Laura is a fellow Wild Rose Press author. I enjoy hosting all authors, so if you'd like to be my guest, please contact me!
About Laura
Laura was a reporter for sixteen years for local newspapers and the Gannett media company in Northeast Ohio. She won the Press Club of Cleveland’s Ohio Excellence
in Journalism award twice and the Ohio Newspaper Association award several times. Her historical romance novels include “Impending Love and War,” “Impending Love and Death,” Impending Love and Lies,” Impending Love and Capture,” “Impending Love and Madness,”
“Impending Love and Promise,” holiday novella “Tackling Molasses Crinkles,” and crime mystery “Raining Tears.” She is working on a romance mystery “Tangling a Web of Deceit.”
About RAINING TEARS
I wrote RAINING TEARS after attending a Citizen’s Police Academy where we learned different aspects of police work from officers in several local communities. My brother was also a police officer and detective who served as my technical advisor. Although my historical romance novels have two points of view, the hero and heroine, this was the first time I had four points of view, including the villain. Claire was fun to write because she didn’t have to be likeable and could do and say outrageous things. I wanted to allow the reader to understand her reasons and excuses for what she did. I also worked at the local hospital as a secretary and computer operator and drew from those experiences.
During a rainstorm, Claire Batton robs elderly Edith Merryweather at the bus stop for pain medicine and money. She encounters Jack Lawson in a dark alley returning from
the drug store. After a rain-filled gutter falls and hits the gun from her hand, Jack picks it up as the police arrive. Claire falls to the ground and begs for her life to make herself look like the victim. When Jack turns around with the gun in his hand and
a shot is fired, police officer Beth Moreno shoots him dead.
After giving a false driver’s license belonging to co-worker Abby Keller to the police, Claire sneaks away to the hospital where she is a nurse working third shift.
Detective Sydney Harrison responds to the call about the shooting. She interviews the other officers and suspects the mystery woman in the alley isn’t Abby Keller. Sydney
realizes Jack Lawson was a victim after checking the drug store and calling on his wife, Vivien Lawson.
Sydney interviews Abby Keller at the hospital who had her purse stolen from her locker and was missing a bottle of pain pills. Claire hides her injury while she watches
them talk. Sydney wants to know if anyone came in with an arm injury, unknowingly tipping Claire off.
The police chief has a press conference about the shooting. When Vivien learns her husband was shot by the police, she’s angry and threatens to go to a lawyer and sue the
city. She wants justice.
To cover the injury to her arm the night of the shooting, Claire stages a fall at a convenience store before going to the ER at a neighboring hospital for x-rays.
Vivien stirs up the public against Beth who is dealing with her own demons. Claire worries Beth will recognize her when she comes to the hospital. She attempts to harm Beth but escapes until a final confrontation.
Excerpt
Claire was wasting time robbing a stranger. She needed to get out of the alley now. She waved the gun sideways to send the man on his way. “Forget
it.”
He held out his wallet, waiting for her to claim it. A loud crack made her look above at the overhang of the building. The rusty gutter, filled
with rainwater, broke away from its neighboring section and crashed onto Claire’s outstretched arm and hand holding the gun.
The weight of the water inside the aluminum frame was like a brick being slammed down on her forearm. She screamed and dropped the gun. A spasm
shook her arm, and a sharp stabbing pain shot through the muscles up into her shoulder and down to her fingertips.
The gun lay on the wet pavement between them. The man gazed into her eyes for the briefest moment before he leapt. Claire dove onto her knees
to reach her revolver, but the man snatched it in his left hand and stood over her. He pointed the barrel down at her head as she knelt on the wet pavement.
“I think I’ll keep my money.” He still had his wallet in his right hand and gripped the gun awkwardly in his left.
She looked up at him towering over her and debated whether to challenge his possession of her weapon. “Do you even know how to use that?”
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Contact Laura
