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The tenth iteration of the When Words Collide convention took place over the weekend. It was 100% virtual and was a lot of fun.<\/p>\n
One of the panels I was on was the Tyche Presents one, where Tyche Books had some of their authors attend and do brief readings from their work. Because some people who weren’t able to attend the panel messaged me on Twitter with their regrets and some who were able to attend had inferior audio I’m pleased to provide text versions of the readings which were featured at that panel.<\/p>\n
It’s certainly not the same as actually being there, but perhaps it’s the next best thing \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Each of these excerpts should take about three minutes to read.<\/p>\n
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We began the panel with an reading by E.C. Bell from her latest book in the Marie Jenner series,\u00a0Tying the Knot.<\/em><\/p>\n Excerpt from\u00a0Tying the Knot<\/em> by E.C. Bell<\/strong><\/p>\n This reading is from Tying the Knot, the 7th book in the Marie Jenner mystery series. In this book, Marie and James go to\u00a0 Las Vegas so Marie can move on James\u2019 Uncle Jimmy, whose spirit was trapped there when he died, apparently of a heart attack. Uncle Jimmy is haunting psychic Crystal Desmoines, and Crystal would very much like him to leave.<\/p>\n This reading is the first time Crystal and Marie meet.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n When I researched Crystal Desmoines and found out she was running a booming little psychic business in Vegas, I expected to find her living in a nice house in the suburbs or something. But that was not where the GPS took us.<\/p>\n James pulled the vehicle into the parking lot of what looked like a rent-by-the-hour motel. We parked beside a swimming pool covered in algae blooms, with a couple of people asleep on deck chairs by it. It looked like they\u2019d slept there all night.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you sure this is the right place?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat were you expecting?\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething better than this,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n We walked up the cheap carpet-covered stairs and through a door to an open hallway that looked down on the back alley. I could hear TVs and music blaring, and from somewhere toward the back, a child cried.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is depressing as hell,\u201d I muttered.<\/p>\n He didn\u2019t answer me, just walked the hallway, looking for # 204. Found it, and stood, staring at the scarred wooden door for a long moment. Then he rapped on the door twice. Hard.<\/p>\n We could hear noises behind the door, but no one answered. \u201cIt\u2019s James Lavall,\u201d he said, and knocked again. \u201cWe have an appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n More noise, and I realized we were hearing cats meowing. Sounded like a lot of them. And then a woman\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n \u201cMove your little fuzzy asses,\u201d the voice said. \u201cI gotta get the door.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s a cat woman,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat,\u201d James said. Then the door burst open, and Crystal Desmoines stood, framed in the doorway. She gasped when one of the cats made a break for it and loped down the hall.<\/p>\n \u201cGrab him,\u201d she cried. \u201cDammit, grab him before he gets away!\u201d<\/p>\n James took off after the cat, with Crystal on his heels. I tried to blockade the door as the rest of the cats\u2014mostly kittens\u2014 mewed and pushed to get out.<\/p>\n James made a grab for the cat who zigzagged away from him and then headed back the way he\u2019d come. Crystal neatly grabbed the big tabby as he tried to run by her.<\/p>\n \u201cRambo,\u201d she said. \u201cYou know you\u2019re not supposed to be out here.\u201d<\/p>\n She snuggled the cat as she walked past me, pushing the rest of the kittens back into the apartment with her foot.<\/p>\n I scurried through the door behind her with James on my heels. He closed the door as Crystal set the big tabby on a table next to the closet. He jumped down and scuttled down the short hallway and disappeared. Finally, we were alone.<\/p>\n Crystal smiled at us. \u201cI take it you are Jim,\u201d she said, and held out her hand to James.<\/p>\n \u201cJames,\u201d he replied. \u201cMy name is James.\u201d I noticed he did not take her proffered hand.<\/p>\n Her smile fell as she dropped her hand. Then she looked at me, and her smile returned. \u201cAnd you\u2019re Marie Jenner,\u201d she said.. \u201cI read about you. You\u2019re a little bit famous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHuh,\u201d I said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw the video,\u201d she replied. \u201cAmazing stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n She was talking about the video of me moving on a whole bunch of ghosts, on live TV. My fifteen minutes of fame.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d I said. \u201cAmazing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow did you make all those spirits move on, all at once?\u201d she asked. \u201cI can\u2019t even get one of them to get out of my space, for heaven\u2019s sake. And you moved 100\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c103, actually,\u201d I said. All right, maybe that was my ego talking, but moving on 103 ghosts at the same time was kind of a big deal.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s incredible,\u201d she replied. Then she seemed to realize that we were all still crowded in the little entrance of her apartment.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry,\u201d she said, and walked past us, to a doorway on the right. \u201cCome in. I imagine you want to talk to Jimmy.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.11″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.11″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.rhondaparrish.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/57730599._SY475_-200×300.jpg” title_text=”Tying the Knot Cover” align=”center” admin_label=”Tying the Knot Cover” _builder_version=”4.9.11″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.11″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.11″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Marie Jenner just wants a Vegas holiday.<\/p>\n When psychic Crystal Demoines tells James Lavall that his uncle\u2019s spirit is trapped in Las Vegas, Marie is thrilled. All she\u2019ll have to do is help Jimmy \u201canything for a buck\u201d Lavall move on to the next plane of existence, and then she and James can have the holiday of her dreams.<\/p>\n But she never dreamed that a lieutenant of the drug kingpin from Edmonton would be staying at the same hotel as her and James, and that James would become his new best friend. Or that she\u2019d have to find Jimmy\u2019s girlfriend Rita\u2014who disappeared the same night Jimmy died\u2014before he would finally move on. Or that the most powerful man in the hotel would be looking for Rita too. To find the money she stole.<\/p>\n And Marie never dreamed that she\u2019d be planning a Vegas wedding in the middle of it all. But she is.<\/p>\n Looks like her dream vacation is about to become a nightmare.<\/p>\n\n