In The Hanged Man’s Noose, the first book in my Glass Dolphin Mystery series, the basic premise is: greedy developer comes to the small town of Lount’s Landing with plans to build a mega-box store on the town’s historic Main Street, thereby threatening the livelihoods of all the indie shops and businesses.
When I started writing Stonehaven’s character, I immediately envisioned a forty-something Chris Noth (Law & Order, Sex in the City). Here’s an excerpt from the book, told from Stonehaven’s point of view:
Stonehaven watched the team leave the Community Center. He slipped a dollar into the hallway vending machine for a bottle of overpriced water, walked back into the conference room, and kicked the wall, hard. It didn’t make him feel any better.
He collected his materials from the podium, sat down at a long table at the side of the room, and considered his plan for the umpteenth time. Reread his notes, flipped through the PowerPoint, reviewed the handouts, looked over the blueprints and the architects’ renderings, the financial analysis and the business case. It may have been a week until his official presentation to the townspeople, but he was nothing if not a perfectionist. You didn’t get ranked as number one in Urban Living’s first annual “Top 40 Before 40” by being sloppy. Didn’t matter that he’d slid in under the deadline a week before his fortieth birthday, or that he’d greased a few palms to get the nod.
He expected—no, demanded—the same degree of dedication and discipline from everyone who worked for him. And Carter Dixon concerned him. Until now, he’d always had the same team based out of Toronto, people he could trust—as long as he paid them twice what the job was worth. Money could be a powerful motivator.
Coming to Lount’s Landing meant getting in cozy with the community. So he’d gone against his instincts and brought a handpicked team of local business people on board, folks who had an interest in revitalizing historic Main Street, not to mention lining their own pockets. He’d been confident in his final decision. Everyone had appeared to buy into the concept, including Carter Dixon.
Sycophants.
Stonehaven wasn’t fooled by the way Carter had acquiesced. He could sense trouble the same way a bloodhound could catch a scent. No question about it, he would have to terminate Carter’s employment contract. The only decision was how and when to execute the termination. Everything about this project hinged on the Main Street merchants buying into it.
He should have seen it coming. Wasn’t Lount’s Landing named after Samuel Lount? What kind of town was named for a man who’d been hanged for treason?
Mind you, even Samuel Lount had his loyal supporters. The same would hold true for the traitorous Mr. Dixon, although arranging a hanging would be out of the question. An accidental death, on the other hand, might have possibilities.
Stonehaven got up and started to pace. He hated when things got complicated. It was time to talk things over with the one person he could trust, the one person who believed in him back when he was plain old Garry Stone. He picked up his cell and pressed 2-1-5, listened to the ringtone, one, two, three. Waited for the brief voice mail message to finish.
“Millie,” Stonehaven said, after the beep. “We need to talk.”
So, what do you think? Chris Noth? Garrett Stonehaven? Are you seeing it?
If you haven’t read The Hanged Man’s Noose, and would like to, you’re in luck! It will be on sale in all eBook formats for .99 from December 6 to December 13.
Apple
It’s also available in trade paperback and in audiobook on Audible, iTunes and Amazon.
Thank you Beth! It’s fun to write these posts.
Wow! The more I read about your writing, the more I crave reading more! Great post, Judy. You are so encouraging to others and showing confidence in your own character-driven stories!