The lay of the land - of Freezer Burn

My very first novel, Freezer Burn, is being published by Echelon Press this fall. It's a murder mystery, and my tail is still waggin' about the whole process. I had fun writing it, I'm excited about seeing it in print, and I'm hoping readers like the story.

Speaking of story, here are a few notes to get you started:
1. It takes place in Placentia, California. Why? Because it's been my hometown for nearly 30 years and I like it.
2. The main character is a woman who used to be a housecleaner, and has recently changed careers, to become a private investigator. Her name is Peri Minneopa. The mispronunciation of her last name is a running gag. She likes clean houses and dirty martinis - Grey Goose with four olives. Her boyfriend, Skip Carlton, is a detective on the PPD. Blanche Debussy, an assistant Orange County coroner, is her best friend. Peri always thinks she knows what she wants - until she doesn't.
3. Her client in this book is Benny Needles, a Dean Martin fanatic with OCD issues.

Here is the jacket blurb:

"It's Minn-ee-OH-pa."

Peri Minneopa has heard her name mangled a thousand ways to Sunday and hates them all. What she does like are clean houses, and dirty martinis. She recently traded in her housecleaning business for a P.I. license. Her timing seems perfect, when she cleans a former client's freezer and finds a severed hand inside, wearing an expensive ring. The client, Benny Needles, is a Dean Martin fanatic who swears he's innocent. But where there's a hand, there's a body, waiting to be found.

It's a brand new world for Peri, and she has a lot to learn. Her boyfriend, Skip, a detective in the Placentia Police Department warns Peri that this case could be dangerous, but she can't stop sticking her nose into the middle of things. Her first lesson is that investigating murder can have bad consequences. In the middle of trying to solve the case, Peri takes on a surveillance job. The philandering husband is unhappy with her, and she discovers that even surveillance isn't always low risk.

As the two cases collide, will Peri learn the truth behind both of them? And more important, will she ever get that dirty martini?

Stay tuned for more!