Today I have my friend and author, Diane Burton visiting with her new release, Numbers Never Lie. Let's find out some information on this story!
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Numbers have never been my strong suit. Words are so much easier. I see relationships between words. I write novels. But ask me to figure out number problems (or Sudoku), and I flounder. In a couple of my short-term jobs, I had to work with numbers—usually in a spreadsheet. Until I took two training workshops in Excel, it was not my friend. Like Blanche DuBois (A Streetcar Named Desire) and many writers today, “I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.” Only I’d tweak the quote by adding “and friends.”
In my last job, when I had questions about Excel, the others told me to call Dan in Accounting. Even though I didn’t know Dan at first, he was great and showed me many little tricks to use in Excel. Since he knew I wrote novels, he asked what I was working on. I told him a suspense and one of the main characters is an accountant. Dan beamed until I said I killed him off in Chapter 1. Dan was crushed until I hastened to assure him that the accountant influenced the whole story. Figuring out the who and why of his death is the main character’s goal.
I agree with you, Diane. Numbers were never my strong suit either. Let's find out about Numbers Never Lie.
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Blurb:
A shocking secret brings danger to Jack Sinclair and his sister Maggie. As kids, they were the fearless threesome. As adults, Jack's an accountant; Drew, a lawyer; Maggie, a teacher and camping troop leader. Upon returning from a weekend camping trip, Maggie receives horrifying news. She refuses to believe her brother Jack’s fatal car crash was an accident. If the police won’t investigate, she’ll do it herself. Convincing Drew Campbell to help is her only recourse. Drew Campbell was too busy to return his best friend’s phone call. Too busy to attend a camping meeting important to his teen daughter. Too busy to stay in touch with Jack. Logic and reason indicate Jack’s accident was just that--an accident caused by fatigue and fog. Prodded by guilt, he’ll help Maggie even if he thinks she’s wrong. A break-in at Jack’s condo convinces Maggie she’s right. Then her home is searched. What did Jack do that puts Maggie in danger? Excerpt : Slinging the laptop case/briefcase over his shoulder, Jack checked the room assigned to him for the audit to make sure he hadn’t left anything out. He shut off the lights and locked the door behind him. He still had much to do. Sure, Ben said he would finish the audit. That wasn’t the way Jack worked. When he started something, he always finished. “Working kinda late, arncha, Mr. Sinclair?” Startled, Jack looked over his shoulder. The janitor leaned on his mop. “It’s after midnight.” “No rest for the weary, Max.” Jack pocketed his keys. “You be careful going home, Mr. Sinclair. Fog was rollin’ in off the lake when me and the missus drove in to work.” “Thanks for the heads-up.” Jack saluted the affable worker and headed down the hall. The doors to the other offices were closed. Only the cleaning crew remained. Hazel, Max’s wife, stopped dusting the receptionist’s desk. “’Night, Mr. Sinclair. You best be careful. Noticed you parked all the way down at the end of the parking lot. The light there is out. Saw that when we came in. The company that takes care of our lights won’t come out ‘til Monday. You want Max to get a flashlight and walk out with you so’s you can find your car? What with the fog and all?” Jack forced himself to smile. In the five days he’d been auditing the books at the plant near Muskegon, he often worked so late that he ran into the older couple. “I’ll be fine.” “’Night, then. You be careful, now. Ya hear?” Even before he pushed open the heavy glass door, he saw that Max and Hazel were right. The solitary light at this end of the parking lot barely penetrated the fog. Maybe he should have taken Hazel up on the offer of a flashlight. He wasn’t worried about finding the Blazer in this pea soup. It would be a wonder he didn’t trip on the curbs. The flashlight on his cell phone. Duh. He should’ve thought of that. Jack clicked it on, but it only shone a foot or so in front of him. He heard a soft skitter near the dumpster. Rats? He shuddered and clicked his remote. From fifteen feet away, his head- and taillights barely penetrated the mist. It would be a slow drive back to Grand Rapids. He should get a motel room for the night. Finding a vacancy anywhere along the Lake Michigan shoreline would be next to impossible in the summer and even more so late on a Friday night. Weary beyond belief, he dragged himself to his car. He needed to return tomorrow—make that later today. He had to do more digging in the company’s files. He couldn’t believe what he’d discovered so far. This went way beyond anything he imagined. The implications-- “Jack.” Startled by the familiar voice, he dropped the keys. His phone slipped out of his fingers and skidded away. The fog gobbled up the light, and he lost sight of it. He peered in the direction of the sound. The figure stepped away from the dumpster’s hulking shape. “We need to talk.” Numbers Never Lie is available at Amazon.
This sounds so intriguing, I can't wait to get my hands on the book. Thank you for sharing the excerpt. For those who don't know Diane, here's a little information about her.
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About the Author:
Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides writing science fiction romance, she writes romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries. Diane and her husband live in West Michigan. They have two children and five grandchildren. For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com Connect with Diane Burton online Blog: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmburton72 Facebook: http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor Goodreads: Diane Burton Author Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/ Sign up for Diane’s new release alert: http://eepurl.com/bdHtYf
She has a rafflecopter going, and here it is.
Thank you so much, Diane, for stopping by. I wish you great success with your new release. Visitors, please leave us a comment, and let us know you've stopped by. We love to hear from our readers, and look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks all. Connie
9 Comments
7/11/2018 07:09:16 am
A lovely intro, Connie. Thanks so much for having me here today.
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Alicia Dean
7/11/2018 08:04:12 am
Ha, I am definitely not a numbers person either. But, I do love your book! Congrats and best wishes!
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Diane Burton
7/11/2018 09:07:51 am
Thanks, Alicia. Your suggestions made the book so much better.
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7/11/2018 08:31:29 am
Diane: My mantra is, "I am an English major and I don't do numbers." Can't even keep my golf score straight! Not sure I would have the nerve to make an accountant a main character. Best wishes for continued success.
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Diane Burton
7/11/2018 09:08:48 am
Thanks, Susan. I had a great example in the accountant I worked with. He was a fun guy.
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Marissa Garner
7/11/2018 09:54:12 am
The excerpt really grabbed me. I used to be a CPA (but now I like words better) so this story should really appeal to my left brain. Best of luck with your new release!
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Diane Burton
7/11/2018 10:08:49 pm
Thanks, Marissa. I hope the details about an accountant's life are correct. I used my imagination on a few things, besides the research on a forensic accountant.
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7/11/2018 04:06:18 pm
I love the story about the accountant! Best of luck with the new release!
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Diane Burton
7/11/2018 10:09:26 pm
Thanks, Alina. Dan was such a help. A really nice guy.
Reply
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