Happy 2012: Jacket copy for EVERY LAST SECRET and EVERY BROKEN TRUST finished

I hope the holidays were splendid for all of you. I was able to spend them with all of my grown kids back in town, and then all of us trekked to Topeka, Kansas, to my sister's for for a warm, lovely Christmas with extended family. I'm so grateful as we start a new year for my wonderful husband, Ben, and my great kids, Crystal, Niles, and Joseph--and my terrific foster-son Gustavo, his partner Erika, and their sweet baby Becquer. And for my sister and her two sons and my brother. That's one of the glories of the season is that it brings us back together with far-flung family.

2012 is making a strong beginning for me. Later this month, review copies of Every Last Secret: A Mystery will be sent to reviewers and other promotional outlets. If you had offered to review the book, please email me your mailing address, so I can make sure you receive your review copy.

It's interesting to look at who is publishing my book. This book is being published by St. Martin's Press/ Minotaur Books and also Thomas Dunne Books. Thomas Dunne Books and Minotaur Books are both imprints of St. Martin's Press, which is, in turn, a part of Macmillan. A little confusing, I admit. But the nice thing is that all of these publishing entities have such a reputation for quality.

I had promised to post the jacket copy for my forthcoming book, Every Last Secret: A Mystery, in late December, but I was so engrossed in finishing the next book in the series, Every Broken Trust, that I forgot to post it. I did finish the draft of Every Broken Trust shortly before Christmas and am now in the throes of the revision process. I hope to have the finished manuscript off to my agent and editor later this month. So here belatedly is the copy that will appear on the dust jacket of the hardcover Every Last Secret: A Mystery.

JACKET COPY FOR EVERY LAST SECRET

Flap:

"Rodriguez’s debut is an action-packed ride featuring an intriguing heroine you won’t quickly forget."--Sally Goldenbaum, author of The Wedding Shawl

Half-Cherokee Marquitta “Skeet” Bannion thought she was leaving her troubles behind when she fled the stress of being the highest ranking woman on the Kansas City Police Department, a jealous cop ex-husband who didn’t want to let go, and a disgraced alcoholic ex-cop father. Moving to a small town to be chief of the campus police force, she builds a life outside of police work. She might even begin a new relationship with the amiable Brewster police chief.

All of this is threatened when the student editor of the college newspaper is found murdered on campus. Skeet must track down the killer, following trails that lead to some of the most powerful people in the university. In the midst of her investigation, Skeet takes up responsibility for a vulnerable teenager as her ex-husband and seriously ailing father wind up back on her hands. Time is running out and college administrators demand she conceal all college involvement in the murder, but Skeet will not stop until she's unraveled every last secret.

Linda Rodriguez’s debut novel introduces a unique and capable heroine. With its intriguing cast of characters and complex mystery, Every Last Secret is sure to delight traditional mystery fans.

Bio:

Linda Rodriguez is a winner of the Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Competition. As a poet, she has won the Thorpe Menn Award for Literary Excellence, the Elvira Cordero Cisneros Award, and the Midwest Voices and Visions Award.

Linda enjoys knitting lace shawls, spinning alpaca wool, weaving tapestries, and gardening with herbs and native plants. She is currently working on a book of poetry based on teachings from her Cherokee grandmother and another mystery novel about Skeet Bannion. Linda lives in Kansas City, Missouri, with her husband, a Plott Hound, and a domineering cat.

Visit her Web site at http://lindarodriguezwrites.blogspot.com

Back cover:

Advance Praise for Every Last Secret

"There's a new cop in town and she has smarts, courage, and a good heart. Mystery readers will find a new favorite in Chief Skeet Bannion."--Nancy Pickard, author of The Scent of Rain and Lightning

“Every Last Secret offers that rare and startling thing in the universe of thrillers: a truly fresh voice. Rodriguez's tale spares nothing. Skeet is an all-too-human heroine, and we just want more, more, more.”--Jacquelyn Mitchard, #1 national bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean and Second Nature: A Love Story

“Linda Rodriguez has created a captivating female detective with a mind for justice and a heart for those who’ve been unfairly treated.  Skeet navigates university politics and a nest of deadly secrets to find the truth, even when it means investigating people she cares about.”--Carolyn Haines, author of Bones of a Feather

“Murder on a college campus, plenty of bad people, and all kinds of puzzles to solve. Linda Rodriguez has written a highly enjoyable procedural introducing a rough and tender heroine, Skeet Bannion.”--Kathleen George, author of The Odds and Hideout

I'm very excited about the prospect of holding an advance copy of Every Last Secret in my hands soon. I'm also thrilled and relieved that my beta reader thinks the second book in the series is as strong as the first. Any time you're writing a book after the earlier one received an award or won a competition, you're always fighting the fear that this book won't measure up to the last one. So hearing that Every Broken Trust is up to the task is a great relief.

How is your 2012 beginning? What are you excited about seeing or doing in the early months of the new year?