Monday, March 31, 2014

She's Back! Madeline Dawkins is on the prowl ...

I had the pleasure of being part of the proofing process for "High Price to Pay," the second book in the Madeline Dawkins mystery series written by Cynthia Hamilton. "High Price to Pay" is a fun, fast read. If you haven't already met Madeline, allow me to introduce her. (Actually, this is copy from the author, Cynthia Hamilton.)

Madeline’s dual professions as event coordinator and private investigator cross paths during the most lavish affair of her career—a weekend-long fortieth birthday extravaganza for the wife of a famous film director. A simple background check after the disappearance of precious family jewels quickly turns into a murder investigation, and before Madeline and Mike can put the pieces together, another body turns up. As the Santa Barbara police and sheriff’s departments search for clues, the Mad Dog P.I.’s use their own methods to untangle the crimes, discovering some unsavory truths behind the glittering façade of their clients.

Adding to Madeline’s already overflowing plate, the D.A. informs her that Rick Yeoman, one of the men who abducted her three years earlier, has been prematurely released from prison after cutting a deal with the Feds. Besides fear of reprisals from the man she helped to convict, Yeoman’s parole also triggers the reappearance of soulless Lionel Usherwood, lured out of his hideaway by the call of revenge. When Yeoman’s body surfaces in Lake Cachuma, Usherwood moves on to the next target: Madeline.


"A High Price to Pay" is the second novel in the Madeline Dawkins Series. Available in print and eBook formats on Amazon.com.

Get the book; read it. It's good! Then, get ready for the next in the series to come.

Friday, March 14, 2014

The Most Humbling of Tasks

Want to know the most stressful aspect of Orozco Ink? Uh, that'd be proofreading.

No, not proofreading my own stuff, because no one should ever proofread their own stuff. I mean being paid to proofread another's writing. The pressure I put on myself is rattling, which, of course, doesn't make a good environment for proofreading.

It's easy to get caught up in the minutiae of serial commas while missing the glaring misspelling in the title. It's happened. How about this one: I took the leap of creating a Facebook page for my writing and editing business only to have a huge grammatical gaffe in the About section of Orozco Ink - Writing & Editing. Yes, of course, people saw it. Thank goodness some of them pointed it out to me.

Plus, when proofreading, I get tripped up on elementary things, such as rein or reign. Lie versus lay. Is it effect or affect?

Yes, proofreading can be quite humbling. (Like my Facebook debut.) On the other hand, it can be quite fun and rewarding, too. I love it when I find something buried in the middle of document that could have been a real problem for a client.