Hot Enough to Kill (38 page)
I believed her about that--the being there for me part--I really did. It was certain other topics that raised my doubts, namely an inanimate object she lovingly referred to as her Little Lady. Even under the influence of heavy-duty pain killers, I still broke out in a sweat just thinking about the laser-sighted Glock.
It seemed strange to me that I'd spent forty-three years being this woman's daughter, and yet I hadn't even really known her. Maybe never would. But what I knew--had always known--was that she would protect me, her cub, like the fiercest of sow bears. I just hadn't known exactly how all she'd go about that until now. Having the female geriatric version of Dirty Harry for a mother was almost comforting.
Almost.
"Mother, please don't whack anybody with your purse or do any shooting until tomorrow. I'd really like to get some sleep."
"Why, Jolene, whatever are you talking about?" Lucille said, entirely too sweetly. "You get the silliest notions. Why, when you were little you had the biggest imagination. Suppose that's why you never took to reporting, having to tell just the facts and all. You know, if you'd kept up with that, you'd probably be on television by now, giving the six o'clock news and such. Now that would really be something...."
I smiled and closed my eyes, letting my mother recite her familiar list of could-have-beens, should-have-beens and why-on-earths to herself. It was a sure sign that things were on the road back to normal, or at least as normal as it ever gets in Kickapoo, Texas.
The End
Paula Boyd grew up in a small town in Texas that some would say is not unlike her fictional Kickapoo. Her love affair with writing and journalism blossomed when she realized the power of the printed word, particularly when she was called upon to discuss her journalistic decisions with the principal and superintendent of schools. Nevertheless, she attended Midwestern State University where she was news editor for the university newspaper and co-editor of the yearbook until she was stricken with the tragic urge to get married.
After a decade of being away from writing to have three children, the creative side came bursting out and she began writing her first novel in 1993. With only three chapters written, she won a writing contest and was back in the game. That book, as well as the two that followed, didn't make it to print, but she hit her stride in the mystery genre in 1999 when Jolene and Lucille found their way into her life.
Hot Enough to Kill,
the first in the Jolene Jackson Mystery Series
,
is included in the University of Texas Press'
Lone Star Sleuths: An Anthology of Texas Crime Fiction.
The second title in the series,
Dead Man Falls
, won the 2001
WILLA Literary Award for Best Original Paperback
and the third,
Turkey Ranch Road
Rage, was published in 2010.
Killer Moves
continues the adventures.
Paula Boyd and the Jolene Jackson Mystery Books have been featured in magazines such as
Redbook, Mountain Living, San Antonio Woman
,
Romantic Times
and
Colorado Homes and Living
, and in newspapers across the country.
In 2011, Paula turned her attention to the self-help genre, which makes perfect sense, having had to deal with Lucille and her antics.
Writing as
Paula Renaye
, her acclaimed self-improvement guide,
The Hardline Self Help Handbook,
has been honored with four National Book Awards. She is a motivational speaker, certified professional coach and frequent “tough love” expert on talk radio shows. She writes regular columns for relationship sites, international online magazines, personal development ezines, and is featured in trade and specialty blogs. Visit http://hardlineselfhelp.com to learn more.
* * * *
The Jolene Jackson Mystery Series
Hot Enough to Kill (1999)
Dead Man Falls (2000)
Turkey Ranch Road Rage (2010)
Killer Moves (coming soon)
http://paulaboyd.com
Table of Contents