Epicenter Publishing). Visit the website, J.C. Eaton Mysteries.

Facebook